South Whitehall Commissioner Woes

Poor Matt Mobilio had to take down his commissioner facebook page, too many complaints. On his personal page he laments the perils of public life.

In the 13 months as an elected official I've accomplished more than I could have hoped. But the toxic nature of social media has made me question everything I've done, everything I hope to do and my own ambitions for higher office. My point is, your local politician is, many times, someone really trying to make a positive difference. Someone without ill will, someone who has a family and sincere intentions. I truly believe I can do more, solve serious problems and make Lehigh County a better place. For the most part we dismiss our detractors as haters and know-nothings. But sometimes, it's damn hard to go on.

Talking about damn hard, let's talk about Wehr's Dam. It wasn't that long ago that you publicly wondered aloud how the township could get out from under the obligation of keeping the dam, as voters chose by referendum. You're probably aware of the conspiracy by the Wildlands Conservancy to complicate the dam repair by interacting back channel with the state.

Mobilio doesn't support the dam or the voters' referendum to preserve it.  I've been fighting since 2014 to save the dam, and must be one of the know-nothings to which he refers.

As for your ambition for higher office,  you're apparently a student of the Mark Pinsley School Of Office Jumping.  As Pinsley stood with the protesters about the Dorney Park shooting,  you publicly support the striking municipal workers.  You publicly support Ce-Ce, who as a council member marched against the Allentown Police. While you wokettes are entitled to your personal private sentiments,  as public officials, you should be more circumspect about your public messaging.  Unfortunately, you currently have control over my tax dollars, but you will never get my vote, for any office to which you may aspire.

photocredit: Wehr's Dam by Tami Quigley.  

Pocket Change At Molovinsky Blog

After 14 years of publishing this blog early morning every weekday, holidays included, a change is in order. Henceforth, the blog will appear sans the rigid schedule. I have installed an email widget on the web version sidebar, for those desiring free home delivery.

Crimes By The Wildlands Conservancy

photo by Tami Quigley

The top photo shows the Robin Hood Bridge, before the Wildlands Conservancy demolished the little Robin Hood Dam, just downstream beyond the bridge. The dam was only about 10 inches high, and was built as a visual effect to accompany the bridge in 1941. It was the last WPA project in Allentown, and considered the final touch for Lehigh Parkway. Several years ago, the Wildlands told the Allentown Park Director and City Council that it wanted to demolish the dam. The only thing that stood between their bulldozer and the dam was yours truly. I managed to hold up the demolition for a couple weeks, during which time I tried to educate city council about the park, but to no avail. If demolishing the dam wasn't bad enough, The Wildlands Conservancy piled the broken dam rubble around the stone bridge piers, as seen in the bottom photo. I'm sad to report that the situation is now even worse. All that rubble collected silt, and now weeds and brush is growing around the stone bridge piers. I suppose the Wildlands Conservancy considers it an extension of its riparian buffers.

The Wildlands Conservancy is now going to demolish Wehr's Dam at Covered Bridge Park in South Whitehall. The township commissioners are cooperating, by having a grossly inflated price associated with repairing the dam, to justify a disingenuous referendum. Sadly, by next spring I will be showing you before and after pictures of that crime.

top photo by Tami Quigley

above reprinted from August 2016

UPDATE: To everyone's surprise, especially the Wildlands Conservancy and the South Whitehall Commissioners, the referendum to save the dam was approved by the voters in November of 2016. The Wildlands Conservancy and the South Whitehall Commissioners are now conspiring to have the dam demolished anyway, by exaggerating its problems with the Pa. DEP...I have documented the communication between the Wildlands, State and township,  As for Lehigh Parkway, the Wildlands Conservancy should be made to remove the former dam rubble that is despoiling the vista of the Robin Hood Bridge piers.  I have been trying to interest the Morning Call about the voter suppression in regard to the Wehr's Dam referendum.  In today's paper there is an article about the danger high hazard rated dams pose to residents downstream.  I hope the paper's article today is a coincidence, and not intended to serve the Wildlands conspiracy about Wehr's Dam.  BTW,  Wehr's Dam is rated low hazard, because it poses no danger to residents.

reprinted from November of 2019 and before

The Trains Of Union Street

Up to the late 1960's, Union Street, between the Jordan Creek and Lehigh River, was  crossed by numerous train tracks. In addition to the main tracks for the New Jersey Central and Lehigh Valley Railroads, the area hosted many sidings for the industries that once huddled along this historic river front area.  There was a small rail yard with five sidings between the UGI gas storage tank, which dominated Allentown's skyline, and Allentown Meat Packing Company.  The photo above dates from the late 1940's.  The map below from the early 1930's.



