A Rejected Letter

The Morning Call has declined to print my reply to Vincent Stravino's letter about Israel. I was invited to address their concerns, and resubmit the piece. In my opinion Stravino uses what I consider propaganda techniques in his letters. He takes the Methodist resolution and attempts to give it divine authority by mentioning Bishop Tutu and the Presbyterian Church. Although I would have preferred the much larger Morning Call audience to read my reply, I present both Stravino's published letter and my rejected reply.

  The United Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant church in America, has recently considered the ongoing Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian Land. The Methodist General Conference approved a resolution urging the U.S. government to end all military aid to the region, called on all nations to prohibit any financial support for the construction and maintenance of settlements and called on all nations to prohibit the import of products made by companies in Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. The Church did not endorse divestment of their pension funds from three American military contractors who sell offensive weapons to Israel as part of $3 billion of U.S. aid yearly. The Methodist vote followed intense lobbying from rabbis on both sides of the issue. In a letter of support, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa characterized Israeli treatment of Palestinians as apartheid. The Presbyterian Church in the United States will vote soon on these same issues. The United Methodist Church has bravely moved from sympathetic words to tangible action against injustice. Let's all stop our taxpayer dollars from being used to fund settlements and violence against innocent Palestinians. Today America needs the money far more than Israel. Tell Congress. Vincent Stravino 

Vincent Stravino and I have been dueling about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for over a year here on the Letters To The Editor page. We also have conducted a private correspondence. Although Stravino is currently in Israel and the West Bank with the Inter-Faith Peace Builders, on Tuesday his letter was published citing positions by the Methodist Church against Israel. I suspect that Stravino is not a Methodist, and know that he is not authorized to be their spokesman. I have received an email from Stravino and his group from Israel; In it they note the "Nakba (Catastrophe) and the birth of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The "catastrophe" refers to the creation of Israel in 1948. Any person who questions the legitimacy of Israel, whether a Palestinian in the West Bank, or a peace activist from the Lehigh Valley, is hardly an honest broker for a just solution. Michael Molovinsky

Hybrid News

My post on Monday, Ethics and Editorials,   discussed how The Morning Call seemed to be blurring the news and their opinions. Yesterday, as if to prove my point, we saw a hybrid headline. Inserted into the headline article by reporter Matt Assad, was a box listing their second article, by columnist Bill White. White was offended by the smugness and coldness of Bethlehem township concerning the catastrophic hole in Allentown. He should have watched a former merchant literally cry in front of City Council last spring. Today, the paper continues the news/opinion casserole. Their formally dormant blog, Valley 610, has an inane poll comparing the casino and arena. Never mind that the casino was build by private money, and gives money back to the region. The Arena would be built by taxes, and take money from the area.

Pawlowski's Poor Priorities

The former Barber Quarry rail spur is no secret. The line ran along the Little Lehigh, under both the 8th Street and 15th Street Bridges, ending up near the present day Hamilton Family Diner. I have posted about it often; The Train of Lehigh Parkway, also The Train of Union Terrace and The Junkyard Train. It has played a role in several City plans. It's former railbed would be incorporated into the Trail Network Plan, and the AEDC received a grant to perhaps reinstate the rail line. Both these projects have been covered here at molovinsky on allentown. Today we are told that construction of the 15th Street Bridge replacement will be delayed because of arsenic found by the former railbed. Arsenic, and other pesticides were previously used to make railroad ties. This also is no secret. We are a city which can work with the state government to fast track development for political and private benefit, but are content to have the entire southside isolated. When construction finally does begin, it was suppose to start last November, the bridge will be closed in both directions for over a year. Schreiber's Bridge, the 184 year old stone structure a quarter mile west, has been taking a pounding.*  In 1957 the 15th Street Bridge opened, finally providing a good connection between South Allentown and the remainder of the city. Because Pennsylvania was considering it's replacement, Community Development Director Pawlowski, under Afflerbach, didn't have it's metal beam structure painted. Because Mayor Pawlowski has been consumed with Transforming Allentown, no haste has been applied to the bridge project. While the politicians and press lament about the Hole at 8th and Hamilton, I'm concerned about the quality of life issues; That bridge is one of them.

*This blog has noted the on going damage to Schreiber's Bridge from heavy use with just one lane of 15th Street Bridge currently closed.  This blogger personally informed Mayor Pawlowski of the damage. 

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.