Morning Call Sleeps In Wheelhouse

In yesterday's post I bashed Bill White of The Morning Call.  I don't think it's fair that I keep bashing him,  so today I take aim at their other columnist,  Paul Muschick.  Paul thinks that the need for big money in campaigns for governor and senator led Pawlowski astray,  and previously campaigning just as a mayor, he was innocent as fallen snow.

He risked the fine public service career he built over decades in Allentown to squeeze people for money he needed to run for higher office.

The FBI needed a starting point and an ending point for their investigation, or it would still be on-going.  When Pawlowski's first appointed park director ordered every item in the PlayWorld catalog for the destination playground,  perhaps that should have been scrutinized. Only when the same director wanted to build a destination water park that would have extended all the way up to Hamilton Blvd.,  did city council finally blink.

No Paul, ethics are ethics... You either have them, or you don't.  This blog has reported inequalities in city hall for years before the FBI investigations. Pawlowski always used city contracts as plums to be traded.

As Scott Armstrong and others have pointed out,  the Morning Call only started reporting on the corruption after the FBI raided city hall.  While spending a decade asleep at the wheelhouse,  they now subscribe to McMahon's premise that Pawlowski was a moral person, driven to aberrant behavior by circumstances beyond his control.  McMahon is Pawlowski's defense attorney, charged with saying whatever necessary to get his client out of jail.  The Morning Call is a newspaper, charged with providing citizens of Allentown with the truth.

When the Morning Call building was included in the NIZ zone, although across the street from that zone,  they became officially compromised.

Readers in the Lehigh Valley seeking some glimmers of truth have been limited to this blog and O'Hare's Ramblings.

Bill White's Whitewash

Bill White was so impressed with his column on Wednesday, that he had it placed on the paper's front page.  His premise was that there are two Ed Pawlowskis... one who championed for the minority community, and the other who let his political ambition get the better of him.  In reality there was only one Ed Pawlowski.

Pawlowski courted the minority communities in the last election because the more informed white community knew by then that he was corrupt.  Meanwhile, some hispanics and blacks were flattered that he was stopping in their beauty salons and attending their birthday parties.  Some who testified on Pawlowski's behalf at the sentencing hearing needed a translator. Although, they can't speak or understand English, they still knew that Pawlowski was a saint?  Last fall I reported on Pawlowski's election strategy on this blog.

Of course all of that is too politically incorrect for Bill White and the newspaper,  thus we now read about Pawlowski's compassion for minorities.

As a commenter on yesterday's post noted, it would be more beneficial to the community if the paper realized that their own shortcomings enabled the Pawlowski era of corruption.

The Morning Call's Mayor

On Tuesday, when Ed Pawlowski was remanded to prison, it marked 13 years since the Morning Call endorsed Pawlowski for mayor.  Before their formal endorsement,  their reporter distorted public opinion in Pawlowski's favor.  When Pawlowski gave a press conference heralding a house for sale on Liberty Street, Daryl Nerl, their election reporter, wrote a glowing article.  The next week when I documented that in reality the house was remodeled at public expense three times with two defaults,  the paper didn't print one word.  That pattern continued for the next decade,  with Pawlowski getting credit for other people's accomplishments, and being excused for his faults.

On Tuesday, the paper was still crediting Pawlowski for the revitalization of center city.  First of all he wasn't responsible, and secondly, it's still a dead zone.

The same reporter, although no longer on staff, was writing copy for Pawlowski's campaign manager  Mike Fleck, when the FBI raided city hall.

He remains good friends with Bill White, and was assigned freelance assignments at the paper so far this month on October 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, and 17th.   Don't expect much change at The Morning Call.

Morning Call photo of Pawlowski misleading council, with this blogger over his left shoulder listening to his distortions

A Pawlowski Story

I have as much, if not more institutional knowledge of Ed Pawlowski as anybody, including the paper.  Although not widely remembered,  I ran as the third person on the ticket in 2005, against Pawlowski for his first term.  The Morning Call repressed my campaign.  As an independent, my chances regardless were very slim...However,  I did have an important message, which was also repressed.  This post is written through that prism.

The Morning Call, and especially the reporter assigned to the election in 2005, were in love with Ed.  The Republican candidate,  Bill Heydt, got less than fair coverage, and I got none.  As a landlord, I knew that thousands of people at the public trough were moving to Allentown and being sponsored by competing social agencies.  I sounded the alarm that we were operating a poverty magnet,  but nobody cared to report that harsh truth.  Today, 13 years later, Pawlowski was sentenced,  and we are now a poor city.

While Pawlowski had defenders until the end, his character was flawed from the beginning.  In 2009, while I was conducing a series of SPEAK OUT meetings,  Pawlowski told the press that I was a slumlord. Although, I never had any violations in 35 years, and Pawlowski knew that I operated in an exemplary fashion,  he knowingly made the false accusation.

A couple years later, he repeated that false accusation outside council chambers to several people, in my presence.  I asked him how he would like it if I called him a corrupt politician?  Although I have never called him corrupt,  the legal system has now made that determination.

Although, this is first person experience with Pawlowski's flawed character,  my experience was not unique.  I understand that many people consider landlords expendable low hanging fruit, but as a blogger over the last decade, a number of people have told me how Pawlowski attempted to debase them.  Those testifying on his behalf today, for the most part, are people who by appointment or career, benefitted from him.  I noticed the total absence of leading business and local real estate people most familiar with him,  who apparently declined to testify on his behalf.

photo by molovinsky

ADDENDUM: Pawlowski was sentenced this afternoon to 15 years, and taken to prison.

A Park Protestor From The Past

`Green' Curtain Blocks Sledding And The View
January 09, 1992|The Morning Call
To the Editor:

Hold your sleds girls and boys! Others, too, on the alert! With the planting of a dense cluster of 60 evergreen trees and the erection of a "No Sledding" sign, creating a veritable iron curtain, the park and watershed people have once again undertaken their repetitive effort of the past 45 years to eliminate a most popular sledding slope in Lehigh Parkway. The motive -- crass self-interest in defiance of public good. The effect -- an impassable barrier and concealment of a magnificent vista of "one of the finest valleys in Eastern Pennsylvania."

