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Thursday, March 06, 2008

Hey! Guess What? There's Crime in West End Allentown! Really!

Who'd have thunk it? Pam Varkony casts a spotlight on a recent West End Allentown armed robbery. She even has the police report number and everything! A woman who got out of her car was mugged by two guys with scarves. But since they didn't torture or shoot her, there was no report here or here.

She probably should have told police she had just come from Johnny Mañana's (that's with a ñ, damn it!).

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

The only question I would ask is was the scarf a Burberry Scarf? At least you would know if they lived in that neighborhood or not.

Anonymous said...

Bernie -

I read Pam's account of the armed robbery. A few thoughts:

1) Surely the "victim" must have been involved with a gang or drugs. I know this must be so because the Mayor has told us that Allentown is safe unless you are involved with drugs or gangs.

2) Was she really robbed or was it just her perception? We also always hear that the crime problem in Allentown is more of a perception problem.

3) Maybe the West End would be better off if they include the victim's neighborhood in "Renaissance Square" (see today's MC article).

Bill Villa said...

In watching PBS 39's show on "Allentown" the other night, I was really impressed hearing about "Leonard Pool quietly donating $5 million dollars to get Lehigh Valley Hospital started."

What an admirable, and humble, public service to one's community.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if a group of wealthy local people, as a much-needed public service to our community, started a 2nd newspaper in Allentown?

Dear Maddy said...

Perhaps the scarves are part of a new gang uniform or initiation?
I'll bet the Mayor points out that Allentown is fortunate to better dressed thieves. Unlike the rabble in Philly or NY, who aren't as fashionably dressed.
The Morning Call might want to run a story about the changing fashion styles of criminals.
So what kind of suit does Jim Martin wear? What are they burying Marge Szulborski in? These are the kind of hard hitting stories we should demand and expect from our local news media!

michael molovinsky said...

bat, i know you think your good at satire and parody, but your comment about what the woman was buried in, reveals you are a sicky. i urge o'hare to delete it.

Bernie O'Hare said...

No. He's making a point. It stays.

Dear Maddy said...

I'm a "sicky?" This from a guy who buys from the "Detective Colombo" collection? If you didn't move once in a while, people might observe you to be a really authentic looking wax figure.

Dear Maddy said...

Word of advice Mike: Don't go to Disneyworld, they might think one of the animatronics has gotten away.

Anonymous said...

Why in the world would Allentown need a 2nd newspaper? Newspapers are dead. I used to deliver the Globe Times in Allentown. That was a LOOOONG time ago. The internet is your newspaper. Start writing.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Why in the world would Allentown need a 2nd newspaper? Newspapers are dead. I used to deliver the Globe Times in Allentown. That was a LOOOONG time ago. The internet is your newspaper. Start writing.

The more I write, the more important they seem to me.

Anonymous said...

Sure. They have their place. But two? In the Lehigh Valley? (There is that one in Easton/Phillipsburg anyway.)

Timothy Russo said...

Two newspapers means one might actually report the news.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Tim,

You hit it on the head. In Easton, where there are two good newspapers covering everything, elected officials get away with very little. In LC and Allentown, where just one good newspaper is struggling to cover that + Bucks + Montgomery, a lot gets missed and elected officials can be horrible, but very few will know.

Bill Villa said...

"Two newspapers means one might actually report the news."

Nice. I like this Russo kid. Plus, competition is almost always a good thing for the American consumer.

Bill Villa said...

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if a group of wealthy local people, as a much-needed public service to our community, started a 2nd newspaper in Allentown"

IDEA: We'd be okay with them naming it after themselves, right? Okay, hmm, let's see, names for Allentown's new, 2nd, objective, competitor newspaper, how about ...

* Butz Bulletin

* The Wood Word

* Fainor's Daily Brainer

* Gates Gazette

* Dexter Baker's Dozen (13 sections, A through L!)

* Greenberg's 50% Off Clearance Express Extra

* The Trexler Times

Anonymous said...

Back to topic: No s***! Crime in the West End?! I'm shocked! Next you'll be telling me that Parkland students aren't all honor roll choir members; that there is corruption in the suburbs, and that people may not be safe at the Lehigh Valley Mall. Or hell, even at a bank in Topton. But thanks to you, Bernie, we all know that while all of those things may actually be happening, it's actually all Ed Pawlowski's fault... along with poverty, drug abuse, homelessness, potholes, bad hair and beerguts. Damn that man! None of this would be happening if he wasn't the mayor of Allentown!

I think you should dig a bit more.I bet Pawlowski was behind the hanging chads in Florida, too. He's probably a majority stockholder in ExxonMobil and if you look closely at the Zapruder tape, you can see him on the grassy knoll. You're on to something here, O'Hare. Don't let up now.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Anon 9:16,

OK, I'll play. A little sensitive about Mayor Ed now, aren't we? Would you be kind enough to point out where I claim this incident is Pawlowski's fault? If anything, I was faulting the local paper for not considering this as newsworthy enough to report, althoigh Pam Varkony has a defense of the MSM.

But your comment, all by itself, is a wonderful microcosm of everything that is wrong with Allentown. First, you attempt to minimize what has happened, as though it really does not matter. It does. Second, you perceive a complaint about a woman being mugged as high treason, a complaint against Mayor Ed himself. It wasn't. Third, you attempt to marginalize the person who makes the observation.

This post, which actually comes from information gathered by Pam Varkony, merely fills a small gap of information that the public should have. It's one of the good things about blogs. If you are attemptong to marginalize those who are merely pointing out what has happened, what does that say about you?