LC Exec Josh Siegel Wants to Expand His Office at Expense of Cedarbrook and Jail

Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel wants to expansion his office at the expense of Cedarbrook (Lehigh County's nursing home) and the jail. 

He wants to add four positions "to strengthen leadership capacity, enhance communications, and improve intergovernmental coordination while maintaining overall fiscal responsibility." These four positions are a multimedia specialist, a communications manager, a chief of staff and a community and intergovernmental liaison. His supporting memo claims these will cost $386,566, although it's unclear to me whether this figure is just salary or salary plus benefits. 

He will pay for these positions by eliminating eight existing positions at Cedarbrook and the county jail. These are 2 LPNs, 3 CNAs, 2 corrections officers and 1 treatment case manager. who are budgeted at $417,656, including salary and benefits. These positions are currently unfilled. 

This will save taxpayers $31,100, but is it really in the best interests of Lehigh County to eliminate positions that take care of our elderly and who protect us from people the courts have decided to confine behind bars?

Commissioner Ron Beitler noted that the Chief of Staff position was actually eliminated in 2014 because it was considered both an unnecessary cost and too political in nature. 

Beitler opposes Siegel's changes. "In passing former Executive Armstrong's 2026 budget, our Board of Commissioners paid for Nurses, Caseworkers and Corrections Officers, not a Chief of Staff to do the Executive's job or a Multimedia Specialist to create County TikTok videos," he said.

Siegel's proposal requires at least one Commissioner sponsor before it can be considered by the Board. But he's already filled two of the positions at least temporarily. He's hired Hillary Kleinz, his long-time campaign manager, as his $92,000 Chief of Staff. And Dan Sheehan, a former reporter with both The Morning Call and Express Times, is his pick for communications. 

Siegel responded to Beitler's concerns by calling him a "partisan obstructionist" though Beitler is actually registered Independent. He told WFMZ-TV69 that previous Lehigh County administrations (Phil Armstrong, Tom Muller, Don Cunningham) "were caretaker administrations that had no energy, no ideas, no vision for the county."

He hopes all nine Commissioners support his power grab. He'll find out Wednesday.

NorCo Council Approves Budget Amendment Allocating $7 Million in County Funds to Gracedale

At last night's meeting of Northampton County Council, all nine members voted for a Budget Amendment that allocates $7 million from the county to Gracedale. 

In a message to Council, Executive Tara Zrinski explained that the county transfer was needed so that the nursing home's 2025 expenditures are covered. 

"We carefully reviewed each departmental budget to identify unspent funds, including savings from vacancies, deferred purchases and other unused allocations, and we're able to reallocate approximately 7 million to fully cover Graysdale's 2025 expenditures."

"The remaining deficit reflects timing differences between when expenses are incurred and when reimbursements are received."

"Approving these amendments will allow us to balance the 2025 budget as required by law and fulfill our shared responsibility for sound fiscal management.

NorCo's Former Custody Master Appeals Dismissal of Her Civil Rights Case Against the Court

Earlier this month, Federal District Court Judge John Gallagher dismissed a civil rights action brought by NorCo's former custody master, Lisa Tresslar, against the Northampton County bench. She claimed she was the victim of retaliation when he objected to changes in custody guidelines promulgated by the court. According to Judge Gallagher, no jury could reasonably conclude that her objections were made in her capacity as a private citizen. She also failed to establish that the court even knew of her more public complaints. Judge Gallagher's dismissal was "with prejudice," meaning that Tresslar was unable to amend her claim.

Tresslar has appealed judge Gallagher's decision to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which is the second highest court in the nation. Her Notice was filed yesterday. 

LC Elections Registrar and Hairy Guy Tim Benyo is Resigning March 20

 In Lehigh County, Tim Benyo is known as the Director of Elections. It's a position he's held for the past 16 years. But in Jim Thorpe, he's better known as an owner of the Hairy Guys Brewery. As his interest in craft beers appears to eclipse those daily commutes to Allentown, Benyo has decided to step down as Lehigh's Elections Registrar, effective March 20.

He won't leave Lehigh County in the lurch and has offered to lend his assistance as needed. I've always found Tim to be an accessible and transparent elections director, and his steady hand guided the county through some drastic changes in our elections process over the past few years. He will be missed. 

