NorCo Council to Vote on SEIU Contract for Unionized Human Services Workers Tonight

Despite threats to strike, SEIU Local 668 members recently voted to approve a new, three-year contract with the County. That deal must be approved by County Council and is on tonight's agenda. I will report on the basic terms of this agreement, which will probably be a model for future negotiations, after Exec Lamont McClure explains them to Council.  

NorCo's GPA Tables Property Transfer For Dixie Cup Development in Wilson Borough

Back in May, Skyline Investment Group representatives were at the NorCo's General Purpose Authority (GPA) meeting. Wilson Borough actually owns a small triangular piece shown on the tax map you see above as 1C-1. It is 0.35 acres located along the eastern side of 25th Street and is actually the beginning of a bike path that extends from the Palmer Bike path and hooks up with the Tatamy Trail. According to Claudia Robinson, who is actually a tax credit maven employed by an outfit called AreaProbe, Skyline would move the giant Dixie Cup currently on top of the vacant factory and plant it next to the bike path, where people could ooh and ahh at its wonder. 

But there's a problem. Wilson Borough is unable to convey directly to Skyline unless it first conducts an auction at which anyone could bid to buy the tract. This could complicate Robinson in her quest to attract private equity with promises of an historic tax credit. 

To foreclose the possibility that someone other than Skyline gets this tract, the Borough could convey to the county GPA, which in turn would munificently turn it over to Skyline. That way the law against this kind of insider dealing would be followed even though the spirit of the law would clearly be ignored. 

Yesterday, GPA was poised to act on a resolution to approve the transfer. An attorney with Eckert Seamens, the law firm spearheading the TIF tax grab for Dixie, and Wilson Borough Council member Justin Woodring were on hand to push for the transfer. 

But as it happens, Wilson Borough Council is not scheduled to vote on a transfer until June 8. Moreover, GPA Solicitor only received the resolution on Thursday. Moreover, Council member Woodring said Council needs to rescind an earlier resolution approving the transfer. He added that the property has no value to anyone other than the Borough and the developer.

If that's the case, why not do an auction like the Borough Code requires?

GPA member Lori Vargo Heffner moved to table the property transfer because it made little sense to approve a property transfer that the borough itself has yet to approve. "And I agree with Lori." added GPA member Ken Kraft. "This should have been withdrawn because you're not done. Ww [should be] the last person to do this. Why are we always getting this in different forms before it is finished?" Kraft seconded Vargo-Heffner's motion, and the transfer was tabled. 

The Race That Matters Most to Me at This Time

Jonas Vingegaard

It's not the Presidential race or the looming battles for Congressional seats. Rather, the race that matters most to me at this time is one receiving scant coverage in American press. It's the Tour de France, a cycling race that extends 2,174 miles over 21 days. It goes through hills, cobblestones, gravel and mountain stages. Today, for example, riders will go through the Alps from Italy into France, in reverse direction from the way Hannibal descended into Italy over 2,000 years ago. 

The person in the overall lead (General Classification) wears a yellow jersey, known as the maillet jaune, unless someone can beat his overall time. The fastest sprinter (there are sprints in nearly every stage) wears the green jersey. The fastest mountain climber, known as the King of the Mountains, wears a polka dot jersey. 

Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar won the race in 2020 and 2021. Jonas Vingegaard won in 2022 and 2023. They are both in it to win it this year.

These guys are very classy. In the 2022 race, which was a duel between Jonas and Tadej, both were descending a mountain at high speed. Tadej was slightly behind but made a slight mistake and went off the road. Get this. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, Jonas actually slowed down and waited for Tadej to catch up. The two shook hands and continued. That's true sportsmanship.

Though Tadej is predicted to win, Jonas is my favorite. Just a few short years ago, he was working in a fish factory. Now he is the leader of Visma, one of the top cycling teams in the world.

