Manny Pacquiao Not First Boxer To Run For President

In California these days, everybody walks around with a yoga mat strapped to their back. That certainly wasn't the case in the 1930's, when heavyweight contender Lou Nova studied yoga. Nova was the World Amateur Heavyweight Champion and a proponent of clean living. He won his first twenty two fights as a professional. His promoters said he perfected the Cosmic Punch. Only 6'2", he fought in the era of giants. He handed giant Abe Simon his first defeat after thirteen victories, eleven by knockout. Nova knocked out 6'4'' Max Baer twice. The 1939 knockout is one second away, in the above photograph. Baer himself had won the championship by knocking out Primo Carnera, the Italian giant who was 6'6" and weighed 284 lbs. Baer lost the championship to the Cinderella Man, Jim Braddock. Joe Louis took the belt from Braddock and held it for twelve years, being arguably the best fighter in history. Clean living didn't serve Lou Nova so well with the notorious dirty fighter Two Ton Tony Galento. Galento almost gouged his eye out, putting him in the hospital for weeks. Nova got his shot with Louis on September 29, 1941, but fell in six. Nova would go on to act in movies and even was a write-in candidate for President of the United States. He dropped out of the campaign because his mother was afraid he would catch a cold shaking so many hands. She wasn't afraid of him being in the ring with some of the toughest men in the world.

reprinted from December of 2012

Moshe Dayan

Moshe Dayan on born on a kibbutz near the Sea of Galilee in 1915. When he was 14, he joined the outlawed Haganah, an underground defense force to protect Jewish settlements from Arab attacks. Although caught and imprisoned by the British for two years, he would fight for them in Lebanon during WWII, losing his eye. In the 1948 War of Independence, he fought on all the fronts defending Israel... By 1953 he was Chief of Staff of the Israeli Armed Forces. In 1956 he led the Suez Campaign.

In 1967 he was Defense Minister for the Six Day War. He remained in that position through the War of 1973. Although a genuine hero in every sense of the word, he was held responsible for the initial success of Egyptian forces in the surprise attack on Yom Kippur (1973), and would resign from his position.

Israel is too small of a country and its enemies too numerous, for any miscalculations regarding its security.

reprinted from April 2010

Ezekiel's Tomb

Ezekiel's Tomb is south of Baghdad, in Al Kifl. The tomb dates back to the 6th Century B.C., during the Babylonian exile. Prior to creation of Israel in 1948, 100,000 Jews still remained in Iraq; Today, there are eight.

Last year Hebrew lettering was covered over in fresh plaster, in a process to turn the ancient Jewish shrine into a mosque. Fortunately, word leaked back to Israel and to the Jews of Iraqi descent. That community's history in Iraq spanned 2,700 years, 1,000 years before the birth of Islam. The renovation is now under international scrutiny, and hopefully the Jewish elements will remain. The photo shows Iraqi Jews in front of the tomb in 1932.

Conflicting reports: There are conflicting reports, both about the condition and intentions for the shrine. Here is an article from The Jerusalem Post, dated May 2010, which claims that there has been no damage (recent) to Jewish inscriptions.
NY Times recent article, Oct. 19, 2010

reprinted from previous years

this post was pre-programmed to post on September 16

In The Public's Best Interest

I always snicker when I read that J. B. Reilly's latest proposal has to go in front of this commission or that committee. None of those appointed puppies have ever turned down one of Reilly's NIZ projects.  Shown above is the frame and plywood construction of the Strata Flats building #1. Many years ago when I built a very small four unit building in center city, I was told it had to be all masonry to meet fire codes.

The other day Matt Tuerk praised Reilly's City Center Development Company's completion of the Lanta Terminal. The terminal was reconfigured so that City Center itself could build yet another apartment complex. The compliment bothered me, because Matt may be Allentown's next mayor.  Councilperson Candida Affa followed suit with a comment that City Center gets it done right and fast. Our public officials and the people that they appoint are supposed to scrutinize development and construction in our city.  It is inappropriate for them to hold preconceived ideas that someone always does the job correctly.

Candida Affa was Ed Pawlowski's biggest fan on council, and the last member to concede that he violated the city's trust.  City Center construction may indeed do good work, but taking that for granted is not good policy.

This post is not meant to imply that plywood plaza shown above does not meet current codes. However, in this era of public/private partnerships, it is not in the public's interest to make assumptions that everything will done properly.

photo of Plywood Plaza aka Strata Flats

The Misconception Of Hamilton Street

There's not many mid size cities that can boast having two national chain stores within one center city block, Allentown could. Not too many cities could say that one of those stores was one of the biggest producers in a chain of over 7000 stores, Allentown could. There's not many cities that are ignorant enough to tear down their most successful block, a virtual tax machine, Allentown is. This horrible mistake took a combination of political arrogance and public misconception. The arrogance is well known, so let me concentrate on the misconception. The perception was a few undesirable people, buying cheap things. The reality is Family Dollar sells the same merchandise in their suburban and rural stores. Rite Aid fills the same prescriptions and sells their standard merchandise. The new upscale stores, visioned for the arena front, will never produce the sales tax produced by Family Dollar and Rite Aid. The arena will never have that amount of employees, nor produce that much earned income.* The traffic congestion and lack of parking for arena events will destroy the new restaurants. Welcome to the white elephant, welcome to the ghost town.
Shown above and below is the early morning delivery to Family Dollar, every week of the year.
*sales tax and earned income currently going to city and state will now go to debt service for arena
reprinted from December 5, 2011

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 8, 2019: While The Morning Call promotes Allentown's new NIZ zone, only this blogger documented the reality of the former Hamilton Street. While the Moravian Book Store could have been restocked from a small hand basket once a month, the previous Family Dollar Store needed a full tractor trailer every Sunday.  Retail is virtually destroyed on Hamilton Street. Over seven years later, and the Morning Call is still deceiving about Hamilton Street, and this blog is still delivering the truth.