I hope to see him on the D&L Trail this summer. 

Keegan Blames Negative Public Perception of Gracedale on Unfounded Complaints and ... Me

Although I ramble, my favorite topic has always been Northampton County government. That includes the county-owned nursing home, Gracedale. When there's been good news about the home, like a zero-deficiency survey from the state Department of Health (DOH), I've reported it. When it achieved a four-star (above average) rating, as it did at this time just one year ago, I let you know. But when it dropped to just a one-star (much below average) rating, was red-flagged for abuse and was issued a provisional license, I've told you that as well. Moreover, based on an analysis of the DOH surveys for all 14 county-owned nursing homes throughout the state in 10 different counties*, Gracedale has the lowest nursing care rating, It is the only county-owned home with a one-star rating. It had the highest number of deficiencies in 2025. Objectively, it was the worst county-owned home in the state in 2025 and kicked off the new year with yet another deficiency for inadequate staffing.   

Unfortunately, there's been more bad than good news, but that's the way it is. If we have a moral obligation to care for those who are unable to care for themselves, and are spending public money for that purpose, then the public should know when we are falling short so we can rectify the situation. That's why the DOH surveys and Medicare star-ratings are public. That's why people can complain anonymously to the state DOH if they feel something is wrong even if it turns out that they are themselves incorrect.

Public scrutiny of a public nursing home is something that NorCo Council member Kelly Keegan dislikes. At last night's human services committee meeting, she actually wanted to know whether the county has a policy against whistleblowers who dare to report perceived violations at the home. Fortunately, Administrator Michelle Morton answered that whistleblowers are actually protected and could very well be sincere when they call in with a complaint.

Keegan was still unsatisfied. "That's cutting your nose off to spite your face," she suggested. "And it's like, their livelihood, so why would they want to do that?" 

Maybe because they care about the residents and want the home to improve.

It's true that Gracedale does get complaints of deficiencies that turn out to be unfounded. But based on my analysis of the 14 county-owned nursing homes in 10 different counties, this happens at all nursing homes, not just Gracedale. Employees, families or residents themselves can complain. The state DOH would rather investigate an unfounded complaint than ignore a concern that is real. 

Later in the meeting, Keegan objected to bringing in a consultant with recommendations on improving the home, arguing that we should refrain from spending money on a third party only to learn that our "fantastic administration" is telling the truth. "Don't we believe them?"

She added that any poor public perception of Gracedale is due solely to "one person that continues to trash Gracedale on a continuous basis, and I would put a lot of blame on that person. I think we all know who he is. Every single day, constantly writing about Gracedale, and if that one person would stop doing those things, and we could believe the administration, and what they're telling us, why would I pay somebody - a third party - to tell me that they're telling the truth?" 

How about because Gracedale is a one-star home, is red-flagged for abuse, has a provisional license and had the lowest nursing care of all county-owned nursing homes in 2025. I believe the administration is trying, but I also believe the DOH. 

During last night's meeting, NorCo Council member Dave Holland had two suggestions. 

First, he suggested downsizing the home by eliminating a 30-bed unit. Exec Tara Zrinski is not ready to downsize at this point but agrees that reliance on agency nurses needs to be reduced. She worried that downsizing might result in the discharge of some residents, although that's not what Holland intimated. 

I believe this topic will be revisited in the near future. 

Holland's second suggestion was to bring in a third-party consultant to validate what's right and make suggestions to correct what is wrong. This is apparently also opposed by the administration. Although Council members like Theresa Fadem and Lori Vargo Heffner support this idea, Keegan is opposed, as I noted above. Council member Jeff Warren said we should first give Zrinski a chance. He suggested things might be different by the end of April. 

Holland has no problem with waiting but cautioned that Council needs to monitor what is happening because a provisional license can eventually result in a denial of payments. 

____

*) NorCo Council member Kelly Keegan and Gracedale Administrator Michelle Morton stated last night that there are only seven county-owned homes in the state. According to the state DOH's nursing home facility locator, there are 14 county-owned nursing homes in 10 different counties.  

