Dazzle 'em with bullshit, I guess.
Anyhoo, Hizzoner is dropping in on WFMZ-TV69 to take your questions on Thursday around 7 AM. You can email your questions to news@wfmz.com or post them on their Facebook page.
Here'a few of mine.
1. You have filed a $150 million counterclaim against Abe Atiyeh , who has challenged the NIZ in Court. Doesn't everyone, even Abe Atiyeh, have the right to question his own government? Isn't that why we fought a Revolutionary War?
2. At different times and places, you have made different claims about NIZ job production. Sometimes it's 750, sometimes it's 240, and you told WFMZ it's thousands. Which is it?
3. You claim you still don't have the financials for the EIT that will be lost by municipalities. How can you float a $240 million bond when you don't know what revenues exist to pay for it?
4. Last year, you accepted $20,000 in campaign donations from NIZ developers J.B. Reilly and Joe Topper. Construction unions and arena-linked donors gave you more than $70,000 last year, according to The Morning Call. Is it appropriate for you to accept so much money from people who very obviously want something?
Another question: "How can you permit the hockey team to screw 50% of Allentown residents by allowing an 'exclusive' cable tv deal for only one of the cable companies? Will that 50 percent be given a tax rebate?
ReplyDeleteIf Mayor Ed plays this right, he could be on the track to salvage his pathetic career. No one really believes that he is going to answer any questions, let alone the ones that are cherry picked. If he answers some of the tough ones, and answers them legitimately, I will be amazed.
ReplyDeleteThis project is dead Bernie...bring back the dirt for an inner city baseball field.
ReplyDeleteThe funniest thing about this entire politcal clusterf#@$ dance is the strange bedfellows.
ReplyDeleteCallahan is trying to get big labor money for his county executive race, yet he is against the hockey rink that will get labor jobs.
Secretly his agents say he "has" to say he is against it but not all labor is buying it.
I love the politcial gymnastics.
Who destroys two city blocks without any funds in hand? Maybe now Allentown residents will ask for a change of charter to eliminate the strong mayoral powers bestowed on the city's top official.
ReplyDeleteBernie
ReplyDeleteBet he doesn't say a word. Power Point will do the talking.
3. You claim you still don't have the financials for the EIT that will be lost by municipalities. How can you float a $240 million bond when you don't know what revenues exist to pay for it?
ReplyDeletegood question.
It's 6:56. Turning on the TV.
ReplyDeleteI'd be shocked if it wasn't an infomercial for the Grammar Retard In Chief. He can't even count to 69.
ReplyDeleteBernie
ReplyDeleteIt's now 7:35 and no mayor?
No mention on crime or the present housing stock that is the very root of the issue. Wre are the blight stickers on the fences?
ReplyDeleteAmazing. A waste of time.
ReplyDeleteChannel 69 is LAME! Just pathetic. Why did they even bother. The King says the same thing to every soft toss question and all is right with the world. No mention of Atiyeh or a list of current litigants. They are obviously in the bag.
ReplyDeleteThe Mayor blew it. He is not articulate, can't think and just helped the plaintiffs. Play this interview for the judges and it's a slam dunk.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I have yet to hear anyone opposed to the to the arena from the suburbs. Just don't build it with their money. Pretty simple.
Exactly..get your hand off MY wallet! YOU want this? YOU find a way to pay for it and leave me alone. Build a community venue for shows and parks and athletic fields. We don't want no stinkin' sports palace!
ReplyDelete69 does not have anyone with enough balls to handle this
ReplyDeleteWill side kick Reilly accompany him?
ReplyDeleteBoth are inept thugs, in my opinion, who have not been forthright about this issue and really could care less about most of the people of Allentown.
None of the local media outlets do. They are all shills. Nobody wants to do the dirty work..except your local bottom feeder.
ReplyDeleteAccording to a Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll of Lehigh Valley residents, people believe that the project will be good for Allentown by a ratio of three to one, and 45 percent say they are likely to attend events there.
ReplyDeletebut it's too bad it's being held up by partisans with chips on their shoulders. Curmudgeons that don't even recall how great downtown Allentown used to be. Those that never left their far flung suburbs to even shop at Hess' or Speedys or Titlows. THose that don't bother with sports, music, or entertainment. It's sad how backward we continue to be.