City Hall Insults The Neighborhood

This is a post which I spend a week trying not to write. It is a story of favoritism and abuse of power. About four years ago a homeowner, in a quiet south side neighborhood, moved out and rented the house to his brother. Under Allentown regulations this property hence became a rental property, and subject to license and inspection procedures. As it turns out, these brothers are childhood friends with an Allentown inspector. The second brother, the tenant, has been disruptive in the neighborhood by every criterion relevant to code enforcement. The property became unkempt and subject of numerous police calls, including the SWAT team. All calls for relief from surrounding properties seemed to end up with the family's inspector friend, and brought no relief from the problems. Allentown has been very pro-active with problem properties. In the first eight months of 2010, 342 properties received orange tags, forcing the property to be vacated. Most tags were issued for problems significantly more minor than those occurring in the subject of this post. This past October, the bank foreclosed on the property. The tenant legally became a squatter. A neighbor's complaint resulted in another inspector discovering that the bank owned property was an unregistered rental, and he issued a 30 day to vacate tag for illegal occupancy. It appeared that finally the neighbors would get relief from the trash, noise and police calls. The childhood friend inspector intervened, and the 30 day notice was never enforced. My efforts with the inspector on behalf of the other property owners (including myself) were to no avail. I have spent the week documenting the problem up the chain of command, right to the Mayor's office. Although the property is in gross violation of code, the illegal tenant is allowed to remain. Although in the last eight months police have surrounded the property several times in complete violation of the disruptive tenant ordinance, the occupant remains. In typical City Hall fashion, they have circled the wagons around the inspector, around their own. They are now actually trying to work with the bank and make him the homeowner. The top photo is the back yard on May 9, 2011, with years worth of garbage. You will be happy to know that a city contractor has now been hired to clean the property and cut the grass, at your expense. The City's course of action is a total insult to the neighbors. I did see some inspectors today, they were walking around my property. 

UPDATE: I understand that the occupant is a disabled US Veteran so that may have played into the equation. City Official June 16, 2:02pm Mr. XXXX, I understand that he is a disabled veteran. I don't know if you have received all my emails, first to the inspector, then XXXX, then XXXX. Two years ago I had to treat his unattended green swimming pool with bleach, (because the city complaint was repressed) last year I had to paint his totally peeled porch.... He has no legal basis in that house whatsoever..... Frankly, the situation is an outrage. You may want to check the police reports. Twice police have surrounded the house in the last 8 months alone... Is this social work or code enforcement? Michael Molovinsky p.s.. he is not physically disabled, and I don't know if his mental health issues are military related, nor is it relevant to code enforcement. I do know that he is family friends with an inspector who has put myself and other neighbors off for years. He is the same inspector who has issued hundreds of orange tags to other properties in the same period for much less problems. Being a disabled veteran is not the reason for this favoritism, but the excuse now being used. I have no doubt that at least some of the hundreds and hundreds of units vacated by the same inspector, also housed a few disabled veterans.

above reprinted from June of 2011

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 13, 2021: During the Pawlowski regime, city code enforcement was weaponized.  As both a landlord and blogger, I took on substantial personal risk to expose the Pawlowski regime for its corruption.  While the Morning Call borrowed some my other blog posts without attribution, they never once used ones about city hall shenanigans...That's why Pawlowski got away with things for so long. 

I'd like to tell you that city hall is completely cleaned up, but it isn't. Just two years ago I had to defend an east side woman from code abuse. While things are certainly better at city hall, it's still filled with people who were appointed and promoted during Pawlowski's three terms. While there's still a residual arrogance of power there, I'm hopeful for a more accountable city hall as time passes.  

Although the years have slowed this blog down somewhat, I'm still on patrol.

Morning Call Pushing Pinsley

The Morning Call editors continue to publicize Mark Pinsley, trying to help him fulfill his current quest to become a state senator.  They are currently using bold type for Pinsley's name on his letter to the editor, featuring it on their digital version. Normally those blocks do not contain a letter writer's name, much less in bold type, normally reserved only for a reporter's by-line.   

There's only two constants at the Morning Call anymore...A local political agenda, and the silence of the former and remaining staff. While a recently departed reporter told me that she was free to write what she chose,  she still put out the company line, even through she was being shown the door. I suppose even those recommendation letters have a price.

A Good Vote For The Wrong Reason

On Wednesday night Cynthia Mota made a good vote for the wrong reason. When voting for Charles Roca as the new police chief she said “We need our leaders to look like the people they’re serving and Chief Roca reflects that..." When a city puts color or ethnicity first before competence, it's compromising the best results for the citizens. 

This time for Cynthia Mota the result was good, which is more than can be said for many of her votes. During the Pawlowski corruption rampage, her first vote as a council person was for a private company to import garbage to Allentown, which they wanted to mix with sewage and burn for energy. Fortunately, that plant was never built because of funding shortages. She also nominated Hasshan Batts for replacement mayor after Pawlowski's resignation, without revealing that she worked for him. That conflict of interest story was first broken on this blog, and used by the Morning Call without attribution.

Roca appears to be an excellent choice for new chief. A Dieruff graduate, he rose through the department ranks. He's taking the top post for a very hardscrabble job. It burnt out his predecessor, who moved away to Mayberry. I for one will be giving the new chief latitude. I won't be looking at short term crime reports, but instead for long term trends.

photocredit:Wanda Genao de Salas

Violence And Tooth Fairies

When this blog first began in 2007, I would write about the poverty magnet.  Those bureaucrats and agencies set up to assist the poor managed to attract a lot of clients to Allentown. They offered free move in money and were very successful in their mission.... Allentown is now officially impoverished.  In addition to the poverty industry, we now have graduated into the violence industry.

We are told that if we redirect some of our policing funds to those agencies set up to combat violence, we will reduce crime in the community.  I will leave details of the program to those woke enough to believe in such notions.  However,  they might want to consider that despite spending $155 million dollars on such programs, Philadelphia had 500 killed from its 2,200 shootings last year.