Wandalowski on NorCo's Human Services Vacancies

Not all that long ago, Human Services Director Sue Wandalowski said that vacancies in Human Services existed because the county was stuck in a cumbersome state civil service program. Well, the county has been unshackled from state civil service and the vacancy problem should be an unhappy memory of the recent past, right? Wrong. Last night, Wandalowski reported that there are "around" 30 vacancies in Children and Youth. She indicated there are vacancies in the Department of Aging but failed to specify how many. I'll have more about this tomorrow. 

Pinsley Drops Out of Congressional Race, Will Seek State Senate Seat Instead

Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley, who was one of seven candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the Pa 7 Congressional seat, has dropped out of the race. He's now running for the state senate instead. He's claiming he's the strongest possible candidate to take on incumbent Jarrett Coleman.

I'd say he's the weakest and has immeasurably hurt himself by abandoning one race to seek what he perceives to be a lower hanging fruit. 

Munich Security Conference: Hillary Clinton Blasts Trump's Chaotic Ukraine Policy

At a panel discussion during this year's Munich Security Conference, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blasted President Trump's Ukraine policy: "I think the Trump administration's position toward Ukraine is disgraceful. I think the effort to force Ukraine into a surrender deal with Putin is shameful. I think the effort that Putin and Trump are making to profit off the misery and death of the Ukrainian people is a historic error and corrupt to the nth degree. I believe Ukraine is fighting for our democracy and our values of freedom and civilization on the front lines, losing thousands of people and having their country destroyed by one man's mania to control them. And I think Trump either doesn't understand or could[n't] care less about that suffering. So that's what I think."

When asked whether Trump has destroyed the West, Clinton responded, "He has betrayed the West. He's betrayed human values. He's betrayed the NATO Charter, the Atlantic Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A lot of what has been done before to try to make sense of how difficult it is to restrain people who want unaccountable power. And none of us in this room, including all of us on this panel, would choose to live under a regime that was so unaccountable that it could act with impunity the way that Putin does. Except that's who Trump is modeling himself after."

A pro-Trump Czech participant joked, "I think you really don't like him."

"You know, that is absolutely true," responded Clinton. "I don't like him because of what he's doing to the United States and the world. And I think you should take a hard look at it if you think that there is something good that will come out of it."

Local Governments Considering AI Should Follow This Checklist

Artificial Intelligence can prove to be a very helpful resource for local government, especially cities that have cumbersome and unfriendly permitting systems. According to GOVERNING, NYC's small business chatbot was providing unethical and possibly illegal advice and there were no guardrails. Midland, TX, however, succeeded with a low-risk chatbot that included human oversight. Here's the question an administration should ask before using it: "Could you explain your AI system to a non-technical councilmember in five minutes — what it does, how it’s supervised and what happens when it fails? If not, you probably don’t understand it well enough to deploy it."

Gracedale Cited by State Again Over Inadequate Staffing

Late last week, Northampton County's press office sent an email about a "love-themed luncheon" for Gracedale residents and families that included "creamy parmesan chicken plicata and pan-seared Atlantic salmon, with triple chocolate cheesecake for dessert." It singled out one couple who have celebrated 60 years together. It's nice to hear anecdotes like these. And without doubt, there are many very dedicated people who work at Gracedale and whose calling is to make life just a little better for the people who live there. I've seen it. But I also hear other anecdotes that are much less pleasant. This one-star home with a provisional license and a poor record of nursing care, is objectively the worst county-owned nursing facility in the state. What's worse, it has been cited again for its failure to provide the state-mandated minimum amount of nursing care to residents in early January.  

The state Department of Health (DOH) visit in early January was actually a revisit to see whether Gracedale had corrected its inability to provide adequate nursing care back in November.  The home, which already provides the lowest level of nursing care among county-owned nursing homes within the state, was unable yet again to meet the minimum standard of nurse's aides and LPNs. The home failed to meet the state mandated minimum or 3.2 hours of nursing care per resident per day.

The county's plan of correction. More agency nurses! Over 100!

In other words, the facility plans to continue bringing in disengaged nurses out for a quick buck, which will mean more county funding, instead of a realistic solution that combines a temporary census reduction so that residents can be cared for by more dedicated county workers. This will mean a temporary county contribution as well, but at least it will ensure that the home is on the right path, 

A Rabbi's Commentary on Life in America Today

Though I'm by no means a religious person, my evil Republican brother is. Last night, he suggested I watch a homily recently presented by reform rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of New York's Stephen Wise Free Synagogue. His topic was our life in America today. 

