Molovinsky: S Whitehall Clerical Staff Goes Union

You can read Michael Molovinsky's report here.He claims this affects 13 workers.

Howard Kutzler Going to South Whitehall Township

South Whitehall Township should be charged with theft, First, they stole Bethlehem Township Manager Jon Hammer. Now they've grabbed his successor, Howard Kutzler.

In a late Friday afternoon memo, Hammer reports that Kutzler will start in South Whitehall Township on November 4 as their Director of Administration. He'll be taking over Tony Ganguzza's job as he transitions to part time status.

On October 8, I told you that Kutzler was resigning as Bethlehem Township Manager. He denies his decision has anything to do with politics. But I wonder.

In the primary, long-time Commissioner Paul Weiss was defeated by two candidates backed by developer Abe Atiyeh. One of his employees, Mickey Thompson, is running for Michael Hudak's seat. Atiyeh helped elect Felix "Phil" Bernard and Marty Zawarski. It is all but certain that, come November, Atiyeh will be in effective control of Bethlehem Township government.

Rumor: S. Whitehall to Drop NIZ Challenge

According to an unconfirmed anonymous comment, South Whitehall Township has voted to discontinue the NIZ litigation as a result of legislative changes addressing the concerns that prompted its lawsuit. I will confirm this report on Thursday, and update this post accordingly.

Updated 8:20 AM: This report has been confirmed by Township Manager Job Hammer, who is in his office at 8 AM.

South Whitehall to Join NIZ Litigation

I'll have a detailed report later.

Will South Whitehall Join NIZ Litigation?

South Whitehall Township might be the first Lehigh County municipality to join seven Northampton County local governments in a legal challenge to Allentown's controversial Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ). There will be an "official position" in the "coming days," according to a Thursday news release from Township Manager Jon Hammer.

Allentown plans to divert the Earned Income Taxes from nonresidents who work inside a 130-acre NIZ in the downtown and along the Lehigh River. Instead of passing this local tax revenue back to surrounding municipalities where these nonresidents live, the money will instead help pay for a hockey arena and other improvements over the next thirty years.

South Whitehall appears to be dissatisfied at the lack of information, the diverson of EIT, and the outright diversion of the Township's own businesses.

To date, South Whitehall Township has not taken an official action for or against the NIZ. It has been our hope that we would be provided with information which would be useful in determining our exposure as it relates to diverted Earned Income Tax revenue (EIT). This information has not been delivered and may not be available until June.

Further compounding our concerns are the artificially subsidized rents that will be charged within the Zone. Ironically, our Earned Income Tax will be used to subsidize lower rents within the NIZ, potentially luring South Whitehall businesses into the NIZ
and out of South Whitehall.

We remain hopeful that we can a collaborative and amicable resolution in the coming days.

South Whitehall's Board of Commissioners is next scheduled to meet on Wednesday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m., in the Public Meeting Room of the Township Municipal Building located at 4444 Walbert Avenue.

South Whitehall Suspends Enforcement of Ordinance Restricting Campaign Signs

A few weeks ago, I told you that South Whitehall Township zoning officers were attempting to enforce restrictions on campaign signs ($5 permit, no signs 30 days before election) against state senate candidate Rick Orloski, a Democrat, while turning their heads the other way at Republican beacons. Once Orloski sued, Township officials blinked, and suspended enforcement.

Below is a copy of the stipulation signed by Orloski Attorney Larry Otter and Township Attorney Bill Salzer.

Lawrence M. Otter, Esquire, Counsel for Plaintiff and William T. Salzer, Esquire Counsel for Defendant agree and stipulate as follows:

1. South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, PA and all persons acting under
their direction and control, agrees to defer enforcement of South Whitehall Zoning Ordinance 12.39 (j) (3) as it relates to political campaign signs during the pendency of the 2010 election period, not to exceed April 1, 2011 to allow for a review and evaluation of said ordinance.

2. South Whitehall Township shall not enforce Case No. 20100247 against
plaintiff during the period covered by this Stipulation.

