When Business Paid The Freight

Believe it or not, there was a time not so long ago, that businesses actually paid their own way. They did not expect, nor did they receive, any incentives from government. In this recent election, the County Commissioner's rejection of the TIF for Costco was an issue used by their opponents. We have come so far down the path of subsidies, that those who dare to oppose these giveaways, are accused of costing the community jobs, and taxes for the future. Over the years, Allentown gave out dozens of KOZ's that never produced one dime or benefit for the taxpayers. For example, the former Cata garment building on Linden Street was given a KOZ when it became a self storage facility. It was then purchased by the city for the arena, and is now part of the NIZ. Between the KOZ and the NIZ, the taxpayers are shortchanged for 41 years. It could even be longer, if down this road the NIZ turns into XYZ. All these programs have a very real cost to the taxpayers. The government units must make up this lost revenue in other ways, either by fees or taxes. When you buy a ticket for the new arena, what's it really costing you?

photo: Hamilton Street in 1956, before KOZ, NIZ, TIF, and CRIZ

When Allentown Worked

Regular readers of this blog know that I often visit Allentown's better days of the past. I even belong to a nostalgia group, where someone recently asked where everyone's parents worked. Many group members are in their 50's and 60's. Here was the question; When we grew up the best jobs for our dad's was the Bethlehem steel and mack trucks unless they were lawyers or doctors or had another profession occupation I know my my mom worked in a factory all her life and I think most of them have closed. Where did you mom and dad work and are the companies are open? Over 90 people responded, actually constituting a survey. In current Allentown, this would be a study, which taxpayers would have to pay for; Here, it's on the house, no charge. Fourteen of the fathers worked at Bethlehem Steel, while five worked at Mack Trucks, and five worked retail on Hamilton Street. The others worked at Allentown's many other industries, one or two here and there. Only two respondents said that their fathers weren't much for working. Twenty mothers were stay at home, while eight worked in various sewing factories. The remainder worked as teachers, nurses, factory workers and various other jobs. One person wrote, "My parents sound like the scene you described. My dad worked at Beth Steel and my mom at Penn State Mills on a sewing machine. They owned their own home and sent me to college where I graduated without the burden of a loan. Thanks, Mom and Dad." Shown above was the General Electric plant on S. 12th Street, just beyond the old Mack 5C.

Allentown's Study of Convenience

Shown above was a gritty industry from Allentown's industrial past. Going back to the early 1900's, the Wire Mill was along the current Martin Luther King Drive, just east of the Lehigh Street hill. Before they tore down the entire neighborhood, in Allentown's first redevelopment in the 1970's, that plant was long gone. Before King Drive, the road along Fountain Park was called Lawrence Street. Those few blocks east of Lehigh was named Wire Street. As mentioned in yesterday's post, a new study has recommended that the Little Lehigh corridor become Allentown's new industrial section. The AEDC has purchased the former Allentown Metal Works on S. 10th Street, and received an initial grant to restore the former rail line, which ran along the creek. A current grant was used to pay for the Study of Convenience. Just a few years ago, I attended a City meeting hyping the former rail-bed as a Trail Network, connecting all of Allentown's parks and emphasizing the stream.

Allentown's Industrial Hoax

Allentown's looking to identify an industrial area, where an investment in infrastructure can produce jobs. The Allentown Economic Development Corporation hired a consultant, to tell them what they wanted to hear. Never mind that we have an industrial area, already complete with infrastructure. Shown above is the area along the Lehigh River, where industry began in Allentown. The working railroad line is still there, as are the industrial buildings, and even industrial tenants, including Air Products. Problem is, that area is now slated for Pawlowski Transformation Number Two, turning the industrial reality into a commercial and residential hope to be. Enter AEDC and their choo choo project. Many years ago, Traylor Engineering on S. 10th Street, was serviced by the Barber Quarry rail spur. That rail branch has been completely removed, from it's start back at 3th and Union Streets. Last year, the AEDC purchased Traylor's successor, the vacant Allentown Metal Works, and sought a grant to rebuild the branch line. The bureaucracy of the AEDC would actually spend $millions of dollars to rebuild a railroad line, on the speculation of attracting an industrial tenant. Low and behold, the new study they and the City have commissioned, recommends this very nonsense.

Back To The Future With Emma

Although the Progressives, who campaigned against the waste to energy plant and the water lease this year, didn't like Emma Tropiano back in the day, or now, here's a history lesson they may find interesting. Shown above is Emma camping out by the entrance to Kline's Island on October 13, 1989. Her statement to the press. "The deal with the Lehigh County Authority to open Kline's Island to outside sewage sources has promoted massive development in western Lehigh County, drawing potential commercial and industrial development away from Allentown and resulting in higher taxes for city property owners." She was running against The First Mayor For Life Joe Daddona's fourth term. His reply. "It's obvious once again that Emma, because of her lack of knowledge and understanding of a problem, is shooting from the hip and hitting herself in the foot." She was also outspoken about the direction the city was heading in: Is Allentown in an ugly decline, with drugs, crime, filth and mismanagement rotting away the core of the Queen City, as challenger Emma D. Tropiano insists? Or is it squarely facing its problems and coming up with sound, creative solutions, as Mayor Joseph S. Daddona says?" The Morning Call, Nov. 5, 1989.

LVIA, Destination Failure

Shown above is the director of Lehigh Valley Airport. What struck me about the photo was the empty terminal behind him. Despite the airport's failure, they never stop remodeling, expanding and charging more for parking. Recently, I bumped into Tony Iannelli, Chairman of Airport's Board of Directors. I asked him if the intent was to sabotage the airport? I wondered why they would hire Charles Everett for director, when he failed to produce results, working in the same capacity, for the previous private management company? Iannelli indicated that the problems were industry wide, shared by all airports, of this size and type market. I was not surprised that the recent air show was a financial failure. It didn't seem like a forward looking idea for a commercial airport. Over the years, this blog had a number of posts about the failed ideas pursued by this airport.* Yesterday, Bernie O'Hare presented Steve Thode's chart documenting the steady decline of LVIA. The comments there support one of my contentions; People would support a convenient local airport, if only it would offer something; LVIA offers expensive parking, with inconvenient flights to nowhere.

