Ethics and Editorials

The Ethics Debate at DeSales University was cancelled because of ethics. Originally scheduled for last week, Sy Traub and R.B. Reilly were to represent the NIZ against Steve Thode, Lehigh Professor and opponent. The proponents supposedly had to drop out because of pending litigation. I had questioned Sy Traub at the WFMZ Debate for the same reason; Why he could participate, but Sara Hailstone couldn't? This evening Bethlehem Township Commissioners will discuss the Arena issue, despite having filed a lawsuit, despite being involved in litigation.

 Several years ago The Morning Call ceased printing in house Editorials, instead expanding the Your View space, opinion pieces from their readers. When they had editorials, supposedly there was a firewall between them and the news. This past week, I wrote about the push poll conducted by Muhlenberg and the paper. It clearly seemed a vehicle intended to promote the arena, an editorial dressed as the news. They had to put the financial issue aside to conduct the poll. That's like putting aside the shooting and asking Mrs. Lincoln how was the play? The Morning Call continued the editorial in yesterday's paper, using the article, and a quote from Alan Jennings about kicking Allentown when it's down, in the week's roundup section.

 No reflection on the individuals invited, but perhaps a discussion on Ethics and the NIZ was an oxymoron from the get go. Perhaps The Morning Call should print an editorial supporting the Arena project, and stop compromising the objectivity of their news articles.

related post at O'Hare's Ramblings

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. To post a comment pertaining to a specific property, owner or inspector, you must must use your name.

 *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.

17 Minutes of Repetition

Pawlowski's interview on WFMZ is 17 minutes of repetition. He says over and over again that the city's proposal addresses all the concerns that the townships had in regard to the EIT. When the interviewer directly asks Pawlowski if he made any mistakes in implementing the plan, he glosses over the question, and again repeats himself about the EIT concessions. His premise that this was the most evaluated plan in the valley's history is completely erroneous. Although the legislation may have existed from 2009, nobody, including the legislators, knew anything about it. All news reports on the topic have been after the fact. Pawlowski considers those dog and pony show presentations about the arena, after the demolition began, to be public input. I do not believe he swayed any township officials with the interview. Watch it here.

City Without Spending Limits

The Destination Dog Park plans are elaborate. Although the pony for each pooch is an exaggeration on my part, the plans are elaborate, never the less. The park would cost close to $One Million dollars when completed. Our former park director got to include the plan on his resume, even if pooch doesn't get to play there. Seems that the designers probably never actually walked around the area, by Dixon and Mack Blvd. If they had, they would have realized that the ground feels like a sponge; it is a wetland. Well, the important thing is de plane, the plan. The plan was paid for by the Trexler Trust, trust in Weitzel. The Forest Stewardship Plan was created after yours truly, this blogger, leaked that the Administration was planning on logging South Mountain. After The Morning Call appropriated the tip without attribution, Weitzel covered for Pawlowski, and we now have a stewardship plan. I also take credit for having the light posts removed from the Cedar Park paths plan; I suggested that they should be careful when changing the light bulbs in the flood plain.* Weitzel and his expensive plans are gone. In a recent letter to the editor, Friends Of The Parks President Karen El-Chaar, lamented his departure as the loss of a visionary.

* My archivist reminds me that Weitzel denied that lights were planned for the path on the west side of Ott St.  What was planned, and discarded partly because of my efforts,  was the plan to turn the stone house by the rose gardens into a cafe,  and built a wedding pavilion across the creek from the rose garden.

Arena Push Poll

Muhlenberg College and The Morning Call have collaborated on another one of their famous polls, famous for wrong conclusions. In 2005, they had Heydt ahead of Pawlowski by 7 points. Pawlowski won by 20 points. Were they 27 points off, or worse, were they trying to effect the election? Was their intent to keep the Republicans content and at home? These polls are conducted by Chris Borick, Muhlenberg's political science professor. During a Presidential election, the Morning Call photographed a group of people whom Borick claimed were undecided, and analyzed their responses to the debate questions. By coincidence, I knew half of the people. Although they may like to proclaim themselves independent and undecided, they were committed Democrats.
 Their newest mistake is that valley residents look forward to the Allentown Hockey Arena, and think that it's a good idea, because 58% of respondents felt the arena would have a positive impact on Allentown.

"Politics aside, financing fight aside, Lehigh Valley residents see this as important to Allentown," Borick said. "Despite all the negative news, the public is fairly positive about what this can do for the city — and that includes people from inside and outside the city."

 Although  the pollster himself concluded in 2009 that the public doesn't appreciate their taxes used for such projects, the poll   ignored how people feel about the misappropriation of their taxes for this particular  boondoggle.    Why this push poll now?  It appears to be a response to the  the current  controversy to add support for the arena project.  Pawlowski should buy him lunch.     The Molovinsky Survey of Allentonian Opinion, conducted early morning in diners throughout Allentown, thinks the arena is in the wrong place, and they probably will not go there. I would have more respect for their poll, had they done it before they dug the hole.

It's de Plane, It's a Plan

Believe it or not, Pawlowski's Plane, I mean plan, for Allentown in 2005 was Weed and Seed, a stock federal government plan that produces little to no results. In 2005, when I called Pawlowski's plan crabgrass, he replied, At least it's a strategy! His plans have grown more ambitious. By 2006, he outgrew Weed and Seed and was counting on townhouses to revitalize Allentown. We gave the neighborhood parking lot near 8th and Walnut, along with KOZ designation, to Nic Zawarski to build townhouses. The last ones were just sold at auction, for 50cents on the dollar. The Fegley family formed a real estate LLC and purchased them. Decades ago, a controversial City Councilman proposed that we drop a bomb on Allentown and start over. Ironically, the city was in much better shape then. Although Pawlowski didn't drop a bomb, it looks like we did. We now have a Transformational square block hole, and every township in Pennsylvania suing us. Pawlowski even wants to close the airport where de plane lands.
The plane arrives