Myths From The Morning Call

For a few years I was a regular contributor to the Morning Call editorial page. People often tell me that they miss readings my pieces. I reply that they will only see my name now when I die, or if I get arrested. Beyond the loss to my ego, my banning from the paper has some consequence to the public knowing the full story on several topics.

The public is certainly never told about the sacred cows that the paper protects. They're not told about the Wildlands Conservancy subverting the Wehr's Dam Referendum. They're not told about the relationship between Reilly, the hospital and the NIZ. And they continue the myth that Pawlowski had something to do with the Hamilton Street revitalization.

Ed Pawlowksi’s story was, by the dictionary definition, a Greek tragedy. The essential element was there: A protagonist reaches for the heights but is undone by a fatal flaw. In the former Allentown mayor’s case, the flaw, by all accounts, was hubris. Having ruled city hall as the long-struggling city finally mounted a comeback, Pawlowski wanted to move on to bigger things — a U.S. Senate seat or the governor’s office. The necessity of paying for those ambitions led him into crooked dealings that ended with conviction on scores of corruption charges and a 15-year federal prison sentence. The Morning Call

Pawlowski had nothing, what so ever, to do with Allentown's comeback. The new construction is a result of the NIZ, a very special state law which only applied to Allentown, which allows a developer to use state taxes for his mortgage debt service. The law was crafted by local powerful state senator Pat Browne, and has benefitted his life-long friend J.B. Reilly. Pawlowski, knowing that he no involvement with the NIZ, but realizing that the paper wasn't spelling out the story, decided to ride the misconception out of Allentown, to either Harrisburg or Washington.

Reilly now owns the Morning Call building. The paper is written by a skeleton staff and printed in Jersey City. An aging blogger tells the true story to a select internet audience, hoping that his name in the paper's obituary column isn't forthcoming too soon.

A Supremo Christmas

While I've never shown much enthusiasm for J.B. Reilly's attempt to revitalize downtown through his high end shops, neither has the marketplace. Christmas day, I visited the new Supremo Market on 7th Street, occupying the former Levine's Fabric store. The market was attractive, large, well stocked and mobbed.

There is an old saying that there are more nickels than quarters. I suppose that it should be no surprise that in a city populated by a large percentage of low income people, a well run store geared for that demographic can prosper. What's interesting is that while the taxpayer ponied up a $Billion dollars, so far, for the NIZ, the thriving Supremo costs us nothing. While the Morning Call writes one promotion after another for Reilly's portfolio, there is nothing said about this real success story in Allentown.

Let me provide some history.  Once upon a time,  that was the busiest block on 7th Street. The building was built as a Sears and Roebucks in the early 1950's, using a plan duplicated in other cities. The store did well competing with the three local department stores, and was first to go suburban.

Talking of history, some may notice a new item on this blog's sidebar. It's a picture of a Mack Truck Magazine cover, which was printed each month. I have titled the new insertion, LOCAL HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.  Hopefully, the local political shenanigans will slow down, so I can devote more posts to our rich history.

stock photo from Supremo website

above post reprinted every December since 2015 

Faith Baptist Church (Allentown)

There is a small church on the 200 block of N. 12th Street, which is served by a humble man, Pastor Robert Hargrove. Pastor Hargrove has been ministering to his flock at Faith Baptist Church for over 40 years. Years ago, when I managed buildings in the neighborhood, I had the privilege of meeting the pastor and seeing his concern for others. While his congregation was small, his outreach in the neighborhood was large. In addition to running a summer program for local kids, his church door was always open for those in distress.

While his formal congregation was mostly black, it seemed that most of his outreach helped the poorer whites in the surrounding blocks.

Over the years he kindly allowed me to conduct a few community meetings at the church, on topics such as Fairview Cemetery and the removal of bus stops.

While the large churches with the politically astute leaders get most our attention,  many people in need often turn to the small neighborhood churches, such as Faith Baptist.

The Coptic Church Of Alexandria

The Church and Theology School in Alexandria was established by the Apostle Mark in 60AD. Most of the early converts were common Egyptians who spoke Coptic. Although Christians became the majority before the Arab invasion in 636, by the 12th century they were the minority. The concept of monasteries in Christianity was started by the Coptics in the deserts of Egypt. Currently, the Coptics are threatened by transitions in Egypt, let us pray for their safety.

photograph of St. Marks Coptic Church in Alexandria, Egypt.

reprinted from previous years

A Jewish Christmas Card

Many Jews experience some conflict during the Christmas Season. This is essentially a Christian nation, and to totally ignore that reality could be perceived as rude. Although Abe Simon proudly wore the Star of David on his boxing trunks in NYC, he also sent out Christmas cards to his non-Jewish associates. Simon, in 1942, was the last Jew to fight for the Heavyweight Championship of the World.

reprinted from previous years

molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday, year-round.

Sledding In Allentown

The photograph shown above is from 1958. It was taken in Little Lehigh Manor, the 1940's era housing development located above Lehigh Parkway's south ridge. I had the pleasure of growing up in that neighborhood. In yesterday's post, the hill favored by the kids of that neighborhood was featured.

Other popular sledding hills were in Allentown's west end,  behind Cedar Crest College, and Ott Street, between Livingston and Greenleaf Streets.  Years ago, a bridge crossed the creek by the park office at 30th and Parkway Blvd., with a parking area for sledders by the Cedar Crest hill. The Ott Street hill was closed to cars by the city, as an accommodation for sledders.  None of these hills are now accessible to a kid with a sled.

photo courtesy of S. Williams
molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday, year-round.

A Park Protester 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 (now tenanted by a city employee whose privacy is further enhanced by the closure of the slope) 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 The Morning Call, January 9, 1992

I grew up in the same neighborhood and spent my childhood winters sledding on the same hill. Mr. Luckenbach would also be saddened that the historic Wagon Trail is now also blocked off, near it's exit halfway on the hill. I suppose children, mittens and sledding is too passive a recreation for current park department taste.

reprinted from January of 2015 and earlier

molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday, year-round.

O'Connell Needs To Define Integrity

When former mayor Ed Pawlowski was found guilty, Ray O'Connell told the media "Tomorrow is a new day with integrity, honesty and trustworthiness back in city hall." I'm sorry to report that despite that encouraging proclamation,  city hall in some sense may be worse than ever.

I have no reason to believe that campaign donations or money exchanges of any kind are continuing at city hall,  but otherwise, I must question what O'Connell meant about integrity?

