Ted Kohuth Next Police Chief

The new police chief will be Ted Kohuth. This coming Thursday, October 3, the public can meet the four finalists, but why isn't clear to me. If Pawlowski didn't care for your opinion about the water you drink, or the air you breath, why would he care who you prefer for police chief? Kohuth is well qualified and was a good choice.

Allentown School District Gets F In Business Ethics

Although the students have been responding well to the new uniform dress policy, molovinsky on allentown has learned that the School Administration has been misbehaving. School vouchers for the uniforms, which up to 25% of families have requested, can only be used at one business, New York Urban or it's sister store, Archives, both owned by the same party. Urban/Archives happen to be a City Hall favorite. All other merchants, some even displaced from Hamilton Street by the arena, will not be reimbursed for the vouchers. The unlevel playing field is nothing new to City Hall, but it's sad to see it employed by the School District. One merchant gets to stay on Hamilton Street, receive grants, and now have over 4,000 customers* sent to him, while everyone else has to compete in the free marketplace. Only in Allentown. 

*25% of 17,000+ Allentown school students

Tom Muller Spits On County History

Tom Muller demonstrated yesterday that he would gladly sacrifice part of Lehigh County's history to take advantage of any political opportunity. This past year Lehigh County Commissioners decided to spare the historic Reading Road Bridge, after the county already had replaced fourteen other bridges. The Reading Road Bridge was built in 1824, and is the oldest stone arch bridge in the county. In 1980 the bridge was totally rehabilitated, and a pedestrian walkway was added along it's southern side. Both the Hamilton Street and the Union Street bridges are less than half a block away, on either side. The historic stone arch span compliments the adjoining Union Terrace Amphitheater. Earlier this week, Penndot decided to close the bridge. Although nothing has changed about the bridge recently, they arbitrarily decided to downgrade all bridges with a 3 Ton weight limit to a closed status. This closed status also effects Reading Road's younger sister bridge, Schreiber's Bridge, built in 1828. Since Schreibers had been carrying the load for the closed 15th Street Bridge under construction, I'm sure the City of Allentown will challenge Penndot, rather than use the closure as a political prop. Yesterday, Muller repeated, word for word, language used last winter to justify replacing the bridge,  a brick shell filled with rubble, dirt and rocks, is insufficient against the hydraulics of Cedar Creek, of course it has been sufficient for 189 years. In a unguarded moment last year, the county project manager Glenn Solt, told blogger Bernie O'Hare that these old bridges are filled with crap. I don't know about the bridges, but it certainly applies to the politicians seeking to advance themselves at the expense of our history.

Bernie O'Hare also has a post on the bridge, although I find it somewhat misinformed.

People Who Need People Are The Nicest

I was just reading about ReNew Lehigh Valley and sustainable communities. People who need people are the nicest people in the world! These types of organizations spend $millions of dollars in grants to see what the ten yuppies in the valley want to improve their quality of life. Is it a $million dollar a mile train track to NYC to catch dinner and a show? Is it a valley wide health organization to supplement ObamaCare? Should we buy some more farms to make sure we don't lose any of the 33 million existing acres of farmland in Pennsylvania? Meanwhile, step on no toes. Don't say anything about fracking or burning sewage and trash to make energy. Spend grants on surveys and public input meetings, but don't support efforts for a public referendum. People who need people are the nicest people in the world.

UPDATE: I was misinformed,  my apology, now that these organizations are halfway through a three year, $3.4 million dollar grant to get our input (and their salaries) I must man up and admit that I was wrong,  I should have said People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.

Lehigh Valley Railroad Piers

In this era of class warfare, while we worry that the rich are only paying 35% income tax, instead of 39%, let us be grateful that once upon a time we had the Robber Barons. In this era when we have to give a grant for some woman to open a small cookie shop on Hamilton Street, let us be grateful that men built railroads with private money. Let us be grateful that incredible feats of private enterprise built piers, bridges and trestles. Trains allowed us to move vast amounts of raw and finished materials across America. This network allowed us to protect ourselves during two World Wars, and provided the prosperity upon which we now rest.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad tracks extended from their piers in New Jersey to the shores of Lake Erie. The Mile Long Pier in Jersey City was the scene of German sabotage in 1916. A train full of munitions, awaiting shipment to Europe, was blown up on July 30th of that year. In 1914, the railroad built the longest ore pier in the world, in Bayonne. The ore would come from Chile, through the new Panama Canal, for shipment to Bethlehem.

reprinted from February 2011

Switching Channels

I was very disappointed with Anthony Bourdain's treatment of Israel on his premiere CNN show.  My opinion on that show can be found  by clicking here on The Morning Chronicle.