Although I write about things which are thought about by many but left unsaid by most, I have no delusions about effecting change.  However, I will note that many who care about quality of life issues have already moved out of Dodge. 

artwork by Mark Beyer

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 plant and Traylor Engineering on South 10th, and continued west until it turned north toward Union Terrace, last ending at Wenz's tombstone at 20th and Hamilton Streets. (years earlier it crossed Hamilton St. to the former bottling plant in the park dept. garage) The West End, for the most part, ran along Sumner Avenue, turning south and looping past 17th and Liberty Streets, ending near 12th St.

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. 

reprinted from 2010

photograph from the collection of Mark Rabenold

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.

reprinted from September of 2018

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

Wildlands Conservancy Takes Over South Whitehall Township

When the Wildands Conservancy placed the son of their Chief Financial Officer as park director about a decade ago, they never imagined that they would actually officially take over the township.  At that time the township was still being professionally managed, and positions were filled by job searches.  In the ensuing years, mostly under the leadership of Tori Morgan,  loyalty and obedience replaced professionalism.  When one director moved on, his assistance was moved up. When that person moved on, perhaps his secretary would then be appointed director.

Former park director Randy Cope, who morphed into public works director, is now the new township manager.  His father's Wildlands Conservancy was given the Greenway Project contract.  Their  deceitful backchannel communication with the state, trying to condemn Wehr's Dam financially,  has turned that $50k repair into an unnecessary $750k capital project. Cope never defended the dam's structural integrity, although he knows how massively overbuilt it is. In my world, rather than being promoted, he should have been fired.

I was hoping that with a couple new commissioners, and more to come, that South Whitehall was turning the corner from the Morgan era.

A new facebook friend on Allentown Chronicles suggested that I befriend both candidates for Allentown mayor, in order to help my WPA advocacy.  Although the advice is sound, she doesn't know me or this blog very well.  Likewise, although I was encouraged about the new faces on the South Whitehall dais,  their poor decisions will be front and center here.

ADDENDUM: I'm shown above at Wehr's Dam in 2014, when I started the fight to save the dam. At that time the commissioners were more than willing to accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy and allow them to demolish the historic dam,  which was already a destination for over 100 years and the reason that Covered Bridge Park was created.  That 2014 fight resulted in the 2016 dam referendum, which the commissioners never expected to pass. It took me five years to get the Morning Call to write about the damn dam story, and then rather than report what really happened, they instead whitewashed what had occurred. 

The Great Allentown Fair

The Morning Call website is hosting an archive of Fair Pictures from over the years. Being a fan both of fair pictures and black and white photography, looking at the 111 photos presented was a treat.

The photo shown above, which I will get back to, reminded me of one of my unique fair experiences. In previous posts, I have discussed that both my father and myself had stands at the fair. While my father learned that you couldn't sell hotdogs near Yocco's, I learned that drunks leaving the beer garden loved to buy printed T-shirts.

But today's post has to with George Kistler, long time City Clerk during the 1950's and 60's. George loved the fair, and loved sharing his fascination with a large group of people. I was fortunate enough to be invited several times. The routine was always the same; Dinner at a local stand on the eastern side of the fairgrounds, followed by the wrestling show. I remember photographing Andre The Giant.

The Morning Call fair picture above is none other than Jim "Super Fly" Snuka, who was recently back in Allentown, for a most regrettable reason.

reprinted from September of 2016

The Mighty Atom

Years ago at the Allentown Fair, as one would push through a sea of carney delusion, tucked back by the 4H animals was an island of reality. There, in an old battered truck, an ancient Jewish strongman performed incredible feats of strength, to sell only homemade kosher soap. Standing on a platform on the rear of his truck, flanked by photographs from his performing youth, he would bent horse shoes and bite through nails. Many years earlier, my mother as a little girl in Bethlehem, saw him pull a truck uphill with his hair. Even as an old man, like a reincarnation of Samson, his grey hair was still long.
In the summers of 1964 and 1965, myself and a friend,(Fred Schoenk, retired Allentown art teacher) made and sold printed tee-shirts at the fair. We had the honor to know Joseph Greenstein(The Mighty Atom) and his wife. For those interested, there are various articles on the Mighty Atom and even at least one book. Enjoy the fair!

reprinted annually since 2007

All Inspiring Isn't

Allentown's new official slogan, All Inspiring,  isn't too inspiring at all, to me anyway.  As homeowners face a huge school tax increase, a new slogan is actually annoying. In what universe did the administration think that they should spend our money in that way? In addition to the new slogan, our squandered resources bought us a new logo, which graces new street banners. The banners are unimaginative, and the typeface is too small to read.

While I could have photographed one of the new banners for this post,  I decided on Charlie Tuna.  Many decades ago when Charlie was first introduced, he wasn't today's likable character.  Instead he would dress up and try to look good, while the narrator explained that Starkist wanted tuna that tasted good, not that just looked good.   

In fairness to those who think that a new city slogan isn't nonsense, I was also critical of City Without Limits, ten years ago when that brainchild was born.  In my world a city develops a reputation, it doesn't buy a slogan. Mayor O'Connell said that you wouldn't wear the same clothes for ten years, but then he's much better dressed than I am.

Perhaps as time passes the new slogan and banner will look better to me, but I doubt it.

Allentown Desecrates Its Dead

The sadness of having a loved one buried in Allentown's Fairview Cemetery never ends. After the initial grief, every visit to the unkempt cemetery adds salt to the wound.  Over a decade ago I tried to focus community attention to the poor conditions at the cemetery, including a Morning Call article.  A few years ago, Tyler Fatzinger's efforts cleaning up the cemetery resulted in another article.

A recent widower wrote, "Went to the cemetery today. It was so bad you could not see her grave with all the weeds and grass. Fairview cemetary is a joke. When are the politicians going to do something?" 

Fatzinger managed to get conditions at the cemetery on the radar with Sweep, the city code department which enforces lawn violations. While the neglect has been occurring for decades, the magistrate allowed the cemetery operator to request a continuation.

