A Tale Of Two Bridges

In the mid 50's, it was a big deal to us southsiders when they opened the new 15th Street Bridge. Prior to that, we had to either go over the 8th Street Bridge, or use the old stone arch bridge by the fertilizer plant. The fertilizer plant is long gone, but the old stone bridge is still there. Schreibers Bridge was built in 1828, and rehabilitated in 1920. The new 15th Street bridge was built in 1957, and is now restricted to south bound only, until which time it can be completely replaced. So the new bridge lasted 54 years, while the old stone bridge is still in use, 182 years later.

Recently, I urged Donny Cunningham not to replace the stone arch bridge on Reading Road. His project manager, Glenn Solt, insists that the historic bridge must be replaced. He stated that stone arch bridges look nice on the outside, but inside, they're filled with "crap." Thankfully, Don and Glenn didn't target Schreibers Bridge, because we're really going to need it with the new 15th Street Bridge out of commission. Hopefully, they will reconsider about stealing our history on Reading Road.

reprinted from November 2010 and February of 2012

ADDENDUM: I did manage to save the Reading Road Bridge. I now encourage Allentown to restore the approach walls to Schreibers Bridge, damaged as it served heavy duty while the new 15th Street Bridge was being replaced.

In The Lehigh Valley Of Sacred Cows

If anyone is wondering what the issue was with my letter to the Morning Call about Wehr's Dam, the issue was me.  One of the consequences of having criticized the paper and various sacred cows over the last decade, is that my letters are submitted to a much higher level of scrutiny. Almost all the letters that they print have assumptions and opinions.  It is, after all,  the Opinions Page.  My previous letter on Wehr's Dam, before the referendum, took over a month of negotiations to have printed.  In the end, it was only printed because Bill White declined to make corrections to his piece on Wehr's Dam, and suggested instead that I write an editorial.

One must understand that we live in the valley of sacred cows and denial.  Only here can the township manager of South Whitehall go to work for the townships largest property owner and developer, and not raise eyebrows.  Only here can Allentown's biggest developer actually now own the newspaper building.

For the sake of journalism and access to news,  the Morning Call should be printing this blog as a daily column, instead of repressing my occasional letters.

Trump's Muslim Ban

The thing about Trump's Muslim Ban is that it is not a ban on Muslims, it's a travel ban against countries which for the most part are in a state of anarchy or hostility, and not capable of vetting their own citizens in regard to our security.  How safe do you feel about the current governments of Libya, Somalia or Yemen, checking passengers on their end of a flight?

My readers of liberal persuasion are probably beginning to doubt my claim of being a non-partisan.  The fact is I am bewildered by the misinformation and distortion concerning the Trump administration.  Now, I get that Trump has repulsed you numerous times in the last six months.  You are certainly entitled to your dislike and distrust of him,  but the distortions benefit nobody.

killing Christians on the beach in Libya

Low Information Blacks and Whites

Among the things I find interesting about this post election result, is the classism and hypocrisy of the liberal Democratic establishment. Although, I'm non-partisan and voted for Gary Johnson, I interact with both camps. The shocked Democrats keep referring to low information rednecks, who voted for Trump. However, they had no problem with black voters, some of whom were low information.  Obama and Hillary themselves tried to rally the black vote, not with information, but with free concerts.  An uninformed black vote is apparently more legitimate than one from an uninformed white person.  Perhaps, what they're thinking, but not saying, is that they expect the black voter to be less informed.  Another Democratic concern for blacks is alleged voter repression in the south.  Registering them is enough;  If they vote Democratic, there is little concern about how informed they are on the issues.  Of course those whites, who do not vote Democratic,  are uninformed rednecks.

News In The Trump Era

Although, I thought that the news and media was biased during the presidential campaign of 2016, I haven't seen anything yet. Only President for two weeks, Trump has managed to alienate the press even more than before.  Now, I don't blame Trump, I blame the press. (I use the terms press and media interchangeably, and mean both print, internet, broadcast and cable)  The media knew what they were getting when Trump won.  I suppose that there might have been an expectation of a more presidential demeanor, but there should be no surprise that it didn't materialize.

As someone who looks for news and not attitude, my hunt has become more elusive.  Complicating the  endeavor, is that more and more news sources are being consolidated.  When the public is willing to accept the blurbs on facebook as news,  we are in an era of electronic tabloids.

News as entertainment isn't new, but when that's all there is,  democracy suffers. Previously informed people are reduced to this new diet. The Sunday edition of the Washington Post treats the previous evening's Saturday Night Live parody as news.   CNN has joined the official electronic tabloid club by refusing  to host Kellyanne Conway on their Sunday talking heads program, after being shut out of some access by the White House.  In this vacuum,  I expect that molovinsky on allentown will have to open a Washington bureau. I was hoping to devote more column space to local history.

An Artistic Opportunity

I will make available to a discerning collector or institution an iconic work by Jessica Lenard(1950-2016) Family,1993, mixed media on canvas, 50"x66"
contact off line.

Molovinsky and Morning Call Tumble Over Wehr's Dam

The Morning Call has declined to print the following letter, and a longer version of it.

The basis of the letter in question is centered on assumption of a result not yet known. We are declining to print the letter because it contains at worst faulty logic, at best an assumption. Please include this reasoning when you ‘go public.’   The Morning Call

The South Whitehall Commissioners never expected the voters to approve the referendum this past November to retain Wehr's Dam, especially when they had associated it with a possible tax increase. They thought that they could accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy in demolishing the dam, with no political consequence to themselves. In July of 2014, the Commissioners gave the Conservancy permission to conduct a study of the dam, which was intended to justify its demolition. The engineering firm for the Conservancy then claimed that the dam was leaking under itself, at one small spot. On February 13, 2015, the DEP wrote the township; "The Wildlands Conservancy has recently brought to our attention that there is some confusion relating to the current condition of the Wehr's Dam..." For the Commissioners to have granted the Wildlands Conservancy permission to interface with the state was improper. The dam is the historic property of the township residents, not an outside party. A subsequent study of the dam by another engineering firm could not confirm the above referenced leak. It is now necessary for the Commissioners to put aside their agenda of accommodating the Wildlands Conservancy, and honor the results of the referendum. They must change their Park Master Plan, which still calls for the dam's demolition. They must now advocate for the dam with the state DEP, and correct any misconceptions about its condition.
Michael Molovinsky

ADDENDUM: Although, The Morning Call has declined to print my letter(s), they will now inquire and report on the Township's intention in regard to the dam.

photocredit: K Mary Hess