Tadej Pogacar

Earlier this year, Jonas had a terrible accident in the Basque country. He and several other riders were caught up in a collision caused by tree roots that grew out of the road. He suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a punctured lung. Most counted him out for the season. But he's back and is neck and neck with the leaders.  

Tadej just won the Giro d'Italia and basically blew everyone away. He is in top form, so I expect to see their friendly rivalry continue in the mountains and time trials. 

There are lots of storylines. Englishman Marc Cavendish, despite graying hair, is racing just to get one stage win, which will give him 35 stage wins overall and make him the first rider to have accomplished that feat. 

The first three stages have been won by underdogs from small teams. Frenchmen Romain Bardet and Kevin Vauquelin won stages 1 and 2, respectively. Believe it or not, few Frenchman actually win any stages. Stage 3 went to Biniam Girmay, the first black African to ever win a stage. 

In the main battle for overall lead, four cyclists - Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Richard Carapaz - have the exact same time. Carapaz is in yellow because his wheel was first over the line yesterday. Expect that to change. 

What kills me is that all of these guys speak perfect English. Tadej always seems to be having fun. Jonas calls his wife and daughter after every stage. 

Though there is little American coverage, NBC sports does daily recaps on Youtube. 

Joe Must Go

In the wake of Thursday night's disastrous debate, the New York Times Editorial Board opines that the best way Joe Biden can serve his country now is by stepping aside.  The New Yorker's David Remnick argues that a continued candidacy is more than self-delusion but is endangering this country. Israel worries that Iran could exploit the obvious weakness.  I am sure Ukraine and Taiwan are concerned as well. Despite his obvious weakness, his family and inner circle - the same idiots who prepared him for a Terrible Thursday - selfishly urge him to stay on. This is in spite of a post-debate poll in which a whopping 72% of Americans conclude that Biden lacks the "mental and cognitive health to serve as president.”

NYTimes columnist Maureen Dowd, a Washington insider, is far from my favorite columnist. She's snide and condescending, and I believe she routinely uses a thesaurus to make herself sound more intelligent than she actually is. But for once, I am in complete agreement with her Saturday Ghastly v. Ghostly column, which starts with these two paragraphs: 

"He’s being selfish. He’s putting himself ahead of the country. He’s surrounded by opportunistic enablers. He has created a reality distortion field where we’re told not to believe what we’ve plainly seen. His hubris is infuriating. He says he’s doing this for us, but he’s really doing it for himself.

"I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about the other president."

Let's forget the "What About" arguments that Democrats are now making about Trump. Of course he lies. We all (or at least most of us) know this. This is not about his fitness to serve. This is about the man who currently is at the helm, and it's downright scary.

As Dowd reminds us, this is a guy who had to bow out of a Presidential race in 1987 when it was discovered that he was using lines from speeches by RFK and Hubert Humphrey. This is the Senator who basically assured us Clarence Thomas as a Supreme Court Justice. This is the man who suffered two aneurisms in 1988. 

"Biden looked ghostly, with that trepidatious gait; he couldn’t remember his rehearsed lines or numbers. He has age-related issues, and those go in only one direction. It was heart-wrenching to watch the president’s childhood stammer return."

We are constantly reminded by the media that Trump is surrounded by myrmidons who parrot his every thought, no matter how ridiculous. But it is now clear that Biden has his own set of lemmings who have shielded him from what was so obvious on Thursday night. They are condemning all of us to a Trump landslide.

One of the most important attributes of a President is the ability to communicate. Like him or not, Trump has been an effective communicator. He lacks the soaring oratory of an Obama or FDR. He is far from likable. But he knows how to get his message out, even if it is hawking bible. Biden, in contrast, has miserably failed to explain foreign or domestic policy in terms an average American can understand.

He can step down and open up the convention to candidates who at least are lucid. I doubt this will change the result but am certain about what will happen if he remains in this race. 

He needs to look at the polls instead of listening to his cheerleaders.