NorCo DA Sez No Imminent Threat at Musikfest

Though Bethlehem police are rightly taking precautions, NorCo DA John Morganelli announced today that there is no "imminent threat" at Musikfest.

Bethlehem police are reacting to several social media posts concerning Bethlehem and mass shootings last weekend in El Paso and Dayton. According to Morganelli, the FBI are unconcerned about the social media posts, and implied they had tracked down the source.

Whether these mass shootings have affected attendance remains to be seen.

Bethlehem Police Chief Has One Word for Musifest - Great!

Bethlehem Police Chief Mark DiLuzio told Bethlehem City Council last night that if he had to sum up Musikfest with just one word, that word would be "Great!"

Of the 1.2 million who attended this year's Musikfest, Bethlehem police made just 36 arrests. This is well below the 49 arrest average over the past 13 years. It amounts to 0.0036% per 1 million people.

Of those arrested, only 12 were Bethlehem residents.

The biggest crime, as you may have guessed, was public drunkenness. Thirteen people had a bit too much to drink. But there were only two underage drinkers.

Chief DiLuzio noted that his officer provide a visible uniformed police presence throughout Musikfest. They are on foot,on bikes and on horseback.In fact, the mounted troop has become one of the festival's biggest attractions. He also thanked the departments of other communities, who provide K-9 and other kinds of assistance.

Musikfest To Offer New Adventure - Treasure Hunting!

Musikfest cometh. It's an Octoberfest in August with all kinds of food, beer and good music. Some of you love it. Others hate it. As an alcoholic with a dairy allergy, I'm pretty much sidelined by events like these. But I saw something that just might draw me out of hiding. A treasure hunt.

UBMe is a social networking app devised by a startup tech company based in Bethlehem, PA. It allows users to connect at a specific place whether that be a business, bar, college campus, concert or sporting event.

For Musikfest, visitors to fully explore the city of Bethlehem, meet new people, and find local business deals. But what's really neat is the treasure hunt series that will start August 5th and continue throughout the 10-day music festival.

Once checked-in, treasure hunters will be able to see clues that UBMe has posted in the live chat that will lead them to the next place on the Bethlehem treasure map. The app is location based, so users cannot participate in the live chat unless they are physically there allowing them to explore Bethlehem.

I downloaded the app for iPhone but it is also available on the App Store and Google Play.

I love the treasure hunt feature, but fail to see why anyone would need an smartphone app to connect with people in the same place as me.

We already have other apps that do this, like our mouth and our voice.

Bethlehem Police Chief DiLuzio: Musikfest Arrests Lowest in a Decade

Bethlehem police Chief Mark DiLuzio: "This year there were 22 arrests at Musikfest, the lowest in more than a decade. I believe this was a direct result of the planning and additional measures taken by ArtsQuest and the City along the Main Street area. This year, with additional lighting, additional surveillance cameras, a tactical re-deployment of Officers on foot, Police Bikes, Motorcycles, in Vehicles, Plainclothes Officers, and on Horseback, we saw a huge decrease in incidents and arrests in this area. A social media publication from BPD detailing what is acceptable behavior at Musikfest also assisted in delivering this message to many young People in a humorous and direct way. Overall Citizen cooperation and a positive social media response all played a large role."

You can read his full Musikfest report here.

Did You Go to Musikfest?

As a curmudgeon who hates people, has retired from drinking and whose musical taste is wanting, Musikfest has little appeal to me. So I'm sorry to say I did not go this year. If there was a freak show, I'd be there ... to audition. But I should not let my general misanthropy prevent you from sounding off on what you liked, and disliked, about the Lehigh Valley's biggest draw. So if you went, was it worth the effort? Should I have gone instead of spending my time throwing tomahawks into my walls? Was the food good?

Musikfest Heaven

Friday night, I had dinner with someone who attended Musikfest's Boston concert. I will spare him the slings and arrows that would undoubtedly follow if I named him, but I want to pass on his story.

He tells me that, while enjoying the show, he was nearly knocked over by the overwhelming odor of marijuana.

"I wonder where that smell is coming from?" he asked of no one in particular.

"Heaven!" was the answer from some unnamed sage in the crowd.