Children and adults from the 400 homes with longtime and easy access to the slope and others arriving in cars have enjoyed sledding here after school and into the night and throughout the day and night on weekends. Yet sledding is but one of the attractions of this enduring slope. In summer children and teachers from Lehigh Parkway Elementary School have enjoyed a walk down the slope and into the park for a break from book and blackboard. Birders, joggers, hikers and others on a leisurely stroll engrossed in their particular interest have found the slope irresistible.

For a host of others, this opening into the park after a long stretch of woods presents a charming vista and urge to descend. Interest is immediately evoked by the sight of a mid-19th century log house  and a historic wagon trail leading past the site of a lime kiln to tillable lands of earlier times.

The view takes in an expanse of meadowlands, now groomed, to the Little Lehigh River and up the western slope to Lehigh Parkway North. Indeed, a pleasant view to be esteemed and preserved for generations to come. It was distressing on New Year's Day to see a family and their guests intent upon a walk down the slope suddenly stop in amazement and shock as the closure became evident.

The cost in dollars through the years of the park peoples' fixation on destroying the Parkway slope must be staggering indeed without dwelling on other deliberate depletions. Typically, the placement of the 1991 "No Sledding" sign employed a team of four men with three vehicles -- a backhoe, a panel truck, and a super cab pickup truck, the latter furnishing radio music.

BERT A. LUCKENBACH
ALLENTOWN

Burt Luckenbach was a park activist, who wrote this letter in 1992. Few remember sledding on that hill above the Log & Stone house, but I do. The open hill was located at the end of Lehigh Parkway South, near the intersection with Coronado Street. The Wagon Trail has also been blocked off for years. I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Luckenbach, but like to think that he would approve of my efforts regarding the parks.

reprinted from December of 2017

Another Hatchet Job By Morning Call

The Morning Call,  despite being sued by Marty Nothstein for its previous hatchet job against him, has done it again.  The first dose of yellow journalism centered on a Me Too allegation from an anonymous source.  Although even the alleged victim said no foul, no harm, the paper went with the story anyway.  They now are going with chapter two, demeaning his longterm directorship at the velodrome.  What makes these stories so yellow is that the upcoming election is so near,  and that opinions are formed from headlines, not disclaimers and corrections.

Because of the lawsuit, the Nothstein camp has understandably refused to comment.  Although the story may or may not have some validity on its own,  the lawsuit and election make its publication at this time completely partisan and improper.

If Chris Borick and Muhlenberg College wish their polling to appear legitimate, they should completely disassociate from the newspaper.

Kids Of The Parkway

There were hundreds of us, we were the baby boomers. The neighborhood was built for returning GI's, and the streets were named after the planes of WW2; Liberator, Catalina, and Coronado. The twin homes were wedged between Jefferson Street and the southern ridge above Lehigh Parkway. Now called Little Lehigh Manor, we knew it simply as Lehigh Parkway, and we had our own school.

Historical Fact:
The original part of the school building contained four classrooms, a teacher's room, and a health room. It replaced the Catalina Avenue School which existed in a home near the present site. Lehigh Parkway received national publicity because it was being build as a result of the new neighborhood. Thus, the "Neighborhood School Concept" was born.








Because of the school and the park, the neighborhood was really self contained. The Lehigh SuperMarket on Lehigh Street was within walking distance. Soon, FoodFair would build their first large Supermarket, also on Lehigh Street, which was even closer. Today it has developed into The Parkway Shopping Center. We kids enjoyed our own Halloween Parade and Easter Egg hunt.






Because there were so many of us, Parkway Elementary only went through 2nd. grade. We would take the bus to Jefferson Elementary for grades 3 through 6.

Historical Fact:
Jefferson Elementary used to be a high school, and for years, it had separate girls' and boys' entrances. These entrances were turned into windows at some point, but the exterior of the building still has the two entrances marked.

These were some of my friends from 3th grade. They all lived in the Parkway. Not only were they all boys, only yesterday, 56 years later, I learned the name of the girl I'm holding hands with in the May Day picture above.

Historical Facts from Allentown School District Website

ADDENDUM: other Parkway Neighborhood Posts,
Time Capsule
Allentown On My Mind

reprinted from April 2013

Hyman Addresses City Council

For years I was a regular at city council, advocating for or against one thing or another.  Now I only attend on special occasions, such as Nat Hyman's response to the administration about the fire at his warehouse... He did not underperform.

Hyman gave an impassioned rebuke to council,  claiming he did not receive the option to have his building demolished himself, and that the city was grossly overpaying for the work.  He even had a check with him for what he claimed was the competitive amount for the job.  He clearly resented Ray O'Connell's promise last week that Hyman would pay. Although council president MacLean tried to initially reign in Hyman's personal jabs at O'Connell,  Hyman wasn't having it.

Unless Hyman and O'Connell decide to sit down and come to an understanding,  the discrepancy over the demolition costs will likely go to court...  I suspect that they will sit down.

Local Political Missteps

The week has been dominated by two political missteps... Pat Browne's misinformed flyer alleging that Mark Pinsley owed taxes, which he did not,  and Nat Hyman's failure to get in front of the fire story at his warehouse.

The Browne camp reported a tax lien against a different company that happens to have the same name as Pinsley's business.  The error certainly provides Pinsley with ammunition.  If the Democrat has enough resources to sufficiently exploit the error, remains to be seen.

The political nature of the Hyman situation is less obvious.  Hyman is stating that he was indeed working on getting his building demolished, and that Ray O'Connell was trying to impugn a potential mayoral opponent.  I'm not in a position to sort those assertions out,  but I do know that the public hasn't much sympathy for landlords.