69 does not have anyone with enough balls to handle this
ReplyDeletePerhaps reasonable people can see the positive? Just because this readership follows Bernie's baton doesn't mean the rest of the valley wallows in the mire.
Then build it the old fashioned way! Sell it on it's merits and leave us unenlightened "Boonie dwellers" out of it. Yea..they want it..but aren't prepared to PAY for it. Pure BS!
ReplyDeleteWhat people want and what they are prepared to pay for it are two entirely different animals! Atown is a mess and I'm supposed to help them clean up what they created? No way! Clean your own room, Junior!
ReplyDeleteI live in one of the townships and I fully support the arena just like I fully supported Coca Cola Park and just like I fully supported Artsquest and Sands. Things are looking up for the valley and I do not mind paying a bit more in taxes to make it happen. Call me crazy.
ReplyDeleteHave the townships even articulated a) how many people work in the NIZ who live in their borders or 2) how much exactly of their taxes we will lose? If they have, I haven't heard it. Yet they sue. Bizarre.
This is a proven.failed..economic project. It has failed all across the country yet it is hailed as the savior of Atown. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. It is smoke and mirrors and the greedy are the only ones who benefit..one percent at best. Screw the peons and those on the margins of society. Kill it before it spreads.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think they have joined the suit? They know to the penny how much money will be lost. EIT did not build the Sands and ArtsQuest and Pigs Park. Have you been out of the country for the past three months?
ReplyDeleteBernie..the level of ignorance in relation to this issue is truly astounding. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteAnon 913AM, Allentown has that information but they have refused to release it (they claim 'programming issues' have prevented release - yeah, right), so the townships have no idea what's at stake.
ReplyDeleteBernie I can't find anything on WFMZ's website on this happening this morning - did it? What happened?
News will break in the next several days about an upcoming project, NIZ and commuter tax funded, to benefit Chapman. The Chapman Dome expects to lure the NY Yankees, Dallas Cowboys and Montreal Canadiens to the most exciting sports venue in America. Associated development projects include becoming the new home of the UN and Chicago Board of Trade. What's good for Chapman is good for the LV. It's time to rally around this project. The cost is eleventy zootrillion dollars - but worth every dime for what it will spur in jobs and infrastructure improvements. The stadium will simply incorporate a tarp over Chapman Quarry and bleachers sourced from Nazareth Raceway. It's a win-win.
ReplyDeleteBAZINGA!
ReplyDeleteYou didn't miss a thing, Pal. Same old King Ed sound bites. No news is good news as far as WFMZ is concerned. Let's all hug and kiss after we go off the air. Woopie!
ReplyDeleteThe Chapman tarp. I love it!
ReplyDelete8:51, I think Michael Molovinsky had a very effective retort to the Morning call's push pull, in which the majority of the respondents (58%) of the respondents state they are not excited about the arena.
ReplyDeleteThe newspaper commissioned this poll and phrased the questions to elicit the answers they received. It's part of a failing effort to sway public opinion.
Why?
Because the newspapers are part and parcel of Allentown's growth regime. They will promote growth bc it leads to higher circulation and more ad revenue. They had to be shamed into covering the re-routing of LANTA bus routes a few years ago.
And they pretend they have no bias.
Fortunately, they are no longer a monopoly on information. The reporters are doing a great job getting the facts out, even those I don't like. But editorially, the papers are both in the tank for Pawlowski and Browne.
EIT did not build the Sands and ArtsQuest and Pigs Park. Have you been out of the country for the past three months?
ReplyDeleteSands and Artsquest have taken advantage of brownfield tax credits and other shenanigans (read we paid for it) to build.
Coca Cola Park's bonds were paid with state taxes and hotel taxes. Read we paid for it.
When does the madness STOP? Past practice..so we keep on doing it and condoning it? At some point you make a stand and this is that point! The King is naked but he thinks he's clothed in finery.
ReplyDeletecan you link the interview from WFMZ? I can't find it.
ReplyDeletethanks.