Buried at Fairview is the history of Allentown. Numerous mayors, Max Hess Senior, Jack Mack, John Leh and General Harry Trexler are among the notables buried there.    

It is past time for the mayor and city council to exert themselves about this continuing problem.

Courting Mediocrity In Name Of Wokeness

Allentown School System tabled naming the new elementary school after General Hays, a nurse who became the first woman general in the army.  An incredibly accomplished person, Hays would have been the first woman an Allentown School is named after.  Hays had served in WW2, Korea and Vietnam.  However Hays, who graduated Allentown High in 1938, had a defect, she was white.

The local black leaders want someone who reflects the current diversity of the system.  Rev. Gregory Edwards and Phyllis Alexander both wrote the school board complaining about Hays.

Perhaps they should name the school after Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.  She instructed the police force not to arrest for minor infractions, like theft and prostitution, during the virus crisis.  Large groups of young people were running amok in center city Philadelphia, scooping up everything their backpacks could hold. Meanwhile at City Hall, woke mayor Jim Kenney stayed silent about this decline in civilization. Only this weekend, after a merchant and citizen backlash, did Outlaw and Kenney finally reverse policy.

Philadelphia inner city kids were taught a bad lesson by their police commissioner and mayor. Likewise,  Allentown students are being neglected, not by a lack of computers, but of leadership by the school board. They had done well in choosing Hays, and should stick to their decision.  Character and accomplishment should be more important than complexion.

photo of Hays being awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by Westmoreland in 1971  

above reprinted from May of 2020

UPDATE AUGUST 27, 2021: The new school did end up being named after General Hays. However, the school board again has a major challenge, hiring a new superintendent. The previous one was hired because of his color, and only used the position as a stepping stone to a bigger district. Last time the board was obsessed that the new superintendent had to reflect the minority majority status of the district students, as opposed to competence being the yardstick. The three finalists this time have to submit a youtube interview.  Let's hope that video production technique, or background music,  isn't the new yardstick.

Lunch At Allen

Up to the mid 60's, students at Allen High could leave the building for lunch. Scattered in alleys around the the school, garages had been converted into lunch shops and hangouts. The Hutch was in the alley between 17th and West Streets, in the unit block between Hamilton and Linden. Suzy's was behind the Nurse's Dormitory, between Chew and Turner. Another was across Linden from the Annex. They all had the same basic decor, a few pinball machines, a few tables and a small lunch counter. Most of the business was during lunch period, and before and after school. It's my understanding that occasionally a kid or two would skip school and hangout all day. Today these garages, turned into luncheonettes, have long ago reverted back to garages. Most of the current residents of West Park probably don't even know about this commercial history right behind their houses. I missed photo day at Allen for my yearbook, but if anybody has a picture of the gang from the Hutch, I'd appreciate a copy.

reprinted from previous years

The Sunday Drive

My family wasn't much for recreation.  My father worked six days a week, from early morning until early evening.  We did go for a long car ride on Sundays.  Back then gasoline was cheap, and having no destination wasn't thought of as wasteful.  Children were more content to sit in the back seat and look out the window, now they want a video screen in the vehicle.



Even children's play then involved more imagination and interaction.  Howdy Doody was just a puppet on strings, who spend most of his time talking to an adult, Buffalo Bob, can you imagine?

 Sitting in that back seat in the mid fifties, I might well had



my "coonskin" hat with me.  Fess Parker was a genuine American hero.  It mattered little if he played both Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, both were king of the wild frontier.  The ride probably lasted for two hours and then we would go to a restaurant to eat dinner.  Compared to now, there were very few restaurants.



My mother would cook all the other meals that week, and we probably ate out more than most.  Supermarkets were the new rage in food shopping, but the butcher, baker and candle stick maker were still going strong.  If my father headed west or south, chances are we ended up at Shankweiler's Hotel, famous for chicken and waffles.   They were at the intersection of Old 22 and Route 100.  The building still exists and currently is a bank.  The family also owned another hotel on Route 309, which had an adjoining Drive-In movie venue.



If my father headed north or east,  we would end up at Walp's, which was on the corner of Union Blvd. and Airport Road.  Walp's was a much more urban place.   While Shankweiler's was an old country inn,  Walp's was built as a modern restaurant.  I enjoyed those rides, they were a learning experience.

reprinted from previous years

The Fountain Park Flood Wall

Last week I used this photo in regard to the water lease controversy. It shows the rear of the Allentown water plant on Martin Luther King Drive. Although I identified the railroad track as part of the former Barber Quarry Spur route, a mystery remained. The rail line itself was on the south side of the Little Lehigh Creek. It would past Schreibers Bridge, and end up past Union Terrace, behind the present day Hamilton Family Dinner. An inquiry to Mark Rabenold, local train historian, was in order. Wow... that's a rare photo, indeed! What you have there is the remnant of the siding that used to cross a short trestle/bridge over the Little Lehigh creek and once serviced the city's water works. You're right in that it came off the Barber branch. According to Dave R. Latshaw's article on the Barber branch in the 1988 Proceedings of the Lehigh County Historical Society.

"Initially coal was unloaded from hopper cars standing on a siding located along the south bank of Little Lehigh Creek and was carried across the creek by donkeys pulling two-wheel carts over a bridge built by Col. Harry C. Trexler directly behind the pump station. In later years a conveyor operated by electricity hauled coal from cars spotted on branch track to storage bins at the pump station. Circa 1910, the water department constructed a railroad bridge from the branch to the pump station. This bridge allowed the movement of coal in hopper cars directly to the boiler house....In August 1936, because flooding of Little Lehigh creek on occasion threatened the pump station and filtration plant, municipal authorities approved construction of a flood wall along the creek's north bank. In addition, a pit was built to allow dumping coal between the tracks and a conveyor then lifted coal from the pit to a coal pile on the east side of the boiler house." "Because only one car could be dumped at a time, the branch train pushed a car loaded with pea coal to the dump pit at least twice per week." "Railroad service to the water department ended in the 1946-1947 era."