When Neon Was King

During the glory days of Hamilton Street, when it came to neon, bigger was better. No store had a bigger sign than Hess's, and that was appropriate. When the city planners decided to built the canopy, that was the end of the great neon age for Allentown. That structure bisected the building's facades, and the vertical signs had to go. Since then we have progressed into sign regulations. Shopping is not a primary part of the new Hamilton Street transformation. Let's move this discussion around the corner to Allentown's new Hispanic shopping district on 7th Street. Hispanic Shopping District is my designation, not the city's. I call it that, because that's what it is. The street is being managed by Peter Lewnes, who is doing a good job. He's giving facade grants and sign guidance. The buildings end up with a historic look, and a professional hand lettered sign. Although it's neat, clean and presentable, it's not too exciting. Of course the City Fathers don't want too much excitement, as the people from Catasauqua drive in to the new arena. These new subsidized merchants are on a short leash. City inspectors remind them that besides for OPEN signs, no neon is permitted, and it must be inside the store. Now I know that I'm not a paid consultant,  and there's no grant involved with this idea, but how about letting our new merchants put up some neon?How about letting them pursue the same dreams as the merchants once did on Hamilton Street. How about lengthening that leash?

above reprinted from March of 2014

A Wild Ride

No offense to Susan Wild,  but she wasn't exactly a local household political name.  Prior to becoming solicitor in Pawlowski's administration,  most locals virtually didn't know her,  except she did run once unsuccessfully for county commissioner.

In this last quarter alone, she has garnered $1.3 million dollars in contributions in her run for congresswoman.  Almost all that money is from out of state.  They are not contributing because of their faith in Wild, but in their desire to flip the House of Representatives.  Furthermore,  most of those contributions are actually a negative reaction to Donald Trump.

As a local political junkie, I am somewhat offended that our congressperson might be chosen essentially by outside money.

Kline's Island, An Environmental Frankenstein

Today, Kline's Island is synonymous with the sewer plant. It wasn't always that way. Originally, like Adam's Island, it was owned by a family, and had houses. It was the location of the first bridges across the Lehigh, being the narrowest point. Allentown doesn't have a good history with the environment. Besides allowing the Wildland's Conservancy to actually defile our park system with their inappropriate, token science fair projects, we're not much for islands. The sewer plant on Kline's will soon be transferred to the Lehigh County Authority. Far worse for the previous island, we are allowing a company to build a trash to energy plant, which will mix imported garbage and sewage into pellets to burn. This project isn't energy driven, but rather motivated by tax credits and finance. Allentown is the only community which was receptive to such such an environmental frankenstein. The top photo shows Kline's Island in 1939, when it was still an island. Allentown decided that Kline's would be a good spot to use as a fill dump, and filled in the entire western channel of the former island. Please join me in my efforts to save the small historic Robin Hood dam on the Little Lehigh. Believe me, Allentown City Hall doesn't know best. 




above reprinted from June 5, 2013

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 15, 2018. 

The public trash to private cash plant on the island was never built. If it was, it may have been part of the Pawlowski corruption trial. Unfortunately, the small Robin Hood Dam was demolished by the Wildlands Conservancy, and its rubble piled around the formally picturesque stone bridge piers.  It's five years later, and this blog continues to fight against the sacred cows, and for the traditional park system.

Kanye West and Allentown

Dealing with troll like behavior, unfortunately, has become part of the blogosphere. One such person calls himself SPEEDSTR21. He believes that I report on black crime, but not so much on white crime. I tried to explain to him a few times that I do not report on crime at all, white or black.

But, because I did post about the protests by local NAACP and The Road To Pennsylvania (Hispanic group from Reading), surely I must be a practicing bigot. He doesn't seem to grasp that the protests have a political aspect that interest me, but not crimes per se. Although I started deleting his comments,  it doesn't deter him from sending them, usually in clusters.

I hope SPEEDSTR21 watched Kanye West at the White House yesterday. Although West acknowledges that police abuse is a reality, his main message was one of victim mentality. When I attended the Hip Hop Panel sponsored by the local NAACP last year, a theme was that black performers were not profiting from that genre, instead it was white promoters making the money.  I think that Kanye would take exception with that premise. I do know that SPEEDSTR21 squanders his energy worrying about this blog. I do not purport to understand the black condition in Allentown or anywhere else,  but sense that Kanye West has a message from which they might benefit.

Scott Armstrong On Allentown Living

Living behind enemy lines.

 For the past twelve years I have lived in a one party town, in a city complete controlled, top to bottom by the party of which I am not a member nor could ever be a member of, the Democratic Party.I have witnessed this party destroy the municipality I have called home for twenty five years. As a unit they removed, or tacitly approved of the removal of all those whom they suspected of intellectual independence from any and all positions of city power and influence. The media was of course allied with the controlling party and published propaganda instead of news, never questioning anything. Instead they consistently painted a rosy picture of constant improvement and happy faced news stories. As a Republican the Democratic voters made the mistake of electing me onto the school board some time back, this was possible because I could cross file as one of them. They made sure not to repeat the error next time. That was fine by me because the four long years I serve I was treated as a distinct and unwelcome minority. I was subjected to slanders, smears, and mocked routinely. The press routinely misquoted me, allowed hateful accusatory letters to the editor to be published, and the Morning Call editorial page made a special exception to their own rules against personal attacks in op-eds by printing one that claimed "I denigrated the poor" . (The excuse for this slur was I rallied the board to oppose a KOZ approval for a project that would have allowed the conversion of an old mill, in a high crime flood plain to be converted into medium high density residential units.)I could go on.

As "normal" working people we have become surrounded by people/renters who apparently don't work, yet have all the luxuries, plenty of leisure time, and no respect for themselves, their neighbors and/or the the neighborhood. This is what it is like to live behind the lines in a city controlled by the Democratic Party. Abuse and neglect are common and good luck trying to report it, same goes for reporting crime. Meanwhile the controlling forces in this town/elected officials are more concerned with furthering their own political careers( this involves being a good and faithful soldier to the Democratic machine). The end result is rubber stamp voting and government more concerned with virtue signaling.

Less experienced people will point to the current divides on city council and the lack of 100% percent support for the mayor and his initiatives. This is due to the departure of Ed Pawlowski and the resulting power vacuum. The Democrats are now fighting over the spoils and hatching plots to destroy their inner party competitors and cement power for their own Democratic faction. Folks it won't last, soon enough a victor in this mini civil war will emerge and the city will once again have a mayor who will never be questioned, a rubber stamp council, and a press that reports it all as progress.

Friends who visit from the areas outside the city, in places where government is civil, open, bi-partisan and yes...effective, wonder why we don't make an escape to freedom. Move to a surrounding community with a less disruptive environment,kinder neighbors,cleaner safer streets...

They have a right to wonder, after all why would anyone chose to stay captive in a city that doesn't work?

