You Sell The Milk, Not The Cow

I attended part of this meeting, held ironically on Earth Day, but left feeling depressed because I could see which way the wind was blowing.. Drinking water is as important as the air we breathe and Allentown is rushing to hand over its best asset to a known violator of DEP standards... As of now, I think they are set to vote 6-1 in favor on Thursday night with only one day to read the report they commissioned! I respect anyone who runs for office and serves the public, however, 3 of our 7 councilpersons were appointed, not elected.... However, this is not just about numbers. It is also about service, control of clean and adequate drinking water, sewage and water main maintenance and repairs, the loss of many good city workers, union bumping, etc. etc.. And lookout- if we get a huge snowstorm- be prepared to wait a much longer time for a snow plow to come down your street because there will be many fewer plow operators. I spent 18 years as a manager for the City of Allentown and I can say that there was no better managed or sophisticated operation than our Water and Sewer departments. I believe that City Council should understand what they are voting on and that there are cheaper and more effective ways to solve Allentown's budget woes. If you lived here in Allentown around 1998-2002 when our trash contractor violated our contract, almost on a daily basis, by not picking up the trash, etc., you might imagine what a nightmare it might be if our water sources become contaminated or diminish or the private companies want to take more of our drinking water to sell or decide to divert the best drinking water elsewhere and leave Allentown drinking Lehigh River water.....As one of our best former Councilman said- 'You sell the milk-NOT the cow'. This deal may look good on paper for 10-20 years but after that, God only knows... With global climate change drinking water is going to be more valuable than oil in some places. Please Ask them to slow down the process, and truly consider the alternatives. I think each councilperson should be asked to explain WHAT IS THE RUSH and WHY THIS DEAL IS THE BEST SOLUTION. And maybe it is. I don't really know but I would rather not break something that is not broken to solve the city budget problems. ... OK I need to get off the soapbox now...
Betsy Morris Levin 

The above comment, which I  condensed, was written by Betsy Morris Levin,  and appeared on an article by Randy Kraft on the WFMZ website.

Slaughter Of The Innocents

Much of the dogma, liturgy and shrines of the Coptic Church deal with the Holy Family's stay in Egypt, when they fled the Slaughter of the Innocents. With of the fall of various despots in the middle east, the iron fists which protected religious minorities are no longer there. Particularly affected, are the ancient Coptic Christians of Egypt. Saint Mena Coptic Orthodox Church dates back to the 6th century, and was rebuilt in 725 AD. It was put to the torch by a mob on Saturday, while the army stood by.
reprinted from May, 2011

UPDATE: There is a saying in the Middle East,  First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people. Close to a million Jews were driven out of Arab lands after 1948. Last week they came for the American people, in the Boston Marathon Massacre. Although it was at least the fourth attack in United States, the politically correct media still asked why?

An Honest Broker

An honest broker should give impartial analysis on a given subject. In the reality of the consulting world, sometimes that information is massaged to justify a wanted conclusion. Last night, Allentown City Council was told by The Pennsylvania Economy League that a new Allentown water authority would cost the ratepayers more than the Lehigh County Authority, which won the bid for the city's system. The League was hired by City Council to assist and justify their upcoming vote. They claim that a new Allentown Authority wouldn't be tax free, because it would be formed to pay for the police pension. They claim that other factors would also cause an Allentown Authority to have higher costs than the LCA. I do know that where there is a will, there is a way. The pension shortfall does not occur until 2015. A non-profit Authority could be currently formed with no connection to the police pension. Only two weeks ago Allentown found a way to accept the LCA bid, even though their charter was not extended for the full term of the lease. Allentonians of memory remember when The Allentown Parking Authority was formed, to assume costs associated with new parking decks. Dan Poresky, a water lease opponent, feels that even if more cost did occur, it would be worth it for the citizens of Allentown to retain ownership of their water system.

The School Dilemma

There's a couple of conflicting articles about the Allentown School System budget dilemma on the local radar. Scott Armstrong, School Director, says that all options are being deployed against the shortfall; maximum tax increase allowed by law, layoffs, and spending down the reserve. Joanne Jackson, School Director, says that her fellow directors must do more. Armstong has suggested a teacher wage concession. Jackson, I suppose, would use more reserve funds. This dilemma is not new to older Allentown tax payers. Usually by the mid summer the State restores some of the funding. Likewise, the school system has a habit of staffing based on grants, which will always run out. As a payer of state taxes, I'm not a big fan of the NIZ. That zone was split into three sections; Downtown, Riverfront, and thankfully, The Sacred Heart Hospital. Perhaps it should have been four, including the Allen High Campus. Amazing how much creativity can be applied to finance private development, and how little toward public education.

Marginalizing In Allentown

Carmen Bell,Alfonso Todd,Julio Guridy, Ray O'Connell, Jeff Glazier, David Melman, Kim Velez

The Morning Call continues to marginalize the opposition candidates in Allentown's City Council race. Thursday evening, April 18th, four of the challengers met three of the incumbents at the NAACP Candidate Forum. Although the article, which featured the water lease issue, was on the top of page seven in the hard copy, as opposed to the usual bottom position, the article contained no photograph. The photo above is borrowed from a challenger's facebook page. As the article was presented, the incumbents were quoted on the first page, while the challengers are not mentioned until the continued portion, five pages later. The incumbents favor the water lease, while the challengers take exception to the plan. One incumbent, Cythnia Moto remains out of the country, recuperating from an illness. One challenger, Daryl Hendricks, seems to be dodging the fray. Hendricks, a retiring police captain, may find the water lease issue best avoided, since the lease was necessitated by police pensions.

photocredit:Just Uniq Productions

Trolley To Dorney Park

When the Allentown-Kutztown Traction (Trolley) Company purchased Dorney Park in 1901, trolley companies were buying or building amusement parks all across the country. Perhaps the most famous was Coney Island. Usually located between two cities serviced by the company, it was a plan to increase weekend rider-ship. Passengers could spend a day at the park, swimming, picnicking, and partaking of the rides and amusements. Through merger, the trolley would become the Allentown-Reading Traction Company, whose line began just south of Hamilton, on 7th Street. The line went west on Walnut Street, and then followed the Cedar Creek to the park. The roller coaster was built over the tracks in 1923, the year that the Allentown-Reading sold the park to the Plarr family.  Trolley service would continue to 1934.