The wall, which still protects Fountain Park from flooding, was another project of the WPA. 

reprinted from April of 2013

The Perfect Storm

In August of 1955, the Lehigh Valley got hit with Hurricane Diane, one of the most powerful to ever hit the area. The flood stage reached by the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers has never been seen before or since. 

The Allentown Parks weathered the storm fairly well. Unfortunately now, fifty four years later, our beloved parks are about to be destroyed by the perfect storm. In 2005, for the first time ever, we elected an outsider for Mayor. In 2007 he hired an outsider for Park and Recreation Director. This gentleman, well qualified in recreation, has no background in parks. In 2002, because the Afflerbach Administration was misusing Trexler Trust funds for operational expenses, those funds were frozen by Court Order and accumulated. In 2005 The Trexler Trust paid for a study of appropriate park projects, done by an outside firm from Philadelphia, for future guidance on how its funds might be used; also during this year certain members of the Trexler Trust became involved in the effort to elect Pawlowski. By 2008 the Perfect Storm had formed to assault the historic view of our Park System; an outside park director, an outside mayor, a huge amount of money and a politically supportive Trexler Trust. The plans for Cedar Creek Park offend almost everybody who grew up in Allentown; most of us didn't learn of them until recently, long after they had been funded by City Council. They include a Destination Playground above Cedar Beach Pool and a Wedding Pavilion in the Rose Garden. Ironically, the Philadelphia Study, known now as the Master Plan, calls for less use in Cedar Park. 

The WildLands Conservancy will plant a Riparian Buffer Zone throughout the Park System. As these bushes grow higher, except for a few places, park goers will not be able to see or approach the creeks. As the Riparian Buffers grow wider, more recreational venues are planned in the remaining green spaces; including skateparks, additional parking lots, additional picnic pavilions and restrooms. The Conservancy refers to seeing the creek as the old fashioned English and French Park values. What the Conservancy fails to understand is that our parks are not wildlands, they are parks. What the mayor and park director fail to understand is that thousands of Allentownians treasure our old fashion park values. Although much of these projects will be funded by the Trexler Trust and other grants, the maintenance costs will be borne by the Allentown taxpayers. I and other old fashion types will continue in our attempt to defend our parks. 

Addendum: Of the $3.8 million dollars Mr. Weitzel was allocated to remodel our park system, $482,000.00 may be spent on professional services and consultation.

above reprinted from August 2009

UPDATE AUGUST 23, 2021: Twelve years later, and I'm still fighting for our former traditional park system. The Wildlands Conservancy and their riparian buffers have denied Allentonians view and access to the creeks for over a decade now.  Ironically, because the storm sewer system is piped under the buffers, directly into the creeks, the buffers serve no positive benefit. On the contrary, they become overgrown with invasive species. In compliance with a EPA recommendation to mitigate invasives,  the buffer was recently temporarily cut back in sections of Cedar Park near the Rose Garden. I continue to lobby the park department to groom the park as originally designed.

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. 

UPDATE AUGUST 20, 2021: When Julio lost his bid for mayor this past spring, he still retained the plum consolation prize, his state commission seat and check from Harrisburg. Julio has been collecting this check since 2005, when he was appointed by Rendell. While I don't blame Guridy for his good fortune, I do blame our state representatives for their silence about these commissions, and lack of any reform in Pennsylvania.

Hope And Opportunists

I have been impressed with acting police chief Charles Roca.  Yesterday he announced forming a Community Board to enhance rapport with the various neighborhoods.  The Morning Call, in covering the story, put loudly forward opportunist Hasshan Batts of Promise Neighborhood. They quoted Batts "..The police have the information and data and they can share with the community..." While Batts thinks that the police department should provide him with data to justify his ever increasing empire, Roca's intent was that the community will come forward with information to help investigate crimes. Batts called on the city to invest in programs. “It is the community’s role to nurture and support the village,” What Batts means is that the city should invest more in his organization. The Morning Call has the same old stale stable of people they quote for various topics...Unfortunately Batts is now their community crime go to person.

Roca is an experienced police officer who has been on the force more than nineteen years. While he knows that information about violence and shootings seldom come from affected neighborhoods,  the outreach nevertheless is a very positive gesture. Community activists, such as Wanda Genao de Salas, were hopeful about Chief Roca's visit to Stevens Park. The above photo is a screen grab from her facebook page.

The Bricks Of Allentown

When Mildred Gehman* portrayed the house on the southeast corner of 12th and Walnut Streets in 1950, it was already about 60 years old. Another 60 years have passed, and the house still looks the same today. The bricks of Allentown hold up well. Yesterday, as I passed the corner of Madison and Chew Streets, I noticed three buildings in a row wearing a new orange tag, Unfit for Human Habitation. I have seen many clusters of these orange tags. They are generally handed out to one unfortunate owner or another, by one inspector. Recently, I received a phone call from such a hapless owner. His two buildings were tagged for some superficial reason, such as peeling paint. Everybody knows who has painted, or paid to have his house painted, that the stuff starts peeling off in short order, since the lead and other emulsions have been removed. Back to hapless owner. Because his buildings were tagged, the tenants were forced to move. In addition to the disruption in the tenants lives, the owner was denied the income stream to meet his debt service. Upon completion of the work on the list, the inspector then created a new list upon re-inspection. The re-inspections required scheduling specific inspectors, such as plumbing and electric, and dragged out the time frame. The primary inspector then inflicted a third list on the owner. Over a year has passed, his two buildings remain vacant, and the owner is out over $Thirty thousand dollars. Buildings on 12th Street, just north of Chew, have been tagged so long that the orange is fading on the notices. The city can mistreat rental operators because the public has little to no sympathy for that class of ownership. Several years ago, Allentown passed a Point Of Sale inspection law, which requires inspections of all private houses for sale. Welcome to the bureaucracy. 