*Flight To NoWhere, February 12, 2009
*Dressed Up With NoWhere To Go, November 29, 2012
*Sabotaging The Airport, March 27,2013

photocredit:The Morning Call

Pending Approval

Today we learn that the Waterfront Project gained approval from the Allentown Planning Commission, who would have thought? The other day we learned that Joel F. Fitzgerald will be Allentown's first minority police chief, pending approval by City Council. Even Julio Guridy, Council President, couldn't imagine what the reporter was referring to. He told her that he never heard of a police chief candidate not being approved. Actually, I never heard of anything not being approved in the last 8 years.

Woodman's Controversial Letter

Thanks to Bernie O'Hare, everybody in the local blogosphere knows who Wayne Woodman is; according to Bernie, he's Scott Ott's puppet-master. I personally never subscribed to that theory, but then again, I think more of Woodman and Ott than Bernie does. Yesterday, Woodman, as Republican Party Chairman, sent out an email summing up the election. He praised Scott Ott for running a positive campaign, and yet remaining competitive. He complimented the victors in Lower Macungie, but wondered if they were Republicans of convenience. One victor, blogger Ron Beitler, already took exception to that insinuation. But, what brings me to this post, is a thank you to Scott Armstrong, for his efforts in the Allentown school board election. Scott had been critical of Woodman's lack of attention in regard to Allentown. Bob Smith Jr., has stated that he believes that the Republican abandonment of Allentown cost Ott the election. I wondered if Woodman's overture to Armstrong indicated a change in strategy for future elections. In reality, school board members cross file. The only candidate registered only as a Republican lost, coming in last. We will see in the next election if Woodman continues to court Armstrong, and if the party gives Allentown more attention.

Allentown's Fading Memories

I have written recently that the market for Allentown memorabilia was closing fast. With so many new comers to the area, and the graying of the old timers, those interested in acquiring such objects are far and few between. Nostalgia is a different story. The internet allows former Allentonians to remember the good old days. In Allentown's case, many feel that the expression is unfortunately very true. Shown above is the first mayor for life, Joe Daddona, with Willie Restum. Willie was a nationally known sax player, who never forgot his Allentown roots in the Syrian 6th ward. Adding to this blast from the past, is Willie wearing the Allentown All American City tee-shirt. This post was for the subset, born in Allentown before 1960.

A Governor's Choice

On October 24th, I was forced to change my police chief prediction from Ted Kohuth to Joel Fitzgerald. Kohuth had made sense for the department and the city. As a local law enforcement officer, he had the respect of the department's rank and file membership. His appointment would have avoided the rancor that had come with the last out of town appointment, Chief Kuhns from Chicago, under Afflerbach. Pawlowski had been part of that administration, and knew of that disruption first hand. By mid October, blogger sources were telling me that Pawlowski had decided to go with his governor quest, rather than the APD's morale. Fitzgerald will play well in Philadelphia, his home town. For picking the first minority police chief of Pennsylvania's third largest city, Pawlowski continues his narrative as a innovator. Joe Biden called Pawlowski to congratulate him on his overwhelming victory in last week's election. Nowhere in the narrative does it say that his opponent only decided to run this past spring, as an independent, and spent the summer in Ukraine. On the road to Harrisburg, Pawlowski will get much more milage from Fitzgerald than he would have ever gotten from Kohuth.

UPDATE: 6:00a.m.  According to The Morning Call, Fitzgerald was the top choice of the Allentown Police Union.

photocredit:Emily Robson/The Morning Call/November 11, 2013

Israel Defense Forces

Benny Gantz, Chief of Staff for the IDF, stood on the tracks at the station in Berlin on Saturday, from which Jews were deported to the death camps.

Today too, we are required to deal with hostile states and organizations that seek to harm us, but unlike the past, we face our enemies from a position of strength – stronger than ever before.We won’t allow the horrors of the past to return, we will not allow those who seek our harm to raise their heads. We won’t be helpless when facing our enemies. The nation of Israel will always have the most protective and skilled force. Against any threat, from any distance, we will be fortified and independent in our abilities to defend ourselves. We won’t bow our head before any danger that threatens the Jewish people in its land. The IDF is the Jewish people’s answer to the incinerators, gas chambers, the pits and the killings.

Gantz is the son of a Hungarian Holocaust survivor,  who began his military career as a paratrooper.

The Night of Broken Glass

In 1938,  on the nights of November 9 and 10, the Nazis whipped up anti-Jewish riots in a pogrom now known  as Kristallnacht.


During these two nights,    synagogues were set on fire and  thousands of Jewish shop windows were broken.



Ninety one Jews were killed.  30,000 were arrested and taken to camps, a harbinger of the Holocaust.

reprinted from previous years

The Blame Game

Much as already been written about the Muller/Ott race. Although I don't profess more insight than my fellow bloggers, I don't have their hate of Ott/Woodman, and therefore perhaps a more objective viewpoint. First of all, at less than 48/52, it was a close race. Although I keep reading about the money wasted by Woodman, in reality, Muller/Fleck spent an extraordinary sum. In addition to endless oversize flyers, they canvassed Allentown with hundreds of workers for two days. Those couple thousand votes probably cost $25 each. Some pundits feel that Woodman erred in not fielding Allentown candidates, to help bring out the Republican base in the city. I spent three minutes and interviewed that entire base, they did vote. The Allentown Republicans fielded excellent candidates in recent elections, to no avail. Due to the white flight out of Allentown, the closest suburbs, such as South Whitehall, now have a more Democratic composition than in years prior. Finally, lets not underestimate the power of negative advertising in politics. While Muller sent out one negative flyer after another, Ott did not respond in kind. Scott Ott took pride in running a positive campaign. He's a much nicer guy than me.