Earlier in the fall I posted about a homeowner on the east side who was being improperly harassed by code to accommodate a neighbor.  I have photographic documentation showing the head of code, Robert Sandt, socializing with the neighbor, and the neighbor allowing code thru his rental property, to photograph their targeted victim's adjoining property, up to the day of the hearing.  At the hearing, in addition to the field inspector, Donald Reed, Sandt himself appeared.  At the hearing the city changed the initial charges, conceding that there was no defect with the homeowner's railings.  The magistrate allowed them to change their focus to a superfluous upright, and claimed that the deck was built without a permit.  Although the judge seemed eager to accommodate the city with a guilty verdict, he was forced to reverse himself, when the homeowner produced the permit from 2002.

The city code department has again filed the same violation against the homeowner, again submitting her to the same harassment.  The field inspector told the homeowner that Leonard Lightner, Community Development Director, ordered the refiling, because he is concerned for her safety in regard to the deck.  While the deck could support a Sherman Tank,  it is apparent that Lightner and O'Connell cannot control their code officers.  Neither Lightner or O'Connell returned my calls on this topic earlier in the fall.

For the first hearing, the code department actually fabricated a printout of permits, showing that the homeowner didn't have a permit for the deck.  If O'Connell thinks that dozens of man hours and falsifying documents to harass a homeowner is integrity,  Allentown is not much better off now than it was before, under Pawlowski.

molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday, year-round.

Allentown Still Needs Lessons On Favoritism

Although Allentown city council has decided to slow down its deliberation of an Entertainment District, Candida Affa still is pushing for the Maingate... "we should have designated areas in the third largest city in the state where people can go to enjoy louder entertainment.”  We actually have an entertainment district, down by the former train stations, in the lower section of Hamilton Street. Unfortunately that district turned into the Gunfire District, giving Allentown national embarrassment for the shootings.

While that district at 2nd and Hamilton has no houses, the new proposed district in the west end is packed with residents. In addition to the senior towers at 16th and Liberty, there are hundreds of residents in the proposed district. This past summer there were already shootings at the Maingate. 

Affa was Pawlowski's biggest and longest standing supporter on City Council. She should consider that her mentor is incarcerated because of favoritism. If she wants to support the Maingate at the expense of Allentown residents, perhaps she could rent the facility for polka dances, and other lower impact events.

molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday, year-round.

Jeopardizing Your House For Ocean Spray

Unknown to Lehigh County residents, one of the reasons Ocean Spray moved here was to avoid costly upgrades to their pre-sewer treatment plant. When you're in violation of New Jersey environmental standards, what do you do, you turn to Donny Cunningham. Here in Sap Valley, we invited Ocean Spray with incentives and called it progress. They, along with the other new bottling industries attracted by Cunningham and LCA, will now jeopardize your home. Rather than expand the sewer treatment plant, homeowners are being forced to block their plumbing safety net, their floor drains. Up to a decade ago, floor drains were mandated by code so that if a pipe broke, your home was protected against flooding. Although nothing has ever gone down my floor drain, I must now block it to comply with new regulations. The thinking is that a drop saved here, and a drop saved there from thousands and thousands of homes, can spare the LCA the expense of enlarging the sewer plant, or building an additional one, and still meet EPA standards. Hell, there's even enough capacity left to invite Ocean Spray. Now, if your hot water heater springs a leak, it's too bad for you.

reprinted from April of 2014

ADDENDUM DECEMBER 18, 2019: While the commercial rates paid by the bottling companies remain attractive to them, homeowners in Allentown and other local municipalities are now seeing their residential water rates double.

molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday, year-round.

City Takes Cronyism To New Noise Level

There is a proposal in front of city council to shelter the Maingate fairgrounds nightclub from noise violations by the LCB. The city would establish a new noise level in what it would deem an entertainment district. The bill is being promoted by Candida Affa, who previously created legislation to effectively shut down what she considered nuisance clubs. Also supporting her effort in regard to the Maingate is councilman MacLean and mayor O'Connell. They are all very wrong.

City spokesman Mike Moore stated that he has heard no objections to the Maingate proposal. I will email a copy of this post to his attention.

I would remind Affa, MacLean and O'Connell that the previous administration felt justified in deciding who were the winners and losers in regard to city bids, ignoring the guidelines that were in place. Likewise, the city should stay out of the bar business, and allow the LCB to exercise its control. There are neighbors who live by the fairgrounds. Just because they tolerate the fair one week a year, doesn't mean that they're never entitled to some quiet.

ADDENDUM: The Entertainment District would also include the Shanty and Ringers,  wedging the residents of the 500 block of St. George and 18th Streets into permitted year round noise.  These other bars were included so that the proposal doesn't smack of favoritism toward the Maingate, which it is.

photocredit:molovinsky

molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday,  year-round.

Better From The Pagoda

When I was a kid growing up in Allentown, we would visit my cousins in Reading. Allentown and Reading seemed very similar, row houses and corner stores. My aunt owned a corner soda fountain. Those Sunday trips were special, because I could sit at the soda counter, eat ice cream and read comic books, to my content. Outside the store, you could look up and see the Pagoda, seemed sorta  magical. This weekend I returned to visit the Pagoda and the neighborhood. While the Pagoda pretty much hasn't changed, downtown Reading is devastated. Block after block is run down, with no revitalization in sight.

While this blog misses the Allentown center city of years ago,  Reading doesn't even resemble its former self.  If you visit, I suggest viewing it only from the pagoda. From that height the city looks as it always did, up close it gets very rough.

molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday, year-round.

The Hypocrisy Of Donald Cunningham

In his latest Morning Call column, Donny Cunningham laments the loss of yesteryear, especially in regard to the trolleys. Cunningham claims that today's millennials appreciate the same things as their great grandparents, such as farm to table food, and walking paths. Actually Donnie, those paths today were created from former railbeds. You cannot get nostalgic about trolleys while you're ripping out railbeds. When I protested Jaindl recently removing the last tracks in Allentown down by the waterfront, there was no objection voiced by Cunningham.

The sorry truth is that Don Cunningham was responsible for numerous attacks on our history. While Lehigh County Executive, his public works director went on a rampage against stone arch bridges. I did manage to successfully fight Cunningham and his staff to save one bridge, the Reading Road Bridge by Union Terrace.

I also note that Cunningham, as former Secretary Of General Services in Pennsylvania, has said nothing about the planned destruction of the historic architecturally rich state hospital.

Here in the valley of political correctness and revisionism, while the Morning Call will print anything from the establishment, this blog will call fouls for the few who still value truth.

photo: Reading Road Bridge, condemned by Cunningham, saved by blogger

molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday, year-round.