 *Mildred Gehman,1908-2006, starting teaching at the Baum Art School in 1946. At that time, Baum was on the southwest corner of 12th and Walnut Streets, across the street from the house shown above.

above reprinted from May of 2012

UPDATE AUGUST 18, 2021: While Allentown heralds the new Strata Lofts,  the prevailing attitude continues to blame the converted row-house small landlord for the demise of center city. The Progressive candidates lament the lack of affordable housing...They're wrong on both counts.  The small landlords are providing the services and housing that would otherwise be at public expense. Today's new lofts will be Allentown's future tenements soon enough.  

This blog was started in 2007 to scrutinize local government, and the newspaper reporting thereof. I've succeeded in earning the resentment of numerous elected officials and editors. Over the years I moved my soapbox to different corners to enhance exposure. Currently this blog continues to be produced each weekday.  Additionally,  the history posts and some tamer political ones, may appear on the facebook group Allentown Chronicles.

The Milkman Of Allentown

Years ago, on the quiet, clean streets of Allentown,  the mornings belonged to the milkman, until people got up for their jobs. The streets are still quiet in the mornings, but they're not clean, and very few people get up for a job. Over the decades, center city became entrenched with the professional low income, migrating from the bigger cities. The Historic District, and other endeavors, served only as a finger in the dike for the middle class. As welfare rules tightened, the under-motivated became dependent on Social Security Disability, a life long de-motivator. On Monday, as the Budweiser Clydesdales walked down the street at noon, half the city's population was still asleep. As Allentown builds a shiny new arena, hoping for a revival, those very people they hope to attract have moved on and away from that urban malady, not inclined to return.

above retitled and reprinted from September of 2013

UPDATE AUGUST 17, 2021: Monday mornings are recon day for me in center city.  As usual, I found Hamilton Street deserted, with other streets strewn with litter.  Ninth and Chew might be the litter epicenter, but I have no empirical data to support that observation. I do know that years ago even a parade wouldn't have generated  that much trash.  Talking of data,  the Morning Call reports that while the Hispanic population of Allentown grew to 54%,  the whites decreased by another 25%. The article goes on to say that more translators are needed, because although most Spanish speakers know English, when they get stressed, they revert to Spanish.  When I get stressed, I revert to blogging. 

They Shoot Landlords, Don't They?

When I ran as a long-shot independent for mayor in 2005, against Ed Pawlowski and Bill Heydt,  the first thing I did was take The Morning Call reporter on a tour of the properties that I managed.  As an intercity landlord, I knew that  downtown apartments could  become problematic for Allentown.  After WW2,  it became fashionable to live in a twin or small ranch, and Allentown's row houses began being divided into apartments.  Those apartments were mostly occupied by singles or childless couples, and helped keep downtown and Hamilton Street vital, long past many of its sister cities.  In the 1960's, despite the thousands of converted apartments,  center city was clean, and Allentown was the All American City.  Both the tenants and landlords were hard working and conscientious.  As the urban poor from New York and New Jersey discovered the clean streets of Allentown, and its moderately priced apartments,  a steady influx of new residents arrived daily.  These changes were not encouraged by the landlords.  Nobody ever purchased a building hoping to replace their conscientious middle class occupants, with a poorer, more problematic tenant base.  Various social agencies staked many of these newcomers to the first month rent and security deposits.  Although politically incorrect, I said at the time that Allentown was creating a poverty magnet.  My phrase and analysis back then is now recognized as an unintended consequence of such programs.  During Heydt's administration, Allentown passed a Rental Inspection Law.  Some viewed  this as the solution to the rental problem, I didn't fully agree...You cannot legislate pride of ownership. Bad operators could, and easily did, cross the T's and dot the i's.  Pawlowski's solution has been to tag buildings as unfit for habitation, so many,  that the process itself has created blight.  Halls of Shame, either by the city or private groups, only stigmatize both the property and owner, but don't produce a solution.  The programs in place, if applied with more flexibility, can work.  The school district is starting to show concern about the consequences of more apartments and students.  Recent zoning changes allowing the conversion of commercial space by right, rather than by variance, will be an additional challenge.  At the end of the day,  all landlords want to see their investment appreciate.  The city must learn to work with that basic incentive as a vehicle for change.

above reprinted from February of 2014

UPDATE AUGUST 16, 2021: In the seven years since I wrote the above post, the migration of poverty to Allentown never slowed down. The school system is now officially distressed. Shootings and violence are now a weekly occurrence. There are those who say that the new crime is in line with the increase in population, they are wrong. A slight increase in population doesn't account for a large increase in crime. Allentown is now a very different city than it was for most of its history.

Arrogance Of the Morning Call

When I saw the Morning Call pushing a opinion piece by Joshua Siegel and Ce-Ce Gerlach on defunding the police (they don't use that phrase)  yesterday,  I thought how persistent the paper is in promoting Ce-Ce.  When I scrolled down the article and saw her oversized picture, I thought how arrogant the editor actually is. 

Someone please remind Mike Miorelli that Allentown rejected Ce-Ce in the mayoral primary, even though he repressed the story on her poor judgement about dropping a minor off at a homeless camp. Although she has been indicted for failing to follow proper social work legal mandates, the Morning Call features her recommendations about social workers?

Someone please remind editor Mike Miorelli that there were two homicides last week.  We don't need more social workers,  we don't need editors pumping their favorite candidates, we need more police.

The Livingston Club, Allentown's Benevolent Oligarchy

Back in the day, when the town had three department stores, the major decisions affecting Allentown's future were made at the Livingston Club. Harvey Farr would meet Donald Miller and John Leh at the Club for lunch, and discuss acquiring more lots for Park & Shop. The bank officers of First National and Merchants Bank would discuss loans with the highly successful merchants, many of whom had stores in all three major Lehigh Valley cities. As the heydays winded down, likewise the exit plans were made there. The City of Allentown acquired the Park & Shop lots, becoming the Allentown Parking Authority. Leh's became the Lehigh County Government Center.

