Can Brenda Save Ron?

Although Bernie promised us more on the Baratta decision, instead Brenda appears, and makes Bernie's points. Meanwhile, The Morning Call reports that Ron Angle accepted $3000 from the private prison company while trying to rush the deal through Northampton Council. Unable to reach his ghost speech writer, Angle tells the reporter that all they bought was disinfluence. Bernie branded Pawlowski as a pay to player for contributions much less than that. Can Brenda now help Ron? Bernie portrays Brenda as a young Asian woman. I have chosen Brenda Starr. Both the illustrations and original story lines were produced by a woman, Dale Messick, beginning in 1940.

Trying the Judge

Angle & O'Hare LLC* have been trying Judge Baratta since last Wednesday's decision affirming the validity of the petition. O'Hare's propaganda machine, Lehigh Valley Ramblings, has been burning the midnight oil with one shot after another. According to O'Hare, during the hearing Baratta wisecracked, snarked and barbed. He has called the judge intemperate and his reasoning intellectually dishonest. O'Hare's motives puzzle me. Is he trying to pressure the judge in the court of public opinion? The second decision, concerning the ballot question's legality in regard to the Home Rule Charter, is expected Tuesday. Meanwhile O'Hare discards truth for effectiveness. For instance, he claims he received a picture of Hermann Goering. He omits the fact that the sender is unrelated to the Gracedale controversy, and that O'Hare did a search and published liens filed against the man.

* Angle and O'Hare LLC is a phrase coined by Ron Angle

Quite a Week

It's been quite a week. First a tiff with O'Hare escalated into my being banned in Boston. He now deletes my comments and has removed this blog from his sidebar blog link list. Then my blog was highjacked by the obsessive one. I will refrain from using his name, because I don't want to suffer his "prove it" routine. I find his harassment of the local blogosphere and people in it, criminal. I'm forced at this time to suspend commenting, and will most likely have to again begin moderation. I thank you for the visit, and please stop by again.

UPDATE: I have resumed accepting comments, regretfully with moderation. Thanks for your understanding.

Tutoring the Superintendent

A couple days ago I received the latest letter from the new school superintendent, Gerald Zahorchak. He explains that we are in financial difficulty because the system spent $155 million on upgrades, and will be getting $27 million less in federal and state aid this year. So here are his suggestions, and my replies.

*Attract regional, national or foreign industrial investment in energy and environment, the health care sciences and heavy industry to retrofit such empty spaces as the old Western Electric Building, GE plant, The Mack plants, old sewing mills and the Neuweiler Brewery to name a few.

These buildings have been vacant for decades, monuments to our industrial past. There are not enough green businesses to fill one of these giants, much less hundreds, in city after city, in the Northeast.Since Billy Joe's song, we have spent millions on Industrial Development Agencies to no avail. Even the business Obama visited last year has closed. 

*Sell the Queen City Airport to a Fortune 1000 company, such as an innovative technical concern looking for a northeast location...

Usually companies like this are lured with huge tax abatements for many years, and would have little need for such a large parcel. You could stop approving the Enterprise Zones which have yet to provide one dollar to the school system

*Gentrify Hamilton Street... like Manayunk.....

Manayunk borders a city of 3 million and is surrounded by affluent residential areas. Hamilton Street is surrounded by poverty.

*Attract Bill Strickland types and retrain the poor and outcast.

I wish I could retrain the School Board when it comes to hiring superintendents. Here's an idea; sit back and learn something about this community before making suggestions. Allentown's newly approved zoning ordinance makes it easier to convert vacant commercial buildings into apartments. You should have opposed that measure. Send a representative to zoning meetings to oppose every such conversion. Stop taking State of the Union speeches by Obama and Pawlowski as a plan. Cancel phase 2 of the school improvement plan. Prepare for more housing, more students, and less revenue.

O'Hare Motion Fails

Today's post is being hosted at Lehigh Valley Poliblog

Allentown State of Union

Mayor Pawlowski recently stated that Allentown is stronger than ever. I lived there when mom-and-pop shops were on just about every block and Hess's department store thrived. And I would completely disagree with his assessment. Perhaps if Mr. Pawlowski was a native of this area, he would retract his bold statement. I remember when Allentown was very prosperous. The property owners took pride in their homes and the city was clean. It was safe to walk the streets at night; I remember walking to Hess's at night to walk my mother home from work. I was a young child then and never feared the town.

Now most of the good jobs are gone except municipal, fire, police, teachers and prison guards — all paid by our taxes. I was one of the working taxpayers who made the mass exodus out of town to have peace of mind. The parking authority made me think twice about ever venturing back to patronize the remaining businesses. It is very sad to see what Allentown has become, and I don't see any hope for its recovery. I suppose you can keep raising taxes and charging fees for services. I am glad I left.

Ronald A. Nechetsky

Northampton

letter in The Morning Call, February 9, 2011