The Morning Call Agenda

The article headline yesterday was that so far, Hanover township spent $28,000 on legal fees fighting the arena project. The article did mention that the legal firm is representing nine separate townships and one school district. I suppose a headline of $2,800 each would have been far less dramatic. The paper actually filed a Right To Know request to ascertain that figure. This is the same paper that didn't bat an eye about the AEDC and ACIDA spending $65million dollars to dig a hole, and for Reilly to buy the properties around it. Meanwhile, back at the park system, Allentown spent $80,000 on Weitzel's Water World plan. We also spent big amounts on the Destination Dog World and Peddle Your Fanny Park To Park. Add in the Destination Playground and Paths To Paths At Cedar Park, and you're looking at close to a $half million in blueprints. Where's the article on those expenditures? Where's the Right To Know request?
UPDATE:  The Morning Call's Best of the Blogs Sunday feature showcases Bill White's blog.  He reprimanded Hanover and Bethlehem Township from benefiting from the Casino grants, while opposing the Allentown Arena.  He  equated the casino, built with private money, which shares huge profits with the townships, with the arena. The arena is to be built with public money, and would borrow/use suburban Earned Income Taxes  for 30 years.  Perhaps The Morning Call should look beyond it's own blogs for the Best.

A Rejected Letter

The Morning Call has declined to print my reply to Vincent Stravino's letter about Israel. I was invited to address their concerns, and resubmit the piece. In my opinion Stravino uses what I consider propaganda techniques in his letters. He takes the Methodist resolution and attempts to give it divine authority by mentioning Bishop Tutu and the Presbyterian Church. Although I would have preferred the much larger Morning Call audience to read my reply, I present both Stravino's published letter and my rejected reply.

  The United Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant church in America, has recently considered the ongoing Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian Land. The Methodist General Conference approved a resolution urging the U.S. government to end all military aid to the region, called on all nations to prohibit any financial support for the construction and maintenance of settlements and called on all nations to prohibit the import of products made by companies in Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. The Church did not endorse divestment of their pension funds from three American military contractors who sell offensive weapons to Israel as part of $3 billion of U.S. aid yearly. The Methodist vote followed intense lobbying from rabbis on both sides of the issue. In a letter of support, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa characterized Israeli treatment of Palestinians as apartheid. The Presbyterian Church in the United States will vote soon on these same issues. The United Methodist Church has bravely moved from sympathetic words to tangible action against injustice. Let's all stop our taxpayer dollars from being used to fund settlements and violence against innocent Palestinians. Today America needs the money far more than Israel. Tell Congress. Vincent Stravino 

Vincent Stravino and I have been dueling about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for over a year here on the Letters To The Editor page. We also have conducted a private correspondence. Although Stravino is currently in Israel and the West Bank with the Inter-Faith Peace Builders, on Tuesday his letter was published citing positions by the Methodist Church against Israel. I suspect that Stravino is not a Methodist, and know that he is not authorized to be their spokesman. I have received an email from Stravino and his group from Israel; In it they note the "Nakba (Catastrophe) and the birth of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The "catastrophe" refers to the creation of Israel in 1948. Any person who questions the legitimacy of Israel, whether a Palestinian in the West Bank, or a peace activist from the Lehigh Valley, is hardly an honest broker for a just solution. Michael Molovinsky

Hybrid News

My post on Monday, Ethics and Editorials,   discussed how The Morning Call seemed to be blurring the news and their opinions. Yesterday, as if to prove my point, we saw a hybrid headline. Inserted into the headline article by reporter Matt Assad, was a box listing their second article, by columnist Bill White. White was offended by the smugness and coldness of Bethlehem township concerning the catastrophic hole in Allentown. He should have watched a former merchant literally cry in front of City Council last spring. Today, the paper continues the news/opinion casserole. Their formally dormant blog, Valley 610, has an inane poll comparing the casino and arena. Never mind that the casino was build by private money, and gives money back to the region. The Arena would be built by taxes, and take money from the area.

Ethics and Editorials

The Ethics Debate at DeSales University was cancelled because of ethics. Originally scheduled for last week, Sy Traub and R.B. Reilly were to represent the NIZ against Steve Thode, Lehigh Professor and opponent. The proponents supposedly had to drop out because of pending litigation. I had questioned Sy Traub at the WFMZ Debate for the same reason; Why he could participate, but Sara Hailstone couldn't? This evening Bethlehem Township Commissioners will discuss the Arena issue, despite having filed a lawsuit, despite being involved in litigation.

 Several years ago The Morning Call ceased printing in house Editorials, instead expanding the Your View space, opinion pieces from their readers. When they had editorials, supposedly there was a firewall between them and the news. This past week, I wrote about the push poll conducted by Muhlenberg and the paper. It clearly seemed a vehicle intended to promote the arena, an editorial dressed as the news. They had to put the financial issue aside to conduct the poll. That's like putting aside the shooting and asking Mrs. Lincoln how was the play? The Morning Call continued the editorial in yesterday's paper, using the article, and a quote from Alan Jennings about kicking Allentown when it's down, in the week's roundup section.

 No reflection on the individuals invited, but perhaps a discussion on Ethics and the NIZ was an oxymoron from the get go. Perhaps The Morning Call should print an editorial supporting the Arena project, and stop compromising the objectivity of their news articles.

related post at O'Hare's Ramblings

Great Balls of Fire

The Morning Call doesn't refer to me as disdainful, misguided and dour for nothing; I take them to task. No doubt they considered Sunday's piece on the arena epic. Although I have already criticized it for verboseness and style, allow me to redress some errors of substance. The largest area ever submitted to a redevelopment bulldozer was the Lehigh Street hill, near South 6th Street and the now closed racquet ball club. Three square blocks were then leveled. Like the arena project, the displaced were a minority, who received little consolation for their ordeal. This morning's article continues to minimize the abuse recently suffered by the displaced merchants. Last summer, the newspaper dismissed the merchants as selling discount clothes and cheap electronics. Today, one very short paragraph was used to dismiss their twenty years on Hamilton Street. They're conveniently dispatched by saying that they were overpaid for their property. They could have written how the day care center never reopened, or one merchant  ended up on Hanover Avenue, with no foot traffic or business. The laborious article is written with a wildfire theme. The reporters marvel themselves with the imagery; Inferno,firestorm,burning, extinguishing the flare-up,spark,etc, etc, WE GET IT. The article minimizes the City's arrogance and secrecy, instead, elaborating on accusations that the townships are being punitive toward Allentown. While they briefly gloss over the insider deals,  they write that municipalities and developers have been colluding on the lawsuits. They quote Alan Jennings defending Allentown and the project, but omit that as an advocate for the poor, he's on the wrong side of the issue. The article concludes with an insider explaining what a catastrophe it would be for Allentown, and the Lehigh Valley, if the arena isn't built. Although it would be a catastrophic for Pawlowski and Reilly, the rest is meant as an ultimatum. The article ends with threats about a wildfire and scorched earth.