The new oligarchy consists of much fewer men, they could all met at a small table in Shula's, and be entertained by watching street people  arrested. The former 1st National Bank location is now a new Reilly building. The former Livingston Club building is now a parking lot, and future site to another Reilly building. Shula's is also a Reilly building.... 

reprinted from August of 2015

Mistake Of Parking Authority/Lanta

At the Allentown Speak Out forum*, Zee, an elderly neighborhood woman, referred to the new Lanta Terminal as Port Authority. She has a point, did Allentown need a Port Authority? In reality the mission of both the Parking Authority and Lanta has become political and distorted, to the detriment of those whom they were intended to serve. I have referred to the Parking Authority in previous posts as a Frankenstein monster who preys on Allentown's poorest residents. Its appetite has recently expanded to include poorer merchants. If it wasn't enough for Lanta to remove the transfer stations from the historical stops near Hamilton Street, the Parking Authority now provides eating and shopping venues for their captured bus riders at the "Terminal". Once upon a time, in Allentown's heyday, the parking meters were monitored by two meter maids in golf carts, employed by the police department. The original mission of the Parking Authority was to facilitate parking for the merchants' behalf. Lanta was suppose to provide the public with transportation to those destinations which enhanced the economic well being of both the riders and the community. The new Allentown Transportation Center fails to serve both the merchants and the riders, conversely, it serves itself by being a mini-mall with virtual prisoners. Allentown City Council now has a member who is on the Lanta Board. The previous Council had a member on the Parking Authority. All the merchants are suffering on Hamilton Street, and already three are closing their doors; City Line Creamery, Hamilton Perk Cafe, and Mish Mash Boutique. The Terminal, new or not, should be closed, and the transfer stops on Hamilton Street should be restored. The public interest is better served by the survival of the Hamilton merchants, than the utilization of the parking deck's adjacent Lanta Terminal.

reprinted from January of 2008

UPDATE AUGUST 11, 2021: As you can see from the above post, I have been fighting against the shenanigans that be for many years.  The former merchants that I defended no longer exist, at least on Hamilton Street.  Those former undesirables of Hamilton Street are now touted as the success of 7th Street. Even the Lanta Prison Complex has now been reconfigured, to now accommodate the new power that be, Reilly's NIZ.  While I have been reporting these manipulations for over a decade, the Morning Call has not only remained silent, they have actively profited from these deals. 

*Allentown Speak Out...Over a decade ago, I held a series of town hall type meetings at a small church in center city.

The Allentown Parking Authority Monster

Although the shopping district in Allentown has shrunk down to only Hamilton and 7th Streets, the meter district remains as it did during the heydays of the 1950's. The meters extend from Walnut to Chew, from 5th to 10th, well over 1000 meters in 20 sq. blocks. Parking meters extend out to 10th and Chew Sts, three full blocks beyond the closest store.* These meters are a defacto penalty for the residents, mostly tenants. In essence, it is a back door tax on Allentown's poorest citizens. The apologists claim the tenants can purchase a resident meter pass, however their friends and visitors cannot. To add insult to injury, in 2005, to help finance a new parking deck for the arts district, the Parking Authority doubled the meter rate and fines. Testimony to City Council permitting the rate increase indicated it was favored by the merchants. At that time I documented to the Council that in fact the merchants were not informed, much less in favor. The vote was 5 to 2, with Hershman and Hoover dissenting
* I used the above copy on my posting of October 3, 2007. In the past several weeks the Parking Authority finally removed the meters in the 900 block of Chew St, 50 years beyond their legitimate need.

UPDATE: The post above is reprinted from September 2009. I have published dozens of posts on the Parking Authority. In 2005, I conducted two press conferences on their abuses; One conference was at 10th and Chew Streets, and concerned the oversized meter zone. The second conference, directly in front of their office, concerned the fabricated merchant survey that they  presented to City Council. Old tricks die hard. Forward ahead to 2015, and the Parking Authority will once again penalize both existing merchants and residents.  The new plan is to double the meter parking rate from $1 an hour, to $2, and extend the metering time to 10:00pm.  They claim that the merchants are in favor of this plan. Although I will not conduct my own survey, as I did 2005,  their survey defies logic.  Why would any of the few surviving merchants want their customers submitted to a destination city parking rates in Allentown? Despite the hype,  Allentown is not Miami Beach or N.Y.C.. In reality, just as the taxpayers are subsidizing the arena zone,  now the merchants and residents will be subsidizing the arena plan through punitive parking rates.

UPDATE Memorial Day Weekend 2015: I did end up asking several merchants, and no, they were not surveyed. Eight years from the original date of this post, and the Authority is still up to the same shenanigans.   Reilly's City Center tenants, merchants and customers will get a free pass for the Authority's inconvenient parking lots. Other existing tenants in the NIZ, such as the south side of the 900 block of Walnut Street, will not be eligible for residential parking permits.  If you have a problem with any of this, remember, you must now put money in the meter at night, before  complaining to City Council.

UPDATE MARCH 20, 2020:  As of noon yesterday, the Parking Authority suspended tickets in the residential permit zones.  However, normal parking meter tickets will continue.  This would have of course punish merchants still open for business during this virus crisis. However, while there are virtually no merchants left on Hamilton Street since the NIZ revitalization, the punishment would have mostly affect the minority merchants on 7th Street....or in other words, life as usual in Allentown. Governor Wolf has declared that all non-essential businesses must close. Will the monster also now stand down?

UPDATE OCTOBER 20, 2020: Numerous voters trying to drop off their ballots at Government Center at 7th and Hamilton, report that the monster has awoken, and is giving out tickets. 

UPDATE AUGUST 10, 2021: I've been writing about the Parking Authority corruption for over fifteen years.  You will not read about this corruption in the Morning Call, because the paper has always benefitted from their association with it, going back to the days of Park & Shop.

Shootings Now Normal In Allentown

When I looked at the digital version of the Morning Call Monday morning, the weekend shootings were the 7th story down the page. The Friday and Sunday shootings were lumped together in one article. By Monday afternoon the shooting story was at the bottom of page.