When Kahane Came To Allentown

He told the Jews gathered in Allentown that their leaders were spineless, that's how the controversial rabbi spoke. When Meir Kahane came to town in the summer of 1990, none of the Jewish institutions would give him space to speak. Before immigrating to Israel, he had formed the Jewish Defense League in NYC in 1968. He lectured that turning the other cheek was a Christian concept, and that the minimum take away from the Holocaust was that American Jews should own a gun, and know how to use it. His views in Israel about nationalism on the West Bank were much more controversial, and he was jailed there for incitement.
His speech in Allentown was one of his last. He was assassinated later that year during a speech in NYC. 

above reprinted from 2014, 2018

ADDENDUM DECEMBER 12,2019: Although it was 50 years ago that Kahane formed the Jewish Defense League in the NYC area, a resurgence of that group would still be needed today.

molovinsky on allentown is produced on weekdays throughout the year.

FBI Agent On Pawlowski

Yesterday I attended the taping of Iannelli's Business Matters Show. He was interviewing former FBI agent Scott Curtis, who had investigated Ed Pawlowski.  Last time I saw Iannelli, I was a guest on a panel about the NIZ, arguing with Mike Fleck.  Speaking of Mike Fleck, Curtis had some interesting comments about him.  He revealed that Fleck was the backbone of the information and case against Pawlowski, and because of that, he felt that Fleck received too long of a sentence. After the interview, he was asked twice if he felt that Fleck was the real mastermind of the shakedowns. Curtis repeatedly made clear that Pawlowski was in charge, and it was him that called the shots. The most revealing aspect of the case that Curtis disclosed was the sluggishness of the prosecution.  He had to do a lot of the transcriptions and other work himself,  normally done by the prosecutor's office.

For me the saddest question was by someone who identified himself as a member of the city's ethics commission. He wanted to know what could be done to make sure that such corruption never occurs again. Clearly this gentleman doesn't read this blog. I can't imagine the cheery thoughts one must have in their brain to think that city hall is now completely corruption free*.

*By "corruption" I'm not referring to the exchange of money or bribes, but rather a compromise of good ideals.  It can be harassment by an inspector, as I have documented recently,  or misplaced priorities, as in the park department's neglect of the WPA.

photocredit:molovinsky

molovinsky on allentown is produced weekdays, year-round.

Fast Tracking Jaindl Sponsored Interchange

Although Jaindl and two other real estate interests* have only been sponsoring a study for an additional interchange on Rt 78 at Adams Road since 2016, Penn Dot has announced that funds will be shifted to that use,  instead of widening Rt. 22, which has been on the public's wish list for decades.

Jaindl's group has moved their agenda along at warp speed with the help of local state senator Pat Browne, who apparently started lobbying the Penndot secretary from day one.  Although local planners and the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission have been advocating for Rt. 22 improvements for well over a decade,  there hasn't been a peep out their director, Becky Bradley, about the Jaindl group's windfall and the public's loss.  Her comments have been limited to praising Browne about the Rt. 78 improvements.

It's wonderful for our local movers and shakers to prosper beyond their dreams here in the valley of apathy. There is no local paper which scrutinizes such dealings, only a couple of blogs.

*National Freight Inc. and Liberty Property Trust

molovinsky on allentown is produced every weekday of the year.

The Wage Of Fame

As a young man in the mid 1930's, Abe Simon worked summers as a life guard at Coney Island. Girls would pretend to be drowning to meet the 6'5" hunk. The former high school star athlete was recruited to boxing by Jock Whitney, future Ambassador to Britain. Although amassing a winning record, absorbing punches from the likes of Buddy Bear, Jersey Joe Walcott and Joe Louis took their toll on Simon.

Simon's brother congratulates him after going 13 rounds with Louis in Detroit in March of 1941, earning a second shot at the Heavyweight Title.

ADDENDUM: Abe Simon, a heavyweight who fought in the early 1940's, was a cousin of my mother. In December of 2012, I chronicled the Joe Louis boxing era in a series of posts on this blog. I try and reprint a few each December.

Distortion In South Whitehall

“Our vote was transparent and in full compliance with applicable laws, and anyone who suggests otherwise is distorting the truth,” Morgan said in her introductory statement to the packed house. Morgan knows about deception, she has been fooling voters for years.

South Whitehall is the only municipality I know of where voters must wait until the end of a meeting to speak. Commission President Morgan has been playing that trick card for years.

She knows full well that the commissioners were not bound to name a replacement for Mark Pinsley from the same party. Pinsley clearly used his commission seat only as a stepping stone, first running for state senator, and then county controller.

 She has also been cooperating with the Wildlands Conservancy to fulfill their desire to demolish Wehr's Dam, again ignoring the will of the residents.

Starting in the new year South Whitehall will have a new board, save for one holdover. Unfortunately,  the holdover is Morgan. Hopefully the new commissioners will have much more respect for voters than Morgan ever demonstrated.

Pennsylvania Short Changes Lehigh Valley

The state and its local messenger, Pat Browne, have been good to J.B. Reilly's NIZ, but for the rest of us, not so much. Browne and the state announced that interstate 78 will be upgraded, but the Rt. 22 widening is now effectively cancelled. Every day from 4:00PM until after 6:30, Rt. 22 turns into a parking lot. Also put on hold are improvements to the Tilghman Street Rt. 309 entrances. Unless you're an owl, it is impossible to safely enter the highway.

In a recent post I took the state to task for the numerous commissions that siphon funds away from actual improvements to our roads. Last year I took the turnpike to task for removing the toll both from the Pocono exit, charging the entire turnpike full length toll from unsuspecting traveling victims.

While we have one of the largest full time state houses in the country, every few years the elected fakers promise reforms, and then laugh about it behind our backs. I remember when the lottery would reduce your property taxes. I remember when gambling would abate your school property taxes.

I don't know who your state representative is, but if you think that you're being well represented, you're not very well informed.

