Light Unto The Nations

While Polish soccer fans taunt a visiting team from Tel Aviv, and a doctor from Bethlehem joins a flotilla to Free Gaza, Israel is releasing over 1000 of it's avowed enemies to free one soldier. The soldier was abducted in Israel in 2006, and dragged into Gaza, while his two comrades were killed. His abductors will also be released, along with dozens of others, who pride themselves on how many Jews they have killed. In that group is a bomber, who alone blew up 30 Jews. Israelis know that some of these terrorists will return to Israel, and kill more Jews. The Israeli soldier was 19 when captured. He has not been seen since 2009. While the Polish fans jeer, and the doctor rants, the light shines.

photo: Israel attempts to rescue besieged Jews in Jerusalem, 1948

Bring Back Falko

Slow learning seems more apparent at the Administration office on Penn Street, than in any particular Allentown School. If I had to choose one blunder of Gerald Zahorchak's scramble of the Allentown School District, removing Keith Falko from Allen High would be it. Everybody agreed; teachers, students and parents, that Falko ran that ship as tight as it could be run. Zahorchak, always chasing grants and the newest concepts, shifted four principals, decimating discipline in the district. Falko was to end up at the 4th & Allen Over-Achiever Academy, which was wisely never instituted. His talent is now squandered down on Penn Street. The grant that Zahorchak chased, never paid off as large as anticipated anyway. Despite statistics being generated by a Director of Unnecessary Information, facts on the ground indicate that commotion is rampant at Allen.* Rumor is that although the new principal and his four assistants are nice guys, they don't command anywhere near the respect that Falko did. Hopefully, acting Superintendent Russ Mayo can see a winning play when it's staring him in the face.

*Steve Esack, The Morning Call, Parent Says Behavior At Allen High Out of Control, October 14, 2011

The Morning Call Delivery

I've been a continuous Morning Call subscriber for 34 years, every day, seven days a week. I think that might well be some sort of record. Even other dinosaurs, occasionally, have let their subscriptions expire, to take advantage of some promotion. Not me, full ticket, paid by the year. The last couple of years, as their delivery system broke down, I have taken to pay semi annually. Quarterly will now be the prudent choice. I no longer attempt to complain about a missing paper. Waiting to speak to somebody in India is detrimental to my blood pressure. molovinsky on allentown opens early, but the paper keeps coming later; Even mcall doesn't refresh itself until about 5:45 a.m. I no longer get the paper in time for my morning coffee, the pot is long empty by the time it arrives. I suppose soon I'll have to get my news from the City Web Site.

UPDATE February 15, 2014.    If you're having a delivery issue,  here is a petition addressing that problem.

The Morning Call Forgets The Meat

Despite a large front page story on the Arena and Mr. Reilly's spinoff development, complete with charts and graphs, despite being written by two of it's reporters, where's the beef? Like the famous 1984 commercial, the articles are large buns with small hamburgers. The real story is that none of the merchants were ever told that they could use taxes to purchase a new building, after being displaced by the city. The use of sales tax, 6% of their gross sales, could have been used for debt service on a new Hamilton Street location. To my knowledge, none of the affected merchants, will have a new retail store on Hamilton Street, or will have any benefit from the NIZ. They had asked for a meeting with the city for help, which was attended by The Morning Call, and were never told that the NIZ lever could be used by private property owners. They asked for a meeting with Senator Brown, and were never told about options which could have helped them save their businesses. The explanation by Browne and the Administration that this information was available if they had asked the proper questions, is unacceptable. FACTS ON THE GROUND INDICATE THAT THE LAW WAS APPLIED IN A SELECTIVE FASHION, TO FASHIONABLE PEOPLE. If this post sounds repetitive, that's because it is. There's still no hamburger inside the bun, and still no explanation.

The Historical Record

During the City Council Eminent Domain Hearing, Louie Belletieri came in about halfway during the meeting. I encouraged him to stay and say a few words. Louie stood up at the meeting's end and told City Council that they should pay the shopowners straight up. Although Louie wasn't involved with the issue before, during or after that meeting, his Godfather presentation resonated with the local newspaper reporter. In addition to quoting Louie for the coverage about eminent domain, the paper used it as the Quote Of The Week, in the weekend edition. Fortunately, for the historical record, a local documentary videophotographer was covering the meeting. Sydney "Imantrek" McKenzie captured the soul of the shareowners, the storeowners, whose lives were being bashed by the hockey puck.


In addition to making documentaries, Imantrek also produces music and Grounzero, an internet magazine. He is now lending his talent to the fight to preserve Allentown's WPA icons. Like many true artists before him, he remains an outsider to the newspaper and local art establishment.

Early Morning in Allentown

Sixty years ago the Soldiers Monument stood over 7th and Hamilton, as it still does. While today businesses limit restroom use to patrons, at that time the city provided underground public comfort stations at the square, staffed by full time attendants. The stores attracted so many shoppers, the police needed a tower for crowd overview. While fifty stores lined each block, lawyers, doctors, accountants and tailors occupied the offices above. Times change. If we find that the Monument impedes traffic flow for the new arena, they can move it to a less inconvenient location.

Unhappy Campers

As the countdown to the beginning of Mayor Pawlowski's transformation nears, I thought my camera and I would visit 7th and Hamilton. Uncle Sam and the Wall Street protesters are not the only unhappy campers by that corner.





Once again the rat has been inflated on a union picket line. Preliminary construction on a NIZ site doesn't bode well for the unions in Allentown's transformation.

Of course, the most victimized near that corner are the merchants. Although I'm privilege to their survival plans, it's not my place to reveal them at this time. I will say that they only have 20 days remaining to relocate, and yet still
attempt to make a living while doing so. Moving a few boxes makes me nervous, much less an entire inventory, from over twenty years on Hamilton Street. For a city supposedly improving itself, I certainly saw much pain today near 7th and Hamilton.

Pawlowski Gets Foot Massage

Last night for half an hour, Tony No Shame Iannelli groveled at Ed Pawlowski's feet, while his producer, City Councilman Mike Schlossberg, shined Pawlowski's shoes. Before the first commercial, No Shame said that he's "really beating the Mayor up." By the second commercial, he admitted that the program was softball. Actually, the program was T-Ball. The closest Iannelli got to any evaluation of the Mayor's plans for Hamilton Street, was to call all critics "out of town nay-sayers." Considering that the plan displaces over 34 business owners, and tears the heart out of the historic shopping district, this was a staggering suck-up by the host of Business Matters, and Director of the Chamber of Commerce. They concluded the pathetic program by announcing that Pawlowski has named Iannelli, and Pawlowski's campaign manager, Mal Gross, as Chairmen of Allentown's 250th Anniversary Celebration.