Scott Armstrong

Social Media Ablaze Over Fire

The city spending money to tear down a rich landlord's property is more than some peeps on facebook can take. Doug wrote... Someone please explain to me why the taxpayers are going to foot the bill for a building to be torn down, when the building is owned by Nat Hyman? Well Doug, because public officials have declared that the fire damaged building must be demolished immediately, and that sort of expedited action usually takes the city to implement. A private party would need a week just to gather the necessary permits.

Over the years the city has torn down buildings before, then collected from the property owner, it is far from an unprecedented action. There is however, added fuel to these speculations. The owner did himself run for mayor, and may be less than popular at city hall. I expect that the flames against the landlord will continue to be fanned, both in the press and on facebook.

The Morning Call And Allentown

Yesterday on facebook,  on an Allentown information page no less,  someone wondered what yesterday's post about Bill White's column had to do with Allentown?  Actually,  just about everything.  The Morning Call remains the dominant news sources in Allentown, and especially with no new publisher on board,  Bill White is their voice.  Since the paper no longer publishes editorials,  only White's column now fills that void.

I find it no coincidence that White has no respect for Trump, wrote Monday's column and that all the letters recently were against Kavanaugh's appointment.

Although media bias seems more the norm than the exception in this era,  there are local consequences. For example,  Marty Nothstein was abused by an unsubstantiated claim.  Although totally exonerated,  like toothpaste,  those headlines do not go back into the tube. He has filed a lawsuit against the paper.  Perhaps the paper, in another time with more of a firewall wall between staff bias and candidates, would not have run with such an allegation.

As a local blogger,  I can think of no better calling than keeping my eye on the local main stream media.

Bill White's Pink Hat

I was somewhat surprised when Bill White's column didn't appear in the Sunday paper....  I figured he was too over-wrought from Saturday's vote to write.   His column appeared Monday, and it's about a church based group headed by an ambitious pastor, which is holding rallies to shift the congress to Democratic in November.

they feel religion and faith intersect for them in 2018 and why they can simultaneously claim to be nonpartisan and still tell people it’s imperative that we elect Democrats in November. “We do not advocate for a party,” the group’s website explains. “We are calling for the Common Good. This year, in this election, in these circumstances, the Common Good means flipping Congress.”

Apparently, neither they nor Bill White understand that despite their rationalization, they're implying that they're on a political mission endorsed by G-d.  Bill White has his pink hat pulled down so far over his head that he tries to soften his partisanship with quotes from the Morning Call's political expert, Muhlenberg College's Chris Borick.

While donations to the sanctimonious Reverend Good & Plenty's traveling revival show are through a 503c4,  if you prefer, he can accommodate tax deductible contributions through his supporting partner's 503c3.  Meanwhile, Bill White celebrates Halloween early, with just another anti-Trump piece, costumed as a column on this group.

Weitzel's Water World

Although other accounts of last nights meeting may indicate that the Swimming Toward The Future plan was drowned by City Council, its DNA lives in the new resolution.  Council thinks that somehow, they must get something from the $80,000 study.  It was not done in vain; Weitzel used it as part of his resume to secure his new job in Idaho.  Mike Schlossberg wisely pointed out that a future Council may misconstrue the passing of even a  revised resolution as essentially approving the contents of the plan. The Council will be changing dramatically. Schlossberg will be going to Harrisburg, with Schweyer not far behind. Julio Guridy, and his protege Cynthia Mota, indicated pleasure with Weitzel's Water World.   Francis Dougherty is the mad scientist who will nurture the DNA, until which time the monster can be resurrected. Dougherty is both the former and current Managing Director of Allentown. During his first term, he is the one who brought Weitzel to Allentown.

The politicized Trexler Trust is still on board with Water World. Weitzel's plan was his most ambitious to date. The destination water park would fill the entire section of the park near the Ott and Hamilton Street intersection. That plan should be formally rejected.  A new plan should be created which simply indicates that Allentown will conform with ADA regulations, and strive to open and operate our five swimming pools in a clean and safe fashion.

both pictures from Swimming Towards The Future presentation

above reprinted from May of 2012 


ADDENDUM OCTOBER 8, 2018: This past weekend one of the many congratulations on facebook to Karen EI-Chaar was from former park director Greg Weitzel. Weitzel, who now works in Idaho, wrote that he hopes to see El-Chaar at an upcoming national recreation convention. 

One of my achievements in regard to the WPA was making Ms. El-Chaar, in her former capacity as director of Friends Of The Parks, more familiar with the importance of the WPA in our park system. Ms. El-Chaar is now the new director of Allentown Park and Recreation. Although I'm encouraged that she asked me to reconvene my previous WPA group, I realize that an additional mission must be advocating for the traditional park system, of which the WPA is just one part.

When Ms. El-Chaar attends these groups she will be surrounded by Weitzel types, who think that being a park director is ordering recreation equipment from a catalog, the more the better. Frankly, Allentown's unique park system has been corrupted. We have historical structures, such as Bogert's Covered Bridge, rotting away. We have outside conservation groups blocking both view and access to the streams with weed walls. Although I will continue advocating for the WPA, I will not become silent on the other issues.

Allentown's WPA Watchman

Being a self appointed watchman over Allentown's WPA structures is an act in frustration. Since I started posting about the neglect of the structures in 2008, I have seen nothing of substance done. Actually, besides the steps at Irving Park being rebuilt, I have seen nothing done at all. While rebuilding that small staircase was positive, many negatives occurred in the meantime. The meantime has been over seven years. Also in the meantime, another set of steps were removed from Irving Park. The staircase at Union Terrace is deteriorating to the point where that structure is in jeopardy. The repair to a remaining staircase at Irving was done with a $25,000 grant from the Trexler Trust. In the last seven years, the park department's budget has been over $25 million dollars. The playground at Cedar Beach cost $1 million. Pawlowski has rejected my offer to be a liaison on behalf of the WPA structures. I'm pictured above standing over the former WPA wall, after it collapsed this summer, closing Lehigh Parkway's classic entrance. This city's history and future are tied to our park system and other quality of life issues, not just some private/public new buildings. I know there's no big money or national attention to be gained in fixing an old wall, but we have a responsibility to the things which made this city unique.

above reprinted from October of 2015


ADDENDUM OCTOBER 5, 2018:  On Wednesday evening,  city council confirmed Karen El-Chaar as the new park director. Her three predecessors, all appointed by former mayor Pawlowski, had an identical background...All three were from out of town, and had a masters in recreation. None of them had any appreciation of the iconic WPA structures, or Allentown's traditional park system. That system was a destination in Pennsylvania, and over the years the subject of many picture postcards.

