Grassroots Politics In Allentown

If you're a student of grassroots politics in Allentown, chances are that you know Robert Trotner. This political and community activist has been encouraging political newcomers for a number of years, through both an internet radio show and coffee house gatherings. His recent meetings at the Coffee House Without Limits has attracted new candidates for mayor, city council and the school board. While their names are mostly new to the general public, all of them are involved in the process already, attending meetings and studying Allentown's problems.

I have been a supporter of local outsider politics for decades. These are the people you see at the meetings, week after week. They are the ones that fight the battle for everyone else.  They are the ones who speak out for the many who remain silent.  While a few get elected and become mainstream, most remain unelected, and unrecognized for their commitment.  Reporting their accomplishments has always been an honor for this blog.

Shown sitting with Trotner is City Council candidate Jessica Lee Ortiz and School Board candidate Phoebe Harris.

reprinted from February of 2017

ADDENDUM AUGUST 4, 2025:The two gentlemen, Lewis Shupe and Robert Trotner, are both still at it, and at it again. Although they never stopped their activism, they're putting coffee in the cup again at a physical location. You're welcome to join them tomorrow night(August 5) at Starbucks, 645 Hamilton Street at 6:00PM. I recall years ago meeting Josh Siegel at such a meeting, before he ever ran for any office.

Trump Price Is Wrong

Trump will be costly, very bigly, very soonly.  He misthinks that he can weaponize tariffs to control the foreign policy of our allies, as in regard to Palestinian recognition.  His pal in arrogance, Netanyahu, has undone years of good will building by Israel, by weaponizing food in Gaza.

The monetary price for Trump's vacillations will be borne by USA consumers. What he accomplishes on a Monday, he squanders by Thursday. The political price, while slower to show up, will be coming. Biden didn't become incompetent until the end of his term, Trump's already showing his shortcomings.

When Republicans will stand up and speak out remains to be seen. Only partisans can still accept the silence... support from independents has already been lost. I don't see Trump really caring about the Republican Party and reining himself in. Incumbents will have to distance themselves from His Highness to secure their political future.

I'm a fan of the old Drew Carey Show reruns, it is difficult for me to accept that he became a game show host.

The Dinosaurs Of Sumner Avenue

Up to the early 1950's, Allentown was heated by coal, and much of it came from Sumner Avenue. Sumner was a unique street, because it was served by the West End Branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The spur route ran along Sumner, until it crossed Tilghman at 17th Street, and then looped back East along Liberty Street, ending at 12th. Coal trucks would elevate up, and the coal would be pushed down chutes into the basement coal bins, usually under the front porches of the row houses. Several times a day coal would need to be shoveled into the boiler or furnace. By the early 1970's, although most of the coal yards were closed for over a decade, the machines of that industry still stood on Sumner Avenue. Eventually, they took a short trip to one of the scrap yards, which are still on the same avenue, but not before I photographed them.

reprinted from 2011

photocredit:molovinsky

Breaking Ground On Allentown's Future Demise

Yesterday, J.B. Reilly broke ground on another residential building. Back in 2011, this blog wondered why the Morning Call parcel was included in the NIZ map, when it stood across from Linden Street by itself...I suppose now we know the answer. 

This 15th Strata is called the Standard, and Reilly pledges to make some of its studio apartments affordable. That status will be down the road anyway. Because his new residential buildings have failed to gentrify downtown, they can't even support a food court, they will become the future's tenements soon enough. No less than four of our elected representatives were there to help Reilly celebrate his prosperity, it's certainly not ours! 

In addition to our clueless officials, the Morning Call ran a 16 to 26 photo spread on the charade, depending on which version you see. Does the paper's new staff even know that this parcel were their former offices, when they had offices, before working from home?  If my posts seem shorter, it's because my confidence in Allentown's relevance is becoming dimmer.

photocredit/AprilGamiz/TheMorningCall

As Allentown Turned Last Week

Last week I reported that the Morning Call was taking back their story about the immigrant deported to Guatemala by ICE, bit by bit. They started doing this after a national columnist, who the Call themselves have used in the past, reported that the story was fake. The columnist, Jonathan Turley, wrote that newspapers can't resist overlooking usual verification when the subject matter is ICE, or other social justice issues...It's called advocacy journalism. In the current MC article, the paper simply states,  The Morning Call has since unpublished those stories based on additional information that has come to light. While the original story was signed by reporter names, the current article is signed Morning Call staff.

Last week I got the following comment...Hey Mike if you ever need a break i started my own blog under Allentown Truth. While the blogger is anonymous, he uses the pseudonym Honest Abe. I always need, but never take a break. I have included Allentown Truth on the blog list located on the sidebar of my desktop version.

staff photo

The 37th Sport, Grass Parking

The theme of the SportsFest coverage on Sunday was that 36 different sports were being played at one location, CedarBeach Park. Anybody who drove up either Ott or Hamilton Street knows that records were also broken in Grass Parking. Rented security personnel continued directing vehicles to the meadow just west of the swimming pool, and up to the tree planted area toward Hamilton Street, until every square foot was jam packed. I'm conflicted about parking on the grass. Although MayFair through Sportsfest is certainly rough on the grass, it's only two months of the year, and thousands of people are served by the events. I do find it environmentally hypocritical to park on the grass, but institute a no mow zone denying access and view of the stream. Perhaps the Park Department should conduct a public input meeting on these issues. Could you imagine a meeting with citizens and the Park Department, without paid consultants, and projects which cost $millions? 

above reprinted from July of 2012 

ADDENDUM JULY 28, 2025: AwesomeFest is Sportsfest on steroids, which I suppose is a dirty word in sports competition. Although that former open space toward Hamilton Street is now planted orchard style with trees, the cars park in the park everywhere else, including on the grass along Linden Street. About twenty years ago, the Trexler Trust had a study commissioned which concluded that CedarBeach Park was being overused, and that was with a fraction of the current events held there now. Also, since that time, the Trexler Trust has relinquished any pretext of monitoring the park department for agendas outside of their founder's intent...on the contrary, they have become merely silent sycophants of the park department, with a big wallet.