Jake Towne Fouled

As an old geezer, I'm constantly frustrated by The Morning Call's lack of institutional memory. I suppose that is what happens when a struggling paper has young journalists come and go. I suppose they're also annoyed with my "scoops"; I see no link to this blog on the current Mcall story about the fish hatchery. Well, here's another dip from Molovinsky's 28 favors. Trent Sear, the Saucon Valley Zoning officer who closed Jake Towne's Campaign headquarters,  is/was very active in Republican politics. The space, the historic Center Valley Tavern, has been used commercially for a century. He simply could have requested the landlord pay the $25 fee.  I have never heard of a  campaign office closed by zoning.  They didn't even close Molovinsky for Mayor.
This was nothing more than a temporary use with temporary signs

UPDATE: Towne's Explanation;

After numerous appearances with this official prowling in a car through the parking lot and snapping photographs, the campaign decided to leave the premises in order to save the landlord further grief.

Marcellus Shale 2020

The second video (from Hickory, Pa.) appearing on the LVCI Blog, has chilling similarities to the environmental catastrophe noted in the Erin Brockovich movie.

Admission for Fish Hatchery

This blogger has learned that the Administration is contemplating charging admission to the Fish Hatchery. A rite of passage in Allentown has been for a father to take his children to this treasure, built by General Trexler. I suppose all the new asphalt in Cedar Park cost more than expected.

Pennsylvania as Whore

The Marcellus Shale gas deposits have turned Pennsylvania into a whore, and there is nothing pretty about it. Already two thousand wells have been dug, with thousands more being approved. The gas extraction method, hydraulic fracking, uses millions of gallons of water to fragment the shale, releasing the gas. The water is treated with lubricants and other chemicals to facilitate the process. The short and long term consequences to our water supply are being ignored to produce this mislabeled "clean energy." Governor Rendell, to the shame of his legacy, has justified this environmental rape in order to impose a state tax on the extracted gas. Although I'm not an environmentalist, it's apparent even to me that Pennsylvania's natural resources are being contaminated and compromised. Please use the following links for more information.

Alliance for Sustainable Communities
Damascus Citizens for Sustainability

A Lesson Plan

City Councilman Michael Donovan is disturbed by this photograph on the Allentown School District Website, showing the new superintendent talking to a predominately white group of teachers. Donovan writes on his blog;

Oh one other point, what is wrong with the picture at the ASD website of the superintendent talking to what appears to be over 80 white people? Are they parents? Teachers? Seems strange when 75% of our students are of color. Do you hear me school board?

Years ago the school system sent a delegation to Puerto Rico, hoping to recruit more Hispanic teachers, to no avail. Well qualified teachers of color are in great demand, exactly because of the mentality Donovan's post exhibits. We are fortunate in Allentown to have excellent teachers and administrators. Every aggressive attempt to become more “representational” in hiring has been less than successful. I can assure him no one of color has been excluded, quite the contrary. Although I agree with the desirability of more minority teachers, let us not go down the slippery slope he advocates, but appreciate the dedication of our current staffs; We may not be so lucky in the future. Perhaps his shot across the bow would be better directed at the minority community organizations, rather than the School Board, which is a thankless job by definition. (as is City Council)

occasionally my point of view is so different from a fellow blogger, I feel that my reply should constitute a separate post

The Synagogues of Jerusalem

Except when barred by one conqueror or another, Jews had lived in Jerusalem since King David. Prior to Jordanian rule in 1948, there was a Jewish majority for 150 years. In 1864, eight thousand of the fifteen thousand population was Jewish. By 1914, two thirds of the sixty five thousand residents were Jewish. In 1948 the United Nations Partition Plan divided the British Mandate of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. Jerusalem was to be initially an international city, with access guaranteed for all. This plan was rejected by the surrounding Arab nations, which attacked Israel in concert immediately upon the UN vote. When the truce was declared, Israel had survived, but East Jerusalem(walled Old City) was in procession of TransJordan. The Jordanians subsequently destroyed over 50 synagogues in the Jewish Quarter, which dated back to the 1400's. For hundreds of years both Christians and Jews were prohibited from building higher than Muslim structures. The few synagogues which survived were the ones built mostly below street level. The oldest surviving synagogue, The Jerusalem Synagogue, was built by the Karaite Jews in around 900. Shown above is the Ben Kakai, a Sephardic Synagogue built in the 16th Century.

Perhaps the most famous synagogue destroyed by the Jordanians was the Ashkenazi Hurva Synagogue built in 1720, it's dome visible in the top center of this photograph from the 1920's. It's replacement has just been completed.

reprinted from April 27, 2010