The Inside Out Of Pawlowski's Victory

I suppose with a 61/39 win, Mike Fleck, Pawlowski's campaign manager, can still claim an overwhelming win. We here in A-Town know better. Michael Donovan, who didn't decide to run until the beginning of summer, was a restrained candidate. He was away for the summer, and didn't begin to campaign until September. In two months, with a little more than $10,000, he took a 40% bite out of Pawlowski. Both The Morning Call and Muhlenberg College did what they could to defend Pawlowski, by not sponsoring their traditional televised debate. Bill Heydt, former two term mayor, told me that he expected Donovan to get no more than 15% of the vote. What's the real message for an incumbent who used a $600 million dollar construction project for his photo backdrop? The message is that Allentown realizes that the arena will be no panacea for the city's real problem, crime, with no real solution in sight. It also says that the Transformation of Allentown is more in Pawlowski's head, than in the perception of it's citizens.

Knock and Drag in Allentown

The Democrats started it years ago in large urban centers. They hire workers, or solicit union volunteers, to go door to door, dragging voters to the booth. Yesterday, center city doors in Allentown were hung with reminders to vote. Here's yesterday's email blast from the local Democratic machine.

.November 4,2013 NEWS ADVISORY PA AUDITOR GENERAL EUGENE DePASQUALE TO JOIN GET OUT THE VOTE RALLY AT MAIN GATE TONIGHT Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale will join local Lehigh County Democrats tonight at their “Get Out The Vote” Rally which starts at 6 p.m. at the Main Gate in Allentown. Local Democratic elected officials, candidates, and community organizers will be on hand to energize and encourage democrats to get as many voters to the polls tomorrow as possible.

With the excuse of voter suppression, we now have the absurdity of no voter ID required.  Combine no ID with knock and drag,  the potential for voter manipulation, if not outright fraud, is overwhelming, with no method of verification in place.

The Morning Yawn

The Morning Call is always sparse on Monday. They compose Saturday, Sunday and Monday on Friday, so besides the Allentown police blotter, there's no local news. The limited space is filled with stories with no time line, like today, on Martin Guitar. Half of this limited local space today is filled with the voter checklist for tomorrow's election. If Monday's papers aren't worth the price, today's deserves a total refund. The voter checklist, all two and half pages, or half the local section, is from last May's primary. Wonder if it will matter?

The Marketplace Speaks

Allentown's experiment in fine dining is over. Sangria is becoming Billy's Diner, and the eloquent rooftop bar at Cosmopolitan was converted into a dance club. Although the club will have different hours and a separate entrance, the restaurant cannot escape it's downward transition. Allentown simply does not have the ambience to support upscale dining. I'm pictured above, in my younger days, at a club in Brooklyn.

Open Letter To Mayor Pawlowski

Mr. Mayor, I don't know if you remember me, Mr. Molovinsky allowed me to use this newsletter to write you before. Maybe you remember, I live in the senior highrise on Union Street, and used to get my prescriptions at the Rite-Aid on Hamilton Street. Maybe you remember, I used to work at the Mack factory on S. 10th Street, but that was long before you even heard of Allentown, much less lived here. Here's my question. I was a union guy and usually voted Democratic anyway, but why is there no one else on the ballot this year? Why are those City Council candidates putting their posters all over town when they have no opponents? I don't use a computer, but my daughter prints out Mr. Molovinsky's newsletter for me. We have been walking up to Hamilton Street and looking at that hockey stadium, holy cow! My buddy, on the next floor, says that you're running for governor or president. I said, No, he's running for our mayor again.

p.s. Mr. Molovinsky took this picture of me a long time ago.

Lehigh County's Opportunity

When Matt Croslis endorsed Scott Ott on Thursday, the politics of old cried pay to play. Muller's henchmen, and their sycophants in the blogosphere, even rumored and fabricated details of the payment. Croslis has now vetoed the very amendments that Ott and the reform commissioners passed at the budget hearing. The IT budget, the same sex health benefits, the crime center, and the tipster budget, are all back. Truth be told, the old establishment which Muller represents, cannot understand independent thinking. In their world, if you're not touting the establishment line, you must be receiving some payoff. It's refreshing to see new people, like Croslis and Ott, assert independence. It's nice to know that the voters on Tuesday have the opportunity to rid themselves of business as usual.

The Donovan Factor

The Donovan campaign has some wheels, not so much as a viable shot for mayor, but it's effect on the contested race of the election, Muller vs. Ott. The Republicans in Allentown are no factor, the six of them may, or may not vote. My guess is that Donovan will get their default vote. The group in play is those Democrats and independents that are disillusioned with Pawlowski. Each vote that Donovan gets, may well be from someone who would have otherwise stayed at home, but now in the voting booth, will vote for Muller. Conventional wisdom has Ott winning in the suburbs, but Muller sweeping Democratic Allentown. If Donovan increases the turnout in Allentown, Muller benefits.

