Morning Call's Watchdog Has Doggie Dementia

The Morning Call has been running a series of articles it entitles Watchdog Report. The latest, on Sunday, rehashes the Atiyeh parcels, purchased by Allentown last year, supposedly for the park system. Associate blogger Bernie O'Hare, reminds us that he connected the dots between the purchase and Atiyeh's billboard company, last week. The Morning Call article also omits the fact that the purchase was first reported here, on molovinsky on allentown, last year. Although Bernie now notices that the paper is a sales agent for Atiyeh's billboard company, they had revealed that fact before. I also learned, or remembered, something new from the paper's story. Former park director, John Mikowychok, testified to city council that the Basin street parcel would allow the city to connect the envisioned trail network. An alternative title for this post was going to be Pawlowski's Toolbox, where I discuss the various department directors, and the distortions that they have uttered for their boss. After Mikowychok was here for only a matter of weeks, before he unpacked his suitcase or even seen the entire park system, he testified on the Wildlands Conservancy's behalf, to demolish the two small dams in Lehigh Parkway. He also apparently testified on Atiyeh's behalf, to purchase those parcels. I had, in the previous years, closely monitored the trail network plan, pushed by then park director Greg Weitzel. Although I attended the meetings on that subject, there was never any mention of a Basin street hookup. Now, I can't blame the paper too much for their memory lapses. They change out reporters like underwear, some have moved on even before they learned to hate me. Bernie O'Hare, his memory is probably affected by his radical weight gain/loss cycles. Don't worry about me offending anybody, they'll forget that they even read this.
ADDENDUM:  O'Hare's article last week did credit this blog with first reporting the land purchases last year.  I have modified the copy above to properly reflect that attribution.

Interviewing Mike Fleck In The Deep South

I found Mike Fleck at a bar on my the second night in Savannah. Bernie O'Hare was initially to conduct the search, but he's currently on the gain side of his current fat/skinny cycle.

Molovinsky:  What are your thoughts on Jolly Joe Timmer passing away?

Fleck:  You mean you came all this way to ask me that? How about Pawlowski and the wire tap?

Molovinsky:  No, I never thought that much about any of the people you represented, nothing would surprise me. Please answer my question about Timmer. 

Fleck:  The man knew polka. 

Besides for a pit stop in Charleston to see a 1975 Mack pumper made in Allentown, it was straight there and back. Can't wait for O'Hare to top out and start the diet, these trips are not my thing.

Sad Sack Voters

As an independent candidate last fall, I was often told by voters that they didn't want to waste their vote on somebody who they thought couldn't win; As if it were a game, and they were betting on it.  In reality, they were truly wasting their vote, on someone they knew would under-represent them. Although we talk about the poor choice of candidates, it's really poor choices by the voters who create the political field. On the national stage, we now have two independent types attracting the early attention. But, in both cases, there is a gimmick. Trump, nominally a Republican, is a well know showman. Sanders, really a left wing Democrat, posed for decades as an independent. He was only elected as an independent because of Vermont's unique character. In the political reality of America, you must be a celebrity to succeed as an independent. The last independent in the Pennsylvania State House was in the 1930's. Locally, party affiliation always seems to be the dogma that wins elections.

With the Mike Fleck controversy,  we here in the blogosphere receive many comments about making better choices in the voting booth. Although, there would be no down side to a change like that, I would be surprised to see the sentiment effect election results. Instead, the normal candidates will just incorporation the word change into their election speeches.

Pushing Anti-Pay To Play

Fellow blogger, Bernie O'Hare, has been pushing Vic Mazziotti's Anti Pay To Play ordinance proposal. Vic tells Bernie, "I'm going to push it," he insisted. "I'm going to push it real hard." Supposedly, in addition to pushing it with the County Commissioners, he's going to push it with Allentown City Council. Bernie would even like to see it pushed in Northampton County. I think it's amusing, especially for a city and county which just erected a $Billion dollars of real estate, with no scrutiny what-so-ever. They would reply that you got to start somewhere, sometime. Vic even wants to push it to the NIZ board. The NIZ board takes their orders only from G-D and Pat Browne. They even declined to stoop so low as to a community benefit agreement. As long as the voters keep electing used car salesman, there will always be add on charges. I think that the citizens got to start pushing back, in the voting booth.

Lesson At Dieruff

A Dieruff High School social studies teacher would not have to take his class very far for a lesson in Allentown's history. Although never elected, East Side activist Dennis Pearson has been complaining for thirty years that the East Side always get short changed in Public Works. Such was the case in the mid 1930's, during the WPA work in Allentown. Roosevelt's New Deal program built the elaborate walls in the south side's Lehigh Parkway. Central Allentown received the magnificent Lawrence Street stairwell. The culturally elite of west Allentown received the Union Terrace Amphitheater, envisioned for Shakespeare. Pearson's east side got a few scattered steps to nowhere. The steps remained, and thirty years later Allentown built Dieruff High School. With expansions and renovations, some of the steps now adjoin the school. Flash ahead to the summers of 2009 and 2010.




