Ezekiel's Tomb

Ezekiel's Tomb is south of Baghdad, in Al Kifl. The tomb dates back to the 6th Century B.C., during the Babylonian exile. Prior to creation of Israel in 1948, 100,000 Jews still remained in Iraq; Today, there are eight.

Last year Hebrew lettering was covered over in fresh plaster, in a process to turn the ancient Jewish shrine into a mosque. Fortunately, word leaked back to Israel and to the Jews of Iraqi descent. That community's history in Iraq spanned 2,700 years, 1,000 years before the birth of Islam. The renovation is now under international scrutiny, and hopefully the Jewish elements will remain. The photo shows Iraqi Jews in front of the tomb in 1932.

Conflicting reports: There are conflicting reports, both about the condition and intentions for the shrine. Here is an article from The Jerusalem Post, dated May 2010, which claims that there has been no damage (recent) to Jewish inscriptions.
NY Times recent article, Oct. 19, 2010

reprinted from September 2013

Whose Your Worm In Harrisburg?

It doesn't matter where you live in the Lehigh Valley, or whether your representative is a Republican or Democrat, either way, you have a worm representing you. Yesterday, they passed a budget with no pension reform. Two bills, one from the house, the other from the senate, offered a path away from the state's biggest problem, the pension liability. Both bills would have honored the current pension with existing employees, but would have gone to a 401 type plan for all new hires. The Democrat excuse was that it did nothing to alleviate the liability for existing employees, estimated to be as high as $50billion, for their pension life. They instead favored issuing more bonds and again deferring the state's full contribution. The Republicans also ignored the bills, also pandering to the strong unions, especially the teachers. Corbett is not an attractive candidate this year, but credit him for standing behind pension reform. The Republicans in the General Assembly, both representatives and senators, had enough seats to pass pension reform, but chose not to. The union pandering Democrats never considered it. Whose your worm?

St. Matthew's Monastery

St. Matthew's Monastery in Kurdish Iraq, one of the oldest Christian Institutions in the world, was built by Christians fleeing persecution in 363 AD. Today, 16 centuries later, Christians are once again seeking shelter there. In the last decade it has been estimated that half the Christians have left Iraq. Since the Baghdad Church bombing in October, some Christians are afraid to be seen wearing a cross; Others have fled with little more than the clothes on their back. Pray for them.

St. Matthew's is part of the Syriac Orthodox Church

reprinted from December 2010. Things have only gotten worse for the Christians in Iraq, many more have fled.

reprinted from May 2013.   The situation in Iraq has become even more perilous. Those Christians unable to leave Iraq have mostly taken shelter in north section of the country, under control of the Kurds. 

Morning Call Features Two Letters On Wehr Dam

The Wildlands Conservancy has noble goals. In Whitehall Township on the Jordan Creek, the group recently removed several small nuisance dams that were of little historic and aesthetic value. Wehr's Dam, however, is of high historic and aesthetic value and is at the center of a park in a tranquil setting in South Whitehall Township. The Jordan Creek flowing over Wehr's Dam and then under Wehr's Covered Bridge is an often-photographed location that has appeared on calendars and in literature touting our wonderful lifestyle. To remove Wehr's Dam is unconscionable. The Wildlands Conservancy should switch from Plan A (dam removal) to Plan B (remediation). Plan B is to pump the silt from the upstream side of the dam and build a fish ladder, which possibly could be incorporated as part of the original mill race. Fish are not stupid. Given the opportunity, they will find their way up the fish ladder. Residents of South Whitehall and the Lehigh Valley should get involved with this issue and make sure you get what you want. Perhaps the decision should be decided by a voter referendum rather than by a small group of people.
Dale Heffelfinger
Whitehall Township

 South Whitehall Township is usually good at communicating with its residents. Notices regularly arrive, announcing new township policy and initiatives. As an advocate for keeping Wehr's Dam and not allowing the Wildlands Conservancy to demolish it, I'm shocked at how few township residents know that the dam is in jeopardy. If township officials would notify the residents of their deliberation allowing the dam's destruction, they would quickly find out how near and dear this historic icon is to the people of South Whitehall. The commissioners and township have a duty to disseminate this information.
Michael Molovinsky
South Whitehall Township

The Morning Call featured Wehr Dam today in their letter section.  They coupled two letters with a photograph of the dam by Harry Fisher.  

State House of Cowards

Pennsylvania is a State House of cowards. Rather than pass the Tobash Amendment, which would address the state's biggest problem, the underfunded pensions, they will instead sell off the liquor system for a quick one year fix. Simply put, the Tobash Amendment honors all existing pension agreements, but changes the formula to a 401 contribution style for new employees. Your cowards in Harrisburg would rather offend one union, the liquor store employees, than all the public unions. Your cowards in Harrisburg will find a few extra dollars for the public schools after their sellout, and once again be greeted as returning heroes at home. Your elected cowards, and their local partisan supporters, will once again put their talking points for November's election ahead of real solutions for Pennsylvania.

UPDATE: The Republican controlled State Assembly is seemingly cobbling together a budget more cowardly than I predicted, adapting neither of the options mentioned above. Watch them even find a few extra dollars to bring back to their local school districts, but much less than really needed.

Park Follies and Misappropriations

Over the years this blog and myself have established credibility and expertise on Allentown's traditional park system and the WPA. I must report what I consider to be a major shenanigan by the mayor. $1.3 million dollars was taken to purchase two heavy industrial areas, to supposedly add to the park system. This $million plus dollars was taken from the water/sewage lease, which is being used as the mayor's discretionary fund, instead of the dedicated pension relief,  promised at the time. $950,000.00 was used to buy the parcel at Union and Basin Streets, near the city sewage plant. This is one of the oldest industrial areas in the city, and certainly not needed for more park land. Allentown has not been able to maintain the existing park land, or the features within it. The Fountain Park Pool has been abandoned, and the WPA structures are crumbling. The other just purchased parcel is the old fertilizer plant location,  along Martin Luther King Dr., west of the crumbling Schreibers Bridge. We have an administration with no memory or knowledge of Allentown's past. Anybody who knew what went on at the fertilizer/rendering plant, would not want their grandchildren playing there. The city's rationale for these purchases is to expand the biking paths and connect the parks. That's the folly, and now the misappropriations. Allentown has supposedly allocated money to engineer the repair of the leaning WPA wall in Lehigh Parkway. I know why the wall leans. Years ago, the stone shoulder between the park entrance and wall was blacktoped. As cars and city trucks drive around the curve, pressure is exerted against the wall. That strip of asphalt needs to be removed, and the stone buffer restored. The problem with the engineering study is that it's the third time it has been appropriated. In the last two budgets money was actually budgeted to repair the wall, now the process begins again. What happen to the previous appropriations? Must molovinsky on allentown now also establish expertise in forensic accounting?

The Train of Lehigh Parkway

With the 15th Street Bridge closed, as people detour over the  Schreibers stone arch bridge,  few will be aware of the industrial past surrounding them. The Barber Quarry railroad branch line crossed the road, just south of the bridge. On the left was the Union Carbine's Linde plant, the concrete loading dock is still visible. Although the last train ran in the early 1980's, the wooden railroad trestle is still there, to the west and south of the bridge. The area is now used as part of the disc golf course. The photograph was taken by Dave Latshaw in 1976, and is part of the Mark Rabenold Collection.

reprinted from April 2013

UPDATE: Although the 15th Street Bridge reopened this past winter, long overdue repairs to Schreibers Bridge have not yet begun.