UPDATE: It would be ironic if Donovan voters were to vote for Muller, particularly those who were against the water lease deal. Ott was against the water lease deal, recognizing it as a bad deal, and voted against extending the charter of the LCA. Muller is on the LCA board and voted for the water lease deal.     from an anonymous comment

County Executive Endorses Scott Ott

Democratic County Executive Matt Croslis Endorses Scott Ott for Executive ALLENTOWN, PA – Today, Democratic County Executive Matt Croslis endorsed Scott Ott for Lehigh County Executive. This major cross-party endorsement affirms Scott Ott's results-oriented approach to governance. “My goal as County Executive was to be transparent and collaborative in an effort to put people before politics,” said Executive Matt Croslis. “This approach has been successful in large part because of the working relationship I have developed with Scott Ott. I believe Scott will bring a fresh perspective to Lehigh County and that he will work tirelessly to find new and innovative ways to provide the necessary services of County government in the most cost effective manner. It is my hope that my endorsement will promote bipartisanship and continue to put the interests of the County residents before politics.” "I'm honored to have the support of Matt Croslis," Ott said. “During his time as county executive, we haven't always agreed, but I could always count on Matt to tell the truth, which made it easy to work together with him to find solutions for the taxpayers we represent. I'll continue to work to make local government more sustainable, accountable, focused and effective."

UPDATE: The Morning Call reports endorsement

The New Jobs Of Allentown

J.B. Reilly said this week that the downtown development is bringing 3,000 jobs to Allentown's $600 million NIZ. Between the National Penn Bank, and his other prospective tenants, that figure seems high. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, and considering everything else he's gotten, we can easily throw that in, each job will cost the state taxpayers $200,000.00. Now, this is nay-sayer math, but then again, this is a blog. Talking of nay-saying, last night over 200 unemployed  packed into a center city church, hoping for some benefit from the NIZ. I think a church was an appropriate venue, because that will take a lot of prayer. As I had written in a previous blog post, the new jobs, except for the peanut vendors at the arena, will be white collar, college degree required. This brings us to the photograph shown above. As they demolish the former Gallery Building in the 900 block of Hamilton Street, we see that the steel beams were fabricated at the former Lehigh Structural Steel. At one time, the buildings on Hamilton Street were built by entrepreneurs, to accommodate our prosperity.  Now they are funded by taxpayers, hoping to steal another town's employees.

Bernie's Spin Cycle

Many of my readers also read Bernie O'Hare's Ramblings. Yesterday, I was asked if Bernie was on the Democratic payroll, and I replied that he was not; You couldn't pay someone to carry water that enthusiastically. However, Bernie was good at mixing a little fact, some out of context quotes, and old fashion prejudice, to create his recent narrative against Ott. In Bernie's World, the Republican Chairman and his commissioner wife dispense silver shekels to certain candidates, to produce Judas's, who he also refers to as lapdogs. According to Bernie, this chairman is an evil manipulator, who doesn't allow Republican candidates to run in Allentown proper, to control voter turnout for the county. Bernie even has the local conservative talk radio host not believing the Republican candidate. Yes, the party chairman is wealthy, they often are. It takes a person who is pretty financially comfortable to devote so many hours to something which has no salary. No one ran as a Republican candidate in Allentown because it has become a fool's errand, with the Democratic registration advantage and straight lever pulling. The radio host always uses a devil's advocate approach to interviews. He supports the candidate that Bernie portrays he doesn't believe. Don't believe everything you read on the blogs, unless of course, you're at this site.

UPDATE: This post was edited to clarify that any ethic insensitivity by O'Hare was an  isolated incident.

The Truth In Lehigh County

The Executive race in Lehigh County seems to be the hottest item on the November 5th ticket. It seems that it's being waged mostly by mail, with large colors flyers arriving in your mailbox every few days. Tom Muller has both the upper hand in quantity sent, and the lower hand in negative advertising. He has portrayed his opponent as just an unqualified school bus driver and camp counselor. Although Ott and his fellow Commissioners approved all 15 bridge replacements except one, for historical preservation reasons, Muller and the two Democratic Commissioner candidates raced to bridge, and complained that Ott jeopardized public safety. Here in the blogosphere, Bernie O'Hare has been handling Muller's campaign. Shown above is the Truth Machine that O'Hare insists that Ott submit to. Although Bernie cannot guarantee that the human body can survive the current that the machine uses, he now calls Ott a liar for not submitting to the test. It's a tough year to be a candidate.

Lehigh County Business As Usual

I've never been to the Lehigh Country Club, it has always been the bastion of the local blue bloods. My blogging associate from Nazareth is in his final sprint to bloody the waters against Scott Ott. Although I don't have his affinity for promoting candidates, fairness requires some balance in the blogosphere. Tom Muller's fundraiser was held at the country club. His campaign contributor list is a who's who of Business As Usual in the valley. The big contractors/developers are all there; Butz, Boyle, Marcon, and Perucci. The law/accounting firms are there; McCarthy, Sorrentino and Portnoff. In this world, overlooking the golf course, donations are either $2,500 or $5,000. The voters next week will have a choice between accountability to the taxpayer, or business as usual.

Less Than a Thankless Job

Scott Armstrong has become the teacher's target on the Allentown School Board. He's conservative, vocal, articulate, and not afraid to write letters to the editor, or bloggers, for that matter. The budget game every year between the State and the school district was particularly harsh this year. Although the district always ends up with more than initially budgeted, it necessitates teacher layoffs and bad feelings, before some portion of the teachers are reinstated. Added to the mix this year was a schism between board members with teacher backgrounds, and the conservative members. There's even a Facebook page to vilify Armstrong and David Zimmerman. Further adding to the disharmony, that Facebook page was taken over by a couple who were targeting Armstrong on their infamous long enemy list, before he even considered running for the school board.