Wildlands Conservancy's Thrill Of Hypocrisy

Yesterday, was the last day of the Conservancy's Annual Lehigh River Sojourn. The event was well covered by The Morning Call, with both a reporter and photographer on board one of the rafts. The three day event started with a talk by Chris Kocher, President of the Wildlands. The group gets grants during the winter to demolish dams, and grants during the summer to conduct this educational sojourn on the Lehigh river. Last year, Wildlands spend over $250,000 in grant money on just a study, promoting the removal of Wehr's Dam. Their website stated that the Lehigh Sojourn would take place rain or shine, but doesn't explain why. What Chris Kocher and The Morning Call fail to reveal is that their raft adventure is scheduled to coincide with the water release from the Francis E. Walter Dam in White Haven. It is only because of this dam that the Lehigh has a steady flow of water, and that these hypocrites can get their whitewater thrill.

photo of Wildlands Conservancy hypocrites enjoying dam release by Harry Fisher of The Morning Call

reprinted from June 30, 2015

ADDENDUM: This past Sunday, June 5, 2016,  Chris Kocher had an editorial in The Morning Call praising the accomplishments of his organization.  Although he mentions their upcoming river trip this summer, he doesn't use the word dam.  Additionally, although he mentions stream miles open for fish passage,  he still doesn't use the word "dam."  He doesn't mention demolishing a 10 inch high WPA dam, and dumping the rubble around the beautiful stone bridge piers.  He doesn't mention contributing to the largest fish kill in Lehigh Valley history, by demolishing the Fish Hatchery Dam, which regulated the water flow into the fish ponds during storm flooding.  He doesn't mention spending  $259,000 on  a taxpayer funded engineering study, to greatly inflate the cost of repairing Wehr's Dam.  He doesn't mention reneging on his own pledge to back away from trying to demolish Wehr's Dam.   The Wildlands Conservancy remains a sacred cow, allowing people to feel politically correct about the environment,  even if the Conservancy tells a few fibs along the way to pay their own salary.

above reprinted from June of 2016

UPDATE DECEMBER 4, 2019. In an article in yesterday's paper, Chris Kocher brays about getting a grant from Harrisburg to preserve some acreage on South Mountain.  He is using the same Harrisburg connections to undermine the voter's wishes to preserve Wehr's Dam.  While the Morning Call continues to carry water for Kocker and Wildlands, it refuses letters to inform the public about the true Wehr's Dam situation.

Planning Public Delusion In Lehigh Valley

The Morning Call recently shared an opinion piece by the director of the regional planning commission. Understand that we who write blogs such as this, don't suffer bureaucrat speak very well. This particular editorial contained every gimmick in their book.  Needless to say, she conducted the routine survey getting input from all sectors of the community.

The piece's premise was balancing the urban growth with our picture perfect surrounding countryside.  Such successful bureaucrats never let the back room nitty gritty dealing get in the way of their narrative.  While the paper shows a picture of the new construction in downtown Allentown,  the article overlooks the fact that all the buildings are owned by one man, and that we're paying for them.  When she writes about the countryside,  she likewise omits the reality that almost all the farmland is owned or leased by one man, who grows feed corn. In the myth, they're all little private farms, growing the food on our table. When she writes about the need for trails and light rail,  she ignores the reality that the new trails are being made from the former rail right of ways.

Her real job isn't to convey the hard truth to the public, that's my job.  Her job is to delude the public that their future well being is being planned for by concerned leadership, rather than by some nitty gritty backroom opportunists.

A Bastard Blogger And Christmas Lights In Parkway

As dusk falls, cars start entering Lehigh Parkway to enjoy the annual Christmas light display.  In the darkness they drive past the top of the Double Stairwell, built by the WPA in 1935. It was designed as the signature structure in the park. In daylight they would see that the top landing is breaking up, and the subsequent landings down the double stairs are even in worse condition. These cracked landings allow seeping water to undermine the steps below them,  jeopardizing the entire structure.  I have been reporting these deteriorating conditions to the Park Department for six years. While nothing has been done to rehab this irreplaceable structure, the department is actively seeking grants to build another new park, near the old incinerator plant off Basin Street.

As a long time public critic of the former Pawlowski administration,  his park directors may have dismissed my criticism of park policy as political discontent. However, with the current mayor and park director I have a long time rapport, but to no apparent avail.

When I drive through the park I don't see the pretty lights, but a sad situation. I see crumbling WPA structures. I see neglect and misplaced priorities.

photo/The Morning Call

The Devil Of Ocean Paradise

The resort town's boardwalk is partially open during the cold winter months for the hardy of spirit.  The stores that remain open were purchased mostly by middle eastern immigrants, who overpaid for their piece of the American dream in the dying resort.  Their mortgage demands every nickel they can muster,  and their large families are eager to practice their broken English on the few customers willing to brave the boardwalk's cold winter wind.

All their stores sell the same things...  brightly colored candy, souvenirs and small toys designed to make children nag and beg.  Along with the stores there is a strip of game stands, where during the warm summer breezes,  fathers and boyfriends hope to win a stuffed animal.  During the winter, the steel garage doors are closed on all these stands, except for one.  The immigrants with their broken English cannot lure in players, but the Devil can.

Oversized brightly colored stuffed animals adorn the stand. Music from the 70's pulses from one loud speaker,  while the Devil commands the occasional passing man to "show her that you care by winning a bear."  Please don't misunderstand me, he is not Satan himself, but a minor devil.  He can give you a cold, or ruin a first date,  but he has no power over life and death.  Even those he afflicts can purchase redemption.... Inside the stores there are chocolate wafers for sale,  covered with white candy sprinkles.  For a mere $26 a pound, the bad omen can be eaten away.

This minor devil came from Coney Island a decade ago.  Brooklyn's Brighton Beach area started gentrifying in the late 90's, and the dress up spread to adjoining Coney.  Doc, the minor devil, thrived on hearty spirits, but not heady minds.  His move to Ocean Paradise was a win-win.  While the owning immigrant gets to keep almost all the money the stand takes in,  Doc gets to dispense a headache or two each weekend.  He has a room at a nearby old motel owned by the same family, and enjoys the middle eastern food that he has eaten since time immemorial.

If you walk on the boardwalk during the winter, you better dress warm, and not be tempted to show her that you care.

reprinted from November of 2018

Pennsylvania's Plum System

Julio Guridy, Allentown's current longest standing council member, lost the vice presidency of council last night. Last year he lost the presidency, which is the current backdoor to being mayor. With Pawlowski's pending baggage, this could well be the year that a council president moves up, via resignation. However, don't cry for Julio, once Allentown's rising star. About a decade ago, the power brokers in Philadelphia got Julio appointed to the Joint Toll Bridge Commission, with which he has earned close to $100 grand a year ever since, for an unnecessary position, involving very little time.  These positions are political plums, and have existed in Pennsylvania forever.

above excerpted from January 2016

UPDATE NOVEMBER 28, 2019: The 2016 post above was not intended to disparage Julio Guridy, but rather the commission system in Pennsylvania.  A woman in Easton was just appointed to a commission by Governor Wolf, and is receiving congratulations by numerous political types, from both parties. Likewise, as with Julio,  this post is not meant to disparage the woman. Such appointments represent what is so wrong about this state. The congratulations represent what is so pervasive about the system. Wolf ran as a reformer for his first term, but quickly put aside any such notions.  One thing's for sure, nobody will be offering this blogger a no-show commission job for being a good boy.