After advocating for the WPA for over a decade,  finally a park director is in place who has an understanding of the significance of these structures in our park system.  As the former long term director of Allentown Friends Of The Parks,  Karen El-Chaar is schooled in both the traditional park system and the current recreational expectations of the public.  Mayor Ray O'Connell made an excellent choice.

Reconvening WPA Group

Karen El-Chaar, new director of the Allentown Park System, has asked if I would reconvene the WPA group I started in 2011. She is interested in cataloging an inventory of all structures built by the WPA, something which Allentown apparently doesn't have.

In yesterday's post, which was written in 2015, I concluded by saying that I was optimistic that Allentown would continue repairing the iconic structures. Actually, that optimism turned out to be unfounded, as nothing more was done. However, I am now again encouraged about the future. Karen El-Chaar does have an appreciation of the structures and their importance in the parks, something which all her predecessors lacked.

I invite my former committee members to contact me, and anyone else interested in this important endeavor.

In the photo above,  El-Chaar and I are standing in front of the double stairwell in Lehigh Parkway.  That structure is in need of repair.  Director El-Chaar will attend our upcoming meeting when scheduled.


molovinsky on allentown is published weekdays Monday thru Friday. Comments are accepted using your name or by establishing a pseudonym. Pseudonym identities remain unknown to both myself and other readers.

WPA, A Work In Progress

On Labor Day in 2011, The Morning Call ran a story about my efforts in regard to the neglected WPA structures, and announced my upcoming meeting at the Allentown Library. Among those in attendance at that meeting was Karen El-Chaar, director of Friends Of The Allentown Parks. Later that year, I took El-Chaar on a tour of the WPA structures throughout the park system. In 2013, I conducted my first tour of the WPA in Lehigh Parkway, in conjunction with Friends Of The Parks. This year, El-Chaar successfully secured a grant from The Trexler Trust, which is currently being used to restore the steps at Fountain Park. The grant is being supervised by Lindsay Taylor, Allentown Park Director. The work is being done by Dietrich Stonemasonry, and managed by parks supervisor, Rick Holtzman.

Although much work remains to be done, it's my sense that all the decision makers mentioned above, are developing a greater appreciation of the unique gift that the WPA bestowed upon the Allentown park system.  I'm hoping that both that interest and work continues this coming spring and summer, especially in preserving the remaining portion of the wall in Lehigh Parkway.

reprinted from October of 2015


molovinsky on allentown is published weekdays Monday thru Friday.  Comments are accepted using your name or by establishing a pseudonym. Pseudonym identities remain unknown to both myself and other readers. Your readership is appreciated.

The Allentown Peanut Gallery

You cannot underestimate the comprehension of readers on social media. My post yesterday on this phenomenon yielded even crasser comments than before. One reader wrote I can't wait until this generation dies off, They've left us with nothing but financial debt and inherent fears. I can only assume that many of the responders never actually read the post, but were responding only to the picture of me with the Trump poster. Apparently, they are so used to memes, a link might be too much commitment for them. Facebook is full of people posting memes all day, and people commenting on them all day. Few understood that my title, Make Allentown Great Again, was a play or pun on the Trump image. A serial insulter wrote, Wow... the guy whose scared of minorities is a Trump supporter. This really is "informed commentary.

In a facebook entry yesterday, Allentown event promoter Alfonso Todd referred to those inappropriately  speculating on the tragic car explosion as the peanut gallery.  The peanut gallery is a good metaphor for many who comment on Facebook. The term originally referred to children who comprised the live audience for the Howdy Doody Show.

Making Allentown Great Again

Last week a distractor on social media accused me of making something up, because I didn't mention someone by name in a post. Another comment portrayed this blog as incendiary.  Perhaps I should outline this blog's raison d'être. I do not publish a newspaper,  for local news I refer you to the Morning Call and WFMZ Channel 69.  I do bill this blog as informed commentary. Although my critics may take exception with that description,  I have been involved with local issues for decades.

Although many people access the net on a mobile device,  the design aspects of this blog are for the web.  On that version a search engine is provided on the right sidebar.  Because the blog is eleven years old,  readers can find a post on almost any local topic of interest.

I am neither diplomatic or politically correct.  Some of my posts may occasionally annoy some people. While that outcome is not my normal intention,  I must confess to having posed for the above picture with that result in mind.

The Kavanaugh/Ford Hearing

Christine Ford certainly delivered yesterday in emotionality. However, as Brett Kavanaugh sharply noted, there is nothing to corroborate  her recollection. Those who supported or opposed the nomination still hold the same opinion.... That is the usual outcome of any 36 year old allegation. 

While using the word performance seems insensitive, what we had yesterday was pure theater, packaged as testimony and fact finding.

Shown above, Tom Hanks preparing for his role as Mr. Rogers.

Hatred Of Trump Bankrupts News

The hatred of Trump has changed the nature of journalism in the United States.  While several years ago certain select media were known for their bias,  now it's become difficult to find an impartial source.  Both CNN and The Washington Post have foregone any pretense of objectivity.  My use of the word bankrupt in the headline refers only to journalistic integrity,  the slanted news may well be very profitable.

While CNN and The Washington Post presented Trump as a laughing stock at the UN,  The Wall Street Journal presented his speech without such editorial comment.  Although he may be both inarticulate and undiplomatic,  he is correct that we have been bankrolling those who oppose our own interests.

Last night 2,499 liberals and one conservative attended the Joan Baez concert in Philadelphia.  After the show, Ms. Baez took a knee and told the audience that they must resist.  Although her sincerity is beyond doubt, I wondered what improving matrix she actually opposes....

A Difficult Promise To Keep

The liberals in Allentown are excited about a new organization in town,  The Promise Neighborhood.  My readers may recall that I broke the news that councilwoman Cynthia Mota works for them,  after she nominated their director for interim mayor, without disclosing her employment.