I was accosted today in a public venue by an acquaintance who happens to be a teacher. I have known this person for years and said hello as he is neighbor who lives around the corner from my home. While trying to remember his name he said it with the words “why do you hate teachers." I asked him to repeat and he complied. Surprised, I said I have many friends who are teachers and dislike none of them, however I do have a problem with the teachers union as its primary mission is that of a labor union. The conversation went south from there and he wouldn't leave me alone as I tried to purchase meat from a stand at the market. I had to explain to them why he was angry at me. I was on the school board and he was a teacher, I had been vocal about the damage defined payment pensions are doing to public schools. They gave him no sympathy. His attempted explanation that was met with only frowns. Seeing this, he retreated. I told the merchants that this happens to me all too often because I dare to speak for the taxpayers at school board meetings. While I completed my transaction he stood off at a distance, as I walked by him on my way to the exit, he said, “Scott, no one in the neighborhood likes you." This is a public school teacher.                                                                                                                                                             ScottArmstrong

I find the teacher's attitude toward Armstrong disturbing.  This first person account by Armstrong is not an isolated incident.  I have read similar sentiments by teachers who should know better.  Putting aside the Facebook page by the cyber/stalkers/Bullies,  some  rank and file teachers have indulged in the personal attacks.  The school board represents the public and taxpayers, who have not demeaned the members who are teachers.  Why should the teachers not extend the same tolerance toward the  conservative members?

Personnel Change Complicates Prediction

Last month, with assistance from my in house psychic, I claimed that Ted Kohuth would be Allentown's next police chief. Recently, it came to my attention that the psychic was also working for another local blogger, in violation of company policy. She has been suspended, pending a full investigation, and temporarily replaced by a well respected telepathist from the old world. Dr. Caligari tells me that Mayor Pawlowski has now been thinking about Joel Fitgerald, the police chief from Texas, with deep roots in Philadelphia. The blog regrets any inconvenience this change has caused the betting establishment in Las Vegas.

Allentown's NAACP Candidate's Night

Last time I was at a NAACP candidate's night, I was a candidate.  Unlike Michael Donovan,  I really was the independent third man on the ticket, not the relabeled second Democrat.  The evening was rather explosive, because the organization's president, Dan Bosket, asked me to prove that I wasn't a racist.  I had said earlier in the campaign that Allentown was becoming a poverty magnet.  That phrase has now become main stream,  even Alan Jennings uses it.  At the time, in 2005,  it was outspoken and controversial.  Ed Pawlowski was there, running for his first term as mayor, against previous Republican mayor Bill Heydt, and this outspoken independent.  Heydt lost and hasn't been heard of since,  but I've never stopped advocating for the Allentown that I believe in.  Pawlowski spent the night pandering. He looked around the room and said that if he was elected, there was a man who would be working at city hall,  there was a woman that he would hire.  I said that I would hire no black people,  nor would I hire any brown or white people.  Afflerbach, the current mayor in 2005, had just given the store away to the police union, and I thought an austerity program was in order. Pawlowski would get elected, and ignore the problem until this year,  then sell off the water we drink.

Flash ahead eight years, and the NAACP had a  candidate's night this week.  Although I didn't attend, I did sit down with Michael Donovan yesterday morning.  Dan Bosket is still the organization's president. Dan works for Alan Jennings in Allentown's growth industry, poverty.  In addition to Pawlowski and Donovan,  unopposed county commissioner David Jones and Julio Guridy were there.  Despite the campaign signs all over Allentown, the four City Council candidates are unopposed. Things don't change much in Allentown, and I'm still an outspoken independent.

The Morning Pawlowski

Although I subscribe to The Morning Call, yesterday they delivered The Morning Pawlowski. Had Pawlowski's campaign manager published the paper, it could not have been more favorable. Playing on the brand name of the hotel, the headline stated that a Renaissance was coming to Allentown. The subtitle was a Pawlowski quote about epic transformation. Anybody looking for balance or reason in the article would come up empty handed. Marriott hypes their Renaissance chain of hotels for guests interested in discovery. What there is to discover near 7th and Linden Streets is beyond me. Will their guests be visiting the 7/11 store of convenient shooting on the corner?

photocredit:Michael Kubel/The Morning Call/October21,2013

Political Science 101

Local professors of political science have been collecting Tom Muller's campaign flyers. They will be used as source material for future courses about negative campaigns. Each successive 8 1/2 X 11 flyer is more negative than it's predecessor. Campaign manager Mike Fleck told the National Enquire, A man's gotta do, what he's gotta do to win. Muller's business experience has been sanitized. Scott Ott's experiences have been marginalized. Ott's comments as a commissioner have been taken out of context. Muller's campaign is being assisted logistically and financially by the Democratic State Committee. Muller keeps telling everybody that his heart isn't into politics, apparently, neither is his conscience.

Wildlands Conservancy Dictates Park Policy

In the picture above, a representative from the Wildlands Conservancy supervises the placement of the broken dam rubble around the bridge piers. Although this placement radically defiled the aesthetics of the classic bridge, no one from the park department or city was  assigned to overseer the project. This spring the new park director will receive an award from the Wildlands for his cooperation in conservation, and the Conservancy will announce the new projects for the park.

The Lost Beauty Of Lehigh Parkway

                                                                         photography by Tami Quigley

This beautiful photograph was taken by Tami Quigley last fall. This classic view of the stone piers, rising out of the Little Lehigh, has been inspiring photographers and artists for over 70 years. I have picture postcards of the same view. The stone piers are now surrounded by the concrete rubble of the former dam. Although the rapids still provide some sound and view, the portion of beauty and magic has been reduced in half. The new park director may have set a record in park degradation. Although only here for a matter of weeks, before even having seen the whole park, he agreed and recommended that the Robin Hood Dam be demolished. Piling it's rubble by the stone piers is salt in the wound of our lost beauty.