Another Report At Taxpayer Expense

Allentown received the organizational recommendations from Novak Consulting, a day late and a dollar short. O'Connell's administration had already submitted their proposed budget to city council before the delayed report was completed. Among the gems the report contained was a recommendation that perhaps Allentown should use an outsider negotiator for union contracts. We could have used one of them when Afflerbach gave the store away to the police union.

The report praised the decision to lease the water and sewage department, ignoring the astronomical increase to the homeowners by the recent change to monthly billing. Actually, there were other recommendations out of touch with the local realities. Who could imagine that an outside analysis by a Ohio firm might miss some local flavor?

Perhaps the most inappropriate idea was essentially doing away the Park and Recreation Department, and having public works take care of park maintenance. The Ohio pencil pusher probably didn't know that most of the park budget comes from the Trexler Trust, and that the recommendation would actually cost Allentown several $million in lost revenue.

The report cost $125,000, which would have paid for a city position. City Council virtually snickered at it, suggesting that perhaps a committee be formed to study it. I suppose its best value was providing  material for a blog post.

post card from golden era of park system

The World Of Mirth

Allentown at one time had two very productive railroad branch lines; The West End, and the Barber Quarry. The Barber Quarry, for the most part, ran along the Little Lehigh Creek. It serviced the Mack Truck plants on South 10th, and continued west until it turned north along Union Terrace, ending at Wenz's tombstone at 20th and Hamilton Streets. The West End, for the most part, ran along Sumner Avenue, turning south and looping past 17th and Liberty Streets.

The Allentown Economic and Development Corporation has received a $1.8 million grant, toward a $4 million dollar project, to restore a portion of the Barber Quarry branch to service it's industrial building on South 10th Street. This building housed Traylor Engineering, which was a giant back in the day. Recently it housed a fabricator who President Obama visited on his Allentown photo opportunity mission. The business has since closed, but let's not have that reality stand in the way of grants. Last summer, I fought against Allentown's Trail Network Plan, which catered to the spandex cyclist crowd. The new trail was to be built on the Barber Quarry track line. Not only didn't the AEDC oppose the plan, it's director was an advocate. Now they will be funded to develop that which they wanted to destroy. Where do I begin in Allentown's World of Mirth?

The wonderful photograph above shows the World of Mirth train at 17th and Liberty. World of Mirth was the midway operator at the Allentown Fair during the 40's and 50's. In the background is Trexler Lumber Yard, which burnt down in the early 1970's. The B'nai B'rith Apartment houses now occupy the location.
photograph from the collection of Mark Rabenold

UPDATE: The Barber Quarry branch was not the primary railroad access to the Mack plants on South 10th Street. The branch only provided service to Mack Plant #2 on South 10th and Mack Plant #1 on 7th and Mill Streets which both closed for manufacturing in 1924 in favor of Mack #3,3A,4 and 4A on South 10th. These were served by the Reading Railroad Mack Branch. There was a switchback that connected the Barber Quarry to the Reading west of Traylor Engineering and Manufacturing Co. Yet, that was built by the Reading to serve Traylor and did not provide access for the LVRR to Mack #3,3A, 4 and 4A.

Also the western terminus was not wenz's on Hamliton Street. The branch crossed Hamilton and served several businesses including Yeager Fuel on North St Elmo, several silk mills and Pepsi Bottling at 2100 Linden Street. The bottling plant closed in 1963 which then became a city parks department building. The LVRR sold and removed the track north of Hamilton street in 1969. Accordingly, in 1970, the Wenz company became the western most shipper and receiver on the branch. update information from anonymous comment in November of 2010

reprinted from September of 2017

Newspaper Demise And The Morning Call

Former Morning Call columnist Bill White,  on his facebook page,  linked to a piece in the New York Times lamenting the closing of local papers and its consequences for local news coverage. There was also another column in the Washington Post on the same topic. The Post's column mentioned a couple big stories broken by local papers. The Morning Call was never guilty of that, on the contrary.

The Morning Call, while never breaking a big story, actually was the culprit of several unreported ones, save for this blog. In recent memory, the big missed story by the MC was Pawlowski's corruption. Only after the FBI raided city hall, did the local paper start reporting on the saga. This blog started out in 2007 revealing that Pawlowski really couldn't walk on water, and soon afterwards O'Hare's blog joined the fray, with his considerable skills.

Now, about the Call being the culprit, let me elaborate.  During downtown's heydays, the Call's then local private owner and publisher, partnered with several prominent business owners to operate Park&Shop. When the suburban malls made center city shopping passé,  these owners prevailed upon the city to start a parking authority, buying out their parking lots. Needless to say, the paper never analyzed the public money windfall to connected private owners.

For another example, move ahead forty years and corporate Morning Call, now owned by Tribune's latest incarnation,  had their building included in the NIZ,  even though it was across the street. The corporation sold the building to NIZ King J.B. Reilly,  and outsourced the actual paper printing to Jersey City.  While the NIZ is promoted by the Morning Call, it is never scrutinized by them.

Bill White is correct that those interested in the local news, while a dwindling demographic, would be underserved by the paper's closure.  However, there would no loss of breaking exposés,  if there ever were any from the Morning Call.

photocredit: historic pictures from the Morning Call

South Whitehall Retains Enemy Of The Dam

Public wise, there are not many happy campers in South Whitehall this week. Passage of the large Ridge Farm housing project, at the corner of Walbert and Cedar Crest, has angered many objectors.

Come January, with one exception, there will be a brand new board of commissioners. Unfortunately, the one remaining, Tori Morgan, is IMO Wehr's dam's biggest enemy... Put another way, she is the Wildands Conservancy's best friend.  As an advocate for Wehr's Dam, I had no doubts that it was she who assured the Wildlands Conservancy that their plan to demolish the dam would be pushed through by the commissioners back in 2014.  As I outlined in previous posts, the township is now essentially conspiring with the Wildlands to undue the will of the voters, who had approved a referendum to save the dam.