A Kinder, Gentler Musikfest 2012

That's what Bethlehem police report ... so far. I rode through it on Main Street on Wednesday afternoon, and it did seem more mellow this year for some reason. Maybe because nobody has any frickin' money.

The police blog, incidentally, is a real public service.

Can You Spare a Dime For Jeff Parks?

Earlier this week, this sign was located at the front yard of Denny the barber on West Broad Sreet. I understand that the Musikfest police have taken Denny away to re-education camp, where he will be forced to eat high-priced junk food until he vomits, and drink beer after beer, while doing polkas.

Donate to Musikfest ... or Lasso Family?

Because Musikfest is expected to lose $750,000 this year, ArtsQuest President Jeff Parks is already seeking donations. But there's another fundraising effort going on at the same time.

Freemansburg Police Officer Robert Lasso, killed on duty, is being buried today. Numerous local businesses, including WaWa and the Heights Community FCU, are collecting money for his wife and two small children.

During a recession, in which our funds are very limited, which cause sounds more worthy to you?

Jeff, right now, it makes more sense for you to seek donations for Lasso's family than a music festival.

Windfall Deal Struck on Artsquest TIF

Northampton County Council last night approved a deal that will allow the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority to float $28 million in bonds for the development of the long-awaited "21st Century Town Square," a venue on the Bethlehem Steel brownfield that will host as many as sixty free, family-oriented, concerts every year. In return, Bethlehem, Northampton County and Bethlehem Area School District will get 35 percent of the increased tax revenue generated by new development.

Under the current, 20-year TIF, which was first negotiated in 2000, these taxing bodies only got 15% of the increased tax revenue.

Under a deal brokered by Northampton County Council Prez Ron Angle in August, the Redevelopment Authority agreed to relinquish 30% if taxing bodies agreed not to sue. Bethlehem Area School District, which came late into these negotiations, held out for another 5% and more money up front.

Under this deal, which is still in draft form, Northampton County ($519,000), Bethlehem ($677,000) and the school district ($2 million) will all get a healthy injection of cash.

Lamont McClure and Ann McHale incredibly voted No to this windfall. McClure felt they should wait until the agreement is in final form, even though the Authority intends to float the bonds before the next council meeting. McHale balked at language in the agreement providing for litigation in the event the Authority issues binds without an Agreement in place.

This draft also gives Angle the right to sign off on last minute changes, and McClure objected to that as well.

If You Missed Musikfest, You Must Be a Big Oil Slave

I'm a miserable bastard. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that I hate Musikfest. If I want to be packed in hot weather amongst hordes of sweaty people, standing in unending lines, I'll go to a refugee camp. At least the food there is free. Last night, I learned that those of us who skipped out on Musikfest are servants of Big Oil, too.

Pam Varkony, who attended Musikfest and is in the clear, tells us that congressional candidate Sam Bennett also attended the festival. Some of you may have gone to get tipsy or hang around with the Bill White cutout or get tipsy or pig out or get tipsy or listen to music, which is still played there. But congressional candidate Sam Bennett, who incidentally lives at the Historic Benner Home, went because Musikfest is a "catalyst for the revitalization of the city of Bethlehem" and "an economic boost for local businesses" and stuff like that. Oh yeah, she's a "Lehigh Valley leader," too.

Bennett claims Congressman Charlie Dent has to stay home in case Big Oil calls him to drive one of its tanker trucks or something. "[I]f an event won’t help him raise money or gain more pats on the back from Big Oil, he’s not interested,” says Bennett campaign manager Kathryn Seck, who was imported here from D.C. and doesn't even know how to do the chicken dance.

There's just one problem with Bennett's accusation - it's false. He's been there twice this year, standing in lines just like everyone else. According to his campaign maven, Shawn Millan, Charlie always goes to Musikfest. Big Oil must give him a few days off.

Not me. I'm actually a servant of Little Oil. We have to work harder.

Musikfest Yellow Shirts Crack Down on Obama Registration Efforts

Both The Morning Call and Express Times tell us that Musikfest organizers are upset that Obama campaigners are straying from the ''Freedom of Expression Platz'' that everyone in his right mind tries to avoid. Twice, the Yellow Shirts have had to ask Obamaphiles to stop soliciting support on festival grounds. Some festgoers have apparently complained that all this campaigning interferes with their right to get drunk, pig out and spend money. That right trumps the First Amendment at Musikfest.