I lobbied Allentown City Council members to appropriate some of the $millions of dollars in Cedar Park plans to begin preserving the irreplaceable WPA structures, starting to crumble throughout our park system. East Side elected councilman, Michael D'Amore, assured me that he only signed off on the Administrations plan, with the stipulation that the steps in Irving Park-Dieruff area would be restored at the same time. The work in Cedar Park was completed last year, including $millions of dollars with of recreation equipment from catalogs. The deterioration of the steps around Dieruff continues. Now there's a lesson in government!
photos courtesy of Mark Thomas

reprinted from September of 2011

ADDENDUM: Flash ahead again four more years, and the steps at Irving Park are now finally being repaired, using a $20,000 grant from the Trexler Trust. Although the grant was secured through Friends Of The Parks, it's actually also the fruit of my labor. That organization's director learned of the plight of the WPA structures through meetings I conducted at the Allentown Library in 2011. I then took her on a WPA tour of the parks, and we have been collaborating on the WPA ever since.

At the city meeting last week, I asked the councilmen to compare $20,000  from an outside source, to repair something as tangible as the stone structures, to the $1.4 million of city money, to buy land that we didn't need, nor are using.  I explained that the consequence of the WPA neglect was that our largest park, Lehigh Parkway, is now virtually inaccessible.  Considering that I had approached both previous park directors about the WPA, with no success, I asked council to appoint me special WPA envoy, and to instruct the new director to consider my suggestions in both her plans and budget.

Council didn't respond to my request. I think that maybe they were preoccupied with the mob behind me, the ones with the pitchforks and torches.  As things simmer down from news of  the FBI investigation, and council has to deal with the business at hand,  perhaps they will reconsider my offer.

On Second Thought, Pawlowski Should Stay

Recently, I posted that Pawlowski's resignation was overdue.  I'm having serious second thoughts about that natural reaction to the alleged improprieties. Thinking back on the last council meeting, I realize that for the first time in a decade,  there is the possibility of a dynamic tension on the dais. With the strong mayor wounded, council might actually become the check and balance that they're supposed to be. The old mix seemed to be particularly toxic for Allentown;  A popular mayor endorsing council candidates for several elections. Only a month ago, King Pawlowski was now going to formally expand his picks to the school board and county commission. I suppose that in a more informed democracy we could have both, a good mayor and a working council, but let's be realistic. Here in political zombie land, both isn't coming our way. I'm thinking that maybe the best we can have is a nervous mayor and a nervous city council, they might actually do their job under those conditions.

photograph courtesy of Bottom Feed Photo Service

The Republican Hairstylist

I thought that Marco Rubio did very well last night, but he looks so young.  He should dye his hair gray like I do, to look older (I do it to look more distinguished). Trump, of course. could also use some hair advise. I thought it was unfair of Fox News to not let Huckabee hold his guitar. Maybe some of them should have been able to hold a rifle.  Bush, they should have butched up with some dried blood, a scar and maybe a bandage over his knuckles. Christie should have worn a white Colonel Sanders Suit, and went with a Boss Hogg approach.  Carson needs some anger in his voice, or maybe a prescription induced twitch.  The others blended into the stage curtain.

ADDENDUM: A couple of weeks ago,  I thought that Hillary was a shoo-in.   The Democrats, because of so many Republican candidates, were talking about the clown car.   I have since changed my mind.  Even MSNBC could talk about nothing this morning but the Republican debate.  The large field will dominate the news for many months to come,  and that is the name of the game.

Allentown City Council Minutes, August 5, 2015

When the most civil comments to the dais came from yours truly, you know that it was a raucous meeting. Back in the day of most of my battles with council, Dave Howells was president. Last night Ray O'Connell asked Rich Fegley to sit down about eight times, which is exactly seven more times than he would have gotten from Howells. Back in those days, it would have been a paddy wagon night. Council even got reprimanded by one of it's own, Jeanette Eicenwald. The main accusation last night was that council was a rubber stamp, which is something that nobody can deny. Over the recent years, I had explained to council, on several issues, that they are occasionally expected to vote no; That they were supposed to use their power of appropriation as a negotiating tool. Pawlowski's reputation for reprisal must not be exaggerated, he had transformed council into a simple approval stamp. You will be able to find and read comments by most of the speakers on other media sites. To me, the most entertaining barbs came from Chris Cocca, who wondered how the candidates endorsed by Citizens for A Better Allentown would now shed that association. I recently did a post about the scarlet P/F (Pawlowski and Fleck). Perhaps, those most guilty of Pawlowski's influence have graduated on to Harrisburg, Schlossberg and Schweyer. It's beyond time for Pawlowski to resign.