ReplyDeletePublius, It appears that there is no link to the interview. I'll inquire.
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking on this Bernie, I'll send an email over to them too.
ReplyDeleteFacing the public?
ReplyDeleteOn the air we can't throw rotten fruit and vegetables....
another propaganda duck and pony show.
Go Team!
I would advise not watching a replay of this so called interview. You could become violently ill or just become violent! Approach with caution..
ReplyDeleteBecause the newspapers are part and parcel of Allentown's growth regime.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if you could point me to the place you purchase your tin foil hats? Is that a black helicopter?
When does the madness STOP? Past practice..so we keep on doing it and condoning it? At some point you make a stand and this is that point! The King is naked but he thinks he's clothed in finery.
ReplyDeleteBuilding recreational facilities for citizens is madness? Are you content watching Everybody Loves Raymond reruns? I think so.
Sticks and stones..buddy. Tell it all to the judge when push comes to shove. I gave some inexpensive alternatives to the failed palace of sports to fill that HOLE in the ground in the middle of Atown. Just constructive thought.
ReplyDeleteI have a question.. I was recently told, that the mayor stated '' i dont want the EIT, I dont need the EIT'' but due to legislature, people dont believe this statement.Can someone please shed light, im new to the area
ReplyDeletess
The King says lots of stuff..it changes by the hour and sometimes sooner than that. What is the truth? Don't ask me..ask the King.
ReplyDeleteAnon 307pm, they're trying hell to keep this out of Harrisburg - if it has to go to another vote, it goes down in flames. And that's before the issue of constitutionality even comes into play.
ReplyDeleteTo eliminate the EIT it has to go back.
Anon 307pm, they're trying hell to keep this out of Harrisburg - if it has to go to another vote, it goes down in flames. And that's before the issue of constitutionality even comes into play.
ReplyDeleteTo eliminate the EIT it has to go back.
Didn't he lie about the townships getting "all their money back?" I just freeze-framed my dvr copy and watched as his nose actually grew on camera.
ReplyDeleteDave and Anon 3,17..Thank you.
ReplyDeletess
"You'd be hard pressed to show that it's worth the investment ... the numbers just don't add up."
ReplyDeleteCHRISTOPHER BORICK quoted in The Morning Call article published April 22, 2009 :
"WHY ARE WE FINANCING STADIUMS?"
by Christina Gostomski
---------------
looks like Professor Borick's position on Big Government building Palaces of Sport has evolved ...
Dave, do you have a job?
ReplyDelete2:48, Before you make the same tired black helicopter comments I used to hear from Joe McDonald all the time, when he was paid to shill for Pawlowski, you should do some reading.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that newspapers are editorially a third wheel on the urban growth bicycle is pretty much the consensus among urban growth experts.
Stone, Domhoff, etc. Here's part of what Domhoff says.
"There is one other important component of the local growth coalition: the daily newspaper. The newspaper is deeply committed to local growth so that its circulation and, even more important, its pages of advertising, will continue to rise. No better expression of this commitment can be found than a statement by the publisher of the San Jose Mercury News in the 1950s. When asked why he had consistently favored development on beautiful orchard lands that turned San Jose into one of the largest cities in California within a period of two decades, he replied, "Trees do not read newspapers" (Downie, 1970, p. 112). However, the unique feature of the newspaper is that it is not committed to growth on any particular piece of land or in any one area of the city, so it often attains the role of "growth statesman" among any competing interests within the growth coalition."
What the hell is wrong with urban growth as a general thing? The fact that you are against the possibility of any growth in our cities explain a lot about why your views about everything else are so out of whack. Times are changing old man.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell is wrong with urban growth as a general thing is that it fails to address the problems that already exist in an urban core, and often exacerbates them. On top of failing to address a city's social ills, politicians and elites co-opt each other, creating a regime whose mantra is growth. Instead of democracy, we end up with oligarchy, like what exists in Allentown.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with cities all across this country is that the middle class left and when they did the tax base imploded. The only way to actually fix that is to encourage growth within city limits and use the tax money to address the myriad problems. That means growth. Any thing else is window dressing. That's the long and the short of it. By not encouraging growth you are either implicitly or explicitly arguing for the city to continue to rot. Period.