Normally, I prefer not to express my cynicism about such things, but the Promise Neighborhood is gearing up with a state grant that I involuntarily contributed to.  The new program aims to reduce gun violence by counseling victims not to retaliate.  The strategy hails from Chicago,  and we all know how successful that community has been in reducing shootings.

The plan will be formally introduced to the public on October 19th, and seek feedback from the community.  Hope they appreciate my early commentary.  Although I'm skeptical about their methodology,  certainly the goal is most worthwhile.  I personally would prefer my taxes to be spent on the public school system,  rather than grants to multiple agencies and their separate staffs.

Allentown's Big One

Allentown is like Fred Sanford, waiting for the big one.  Redd Foxx played Fred, a junkman, who whenever stressed, was expecting the big heart attack, which would join him with his deceased wife.

The Morning Call has been speculating that perhaps ADP is the new Reilly tenant that will finally revitalize downtown....that ADP might be the big one.  Reilly doesn't have to count his baby chicks,  the Morning Call does that for him.

There will be more people walking around during lunch hour,  but besides that, don't expect much.  There is no vibe in center city to motivate anybody to stay there beyond their work hours.  Each new building by Reilly has less architectural merit than the preceding blue glass box.

The only excitement will be in the Morning Call articles, describing the big one.

Shootings In Allentown

Over the weekend there was another shooting in Allentown. Funny thing about these shootings, in most of the cases, nobody knows nothing. Nobody hears, sees or says anything to help the police solve these crimes. However, let someone get pushed down by a police officer, then we have videos and testimony against police brutality.

The recent shooting was on 4th Street, but don't expect to see any advocacy groups protesting the violence, or the public's lack of cooperation.


molovinsky on allentown is published weekdays Monday thru Friday.  You will find a perspective and candor here not found anywhere else in the valley. Comments are accepted using your name or by establishing a pseudonym. Pseudonym identities remain unknown to both myself and other readers. Your readership is appreciated.

The Morning Calling

It's getting more and more difficult to justify a Morning Call subscription.  How many times can they write with a straight face that Reilly's new tower tenant is a gain for the valley, when they know full well that the tenant is just being poached from elsewhere else in the valley. .

“When you can retain a Fortune 500 company and facilitate the expansion of a business like this, it’s a huge benefit to the Valley and to Allentown.” 

Reilly's gain is always not just another local developer's loss, but a loss to the taxpayer's as well.  Those state taxes being given to Reilly's debt service are being made up by us.

I don't follow or read the sports section,  I hope that coverage is better.  Meanwhile, Bill White keeps using the opinion platform to write endlessly about the dunking clown, someone should tell him that the fair has left town.

I suppose we should be grateful that we still even have a paper.  Reilly now owns the Morning Call building,  and the operating media company, Tronc,  is entertaining several offers for a new publisher.  When it comes to the majority minority population, everyone walks on eggshells.  The paper wrote today that the man shot outside Dorney Park was supposedly harassing motorists.  Police were called to the scene for that very reason by several people.  A woman previously verified that the man hung on her moving car and smashed out the side window.

Racial Profiling In Allentown

Christopher Fitzgerald, who was acquitted of brandishing a gun at detectives in 2014,  is now suing the county for false arrest.  In an earlier suit which was dismissed,  he also accused the detectives of racial profiling.  Readers may remember that the victim/defendant is the son of the former police chief in Allentown.  The chief was hired after a nationwide search.  The chief's son was then hired by Lehigh County Prison as a guard.  He slammed on his brakes on 7th Street with a car behind him,  and then displayed a gun when the car behind him came alongside.  The car happen to be occupied by detectives, and Fritzgerald was arrested by Whitehall Police in the parking lot of the Lehigh Valley Mall.

In a well covered trial, young Fitzgerald was acquitted of charges stemming from the incident.  He was defended by high power Philadelphia lawyer Jack McMahon,  who would later defend Pawlowski, who had hired Fitzgerald's dad as police chief.

The Fitzgerald had no problem with racial profiling when the father was hired as police chief.  They had no problem with profiling when junior was given a job at the prison. That only happened when the Hispanic detective in the car behind him got annoyed at him waving a Glock handgun.

Yom Kippur 1973

On Yom Kippur in 1973 Egypt and Syria surprised Israel with a coordinated attack on two fronts. 80,000 Egyptian troops overran Israel's Bar Lev defensive line in the Sinai. 175 shells per second rained down on Israel's 500 defenders from 2000 Egyptian artillery pieces. On the Golan, Israeli tanks were outnumbered by the Syrians ten to one. It took Israel two full days, and thousands of casualties, to mobilize. By the time a truce went into effect three weeks later, Israeli commanders had marched within 25 miles of Damascus, and 63 miles of Cairo.

Shown above General Ariel Sharon with Defense Minister Moshe Dyan in Egypt 

This post is a reprint form September of 2012, and has been pre-scheduled on Tuesday afternoon to appear early Wednesday morning.

As Allentown Turns

Allentown City Council was confronted last week by an out of town advocacy group, upset that someone was pushed to the ground after getting in a policeman's face.  The real threat to Allentown was that nobody in that neighborhood would cooperate with the police, even though they were called to the area with a disturbance report.

Allentown city zoners approved J.B. Reilly's new project at 8th and Walnut, a parking deck and apartment combined project.  Of course the only real news would be if the zoners didn't approve a Reilly project.

Talking about real news,  last night Business Matters had their show on Fake News.  After Dean Browning realized that Bernie O'Hare would try to dominate the conversation every time Iannelli looked their way,  he went on to steal the show, having actual examples to illustrate his points.  Mark Cohen, president of the state media association, could only keep repeating that reporters care about their communities, and are soccer dads like everyone else.

Roughing Up Nothstein

Although it may not have been intentional, The Morning Call roughed up Nothstein this past week with a one-two punch.  First they did an article on the Monmouth Poll putting Wild ahead.  That's fair, assuming the poll is legitimate,  but they couldn't refrain from mentioning allegations against Nothstein, which they later in the article revealed have been dismissed.  Besides demeaning a candidate, why keep rehashing any allegation which was determined to have no substaniation?  The second consecutive blow was about contributions to female candidates,  which of course excluded Nothstein getting any equal press attention.

While the second article may have been innocent enough,  following the first,  it gave one candidate a press push over the other.  As a former candidate myself who was treated  unfairly by The Morning Call in 2005,  I remain sensitive about equal press treatment.