Small rail yard on bottom left of map. Allentown Meat Packing was the former H.H. Steinmetz Co. in 1932.

reprinted from 2017

Biden Throwing Baby Out With Bathwater

Although Nikki Haley wisely warned the Democrats against the indiscriminate tossout of everything from the Trump Administration, Biden appears to being doing exactly that.  

When he stopped the Keystone pipeline project,  he put thousands of workers on unemployment.  As Texans sat in the dark last week, even liberal ones may have had the time to contemplate the benefit of more North American energy, not less.  If that didn't slap their face, perhaps the crossing of asylum seekers at the border this weekend will. Iran sponsored militias rocketed a base in Iraq, which should remind Biden of reality in the middle east.

While I understand that the Trump revulsion will not allow the admission of any previous good policy, perhaps Biden will have the good sense to at least rebrand some of those policies.  Energy and security shouldn't be compromised for political reasons.

Racial Divide In Allentown's Upcoming Primary

A white mayoral candidate was recently taken to task on facebook for mentioning a black woman's role in his childhood.  When I observed that there would be no satisfying those intent on fostering racial divide, I was informed that there was no divide, just some good intended cultural sensitivity training taking place.  

While I refrained from any further exchange, I did follow the training taking place, and took the liberty of checking the trainers' pages. While they claim no racial divide,  I could not find one white candidate being supported for any office by any of the trainers.

The Morning Call inadvertently launched some of the current campaigns this past summer, with one article after another on the social justice marches taking place.  An article this weekend ties the summer marches and the spring campaigns together. 

It is my hope that if any of these campaigns succeed, that those newly elected mature into officials with a wider agenda. 

Turning Allentown's Blight Into Success

The recent article about Allentown in the New York Times used the B word.

Aided by tax dollars that would otherwise go to state or local general funds, developers should be able to offer attractive rents to companies that bring in new workers — who in turn might move into or buy new apartments and support new shops and restaurants in what had been a blighted urban landscape.

The writer of the Times piece is from New York City. We know that, because even J.B.Reilly, who hopes to rent apartments to the new office workers, isn't building condo's to sell in center city Allentown, or as he says, city center Allentown. 

While that writer is from NYC, this writer is from Allentown, and will now tell you how to change blight into success; You simply move it around the corner and up three blocks. The merchants and shoppers previously referred to as blight on Hamilton Street, are now being touted as the success of 7th Street. On Hamilton Street they had to compete with both the memory and expectation of better days. On 7th Street, things have been so dire for so long, the same shops and people now look like success. We could debate the sociology of my observation. We could become offended or defensive, but taking the show around the corner did change the perception. 

Talking of turning the corner, readers may soon notice a change in this blog. Although molovinsky on allentown will continue to write the unspoken, there are  few too vestiges of the old commerce and values to reference. While nobody will identify me as an advocate of the Arena and Neighborhood Improvement Zone, reporting will shift more to the future.

above reprinted from March of 2014

UPDATE FEBRUARY 19, 2021: Well, I never did climb on board with Allentown's new agenda.  This blog actually may well have contributed to Pawlowski's indictment.  My scrutiny then turned to the Morning Call, its lack of candor about the NIZ, and their protection of local sacred cows. The paper now has its own problems, as a hedge fund may soon be their new owner. 

Allentown's growing diversity seems to be dominating the upcoming local elections, with insinuations of racial insensitivity as a main theme.  My new project,  facebook group Allentown Chronicles, has me now more often revisiting Allentown's past, than its present or future.

photocredit:urban shopper, relocated from Hamilton to 7th Street/michael molovinsky

A Snowy Morning In Jerusalem

Snow is a rare occurrence in Jerusalem, but on January 10th (2013) it snowed 6 inches, the biggest storm since 1992.  Although this blog concentrates on local political commentary, I do indulge in a few distractions. Among those are local history, boxing from the Joe Louis era, and stories from the Holy Land.  With all topics, the quality of the visual image presented here is paramount to me.

reprinted from February of 2013