According to The Morning Call, the DaVinci Science Center is replacing its vaunted salt-water fishtank with an indoor bug garden. That should be enough to kill this $130 million disaster. According to State Senator Pat Browne, DaVinci Executive Director Lin Erickson had already agreed to scrap the aquarium. Funny how she never mentioned that to Council when she got that $10 million grant.
The news account claims that DaVinci has raised $70 million so far, but it really only has pledges, not money in the bank. Northampton County Council's $10 million grant is predicated on the assumption that there would be a major draw. I'm sorry, but a bug garden and otters prancing around will fail to attract visitors.
This is as ridiculous as Easton Mayor Sal Panto's High School Hall of Fame.
Though NorCo Council has adopted an ordinance promising $10 million to this pipe dream, that ordinance can and should be repealed.
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
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Wednesday, January 17, 2018
37 comments:
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Give the kids a magnifying glass with their ticket. It could still be a draw to visitors on a sunny day.
ReplyDeleteUncle Sal's fish tank is history. How sad. A bug garden will draw millions. Of bugs. Dumbest idea since the fish tank. Waste of time and taxpayer money.
ReplyDeleteHow does a glorified nature center cost the same as an aquarium that was going to ribald Camden's? This is so much bullshit it isn't even funny. Hopefully pocketbook peg does not convince county council to continue with her spending plan.
ReplyDeleteMaybe council could show support in a less costly way.
At this point, the responsible thing to do is withdraw all funding. Easton can be supported in many other ways.
ReplyDeleteEaston deserves a chance to thrive. This is a great hope for Easton. Don't let O'Hare's hate become the guiding light for council.
ReplyDeleteEaston should get the same chances as Bethlehem.
What is fair is fair.
We already have a zoo and the Poconos has a reptile farm if you want to see otters, this is a loser Sorry Sal
ReplyDeleteSo many public parks to explore nature. If you want to see animals, go to the Lehigh Valley Zoo. How did they get $20M for a project that did not exist when the grant was given? It was a payoff. Just anothed trade deal between Scavello and Brown. Not to mention Artsquest and Slate belt YMCA getting $5M each in Gaming dollars with the expansion bill. These commitments need to be on hold pending the outcome the Sands lawsuit.
ReplyDelete"a nature dome that will feature a series of full-scale, natural, immersive indoor environments that allow visitors to explore the plants, animals and geological features of the Lehigh River watershed"
ReplyDeleteam i being punked? an indoor immersive environment .....of what's immediately outside?
Lisa Boscola should be ashamed of herself, trying to bully NORCO into a foolish grant to an invisible Habitrail and ant farm, and Sal Panto has no money, 30 million my butt, show us the money sal.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Hayden Phillips and Kraft were right about the aquarium up north, the other votes on council (who were all lame ducks by the way) along with Peg and Werner should pay for this themselves.
They saddled NORCO with a 40 year grant to nothing but a drawing and a speech
Boscola should be ashamed of a lot more than this - donchez comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteNow we'll see if McClure has any balls
Not a bug house, but a zoo of urban animals: skunks, possums, raccoons, and big f**king rats. What you see on any block in the Lehigh Valley.
ReplyDeleteAll these politicians who agreed to give money for this project should immediately resign! That means you pocketbook Peg Ferarro, Uncle stinky pooh Sal Panto, give me another Lisa Boscola and any other lame brain who agreed to divert hard working taxpayer dollars. Well Easton and stinky Sal now own a deserted Day's Inn wherein, his highness can open a house of ill-repute, charge lower prices then the current level and give politicians [like the gang of four in NC] a discount. This was nothing but a pipe dream from the beginning, [Panto & Erikson], and drew other mentally challenged politicians into the fray.
ReplyDeleteAs a taxpayer, if I want to go to a "bug house" I SIMPLY GO TO THE CAPITOL BUILDING IN Harrisburg. if I WANT TO GO TO A "ZOO" I GO TO City HALL IN Allentown, Bethlehem, oR Easton.
ReplyDeleteYou can see the "monkeys" perform tomorrow night in Northampton County at the Council Meetings. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH America, whata country.
Bernie, will there be showings of cockroaches, bedbugs and other transient transplanted harmonious types of creatures imported for this type of hedonistic artificially assimalated development. Maybe the ones that designed these types of atificially assimilated development will try to keep families of verminious types together instead of the divide and conquer order out of chaos the scripted human designs these days, I am sure that design will not be used on the harmonious bugs and other creatures for there shows.