I'm not very appreciated at municipal meetings. Although I would prefer to be diplomatic,  usually whatever brought me there has me agitated before I stand up.  South Whitehall has a special treat for those who wish to be heard, their courtesy of the floor is at the end of the meeting. By then I must wipe the foam off my mouth before I speak.

The newly elected commissioners (and one appointed) may be having second thoughts.

Journalism In The Valley Of Sacred Cows

Alan Jennings has announced his new program which is facade grants to rental properties in the 200 block of N. 10th Street. The program has also targeted a second unannounced block for rehab. Alan apparently still has his bank arm bending skills in tact, as TD Bank will be supplementing the grants. The big question is what happened to that tide rising NIZ?  When the state tax funded NIZ was approved, it was promoted as promising an improved center city, beyond its 125 acre confines. If this benefit never materialized, what do taxpayers get for our money? Alan was on the original board of the NIZ. If he started this non-NIZ improvement program, he must have little faith in the NIZ's real ability to raise the tide.

The local media, especially the Morning Call,  has a history of sheltering their pet politicians and projects. Ed Pawlowski was kept on a pedestal until the FBI raided city hall.  Articles about the NIZ have been limited to soft promotion, rather than hard analysis.

With the continuing consolidation of the newspaper industry, the Morning Call editors worry about their pensions, not truth, justice and the American way.

shown above the editor's office at the Daily Planet, with Clark Kent in background


UPDATE: The Parkland Press has printed my letter concerning Wehr's Dam. The Morning Call, protecting the Wildlands Conservancy, has ignored my concerns about the township not respecting the voter's referendum in regard to the dam.

Saving The Queen City Airport

When I grew up on Liberator Ave., I would walk up Catalina Ave. toward school, which was at the end of Coronado. The streets were named for the Vultee-Consolidated WW2 planes, and the neighborhood was next to the airport built as part of the war effort. Vultee Street was built to connect the hangers with the Mack 5C plant, which was given over to Vultee-Consolidated for plane part manufacturing. Today this small airport is known as Queen City, and is threatened by Mayor Ed Pawlowski.

1944 was the first full year of the operation for the company's Allentown, Pennsylvania factory. Consolidated Vultee handled over $100M in wartime contracts at their Allentown plant where they produced TBY-2 Sea Wolves, components parts for B-24 Liberator bombers and other essential armaments and products for the war effort.

Pawlowski covets this unique part of our history to expand the tax base. What he doesn't understand is that more housing or commercial space is not in Allentown's best long term interest. Unfortunately, long term interest is not a term understood by our current leadership. There is a whole development of started houses off S. 12th St. and Mack Blvd. which were never completed. There are filled in foundations on 8th Street, also never completed. More housing is the last thing both the real estate market and school system need. Likewise, the existing commercial sector has been struggling to maintain an acceptable occupancy rate. Queen City airport is an unique asset to Allentown. If LVIA does successfully expand, a separate airport for small planes is very desirable for safety. Considering Pawlowski's predetermined objective, I question whether he should have been appointed to the LVIA Board.

above reprinted from 2011

UPDATE NOVEMBER 20, 2019: Queen City Airport ended up being retained by LVIA.  Ed Pawlowski was only finally dislodged from Allentown by the federal authorities.  This blog takes pride in having recognized his schemes for what they were, long before the local politicians or press.

Breaking Some Eggs

I'm afraid that once again some eggs got dropped in the 2007 recipe for molovinsky on allentown. Don't blame this chef if the politicians and newspaper don't always deal from the top of the deck, and I take notice. This blog realized early on that Zahorchak's Pathway to Success was anything but, and apparently responded appropriately, considering his departure before school ended. Along the way, The Morning Call helped itself to one of my reports, and defended the snatch. Those dropped eggs are a mess. Speaking of eggs, one of my favorite posts of the year was titled Boxing Eggs. In that post, I recall working in my father's market, and the ride there. Such posts allow me to introduce Allentown history, and share photographs of that by-gone era. I also promote 95 year old boxers, who fought in the 1930's. Occasionally. I get to combine history and current political mistakes, such as in Saving the Queen City. I also stretch the recipe to advocate, be it for the abused former merchants of Hamilton Street, or the neglected WPA park structures.

above reprinted from 2012

UPDATE NOVEMBER 19, 2019: This blog is in its twelfth year of breaking eggs.  With the departure of Tucker Yarn and Kruper Appliance, the former mercantile district is now completely gone.  Federal authorities have made my criticisms of Mayor Pawlowski now unnecessary.  I do continue to criticize the NIZ, and the Morning Call continues to defend and promote the status quo, whatever that may be.  Speaking of the paper, my opinions are once again not welcome there.  I have changed the policy here on the blog...I no longer accept anonymous comments. Although it has reduced the number of comments substantially,  I believe it adds to the page's credibility.  I will continue with the recipe.  Caution, floor slippery with broken eggs.

9 Years Later At Allen High

Margie Peterson did an excellent profile this summer(2010) on the Allentown School Superintendent applicants. Who finally got the job, John Zahorchak, would have been my third choice, out of the four candidates. Zahorchak impressed the School Board because he was the Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education. Two other candidates had experience in running large inner city school districts; Zahorchak's previous hands on experience was in little Johnstown. Although we're not a large city, we have the large "inner city" problems. Zahorchak's Harrisburg position was a political appointment by Rendell. I suspect the Board thought he would know the ropes in terms of grants; Apparently he does. Allentown is getting a grant of $2.5 million for a few years. To qualify for the grant, the school district must "fire" principals, either in underperforming schools or those who had a position more than two years. One of those to be "fired" is Allen's principal, Keith Falco. Falco is the glue which keeps the lid on Allen. Falco would be charged with organizing a special school for over-achievers. Zahorchak also wants a special school for disruptive students; that better be a big building......

..... I do know that Falco does an excellent job in discipline at Allen High, which needs it. To relocate him to a gifted honors environment seems to be wasting his talent. To do this, to chase a $2.5 million grant for a few years, suggests a bureaucrat who spends too much time reading the Professional Educator Journal.

Zahorchak said if he doesn't raise the test scores in three years, fire him. John (Zahorchak), we don't really want to fire you now, but we don't care that much about the standardized test scores. What we care about is kids walking home from school and not beating each other up. We care about kids being respectful to the neighborhood as they walk. We care about long term taxes, not short term grants.

above reprinted from October of 2010.  A few years later the school board would end up buying out the underperforming Zahorchak's contract.

