Fisherman Robbed By Fit Man At Jordan Park

While Mayor Pawlowski and his compliant park director brag about catalog equipment which won't last 3 years, a fisherman was thrown to the ground and robbed at gunpoint early Thursday morning in Jordan Park. While the Allentown Police are too short manned to properly patrol our existing parks, Mayor Pawlowski and his compliant park director are seeking a grant to develop another park, at the former incinerator plant near Basin Street. Who is going to maintain an additional park after the grant runs out in year one? Who is going to provide safety at such an out of the way place? It's time for our park director, Linday Taylor, to seek the counsel of people familiar with Allentown and the parks. For her information, that would not include Ed Pawlowski.

I'm sure that Ms. Taylor saw a recent letter to the paper criticizing the grow zones along our park creeks.  She should realize that the next mayor will most likely have more familiarity with the traditional park system, which does not include weed zones, that block both access and view of the streams.  Allentown parks were created along the streams to add to the park experience, not to be a science experiment for the Wildlands Conservancy.  Although the mayor may praise the new park signs, even they are symbolic of the new superficiality,  which is not appreciated by most Allentonians.  Ms. Taylor would do well to realize that soon  there will be a new mayor, with an appreciation of Allentown's iconic park system.  By that criterion, there will be a lot to mow and repair.

An Allentown School Primer

While Morning Call readers learned yesterday that Allentown School superintendent Russ Mayo would not be seeking another contract, molovinsky readers already knew that since early last week. However, today's post is a lesson in recent history. Before Mayo, the superintendent was John Zahorchak. The board that hired him thought very highly of themselves for that choice. Zahorchak was former Secretary of Education under Rendell. What the board didn't realize was that while the Rendell administration was a case study in cronyism, it was not concerned with expertise. Zahorchak came to town and turned the school system inside out, and upside down. He instituted every new concept ever written in the education magazines. Among one bad move after another, he transfered Allen High's very effective principal to desk job on Penn Street. In wake of the mess, the board was then glad to hire Mayo, who was familiar with the system before the chaotic changes.

Allentown School System has been suffering from the same problems which affect all urban systems with high poverty rates.  Why the board thinks that a new superintendent will change the parameters of that reality escapes me.  The district just announced that there will be another year with no tax increase, which would be considered welcome news in most communities.

Now some older history;  Shown above is Dorothy Taliaferro, as pictured in the 1920 Allentown High School yearbook.  Dorothy was a vocal supporter for woman suffrage, and hoped to become a doctor. She was the first black girl to graduate from Allentown.  Although Dorothy did not fulfill that career ambition,  she had two younger brothers who did become physicians.  The family lived at 450 Union Street, which was later demolished in one of Allentown's misguided urban renew projects.

Thanks to Dan Doyle, for loan of the 1920 Comus.  

The Damn Dam and Damn Blogger

When I made my presentation to the County Commissions on Wehr's Dam, I was preceded by Farmland Preservation advocates.  I knew that farmland preservation is a fashionable topic, and even referenced it in my speech.  In addition to being met with silence at that time, I have heard since, that the commissioners are not taken with the idea of adopting the dam.  But,  I have just learned that while they want to dwell on the farmland topic,  Lehigh County has already preserved 22,000 acres, at up to $5,000 an acre. It's hard for me to imagine spending so many millions of dollars preserving land that may not be developed anyway, but not caring about preserving an irreplaceable historic structure of beauty, which has been treasured by generations of people from Lehigh County.

For those new to this blog, I'm no diplomat.  I tend to become somewhat blunt when it comes our historical structures which cannot be replaced, once gone.  Readers may be surprised, especially the ones who comment with a pseudonym,  that I see and talk to the officials that I criticize.  Yes, it can be awkward, but along the way I saved a couple of structures, and caused a few more to be repaired. Could I have done it more diplomatically, perhaps, but I'm an old dog.

The Wildlands Conservancy are hypocrites, who harvest state dam demolition grants because they're allowed to keep 15% for administrative fees.  The South Whitehall Commissioners are reneging on their 2014 vote to keep the dam, and are disingenuously greatly inflating the repair cost,  to accommodate the Wildlands and justify a referendum.  Let us hope that the County Commissioners show more respect for the things that matter to the residents of Lehigh County, and save the dam.