photograph by Tami Quigley

The Sad Case Of Our Park's Future

When I appeared in front of Allentown City Council to defend the Robin Hood Dam, I told them something they apparently cannot absorb, the truth. Although the Wildlands Conservancy had a very professional powerpoint presentation, and expert witnesses, facts at the bridge today tell a different story. Wildlands testified that they would be leaving both ends of the existing dam, and only removing the middle. The entire dam has been removed, from end to end. Wildlands told City Council that the dam was built after the bridge, along with the water monitoring station. That news to the USGS, who put their station next to the existing dam. Wildlands dismissed my claim that the change in water velocity could endanger the WPA bridge. In truth, the consulting engineer doesn't know how deep the bridge piers are, and directed the excavator to place the broken dam pieces around the upstream ends of the stone bridge piers, to protect them from the increased water flow. I have a copy of a drawing of the bridge before it was built, Allentown took great pride in it's beauty. I have picture postcards of the bridge, with the stone piers rising out of the creek, as designed. The pile of broken concrete depreciates that beauty, as do the tall weeds growing along the creeks edge. We have a mayor and a new park director from out of town, with no feeling or affinity for our beautiful park system. We are at the mercy of the Wildlands Conservancy and their grant agenda, with a gullible City Council.

Pawlowski's Halloween Tricks

As we approach Halloween, Allentown City Government amuses itself by playing tricks on it's citizens. The mayor played a good one on me, by not mentioning that the dam was being demolished, as we both were commenting on the arena. The city is getting ready to play a much bigger trick, on all it's citizens. Allentonians of memory, of which there are very few who still bother fighting for this town, remember both the incinerator and sewage plant as problems. While the trash incinerator spewed soot over a large portion of the city, the sewage plant emitted unpleasant orders. In a bizarre Halloween type nightmare, Allentown will soon be mixing it's sewage with it's trash, and burning it to produce electricity. It's an experimental process, because only Allentown decided to permit this hideous plant to be built. Citizens of good intent tried to stop this bad dream at City Council, with no success. In desperation, they produced a ballot referendum, only to have it rejected in court, at both the local and state levels. Only because Allentown has a large minority population, and therefore qualifies as an Environmental Justice Area, the state will now hold a hearing on the topic, never mind that the objectors are all white middle class. The meeting is on October 30th. I don't know if the state officials will be wearing Halloween costumes, but I do know that the meeting is just another trick.

Ed Pawlowski's Secret

Ed Pawlowski and I belong to the same Facebook group, at which we both visit and comment. On Friday I posted a petition to the site, which requested that Mayor Pawlowski reconsider, and save the Robin Hood Dam. The Petition was pinned to the top of the Page, making it impossible to miss. Both the site administrator and myself posted numerous appeals since then, asking people to sign the petition. Mayor Pawlowski has commented several times, on another topic, since the petition was posted. Unbeknown to me, Pawlowski sent the bulldozer Monday morning to tear down the dam. The dam is gone. It would have been courteous for the mayor to inform the group that the effort to save the dam was futile. Rather, he remained silence on that topic, while commenting about the arena, for his own agenda. I can't tell you the horror that the Parkway was today. Robin Hood Parking lot held the large concrete pieces from the former dam, while a large excavator broke them into smaller pieces, for waiting dump trucks. Elsewhere in the park, large bucket trucks parked on the sensitive ravine slope, to string the Christmas display lights. He may call it restoring nature to our city, I call it degrading our beautiful park. The removal is in violation of the state guidelines against dam removals starting in October. Of course a state that encouraged fracking would hardly care. I saw several consequences to the stream that have already been caused by  the dam removal.  Future posts will document those unfortunate side effects. It's a sad week for Lehigh Parkway.

A Temporary Reprieve For The Dam

Although Wildlands Conservancy managed to tear down the dam by the Fish Hatchery, the demolition season ended October 1, providing the dam at Robin Hood in Lehigh Parkway a temporary stay of demolition. Much like the governor Ed Pawlowski hopes to be, only he has the power now to save the dam. This dam has provided generations of park goers with both the sound and beauty which make this section of the park a magic place. I have started a petition to Save The Dam. Your signature would be greatly appreciated, and please consider sharing it with your friends. Thank You.

SIGN HERE

The Vilification of Julian Stolz

For someone so young, Julian has been through the wringer in the last two days. Although he has announced his resignation from the East Penn School Board this afternoon, the storm will continue through the week. I had no intention to write about this, but an off topic comment about Scott Armstrong, on an Allentown nostalgia website, brings me to this post. Although the public complains about school taxes, it can't abide conservative school board members. Although teachers conduct workshops about tolerance and bullying, they want to lynch any school board member who dares question any of their motives. As for Julian, he's a 25 year old man dating a 20 year old woman. Because of his conservative views, his activities from five years ago have now been misconstrued as current events. Likewise, Scott Armstrong has been misrepresented in his dealings with fellow board members, teachers and students. When you write that check out for school taxes, don't blame Stolz and Armstrong.

A Cookie For Old Allentown

About once a year, Mayor Pawlowski gives the boys and girls of the Old Allentown Preservation Association a cookie. Last year, he gave them new historic street signs. Unfortunately, they didn't have much structural integrity, and within 3 hours every one of them was bent. This year we're dressing up the corner where the Association has it's office. Brick crosswalks will be added to 10th and Turner, and the the stoplight and other utility poles will be painted a more historic color. The boys and girls have been good. There hasn't been one peep from them about the demolition of the historic mercantile district, and the construction of the Great White Elephant. More important, they're behaving about the traffic cluster that the arena will bring their way, when all the patrons exit at the same time. I see more cookies in their future.