Of course now in this era of Trump,  perhaps equal treatment is a passé concept. We're in an era when senators want to hold up a judicial appointment because of an alleged high school groping incident.

Public Policy and The Media In Allentown

In 2005, mayoral candidate Ed Pawlowski gave a press conference at a house in the 400 block of Liberty Street. He praised the renovated house being occupied, as typifying his vision of Allentown moving forward. The Morning Call reporter, Daryl Nerl, wrote a glowing story. I decided to research the property. It turns out that the house was passed back and forth between two low income housing agencies for six years. (Pawlowski had been Director of the Alliance for Building Communities, a low income housing agency). After the six years it was "sold" to a low income couple who defaulted on the easy loan, but also destroyed the renovated house in the process. After six more years, two more agencies, and another renovation, Pawlowski gave his press conference.

At my press conference, also attended by the media, I spelled out the problem; Twelve years, no taxes, two renovations and two unqualified "buyers" attracted to Allentown by these give away programs at the expense of the tax paying homeowners. Channel 69 ran the story, but nothing in the Morning Call. I asked Daryl if he thought the story would resonate with the public? He replied that it certainly would. I asked if he was going to print the story before the election? The story never appeared.

photo: Channel 69, Liberty Street Press Conference

reprinted from October of 2009

Payday In Allentown Arrest

SPECIAL EDITION

The victim who challenged an Allentown Police officer to a fistfight and was restrained and arrested, has already lawyered up. Attorney Goldman and his high power assistant, former local lawyer John Karoly, attended the council meeting last night. Don't be surprised if Allentown ends up forking over some of our tax dollars in a settlement.

Although molovinsky on allentown is short staffed today, this post will be updated later this afternoon.

A Personal Memoir

I'm not sure memoir is a good title, rather than facts and records, I have hazy recollections. Assuming my memory will not improve at this stage of the game, let me put to print that which I can still recall. In about 1958 my father built Flaggs Drive-In. McDonalds had opened on Lehigh Street, and pretty much proved that people were willing to sit in their cars and eat fast food at bargain prices. For my father, who was in the meat business, this seemed a natural. As a rehearsal he rented space at the Allentown Fair for a food stand, and learned you cannot sell hotdogs near Yocco's. He purchased some land across from a corn field on Hamilton Blvd. and built the fast food stand. In addition to hamburgers, he decided to sell fried chicken. The chicken was cooked in a high pressure fryer called a broaster, which looked somewhat like the Russian satellite Sputnik. The stand did alright, but the business was not to my father's liking, seems he didn't have the personality to smile at the customers. He sold the business several years later to a family which enlarged and enclosed the walk up window. Subsequent owners farther enlarged the location several times. The corn field later turned into a Water Park, and you know Flaggs as Ice Cream World.

I'm grateful to a kind reader who sent me this picture of Flaggs

reprinted from previous years

Allentown Is Circling The Drain

When the Allentown Police responded to a report of domestic disturbance this past weekend, no one in the neighborhood would cooperate.  Instead, as they were preparing to leave the area, they were confronted by someone who challenged an officer to a fist fight.  When the aggressor wouldn't stand down, the officer pushed him.

This evening Make The Road Pennsylvania,  a Reading based Latino advocacy group,  will be protesting at the city council meeting.  They claim that "We need to show solidarity in support of ending police brutality.”

Everyone would be better off if the Latino group, instead of wallowing in a victim mentality, concerned themselves with the lack of cooperation and respect for law enforcement,    One of their victim's excuses was that the police were parking on a member of his family's private property.  In more civilized neighborhoods, police responding to a problem would be appreciated.  When a group defends inappropriate behavior,  they only encourage more of it.

Apparently, Allentown is quickly degrading to the point where whole neighborhoods don't respect law and order.  Although this has happen in many large urban areas, at least they have some architectural history,  culture and other redeeming qualities, few of which are present in Allentown.

Hopefully, our elected leadership will not cave in, and not endorse our city's own demise.

ADDENDUM: Although last evening was not a regular council meeting, the Reading group was never the less allowed ten minutes complaint time, and invited to return to a regular meeting. News reports indicate that they tried to connect the arrest to a pattern linked to the tragic shooting at Dorney Park. The public alley was again referred to as private property, somehow trying to justify encountering the police.

Broad Street mural shows just a few of the policemen killed in Philadelphia

As Allentown Turns On Tuesdays

Probably the most wholesome news in a long time was Elton starting off his farewell tour in Allentown.  The concert sold out immediately and set a record for attendance.

The warming station for the homeless found funding this year with help from a Bill White column and a very generous anonymous donor  Just a few years ago Lisa Pawlowski was in charge of Allentown's homeless initiatives.  Ironically, she is now soliciting funds for her husband's legal expenses.

Another police confrontation controversy is brewing, this time in Allentown.  Seems as if another person thinks that he can get in a cops' face with no consequence.  He claims that he didn't like the way the police were talking near children, so he decided to challenge one officer to a fist fight.  Although he only got pushed to the ground for his aggressive challenge,  a protest rally is being organized for tomorrow's council meeting.  These groups, rather than worry about racism and brutality, would serve their public better by teaching civility.  

 Shown above in the postcard was the Lehigh Valley Railroad Station, which was built over the Jordan Creek.  The remaining former train station, on lower Hamilton Street, belonged to The New Jersey Central Railroad.

Firing The South Whitehall Police Officer

The officer involved in the fatal shooting at Dorney Park has been fired by South Whitehall.  He was a rookie, still in the evaluation period.  While that status makes his dismissal a non issue from a legal or union point of view,  it doesn't rest well with me.  Those supporting it cite the fact that he didn't first attempt using less lethal options,  such as his taser or baton.  I think that view somewhat dismisses the circumstance....  the victim had been just earlier on the hood of his patrol car pounding the windshield with his fists.  Tasers have a reputation of not stopping drug induced rage,  which seemed to be in play on that day.

The Morning Call article announcing the firing states that the decision was made by the leadership of South Whitehall.  While the announcement mentions Chief Dorney,  it is not clear who made the decision.  In South Whitehall the leadership is the township commissioners.  New commissioner Mark Pinsley was actively supporting the protestors and local NAACP,  who viewed the incident as racial.

