Biden Throwing Baby Out With Bathwater

Although Nikki Haley wisely warned the Democrats against the indiscriminate tossout of everything from the Trump Administration, Biden appears to being doing exactly that.  

When he stopped the Keystone pipeline project,  he put thousands of workers on unemployment.  As Texans sat in the dark last week, even liberal ones may have had the time to contemplate the benefit of more North American energy, not less.  If that didn't slap their face, perhaps the crossing of asylum seekers at the border this weekend will. Iran sponsored militias rocketed a base in Iraq, which should remind Biden of reality in the middle east.

While I understand that the Trump revulsion will not allow the admission of any previous good policy, perhaps Biden will have the good sense to at least rebrand some of those policies.  Energy and security shouldn't be compromised for political reasons.

Racial Divide In Allentown's Upcoming Primary

A white mayoral candidate was recently taken to task on facebook for mentioning a black woman's role in his childhood.  When I observed that there would be no satisfying those intent on fostering racial divide, I was informed that there was no divide, just some good intended cultural sensitivity training taking place.  

While I refrained from any further exchange, I did follow the training taking place, and took the liberty of checking the trainers' pages. While they claim no racial divide,  I could not find one white candidate being supported for any office by any of the trainers.

The Morning Call inadvertently launched some of the current campaigns this past summer, with one article after another on the social justice marches taking place.  An article this weekend ties the summer marches and the spring campaigns together. 

It is my hope that if any of these campaigns succeed, that those newly elected mature into officials with a wider agenda. 

Turning Allentown's Blight Into Success

The recent article about Allentown in the New York Times used the B word.

Aided by tax dollars that would otherwise go to state or local general funds, developers should be able to offer attractive rents to companies that bring in new workers — who in turn might move into or buy new apartments and support new shops and restaurants in what had been a blighted urban landscape.

The writer of the Times piece is from New York City. We know that, because even J.B.Reilly, who hopes to rent apartments to the new office workers, isn't building condo's to sell in center city Allentown, or as he says, city center Allentown. 

While that writer is from NYC, this writer is from Allentown, and will now tell you how to change blight into success; You simply move it around the corner and up three blocks. The merchants and shoppers previously referred to as blight on Hamilton Street, are now being touted as the success of 7th Street. On Hamilton Street they had to compete with both the memory and expectation of better days. On 7th Street, things have been so dire for so long, the same shops and people now look like success. We could debate the sociology of my observation. We could become offended or defensive, but taking the show around the corner did change the perception. 

Talking of turning the corner, readers may soon notice a change in this blog. Although molovinsky on allentown will continue to write the unspoken, there are  few too vestiges of the old commerce and values to reference. While nobody will identify me as an advocate of the Arena and Neighborhood Improvement Zone, reporting will shift more to the future.

above reprinted from March of 2014

UPDATE FEBRUARY 19, 2021: Well, I never did climb on board with Allentown's new agenda.  This blog actually may well have contributed to Pawlowski's indictment.  My scrutiny then turned to the Morning Call, its lack of candor about the NIZ, and their protection of local sacred cows. The paper now has its own problems, as a hedge fund may soon be their new owner. 

Allentown's growing diversity seems to be dominating the upcoming local elections, with insinuations of racial insensitivity as a main theme.  My new project,  facebook group Allentown Chronicles, has me now more often revisiting Allentown's past, than its present or future.

photocredit:urban shopper, relocated from Hamilton to 7th Street/michael molovinsky

A Snowy Morning In Jerusalem

Snow is a rare occurrence in Jerusalem, but on January 10th (2013) it snowed 6 inches, the biggest storm since 1992.  Although this blog concentrates on local political commentary, I do indulge in a few distractions. Among those are local history, boxing from the Joe Louis era, and stories from the Holy Land.  With all topics, the quality of the visual image presented here is paramount to me.

reprinted from February of 2013

The Valley Of Cronyism

On Thursday I was a guest on Lehigh Valley Discourse, WDIY's program hosted by Alan Jennings. Despite some distractions, I was able to bring up one of Lehigh Valley's biggest problems, cronyism. Cronyism and sacred cows run the valley. An Op-Ed piece in this weekend's Morning Call illustrates the point. Because they hire veterans, Nestle is lauded for its plans to build another large plant, this one in central Pennsylvania. Their Lehigh Valley plant is at capacity for water usage. Of course hiring veterans sounds like a good thing, but sucking the water out of Pennsylvania to fill plastic bottles all over the world is a problem.  The Op-Ed is essentially a public relations piece for Nestle, presented as an editorial.

Here in Allentown we face higher water prices because LCA wants to implement a back door price hike, by increasing the residential billing cycle. (each bill contains a minimum charge, effectively resulting in an increase) We are in essence subsidizing the profit margin of Nestle and other commercial users.

Nestle was brought to the valley by Don Cunningham, now director of Lehigh Valley Economic  Development Corporation. Apparently, the Morning Call has no problem with a Nestle feel good editorial piece, but try and submit something critical about the local sacred cows and cronyism to the paper. Expect no reply, much less seeing it printed.

above reprinted from July of 2018

UPDATE FEBRUARY 17, 2021: Nestle's local operation has been purchased by a large holding company.  In 2009, its then recent expansion in the valley, and the threat to our own water supply, were only covered by this blog.  The Morning Call would not cover the concerns of local environmental activists at the time.  Nestle made continuing donations to the Wildlands Conservancy, also ensuring their silence.  The Morning Call itself is now being acquired by a hedge fund.  While we don't know how this acquisition will affect their staffing,  they have already been a lapdog to the local sacred cows for well over a decade.

The Wagon Trail

Most of Lehigh Parkway lies in a deep ravine. The slope up to Lehigh Parkway South, across the creek from Robin Hood, is very steep, about 60 degrees. Unknown to many people, there is a diagonal trail on part of the slope, which comes out halfway up the hill behind the Stone and Log House.

We kids, who grew up in the Parkway, called it the Wagon Trail. I believe it was part of the Kemmerer Farm (Stone and Log House), which dates back to the late 1770's. In the 1950's, the foundation of a small kiln was still visible on the trail. The subsequent years had not been kind to the old trail,  and it is no longer maintained by the Park Department. About halfway between it's entrance and exit on the hill, the trail has been blocked by a large fallen tree. People had dumped debris on the trail, and it remained there for years.

In April of 2010, I organized a cleanup.  The park director at the time cooperated on the project. I agreed that no power tools would be used, and he arranged for the city to pick up the rubbish.

It is my hope that any new administration will realize that our parks are more than just space to cram more recreational gimmicks.  They are steeped in history, and places where children can explore.

reprinted from previous years