He noted that we've been hammered by so many crises in recent years, from the Ukraine invasion to Iranian transgressions that we've become catatonic. We've been peppered by attacks on the independence of the Federal Reserve, the courts, the Justice Department and our NATO alliance. "But take heart,. At least Greenland will soon be ours. The easy way or the hard way."

Without mentioning him by name, he compares Donald Trump to Melville's Ahab, who "never thinks. He only feels gnawed within and scorched without the infixed unrelenting fangs of some incurable idea. The Greenland whale is deposed. The great sperm whale now reignth." 

He's especially discouraged by an explosive surge of anti-Semitism in the US, which actually pales in comparison to what is happening in Europe.

"Jew hatred is a warning sign that something rotten is metastasizing in society itself," he thundered. 

While our lives go on unchanged, he warned that will change as the "intense winds of social change" batter down our doors. 

Despite this chaotic atmosphere, he noted that the common denominator between religion and politics in a free society is the moral code. "None of the institutions of our democracy can survive without a keen sense of our moral obligation. Once people lose trust in the goodness and decency and fairness of governmental and non-governmental institutions, disintegration sets in."

He quotes a saying in the Mishna (oral Torah?) advising people to pray for the government. "If it were not for the government, people would swallow each other alive." But the powers of government can be misuse, so these immense powers must be exercised justly. 

Rabbi Hirsch noted that, in the Torah, "might makes right" has no place. "Upright makes right is the Jewish way." When force is necessary, it should be wielded as humanely as possible.

He lamented the excessive use of force by masked immigration agents in Minneapolis but also slammed past administrations who failed to control our borders and past Congresses who failed to resolve the legal status of undocumented residents who have been here for decades. Instead of resolving these matters, American politicians have instead torn us apart. He did concede that immigration policy requires a compromise between mercy ("an attribute to God himself") and justice (justice, shall you pursue") While there is much room for disagreement and debate, "we do not have to accuse our opponents of evil or enmity."

He said that in the debate about policy, there should be no room for "arrogance, conceit, pride, contempt, indifference, scorn. And shouldn't we be able to agree, that in the debate around immigration, there is no room for prejudice, xenophobia, and the appeal to baser instincts?"

He notes that the Torah commands us to love the stranger 36 times. "Loving your neighbor is mentioned only once. It's because strangers are much harder to love than those closer to you." He said Jews especially need to try to love the stranger because they were strangers in the land of Egypt and "know the heart of a foreigner." 

While he supports the right to protest, he stressed that all protest and opposition must be nonviolent. If tainted by violence, it will never gain the support of a majority of Americans. 

He recommended the advice of Jewish sages. "A brute cannot be righteous. An ignoramus cannot be pious. The impatient cannot model behavior. And in a place where there are no decent human beings, strive to be a decent human being. Avoid intolerance, prejudice, and especially hate. Do not hate your kinsmen in your heart. Hate is too heavy a burden. It consumes both the hated and the hater. If you are to be free, you must be free of hate."

Pa. 7's Democratic Hopefuls Will Have Two Forums in Allentown This Week.

At this moment, there's no shortage of Democrats who wish to wear their party's mantle in this year's Pa. 7 race for the seat currently held by Republican Ryan Mackenzie. And for good reason. A blue wave was felt in last year's municipal races and Republican are in danger of losing the House and possibly the Senate in this year's midterms, and the Pa. 7 Congressional race is rated a toss-up by the Cook Political Report. There are currently seven candidates, but that number might fall once nomination petitions are returned. 

These seven candidates are Robert Brooks, Ryan Crosswell, Aiden Alexander Gonzales,  Lamont McClure, Carol Obando-Derstine and Mark Pinsley and Lewis Shupe. 

You can see and hear from them yourselves on two separate occasions this week. 

Tonight, Resurrected Life Church (620 Hamilton St, Allentown, Pa 18101) will host a forum between 6 and 7:30 pm. Its focus is supposed to be the economy

Thursday. Muhlenberg College Democrats and LV Young Democrats will host a debate at The Great Room, Seegers Union (parking is at the loop and on Chew Street). Doors open at 6:30 pm.

I missed the first get together at Lafayette College because I thought it was private. But I will attend one of these events this week