GUEST UPDATE BY SCOTT ARMSTRONG NOVEMBER 18, 2019: Who could believe the city of Allentown could become more dysfunctional than it already was? Thanks to ASD Superintendent Thomas Parker and the board, it has. They instituted "Restorative Practices" (a policy in which traditional discipline is replaced with empathy and smiles) in the face of a dismal nationwide track record. The result - - in the words of two Allen teachers I spoke to -- has been chaos. And recently, that chaos has been spilling out into the surrounding neighborhoods on a daily basis. Residents are now constantly disrupted by large groups of loud and unruly students. There is daily hookah pipe smoking on the streets, alleys and park; students lounge on our porches, casting litter about and vandalizing property. In the past few months, this disorder has compounded, resulting in more dysfunction. Cars roaring their engines and racing on our streets; drugs bought and sold in plain sight. Dismissals have gone from bad to worse and often every available police patrol in the city is needed just to break up fights and other mob actions. The result is a community with almost zero quality of life during school hours. This new situation is exhausting and frightening residents, becoming an unnecessary drain on police resources, and degrading the students' educational environment.     Scott Armstrong

Democracy Being Subverted in South Whitehall

When Wehr's Dam was inspected by the state in 2012, it was rated "overall in good condition."  We are now being told that it needs a $million dollars worth of repairs. What happen to the dam in the last few years? Nothing structural happened, but it has been submitted to much deception.

In 2014 the Wildlands Conservancy approached the township commissioners with a proposal to demolish the dam at the Wildlands expense. Demolishing dams is one of their general goals, and they make an administrative fee from grants they find for such projects. Because the dam is so historical and unique, a grass roots effort began to defend the iconic structure. Nowhere else can you see water flow over a bridge and under a covered bridge in the same spot. The Wildlands is very connected to the township. At that time a son of one of Wildlands directors was park director of South Whitehall, and the Wildlands helped create the township park master plan, which called for the dam's removal. Because of the public outcry, the commissioners placed a referendum on the ballot in 2016 concerning the dam's future. Because they linked keeping the dam with a $600,000 loan and tax increase, they felt the voters would condemn the dam for them, with no political consequence. To their surprise, the beloved dam survived the referendum. With this unexpected obstacle, the Wildlands then presented the state DEP with a report claiming that the dam has much bigger structural defects than observed by state inspectors. By now the former park director, a son of a Wildlands director, had been promoted to head of the township public works. He and the township made no effort to defend the dam, and have accepted the Wildlands engineering recommendations without appeal or protest. Because of these shenanigans, the current price tag to repair the dam is now a $million, exceeding the amount approved by the voters in 2016.

It is apparently necessary for residents of South Whitehall to once again defend their history. When the referendum passed in 2016, they thought that the cherished dam was saved. They underestimated the arrogance in that township building, and perhaps overestimated the integrity there.

The Wildands Conservancy is a local sacred cow which is protected by the local press.  The Morning Call has been refusing to print my letters to the editor. The reporters have been declining to return my calls.  I have been pressing this issue for the last two weeks because I know how the Wildlands operates.  As soon as they get the green light from the commissioners, their hired excavator will breach the dam the next day.  Our history and that magic spot will be a pile of rubble within hours.

Lehigh Valley History, A Thing of Wonder Gone

The former greenhouse at the current Trexler Park was the pride of Harry and Mary Trexler. The General was very specific in his will about its future;

I, Harry C. Trexler declare this to be my last Will and Testament: ......into the Treasury of the City of Allentown, for the perpetual maintenance of said Park, (Trexler) as well as the Greenhouse thereon located. This bequest shall include all the plants and other contents of said Greenhouse (1929)

Although nobody in charge of Allentown remembers, the greenhouse was a thing of wonder. Full of banana trees and other tropical plants, it was a true escape from winter for all visitors. Its demolition was a project that the Wildlands Conservancy would have loved. The park director at the time touted all the money in maintenance to be saved. He then took that projected money and planted the southeast section of the park along Cedar Creek in natural species. Several years ago Allentown Park Department cut down all those plantings, and we now have nothing to show for our loss of the greenhouse.

Flash ahead thirty years, and South Whitehall Township will demolish another thing of wonder, if not stopped. The Wildlands Conservancy paid an engineering firm to compromise their credibility with an absurd report, on how expensive it would be to keep Wehr's Dam. I will not let the dam go quietly.

Paying For Pawlowski

When Ed Pawlowski won reelection in 2017, it pretty much summed up everything that can go bad in local government. A former prosperous city, whose population shifted to one which is essentially hand to mouth, actually elected someone charged with shaking down contractors to fund his own exit from the city.

I had opposed Pawlowski's scheme to sell the water department, which had been a positive cash flow for the town. Back in the day when Allentown had industry, its water production had been scaled up to meet those demands. Although the industries had faded, the city was positioned to sell its water and sewage overcapacity to surrounding municipalities. In a very short sighted scheme to avoid a tax hike, Pawlowski sold that golden goose to the county water authority. Although residents were assured that their water rates would be constained, that turned out to be one more broken promise. With this water authority now switching to monthly bills with a base charge, the waters rates are increasing exponentially,  especially for those who use the least water.

The hapless home owners who recently saw a huge tax increase, will now also be paying much more for their water. Pawlowski did move on from the city, but not in the way that he had hoped for.

Wildlands Conservancy Reneges On Pledge

Chris Kocher's letter to the editor,  which appeared in The Morning Call on December 7, 2014, assured the public  that the Wildlands Conservancy will respect certainly whatever decision South Whitehall Township makes about the (Wehr's) dam's future.  It was of course just a public relations gesture, knowing full well how much influence his organization welded over the township.  In reality, the Wildlands have written the township's Master Park Plan, which called for the dam's demolition.

When the Commissioners were presented with over 7,600 signatures, actually collected at the dam itself, they felt publicly pressured not to give the Wildlands permission to proceed with the demolition.  However,  they declined to proclaim the dam saved, or grant it historical designation. Likewise,  despite Kochers gesture in his letter, he made no subsequent statement.

The Commissioners then decided to hold a public referendum on funding the dam's repair, believing that the public would never vote themselves a tax increase to save the dam.  Once again they underestimated the public's regard for the beautiful historic structure.