ReplyDeleteIt will end up in Bethlehem or Allentown like everything else. One of those open buildings near the Sands ? Easton will lose again.
ReplyDeleteWell, Bernie your idol McClure has expressed his full support for the revised facility. He doesn't seem to mind throwing county money behind the ant farm.
ReplyDeleteBob Freeman has called the proposed center a "world class attraction." What the hell has he been smoking? "World class"?? They will be lucky to have visitors from our region. That will mainly be school field trips. It is hilarious that adults would pay to walk through natural environments that are identical to the ones they can enjoy for free at our local parks. And don't forget- it will be in a flood zone with shitty road access. A total government boondoggle!
ReplyDelete8:14, I can support a person without supporting every stand he or she tales. This has often been the case with me, and for numerous people. I have never spoken to McClure about this issue, and from what I read, he believes Easton should be treated just as well as Bethlehem and considers the matter worthy of support. Not sure if he considers it worthy of $10 million.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a money pit being promoted by people who do not know what they are doing and we should not spend a penny. I would be willing to fund an INDEPENDENT study about this as a business idea. I'm guessing a majority of council would probably support giving this project some money, just not $10 million. But in my view, even a dime is irresponsible.
I do agree with McClure's assessment that Easton should have nice things, too.
I was not at the presentation and am relying on the MC account. My invitation must have been lost in the mail. I was aware of and would have crashed this little shindig, but am still recovering from walking pneumonia. I am sure Erickson will insist on giving yet another presentation to NorCo Council.
ReplyDelete"It will end up in Bethlehem or Allentown like everything else"
ReplyDeleteWithout an independent study showing that this works, it should end up nowhere.
Oh gosh, what a disappointment. At least with an aquarium the exhibits might have survived when the Delaware flooded next time.
ReplyDeleteI scanned the article for mention of the Nurture Nature Center (on Northampton Street), a place recognized for its work in hydrology and nature. No mention of conversations or collaboration between Da Vinci and NNC.
ReplyDeleteI’d rather see two acquariums in competition separated by 50-60 miles than two botanic/hydrology interpretive centers three blocks apart.
According to Lehighvalleylive, the attraction will include a "100-foot-tall walk-through human body known as the "Science and Me" exhibit."
ReplyDeleteAssuming it's 100% anatomically correct, with the Days Inn gone, they'll be trading one sh!th0le for another!
Study? Sound just like a former Norco Council member wasting more taxpayer money with a "study".
ReplyDelete100 foot tall walk through human body. Will it be a male ,female or it ? lol
ReplyDeleteIn order to not offend, maybe they'll name it "Pat".
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_(Saturday_Night_Live)
Tear down the motel/hotel and make a nice park for the Easton homeless to gather among the landed local gentry. Power to the people!
ReplyDeleteJohn @ 11:49 has an excellent point. Why was Wildlands and not NNC consulted on this? Wildlands does a lot of good work but a $150+ million urban science center project is a bit outside their usual area of expertise.
ReplyDeleteA three story bat guano exhibit will be perfect. Will there be a sinkhole in the basement to demonstrate local geology?
ReplyDeleteWhen you remove the aquarium from this equation, the project costs decrease which probably suggests that the project may be fully funded from the government grants committed. Interesting approach-make fraudulent misrepresentations to overfund the eventual project. That should be enough cause for the county to re think their commitment.
ReplyDeleteShould be a Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum featuring government waste.
ReplyDeleteThis went from, "you're getting the tank whether you want it or not', to, "you're paying for the tank whether you get it or not".
ReplyDeleteTen million dollar popcorn machine and no popcorn.
What would the "or not" part include?
ReplyDeleteWow....a living, breathing Cabelas. Scrap it now and move on to another concept.
ReplyDeleteHow about a high-rise for millennials who live in New York? Imagine the draw of people who simply walk one block to get on a Beiber Bus and will be in the city in 75 minutes. That becomes a twofer with scores of middle and upper middle class residents who will patronize the restaurants in Easton.
Yo O'Hare, what are the chances the new county council will scrap this whacky idea?
ReplyDeletePretty good.
ReplyDelete3:33 When you remove the aquarium from this equation, the project costs decrease which probably suggests that the project may be fully funded from the government grants committed.
ReplyDeleteActually there aren't enough detail numbers in the pro forma budget to be able to determine that. The numbers are large round numbers that don't speak to the specifics of what it might cost to build individual portions of project. And specific features have been removed such as the restaurant which would change the annual revenue substantially. I would hope whoever is doing the independent evaluation would look at the details revenue and expense balance to see if the new designs make the project operable at a break-even or net positive return.