According to Bethlehem Attorney Don Miles, Musikfest organizers have actually tried to eject Obama campaign. Here's his report.

Contrary to the statement of Musikfest spokesperson Kim Pyler, Jeff Parks' minions did NOT say that Obama's folks had "every right to be there" at their voter registration table on the sidewalk in front of the Obama for President office on Main St. The Obama voter registration volunteers were several times confronted by yellow-shirted Musikfest staff earlier this week and told to close down their table or they'd call the City to enforce "Musikfest's rights".

I was contacted by Obama volunteer staffers (I'm an Obama volunteer -- although I haven't volunteered at their office -- and they knew I was a lawyer) and asked if I thought they were violating any laws. Having recently researched the issue of whether a tenant of a store fronting on the Main St. sidewalk had a right, despite Musikfest's "renting" of Main St., to conduct sales of its own on the sidewalk in front of its store, I told them the answer:

Musikfest's "Use Permit" with the City of Bethlehem for its use of Main St. states (paragraph 5) that Musikfest will "not restrict" the use of the public sidewalk outside a storefront. Further, my research -- confirmed to me by City officials -- showed that the "right-of-way" that Musikfest "rents" along Main St. consists of the street itself and the five feet of the sidewalk beginning at the curb -- the public right-of-way (and thus Musikfest's domain) does NOT extend to the rest of the Main St. sidewalk beyond five feet from the curb (most of Main St.'s sidewalk is about 15 feet wide).

By the way, interestingly: most of Musikfest's vendor booths along Main St. extend well past the five-feet-from-the-curb right-of-way line -- meaning most of them are in violation of Musikfest's City permit to use Main St. :-)

This means that any Main St. tenant (like Obama for President) or owner can do whatever they want on the sidewalk outside Musikfest's five-foot-wide realm. I told the Obama folks that they had complete freedom to do voter registration or political campaigning on their own portion of the Main St. sidewalk and if Jeff Parks' minions threatened them again to tell them to call city officials, who knew the true legal situation (when during research on this issue I asked one city official, "Are you really going to arrest citizens for conducting voter registraion on Main Street", he said, "Of course not").

I also advised the Obama folks that they would be wise to comply with Musikfest's demand that they not do political activity on the street itself, since the City supported Musikfest's claimed rights in that regard, and the Obama folks said they would. (However, my own legal opinion -- agreed to "off-the-record" by an involved City official -- is that Musikfest actually has no legal right to ban political activity even on Main Street itself: I don't believe a federal judge would find it lawful for the City to take my right to hand out political leaflets on Main St. 51 weeks a year but sell my right to Jeff Parks for one week during Musikfest. But I suggested to Obama's folks that they didn't want the animosity or monetary costs such a federal suit would entail and that it would be more sensible to just confine their voter registration and political activities to their own portion of the sidewalk outside Musikfest's five-feet adjacent to the curb.)

I know Obama's campaign has no wish to create any controversy or animosity with the City or with Musikfest and was merely trying to register voters and promote their candidate peacefully.

When Parks heard about Obama's volunteers' reliance on their legal rights yesterday, he caused the press release to be issue which was quoted in the M. Call and Express-Times today, trying to make it sound as if Musikfest had all along consented to the Obama folks voter registration table set up outside Musikfest's five-feet of sidewalk. In fact, they had done no such thing, until the City confirmed to them that they had no jurisdiction outside the five-foot line.

Musikfest's attempt to confine our First Amendment rights to a ghetto they call "Freedom of Expression Platz" would be laughable if it were not so draconian. The White House frequently sets up "free speech areas" blocks away from wherever Bush or Cheney are going to publicly speak, to insure that no real protesters ever get within eye- or ear-shot of our esteemed leaders -- thereby violating the First Amendment on a regular basis.

Apparently Jeff Parks (a Lehigh U. classmate of mine :-) is under the delusion that he is entitled to exercise Presidential powers along our Main Street here in Bethlehem.