I cannot imagine that the decision to terminate the patrolman does much for force morale.  While I do not outright condemn the decision,  it certainly illustrates what a hard job these officers have.

New Graveside Tears At Fairview In Allentown

In August of 08, after about a year of blogging on conditions at Fairview, The Morning Call ran the story shown above. I did manage to organize a small meeting between the cemetery operators and the public later that fall. Yesterday I received the following comment, submitted to a posting from that period.

Patti from California has left a new comment on your post "New Graveside Tears":

My family is buried at Fairview and 2 weeks ago I visited and was appalled at the horrible conditions and total lack of maintenance throughout the cemetery. I have been trying to reach Loretta or David most of the summer and was told they had taken an extended trip out of the country. (business must be good) They seem to be back now - but still no way to actually talk to them.

My mother is 97 - plans to be buried there with her parents and my Dad. I could cry at the thought ....

I googled Fairview and was led to your blog. Loretta told me in May I could get our plot maintained if I invested in their endowment for $1000. After seeing the total lack of care there, I feel like I would be throwing the money away. What do other people think or do about this appalling condition?

I feel sorry for this family, Fairview may have been a well maintained place when the father was buried there many years ago. I believe the cemetery is in better condition than it was two years ago, but that's not saying very much. I will occasionally revisit this topic, to at least continue a small noise on behalf of these families.

reprinted from September of 2009

Allentown's Fairview Cemetery

About ten years ago, I began searching for the grave of a young Jewish woman, who died around 1900. Among several Jewish cemeteries no longer in use, I searched Mt. Sinai, a small section of the sprawling Fairview Cemetery on Lehigh Street, just west of the 8th Street Bridge. The cemetery is the history of Allentown past, including the graves of Harry Trexler, John Leh, and Jack Mack. As one proceeded deeper into the cemetery, away from sight on Lehigh Street, conditions worsened. As is the case with many old cemeteries, fees paid for perpetual care, 100 years ago, were long gone. Complicating the situation, the current private operator wasn't particularly assessable. In addition to extended family members upset about conditions, the situation was compounded by his refusal, with few exceptions, to allow private upkeep. My early posts on the situation drew response and phone calls from people with no interest in local political blogs; They were just exasperated relatives, with a family member buried long ago at Fairview. After beginning a series of posts, and letters to the editor, I prevailed upon The Morning Call to write a story one year later. The Call's story appeared on August 11, 2008. Within two weeks, the cemetery operator agreed to a public meeting I had organized at a local church. Arrangements were made between the operator and several parties. As with several of Allentown's older cemeteries, the issue of maintenance will be ongoing. This would be a worthwhile project for City Hall.

I have reprinted this post because of some inquiries about the conditions at Fairview. 
  
ADDENDUM: The current operator of Fairview, in addition to operating an on-site crematorium, is actively having new burials in the cemetery. It appears as if some of these new burials might be on old large family plots, which haven't been used or even visited in decades. In other cases they appear to be along the internal roadways, which were previously not considered proper burial places. 

molovinsky on allentown is normally published Monday thru Friday. Comments are accepted using your name or by establishing a pseudonym. Pseudonym identities remain unknown to both myself and other readers. Your readership is appreciated.

photocredit: Lightnin Bug

Ray O'Connell's New Allentown

When I sat down with Ray O'Connell in his office a couple months ago to discuss the park system, I was struck by an offhand comment he made. He had always told himself that if he was ever fortunate enough to become mayor,  he would make every decision in as righteous a fashion as he could.  There was no audience or even a vote to win,  just one gray haired guy talking to another.

On yesterday's post I was struck by a Scott Armstrong comment expressing some optimism about city hall.  O'Connell and some staff members attended a West Park Neighborhood Association meeting, and managed to at least cautiously impress Scott.

A current law suit filed against the city alleges that a police officer was essentially demoted for condoning another officer running for mayor in Pawlowskiville.  Under Pawlowski's too long tenure, city hall became a place of influence, not merit.

When two habitual critics like Armstrong and Molovinsky think that things might be improving.......

photocredit:The Morning Call

As Allentown Turns

The big news this week is that Ed Pawlowski's sentencing has once again been postponed, now until October 23th.  While the judicial reasons for delay has been pretty much explained,  it begs the closure issue for Allentown.  However,  that issue only resides in those of us who are local political junkies,  aka blog readers.

Although I didn't attend the fair this year,  it was supposedly marginal by every account.  At one time the fairgrounds was a valuable parcel,  only remaining mostly intact because control was diluted among so many of Allentown's blue bloods.  Although that breed is dying off, the attractiveness of the real estate has also diminished.  There is however a real estate wild card in the works... with the NIZ.

This blog has noted over the years that the NIZ is written in pencil,...adjusting to the benefit of a small connected circle.  The latest stretch of the law is trading out certain parcels contained within the original boundaries,  for those outside of it. This new machination acknowledges that center city seems to have some obstacles that defy gentrification, so why not harvest the tax benefit somewhere else?

On the subject of state laws such as the NIZ,  I see the probability of the upcoming election making any changes at about zero percent.   Although people remain frenzied for and against Donald Trump, they have no focus on the local scene, whatsoever.



molovinsky on allentown is normally published Monday thru Friday.  Comments are accepted using your name or by establishing a pseudonym.  Pseudonym identities remain unknown to both myself and other readers.  Your readership is appreciated.

Hootchy Nights At The Allentown Fair

Morning Call columnist Bill White had a piece earlier in the week where he lamented that  Bobo the dunking clown was no longer at the fair. Although that's about as funky as it got for Bill in his era,  we older Allentonians remember much hotter nights at the fairgrounds. Up to the late sixties the fair had girly shows. I'm going back to the era of Gooding's Million Dollar Midway and Benny's Bingo. I'm going back to three midways packed between the Farmer's Market and Chew Street. I'm going back to when the fair only started after Labor Day.

I mentioned in one of my previous fair posts that Fred Schoenk and I made and sold printed t-shirts at the fairs during high School. At the Kutztown Fair we were hired by the burlesque show owner to letter a new banner for his show tent...as high school boys we would have paid him for the experience.

photocredit:molovinsky...Black rock and roll review with strippers, 1969 Allentown Fair