When shootings have become so commonplace in a city this size, we are indeed a cesspool. When our elected officials are so incensed that someone would dare use that term, it is they who should apologize. They should apologize for thinking that the citizens should consider this level of violence as normal. They should apologize for wanting to put image above safety.

As for the ones who say we should stop complaining, and join them in the marches for harmony, I feel no sense of security from their performances. They for the most part are either being paid to work in the new violence industry, or hope to be elected.

Years ago I complained about the poverty industry.... Those groups and organizations that specialized in the poor. Now that we have a violence industry,  the advocates for the poor seem like the good old days.  

reprinted from September of 2019 

ADDENDUM AUGUST 9, 2021: In addition to this blog, a couple years ago I started a facebook group named Allentown Chronicles. On that page I limited posts to history and occasional local politics, I disallowed crime reports. Nostalgia is nice, but if it hides current reality too much, it becomes delusion. This past week we had two homicides in Allentown, with another nearby. The strawberry pie in Hess's Patio isn't coming back, and we can't keep ignoring the blood in the street.

Parkway's Keystone Deteriorating

When the wall along the entrance road to Lehigh Parkway collapsed, the entrance had to be closed, until they could construct a new wall. The closure wasn't because of the missing upper portion acting as a guard rail, it was because of the lower portion, which was a retaining wall holding up the roadway itself. In the mid 1930's, the road was built by the WPA, by cutting into the side of a steep ravine leading down to the Little Lehigh Creek. It was essential to shore up the exposed side of the road with a wall.

Halfway down the road is the centerpiece we call the Double Stairway. Steps from two sides lead down from the road, to the bridle path and creek below. Although very architectural, it too is an elaborate retaining structure for the road. This architectural masterpiece is in structural jeopardy. Although the vertical walls are in decent shape, the problem is the landings, both at the top and down each set of stairs. These flats surfaces have degraded, and water is seeping down into the steps below, undermining the structure from within.

The Double Stairway was designed in 1928 by one of the leading landscape architects in the United States. He was commissioned to design this masterpiece by General Harry Trexler. The stock crash of 1929 and the Great Depression put off the construction until Roosevelt's New Deal in 1935, when the WPA utilized the blueprints.

Allentown could never afford to create such an icon now, nor can we afford to lose it from neglect.

reprinted periodically since 2010

UPDATE OCTOBER 25, 2019: Although the years have passed, and now I even have a good rapport with the current mayor and park director,  the stair landings still have not been repaired and continue to deteriorate.  Worse yet, it is my understanding that there is money in the budget for the repair, but it is being delayed to study the problem. The previous administration studied the entrance wall, until it collapsed. What these stairs need is less study and some immediate attention from a masonry contractor.

UPDATE AUGUST 6, 2021: The study was completed, and the Trexler Trust paid to have the vertical walls of the structure repointed, but the problem landings remain in their deteriorated condition. This is the equivalent of painting the walls of a house, while ignoring a leaking roof. On a positive note, the remaining entrance wall, from the double stairwell down to the Robin Hood Bridge, is being repointed. It is my hope that the park department has the sense to repair the landings.  The landings and steps have further deteriorated, approaching being a hazard.

photocredit:molovinsky

Carry In, Carry Out Doesn't Work For Allentown

The current national park philosophy, adopted by Allentown, is Carry In/Carry Out.  In our environmentally woke time, the belief is that people will take their trash with them, after they guzzled their sports drink.  Allentown accordingly removed most of the trash containers from the parks, instead installing larger capacity containers, which only have to be emptied once a week.  While previously one man and a pickup truck removed the bags, now a dump truck, two men and crane are used to extract the 8ft. long bags from a pit below the containers. 

It all sounds wonderful, until you drive through downtown Allentown any Monday morning...It looks like there was a parade every weekend.  The litter in Allentown is astounding...Many throw their trash down even if there is a container within several feet.  Parents throw down their trash in front of their children.

Rather than less trash containers in our parks, we should have installed more.  There is nothing Allentown  can learn from national park bureaucrats.  Our traditional park system was second to none.

Weitzel's Water World

Although other accounts of last night's 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. 

ADDENDUM AUGUST 4, 2021: I'm proud that I and this blog fought Weitzel and Pawlowski tooth and nail against this water park plan and other absurd excessive plans, designed for their careers, not the city's betterment. Move ahead nine years and we can't even keep the swimming pool free from vandalism...Imagine the yoke around our neck that the water park would have been. 

Although we now have a mayor and park director dedicated to the city's best interest, I will nevertheless continue to speak out for our traditional park system.

Hoops and Trash

The A-Town Throw Down is a major basketball tournament at Cedar Beach, and a feather in Allentown's cap.  Step child of the former SportsFest, it brings together over 70 boys' and girls' teams in top quality competition. Although Throw Down doesn't refer to trash, unfortunately litter was everywhere Sunday morning. While the park department can be faulted for the overflowing trash by the apparently not enough containers, that doesn't explain the trash under the benches and bleachers, and on the parking lot and grass area used for extra parking. It doesn't explain the litter elsewhere in the park.

In addition to the athletic competition, the tournament is a learning event. Hopefully a few words about littering can be added to the curriculum next year.

A Midsummer Night's Dream on Hamilton Street

Early Saturday morning I bumped into a Hamilton Street merchant I know, there's not that many of them nowadays. He told me about the Blues, Brews & Barbeque*, and that he was hoping for a crowded Hamilton Street...He certainly got his wish.  If the crowd was fortified from a pent up demand from the pandemic, regardless, people were there in force.  People who enjoyed themselves are likely to return for the next event. 

The diverse, middle class crowd resembled Hamilton Street of yesteryears. While Allentown cannot sponsor a festival everyday,  I'm sure that J.B. Reilly had pleasant dreams Saturday night. 

While people are not used to me writing something positive about downtown and the NIZ, I'm more than happy to report on good days there.

*kudos to event coordinators Miriam Huertas and Betsy Kohl

photocredit:Jeff Barber