Bernie's Blogosphere

This post is about Bernie O'Hare. Because I haven't seen him in about a month, and he's been losing about 20lbs. a week, I decided to represent him with the high energy geezer from the amusement park, instead of an outdated photograph. Last night Bernie wrote 7 posts on his blog. The Morning Call had 8 local stories, but they were written by seven different people. In addition to being the most prolific writer in the local blogosphere, he attends more meetings than the newspaper staff(s) combined. (Morning Call and Express Times). In between he writes for the Free Press, runs off 20 lbs. a week, and operates his title search business. I write one post six days a week, and next to Bernie, may well be the most productive blogger. (definitions of productive and blogger may differ). In tribute to his productivity, or obsessions, depending on your point of view, I publish this today, instead of tomorrow.

Molovinsky Breaks Stories

April of 2011 was a big month for this blog. On April 14, I broke the story that former school superintendent Zahorchak had hired Joyce Marin,

 to accommodate Ed Pawlowski. The hiring was snuck into a long list of minor personnel changes, and unnoticed by the school directors. Two days later, I broke the story that the City was buying up the arena block, and using a straw buyer to boot. As I worked the Marin story, it would come to include an email exchange between myself and Zahorchak, acknowledging the hire, and a public statement by school director Zimmerman. Zimmerman's note confirmed the subterfuge used by Zahorchak. On April 19, Morning Call caught up on my stories about Joyce Marin and also the Arena. Education reporter Steve Esack wrote about the Marin hire, crediting this blog. His editor, Mike Miorelli, changed "molovinsky on allentown" to "local blogger". Needless to say, I didn't take that well. I wrote a post criticizing Miorelli for failing to give proper attribution. Yesterday, the School Administration announced that Marin's position was eliminated. An article in today's Morning Call mentions the controversy and Zimmerman, but not this blog. Although it's my normal practice to link to Morning Call stories I refer to, and credit the reporter, I'll skip that courtesy today.
 UPDATE: Several days ago I noticed that my November post, entitled Mayo Can't Add, which took the new superintendent to task for not undoing some of Zahorchak's manipulations, was getting multiple views. Yesterday, Mayo announced the elimination of some new positions created by Zahorchak. Regardless of what factors influenced Mr. Mayo, I congratulate him for tightening up the ship.

Traveling Arena Show

Ed Pawlowski has been on the show circuit, selling the arena to the disenchanted. Last night he performed for CUNA.* After a woman complained that she lost her job at a day care center torn down for the arena, Pawlowski explained about a Community Benefit Agreement. Although there will be no instruction on becoming a hockey player or real estate tycoon, she can train to hand out peanuts, like a monkey, at the arena events. CUNA prided itself on not criticizing the project, how civil. The audience for today's show, real estate developers, might be tougher. Pawlowski softened up this group by filing a $50million dollar lawsuit against one of it's members. Needless to say, these performances should have occurred before the hole was dug.

 *Scott Kraus/The Morning Call/April25,2012

Understanding The Implications

Attorney Jerome Frank must have been surprised last night. Hanover Supervisors declined to vote* on the newest proposal from Allentown to settle the lawsuit filed against the arena project, before understanding the implications.

"I'm not going to have supervisors accept an offer minutes after they get it," Broughal said of the new offer presented behind closed doors Tuesday by Allentown attorney Jerome Frank. "I need some time to review it. We need to make sure we fully understand all the implications."

The Allentown Commercial and Industrial Economic Authority (ACIDA) always approved Frank's agreements and contracts even before they were finished being written. Due diligence is something Frank never encountered in Allentown. Besides ACIDA being a rubber stamp, there is the new Arena Authority, and of course the famous Allentown City Council. The big push now is the notion of completing the arena for the 2013 minor league hockey season. To meet this most important of deadlines, we expelled merchants with an illegal threat of eminent domain. Gave out $20 million in pocket money to Reilly. Spent $45-million on acquisition, demolition, and excavation. Signed documents before they were finished being written, and operated under a law with serious constitutional flaws. I would think that before the Leigh Valley goes on the hook for up to $600million dollars, they should tell the Phantoms to keep playing where they are for another season.

  *Matt Assad/The Morning Call/April 24,2012

Two Few Benefit from Arena

When Lee Butz addressed the Chamber of Commerce Real Estate Luncheon last week,  he inadvertently made a prophetic statement.

"Allentown is on the brink of tremendous resurgence due to the creation of the Neighborhood Improvement Zone," Butz said. "If implemented properly, it's going to be a huge benefit to every business in the Lehigh Valley and every individual in the Lehigh Valley and a tremendous opportunity for every developer in our community. 

"I said implemented properly. The reason I said that is it is incumbent on us to make sure the benefits of this don't just go to a few people."

What seems odd and ironic is that so far only two developers have approved projects; By approved, I mean that those projects will be financed by bonds, repayable by taxes. The two developers are J.B. Reilly and Butz himself. Since when is two even a few? Butz also received the largest contract of his career to build the arena complex, including an office building and hotel, to be owned by Reilly. Just as Hanover Township was joined by other townships in it's lawsuit against the NIZ, other developers may end up joining Atiyeh's lawsuit.

Small Victories

In the best case, molovinsky on allentown chronicles my efforts in community activism, in addition to being a source of analysis for local issues. Last week a small victory resulted from such efforts. Our local dignitaries broke ground for a new garage at Lanta. Several years ago, when the garage plans were first announced, it was to be built on the parking lot of Bicentennial Park. Allentown needed money, and Lanta had a grant to build a new garage. Lanta claimed that the ball park property was the only feasible location, and the City claimed that Bicentennial Park had outlived it's usefulness.

Bicentennial Park is virtually the history of baseball in Allentown. First opened in 1939 as Fairview Field, it was home to the minor league team of the Boston Braves; The Allentown Dukes played there through 1948, when Breadon Field was built in Whitehall, site now of the Lehigh Valley Mall. Over the years thousands of Allentown kids had the yearly thrill of playing "Under The Lights". In addition to hosting the Allentown Ambassadors, it currently serves women's fast pitch softball. In addition to the outrage in our park system, I will be adding the ballfield as a topic in my upcoming SPEAK OUT ALLENTOWN MEETING. from Lanta Mugs City, May 14,2009  

I conducted a meeting at a small local church, which attracted a couple members of City Council and the Hunsicker Family, who led the drive to build the park, decades ago. City Council went on to pass a resolution recommending that the park not be sold, and Lanta did eventually figure out an alternative space for the garage. Needless to say, I wasn't one of the dignitaries invited to the ground breaking, nor were my efforts mentioned in the newspaper article, but a small victory, never the less.

Baseball Memoirs, June 3, 2009