An Extra Inning For The Establishment

When you're fighting the establishment in Lehigh Valley, you better get your P's and Q's in line before the deadline,  because there are no extensions. However, for the establishment, deadlines are just the beginning.

When Chris Kocher of the Wildlands Conservancy said two years ago that if the South Whitehall Commissioners voted to keep Wehr's Dam, that would be the end of the issue, he must have given himself a good chuckle.

When Lehigh County reached the deadline for farmland preservation, they simply reset the clock. Their goal is to preserve 25% of all the land in the county, so far, they have only 10%. Now, of course that doesn't mean that the remainder is being developed, most of it will remain farmland. Those figures pertain to land officially preserved. It doesn't count in their eyes unless the development rights are paid for with our tax dollars. What these advocates really know about farming or land, you could stuff in one organic tomato.

Last week, when Allentown's Shark Tank business subsidy plan failed to attract enough applicants, they extended the deadline. On the other hand, when a local judge ruled against taxing the arena, the Allentown School District decided not to file an appeal. While there is a limit on trying to save the taxpayer some money,  there's no limit on how much of our money can be spent.  We learned that the NIZ board will be able to keep their full annual $million dollar budget, which they need to scrutinize project applications. As if they really scrutinize Reilly, Butz and Jaindl, or would ever deny them.

The King Has Abdicated

In 1958 my father had a food stand at the fair. It took him about an hour to realize you cannot sell hot dogs in the King's back yard; Yocco, the Hot Dog King. When Yocco's claimed last year they were not at the fair because their canvas ripped, I was skeptical. This year it's official, they have abdicated their spot. Tonight the fair was jammed. In Ag Hall the granges still compete in vegetable canning. A wiseguy still incites you to dunk him. The world's smallest horse hasn't grown. Maybe Yocco's is gone, but the fair is still much more like 1958 than any other aspect of Allentown.

REPRINTED FROM AUG.28, 2007

UPDATE 2016: Yocco's has announced that they have closed their original location in the 600 block of Liberty Street.

The Crucifixion of Ce-Ce Gerlach

While Jesus of Nazareth was killed in Jerusalem,  Ce-Ce was crucified in Nazareth.  One anonymous commenter after another cast stones. The mob found Ce-Ce guilty,  because she accepted a scholarship from DeSales for NIZ residents,  which was underwritten by the Trexler Trust and City Center Real Estate.  Although, she took no direct assistance from J.B. Reilly,  over 80 comments condemned her. The recipients were chosen by the college.  I must confess I may be somewhat responsible for the lynching.  I found some irony in Ce-Ce mentioning the scholarship on her facebook page,  considering she has been portrayed as the advocate for community benefit by the NIZ.  I mentioned this thought to an acquaintance,  who in turned mentioned it to blogger Bernie O'Hare.

After imagining her hanging on the cross,  and feeling somewhat responsible,  I come to her defense.  Comments on Ramblings suggest that the scholarships are not intended for people of means who already have a college degree.  I personally have no knowledge of Ce-Ce's finances, or the criterion used in selecting applicants,  but neither do those condemning her.   Ce-Ce remains one of the more sincere people offering her time and energy to serve the city.  If she is willing to drive to Center Valley one night a week to further her education,  perhaps we should be grateful.

Open Letter To Ed Pawlowski

Mayor Pawlowski, the last thing Allentown needs is another park. In all due respect, I forgot more about the park system than you ever knew. There are endless items throughout the system that are in need of repair. The most used pavilions in the city, in Cedar Park on Honochick Drive, are in dire need of roof shingles and paint. Yes, I know that they are scheduled for replacement, but that is the story of the park department and the city, since your arrival in Allentown. Defer maintenance, and build some new feature. I know that maintenance looks boring on a resumé.  The repaired wall in Lehigh Parkway does look good, but you're only fixing it because it's a retaining wall, and it must be repaired to reopen the road. It was deferred maintenance that caused the problem in the first place.

Anyway, back to the incinerator parcel. I know it adjoins the Basin Street parcel that you should have never bought from Abe Atiyeh. Making a new park out of the incinerator and Basin Street is just cover for one of your political maneuvers. How sad that you're sucking in the new park director on this transparent scheme. But, she's a big girl, and should speak up about priorities.

p.s.  You should speak to Scott Unger, he may need that bridge to bring the choo-choo back to S. 10th Street.