3. The parties request that the Court place this matter into civil suspense through April 4, 2011. The parties shall report to the court by April 4, 2011 as to the status of the dispute including whether the matter may be dismissed by agreement. South Whitehall Township agrees that it will advise plaintiff's counsel as to its position with regard to any amendment of Ordinance 12.39(j) prior to the parties' report to the Court on April 4, 2011.

4. Except as provided herein, this Stipulation does not waive Defendant's rights and defenses as to the legality and enforcement of Ordinance 12.39(j)(3), nor does it waive any of plaintiff's rights with regard to the claims asserted in this civil action.

5. Defendant shall be relieved of filing a response to the Petition for Preliminary Injunction.

Orloski Brings in the Otter

Although Bethlehem has made clear it has no intention of enforcing its zoning ordinance against a huge "Charlie Dent for Congress" sign right across the street from City Hall, South Whitehall Township has already notified state senate candidate Rick Orloski that he needs a permit ... or else.

Now the permit only costs $5, but the ordinance also bans any signs that are out there more than 30 days before the election. Orloski claims he's already received a threatening letter from a zoning officer, who doesn't seem to have noticed the Republican signs in South Whitehall.

Enter Larry Otter, who's already sued all 2500 Pennsylvania municipalities at one time or another over the First Amendment or elections law violations or sometimes, just for the hell of it. He once tried to stick the County with a $2,470.78 bill to represent then Voting Registrar Debbie DePaul, who is now a drama queen somewhere. He even included $36.83 for dinner at Uncle Wesley's.

Larry's already drafted and filed a complaint, motion for preliminary injunction, brief and I'm sure he already has a big bill for South Whitehall. That township has fancier restaurants than Easton. Larry, who really is an otter, likes fish.

South Whitehall Police Draw Guns on Children Playing War

Sunday was a great day for war games. That's what five boys, aged between 9 and 12, were doing at Trexler Park on Sunday. What started as an afternoon of fun, however, soon turned into a day of terror when South Whitehall cops decided they wanted to play, too. Let me tell the story.

Armed with yellow and orange Nerf guns, two eleven year old boys named Christian and Dylan were pitted against an army of three boys brandishing their own, plainly visible, red and yellow Star Wars toy guns.

These boys were just doing what boys do - playing.

Unbeknown to them, there was a real war game going on in nearby Allentown, a shootout at 13th & Liberty between people in two different vehicles. For whatever reason, jittery cops thought these children might be the gangbangers.

As these five boys played their pretend game, two South Whitehall police cruisers and a SUV barrelled into Trexler Park to protect us from those Nerf darts. They pulled 9mm pistols and shotguns and forced these five boys to drop to the ground. Each was patted down and searched for bullets or whatever. In tears, they were required to identify themselves and provide home numbers.

After realizing what a stupid mistake they had just made, one of the cops said, "Have a good day and don't get in trouble." They left as suddenly as they came.

Dylan, a sixth grade student, broke down in tears when he got home. The same thing happened to Christian. In fact, they've both been having nightmares since this incident.

Dylan's dad, Hugo, is himself a former NYC cop, and he's upset. "It's awful for an eleven year-old to be drawn down on. No one even came by to say they were sorry or at least explain things. No one apologized for anything."

Christian's dad, Jeffrey, is also upset. When he'd call Allentown police, they'd refer him to South Whitehall. When he'd call South Whitehall, they'd refer him to Allentown. Through repeated calls, he's learned the trigger-happy cops are from South Whitehall, but little else.

"I have not achieved any resolution. I think my son is owed an apology."

He's right. This is not some situation in which kids were taunting police officers with toy guns and there is no ban on toy guns in South Whitehall Township. They were playing in a park, which is presumably why we have parks.

None of these cops had any reason to feel threatened, and their rash behavior could have resulted in a tragedy. They certainly need to apologize to Dylan, Christian and their parents. Even more, they need some training.