ReplyDeleteDid you get a shout out here @ 0:17.
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.mcall.com/valley610/2012/05/hanover-has-a-chuckle-over-allentowns-misfortune.html
How many hand jobs did that cost you? Those guys sound like they should be sitting around a poker table smoking stogies and getting drunk, not leading a community. The maniacal laughing is what really seals the deal for me.
I wrote a story about it when it happened. I did not see Andrew McGill, the Morning Call reporter who repeats my story, at the meeting. I am sorry if I missed him bc I like his stories.
ReplyDeleteAndrew and I posted it for what is likely the same reason - it's funny. Hanover took a shot at A-town, after taking a shot at itself. Lighten up.
And the references to hand jobs is really unnecessary and shows you as a pretty pathetic person.
It's not funny at all. They sound like a bunch of good old boy yapping it up for their own enjoyment. This is serious business suing your neighbor and they behave like prankster children. Now I know why one of them had his head in his hands in your photo, I can at least respect his shame. (you say this is funny well he certainly didn't, he knew how this sounded). You guys sound like a bunch of insider morons playing this for your own enjoyment. And you get called out in it too as their freaking mouthpiece. god its sad. you want to talk about backrooms and smoke and cigars and good old boys well here you are. you're in the thick of it.
ReplyDeleteYou can put the spin on you want. I was there, and know how it went down.
ReplyDelete"you want to talk about backrooms and smoke and cigars and good old boys well here you are. you're in the thick of it."
ReplyDeleteUmm, this was a public meeting. No back room. That collegial board has a sense of humor, and mostly laughs at itself. Allentown and Pawlowski should try it some time.
What do you mean "spin" you can hear the truth of it in their voices and those weird freaking laughs. That's not how earnest people talk / deal with each other. I'll let the commonsense of others decide that.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah, it was a public meeting, that doesn't mean the policy doesn't get decided by some good old boys before they take center stage. These guys take their directions from the developers and you are out here shilling for their positions. Seems kind of friendly.
I see. Isn't J.B Reilly a developer?
ReplyDeleteLike I said, lighten up, cupcake.
Ha, well, you did post on this "Allentown Hole" joke a while back, but, you casually neglected to mention they sounded like a pack of hyenas gnawing at meat. I was willing to accept it was a little inside "joke" back then, but, this recording is off-the-hook and sounds awful. No wonder Finnigan had his head in his hands.
ReplyDeleteAlso, just an observation, but you were asked 3-times by a commenter on that previous article why his head was in his hands and you didn't respond. Your lack of response (you're very good at responding to legit requests esp. after the 3rd time) suggests that you obviously knew the context and that it reflected poorly on the NIZ debate. To suggest now that it was all one big joke is kind of disingenuous.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I was there. You weren't. So far as I know, neither was the MC reporter. It seems to me that you guys are desperately grabbing at straws at this point to reverse Pawlowski's blundered public relations disaster.
ReplyDeleteHT stook a shot at itself, and a shot at Allentown. It's called humor. That's something in short supply in Pawlowskiville.
It was obvious why Finnigan's head was in his hands. That's why I posted the damn picture. It's part of what made the story funny. Some of you really need to lighten up.
ReplyDeleteI thought he was contemplating another Angle executive run.
ReplyDeleteBOH had no trouble shilling for boonie growth with the 33 industrial park Chrin is building even though there is a completely vacant industrial park on 33 for 10 years.
ReplyDelete11:15 and 11:30 nailed it. I'm surprised the posts weren't deleted. Growth is so much more important in the urban centers than it is in the corn fields.
Did you get a shout out here @ 0:17.
ReplyDeleteWow. That's a disgrace.
"You'd be hard pressed to show that it's worth the investment ... the numbers just don't add up."
ReplyDeleteProfessor CHRISTOPHER BORICK quoted in the article published at The Morning Call on April 22, 2009
"WHY ARE WE FINANCING STADIUMS?"
by Christina Gostomski
Can't wait for the upcoming forum at DeSales University to clear all this up! What? It is been postponed INDEFINITELY .... Hmmm.
ReplyDelete