Tom Muller, Business As Usual

I really wanted to stay out of this election; Trying to keep the barbarians from destroying our history is enough work for me. The first brochure from Tom Muller was a slick 4 page production, touting his business acumen. But it was the second flyer that annoyed the editorial staff here at molovinsky on allentown. In it Muller again portrays himself as the business guru, while Scott Ott is pictured as an uninformed school bus driver. In reality, Tom Muller has been the County's administrator for years, sanctioning an overspending administration. In reality, his motto should be Business As Usual. Meanwhile, covering the taxpayer's back, Scott Ott has been actually looking for spending cuts. Looking for savings is not without consequences. You're accused of wanting to starve old ladies. You're accused of being against the criminal justice system. You're accused of being homophobic. If you refuse to spend $228,000.00 per apartment on renovation, you're accused of being against the mentally ill. Lehigh County cannot afford Muller's business as usual experience.

South Whitehall's Speed Trap

I don't write too often about South Whitehall, actually, this is the first time. I don't consider it a place, just a bedroom community. There's no downtown, there's no old town, there's no nothing, except excessive regulations. They have at least one cop who parks on the concrete island on Tilghman Street, by Cedar Crest Blvd.. He's trying to catch traffic violators, of one sort or another. Often he turns around and chases a car down Tilghman, catching them just before they hit Allentown, in one half block. It always reminds me about the speed trap in Coopersburg, when I was growing up. Does South Whitehall need the money that bad? Lately, I have been particularly annoyed about Smokey up there on that concrete island. Seems as if there has been a wave of burglaries in the township, not reported to the public. The police chief says that it's the media's responsibility to inquire about such statistics. South Whitehall has no problem communicating about every new regulation, think they could warn the public, and get Smokey off the island and patrolling the neighborhoods, looking for the bandit.

UPDATE: I've been informed that identifying expired auto registrations and inspections is the primary objective of officers monitoring Tilghman Street. There is a high correlation between these types of violations and lack of auto insurance. Furthermore,  South Whitehall is one of the few local police departments enrolled with CrimeMapping.Com, which provides the public easy access to crime reports.

The Fifth Estate-Blogging

Occasionally I post a comment on The Morning Call website. Invariably, Future Downtown Arena Attendee comes on to say that I live beyond the city borders and only received so many hundreds of votes in my independent bid for mayor. Last time he attributed my criticism of the mayor's initiative on sour grapes, for having lost the election. Of course there could be no other rational reason to oppose all those enlightened plans coming from city hall. In this town, with one party only on city council, and no scrutiny from the local press, this blog is often the epicenter of opposition. Certainly my associate from Nazareth, Bernie O'Hare, adds a larger voice on some issues. The noise Bernie and I make is eventually heard by our newspaper friends. Although you will seldom see mention of our blogs, they eventually adopt the issues.

reprinted from August 3, 2012

UPDATE: There is a new movie about Julian Assange and Wikileaks called The Fifth Estate. I first used the term on this blog on November 25, 2011.

Saving The Bridge

Allentown and Lehigh County aren't much for history. Last year Allentown celebrated it's 250th anniversary by having someone rewrite the lyrics to the Billy Joel song. The County actually commissioned a whole music program for their 200th, also last year. Believing our history should be more than a tune and a speech, I've been using this blog to advocate for the preservation of our historic structures. During the County Commissioner committee meeting last night, the project manager said that if the bridge is repaired instead of replaced, it might last two months, or it might last six months. Considering that the bridge has endured everything that has come it's way for 189 years, that statement clearly demonstrated that he was never a fair broker for options concerning the bridge. Recently, the Commissioners expressed support for preserving the King George Inn, but noted that they had no say in it's fate. Last night, I pointed out the durability of the bridge, and reminded the Commissioners that they do have the say concerning the bridge's fate. By a 7 to 2 vote, the Commissioners decided that the historic Reading Road Bridge should continue to provide passage over the Cedar Creek, by Union Terrace.

Mayor Pawlowski, Remove These Signs

Last night a very eager Democrat installed signs on city owned property, in violation of city policy. The signs were placed on the triangle at 28th and Tilghman Streets, on which sits the monument to our Spanish American War Soldiers. The same four signs were placed on all three sides of the island. Ironically, two of the signs are for City Council candidates, who have no opponents in next month's election.

Cannibal Valley

During the summer of 1952, Lehigh Valley Transit rode and pulled it's trolley stock over to Bethlehem Steel, to be chopped up and fed to the blast furnaces. The furnaces themselves ceased operation in 1995, and are now a visual backdrop for young artists, most of whom never saw those flames that lit up that skyline. Allentown will now salvage some architectural items documented on this blog, and begin tearing down it's shopping district, which was serviced by those trolleys. As young toothless athletes from Canada, entertain people from Catasauqua, on the ice maintained by a Philadelphia company, Allentown begins another chapter in it's history of cannibalism.

photo from August 1952, showing last run on St. John Street to Bethlehem Steel

reprinted from November 2011

Barbarians At The Bridge

Although both Cunningham and Pawlowski hosted celebrations of our regional birthdays this year, neither cares about our history, nor do their minions. Glenn Solt, Lehigh County's project manager, and supposedly aspiring County Executive, seems contemptuous of our history. He repeatedly claimed that the 188 year old Reading Road Bridge is neither historic or unique. He states that there were 14 such bridges in the county when he began his watch. Unfortunately, for our history, this is the only one that this blog has concerned itself with. When the effort to preserve the bridge began, Cunningham said that if the community wanted to keep the bridge, the plans could be modified; But, by this past Wednesday, Solt was putting on a full court press for a new bridge. Perhaps, he sees the aggressive bridge replacement program as an accomplishment for a future political campaign. Downstream, Schreibers Bridge is now being jeopardized by Pawlowski. Because Allentown allowed the beams on the 15th Street Bridge to rust away from lack of paint, the northbound traffic now uses Schreibers, another stone arch bridge, also 188 years old. Car and trucks now line up for a block to cross the historic bridge. Three weeks ago, I personally informed Pawlowski that an outside stone on the northwest approach had come off, and others were being stressed. When the 15th Street Bridge is closed this summer for replacement, the traffic flow on Schreibers will be overbearing. History is more than blowing out a candle at Agriculture Hall, or hosting a dinner at the Holiday Inn.