Although Chris Kocher publicly stated that the Wildlands would back away from the dam's demolition if the Commissioners voted to save it, he never has afforded the residents of South Whitehall the same respect.  On the contrary, the Wildlands has written the state, claiming that the dam is in poorer condition than the state inspection indicated. It is now morally incumbent upon the Wildlands Conservancy to respect the wishes of the public, as affirmed through the referendum.  After writing his letter to the editor back in 2014,  hopefully Kocher has the integrity to now publicly repeat his commitment to the residents of the township.

reprinted from January of 2018

photocredit: K Mary Hess

Crimes By The Wildlands Conservancy

photo by Tami Quigley

The top photo shows the Robin Hood Bridge, before the Wildlands Conservancy demolished the little Robin Hood Dam, just downstream beyond the bridge. The dam was only about 10 inches high, and was built as a visual effect to accompany the bridge in 1941. It was the last WPA project in Allentown, and considered the final touch for Lehigh Parkway. Several years ago, the Wildlands told the Allentown Park Director and City Council that it wanted to demolish the dam. The only thing that stood between their bulldozer and the dam was yours truly. I managed to hold up the demolition for a couple weeks, during which time I tried to educate city council about the park, but to no avail. If demolishing the dam wasn't bad enough, The Wildlands Conservancy piled the broken dam rubble around the stone bridge piers, as seen in the bottom photo. I'm sad to report that the situation is now even worse. All that rubble collected silt, and now weeds and brush is growing around the stone bridge piers. I suppose the Wildlands Conservancy considers it an extension of its riparian buffers.

The Wildlands Conservancy is now going to demolish Wehr's Dam at Covered Bridge Park in South Whitehall. The township commissioners are cooperating, by having a grossly inflated price associated with repairing the dam, to justify a disingenuous referendum. Sadly, by next spring I will be showing you before and after pictures of that crime.

top photo by Tami Quigley

above reprinted from August 2016

UPDATE: To everyone's surprise, especially the Wildlands Conservancy and the South Whitehall Commissioners, the referendum to save the dam was approved by the voters in November of 2016. The Wildlands Conservancy and the South Whitehall Commissioners are now conspiring to have the dam demolished anyway, by exaggerating its problems with the Pa. DEP...I have documented the communication between the Wildlands, State and township,  As for Lehigh Parkway, the Wildlands Conservancy should be made to remove the former dam rubble that is despoiling the vista of the Robin Hood Bridge piers.  I have been trying to interest the Morning Call about the voter suppression in regard to the Wehr's Dam referendum.  In today's paper there is an article about the danger high hazard rated dams pose to residents downstream.  I hope the paper's article today is a coincidence, and not intended to serve the Wildlands conspiracy about Wehr's Dam.  BTW,  Wehr's Dam is rated low hazard, because it poses no danger to residents.

Wehr's Dam Conspiracy Against Voters

The South Whitehall Commissioners never expected the voters to approve the referendum in November of 2016 to retain Wehr's Dam, especially when they had associated it with a possible tax increase. They thought that they could accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy in demolishing the dam, with no political consequence to themselves.

In July of 2014, the Commissioners gave the Conservancy permission to conduct a study of the dam, which was intended to justify its demolition. The engineering firm for the Conservancy then claimed that the dam was leaking under itself, at one small spot. On February 13, 2015, the DEP wrote the township; "The Wildlands Conservancy has recently brought to our attention that there is some confusion relating to the current condition of the Wehr's Dam..." For the Commissioners to have granted the Wildlands Conservancy permission to interface with the state was improper. The dam is the historic property of the township residents, not an outside party.

A subsequent study of the dam by another engineering firm could not confirm the above referenced leak. It is now necessary for the Commissioners to put aside their agenda of accommodating the Wildlands Conservancy, and honor the results of the referendum. They must change their Park Master Plan, which still calls for the dam's demolition. They must now advocate for the dam with the state DEP, and correct any misconceptions about its condition.  The reality is that the dam is a overbuilt massive concrete wedge, sitting on an enormous concrete platform, which would stand for another 100 years with no repair.

Although its been over three years since the referendum, the township hasn't applied one dab of cement to the dam. On the contrary, they have been rebidding the repairs trying to actually get a higher price, to exceed the amount authorized by the voter's referendum. They are trying to undue the will of the voters. The dam sits in a state of benign neglect, waiting for the state to accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy and condemn it.

photo by K Mary Hess

Lehigh County's Blue Wave

On Tuesday I ran into Lisa Scheller, who has announced for the 7th district, now held by Susan Wild. If I were her, I wouldn't have been a happy camper Wednesday morning.  I was somewhat surprised by the local blue wave. I figured that the new paper ballot was a good step away from straight party voting. Although there was still an oval for that straight party vote, at least every available candidate could be seen at one time. Supposedly this was the last year for the thoughtless straight party voting option.

Mark Pinsley for controller was hawking himself as a check and balance against the Republican county commissioners. With the solid Democratic victory, both by him and the commissioner candidates, who will watch them now?

The massacre of the Republicans even included Bob Smith on the school board. While Republican Tim Ramos lost for Allentown mayor, I think that under the circumstances, he did surprisingly well. The Republicans did prevail in South Whitehall, 2 out of 3, for commissioner.  However,  that is the county epicenter for informed turnout. I don't mean that in a partisan way, but rather they tend not to ride the waves so much there. But even there, the voters get snookered... More about that and Wehr's Dam in an upcoming post.

photo of Tulsi Gabbard

Voting Machine Madness In Lehigh County

The old voting machines were 800 pound monsters. They resembled old time photo booths found in arcades. In Lehigh County, these heavy steel booths would be trucked and placed in the various polling locations by prisoners of the county jail. When the county was mandated to replace them with  electronic machines for the 2006 election, I felt it was unnecessary. When they immediately disposed of the old machines, I knew that was a mistake. Those old monsters were reliable, foolproof and verifiable.

Governor Wolf has decreed that votes must now have a physical receipt. Although, Tim Benyo, Chief Clerk of Elections, claims that the new paper ballots are not going back in time, it sure seems that way. Some of the old mechanical machines, in addition to tallying the votes, also had a adding machine type of paper verification. Of course the expense of replacing those old mechanical wonders would now be prohibitive. So the new plan is paper ballots, which will then be electronically scanned.

The old mechanical machines were hack-roof.  The current electronic machines are also hack-roof, not being connected to the internet.  Their replacement and disposal will be another knee-jerk reaction.

reprinted from March of 2019

UPDATE NOVEMBER 6, 2019: When you pulled the lever on the old mechanical machine shown above, you knew something was happening,  like pulling the lever on a slot machine. Even when you tapped the screen on the recent previous machine,  it showed your choices, before you tapped it again to count your ballot. With the new scanner supposedly counting your penned in ovals, it's like putting your vote into a paper shredder... There is no feedback or even an allusion of confirmation.  The poll worked did hand me a I voted sticker, but I still wondered if I really did.