The old postcard shows Schreibers Mill from the east. Although the mill has been gone since the beginning of the 20th Century, the bridge in background is still serving Allentown.

reprinted from March 11, 2012

UPDATE: Since this post  appeared in March of 2012, there has been some changes on the political scene;  Don Cunningham resigned his position as County Executive, and Scott Ott and Tom Muller are running to fill that position for the new term starting in January 2014.  Although the Commissioners did grant the bridge a reprieve from demolition last winter, the bridge's future is once again in jeopardy. State guidelines have changed, and bridges with 3 Ton limits are now slated for closure and/or demolition.  Muller and assorted Democratic candidates for Commissioner are using the bridge as a campaign issue, saying that it should have already been replaced.  Missing from their self serving opportunism is any awareness of the historical significance of the bridge.  Because the bridge is not on an official historical register, Glenn Solt actually stated that the bridge is not historically significant.  On the original route between Easton and Reading, it's one of the most historically significant bridges in Pennsylvania, and an icon of Lehigh County.  Meanwhile, downstream, it's sister Schreibers Bridge also faces the 3 Ton State mandate.  Schreibers has been carrying truck after truck this past  two years, including fire trucks, as it provides the detour for the new 15th Street Bridge under construction. It's approach walls have been repeatedly smashed by tractor trailers trying to turn off the bridge onto Martin Luther King Drive.  Both bridges need to be preserved.  The historical significant of these bridges to our community should not fall victim to  blind general state mandates or local politics.

The Future Politics of Allentown's Current Poverty

Allentown's large urban core is mired in poverty and survival. This urban poor environment, mostly hispanic, currently has little inclination toward the luxury of politics; This is why we have a Pawlowski for mayor, instead of a Diaz. The arena project is not on their minds, nor will it effect their lives in any way. Allentown's current middle class, remaining in the outer neighborhoods, have divorced themselves mentally from Allentown's new reality. They have a nice house, with taxes relatively less than urban areas east of Pennsylvania. Their children are grown, and many have moved away, at least to the outlining boroughs. Although they read the local paper and shake their heads about the problems in center city, their streets and quality of life remain quiet, clean and acceptable. Allentown has the problems of much larger urban areas, a consequence of it's strategic location. I believe that conditions in Allentown will slowly improve, not because of any arena or other white elephant, but because a hispanic middle class is evolving. As the Latino population enters it's second generation, a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and other ethnic institutions will steer their demographic into a middle class. In the future, Allentown may well be the leading hispanic city in the northeast.

De Test Scores, De Test Scores

The Morning Call has an article about recent standardized school test scores. Although the article said the scores were not that important, it's a long feature story, complete with charts. Kids in the Parkland averaged 30 points higher than Allentown, at all grade levels. I would hope that the Allentown School Administration does not overreact to these results. Previous Superintendent, Gerald Zahorchak, turned the system upside down, and inside out chasing better test scores, apparently for not much result. Allentown is dominated by a very poor, transient urban core, where English is often the second language. We previously stripped the arts, gym, library and other essentials for well rounded students who enjoy school. Our teachers and curriculum are as good as any suburban school. Eventually, the student body will become less transient and more stable, performing better on these tests. In the meantime, lets not keep turning the schools inside out.

Trick or Trick

When I was a kid growing up in Little Lehigh Manor, Halloween was a real treat. The child centered neighborhood yielded each kid shopping bag after shopping bag of candy at the end of each October. Occasionally, there was a house owner, usually childless, who made the kids perform for their treat. Last night the four candidate had to perform for the public, as part of their application for police chief. Pawlowski made them come to Allentown, sit down together and explain to the peanut gallery why they're the best man for the job. Considering that the public has no vote in their selection, the performance was seemingly for Pawlowski's benefit. Mayor and candidate for everything will make his choice by month's end, just in time for Halloween.

photocredit:Colin McEvoy/The Express Times

Save Our History

I have just started an online petition to save the historic Reading Road Bridge. The petition asks Lisa Scheller, Chairwoman of The Lehigh County Commissioners, to authorize repair, not replacement, of the historic stone arch bridge.  I ask readers of this blog to kindly consider signing. Thank you. Please use this link to access the petition.

Allentown's Pesky Citizens

When you're a transformational leader attempting to share your vision with the rest of the state, it's annoying to deal with those little minds concerned with pettiness, such as the air they breathe and the water they drink. Fortunately for Ed Pawlowski, he has Acting Mayor Fran Dougherty and Mayor In Waiting Julio Guridy to handle those peons. As they line up at the podium at city council, one by one the Guridy-Dougherty tag team disposes of the little pests. The air and water midgets will have to take their case to the Supreme Court, which will hear it in 2021. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the Ungrateful Bastards Of the West End.

I live at 22nd and Allen. 2 cars totaled, finished basement had to be gutted, boxes of personal treasures thrown out, hot water heater damage, 10,000 in repairs, so far. Sewer drain backed up 2 days later, direct result of the storm drains pushing it up, another 2,000 to jack hammer the floor and replace pipes. Next door neighbor's hot water heater is gas and after sitting in in 3 ft of water, almost blew. We were evacuated by the fire department, clean up is overwhelming, stress is unbelievable, but ..............I am an ungrateful bastard! Mary Shimshea

The city will complete it's survey of the storm sewer problem by 2019, and in the meantime keep two rowboats at the West End Firehouse.  Those who line up at that podium should be content with the opportunity to express themselves.  The notion that a city moving forward at this rate of speed can slow down to correct neighborhood problems is selfish.