McHale Comes Through For Struggling Hamilton Street Merchants

Ann McHale should be angry at me. During her reelection bid, I supported her opponent, Tom Dietrich. What's worse, I criticized her imperious style. Yet Ann McHale is the only LANTA board member who responded to an email I sent to each after Tuesday's meeting.

She has some promising news for Allentown's Hamilton Street merchants. "[T]he Business Development/Operations Committee discussed this very matter (I brought the subject up). The overall outcome is to try to work out a plan that addresses the merchants &/or riders concerns. Prior to adjourning, the Board requested the Administration work out a plan and have something to us by this Friday. Hopefully it will be something everyone will be satisfied with. I'll let you know."

LANTA's Board Could Use a Little More Color

At yesterday's meeting of LANTA's board of directors, the only color I saw was in the peanut gallery. Its large, twelve-member board, appears to be entirely white, and only three are women. Of these three, only Northampton County Council member Ann McHale may cast a vote. This board has no resemblance to Lehigh Valley demographics, where woman actually outnumber men and we have just a tad more diversity.

Perhaps that's why, at least until now, LANTA has failed to even acknowledge the plight of the mostly minority-owned businesses along Allentown's Hamilton Street. In September, board member Steve Schmitt smugly dismissed these merchants. "They wanted something to complain about, basically." And yesterday, he actually challenged their honesty. "I find it hard to believe. ... I'd like to see the books."

Would Schmitt be this insensitive if the affected merchants were white?

LANTA's board needs more diversity.

After yesterday's board meeting, I sent emails to each board member. The only one to respond was its sole female voting member, Ann McHale, whom I've called imperious.

Peg Ferraro To Take Office Next Week

Most elected officials must wait until January. But Peg Ferraro will take office as an at-large member of Northampton County Council sometime next week, as soon as election results are official. You see, Peg was actually running for a vacant seat. Although Tony Branco was appointed by fellow council members, he lacked the voters' stamp of approval. Voters trump council. Democracy.

J. Spike Rogan's Dirty Little Secret

Yesterday, an anonymous commenter tipped me off about J. Spike Rogan. This Easton city council wannabe is actually John Kruk's long lost son. Although he may lack his dad's baseball talents, Spike apparently inherited his father's fondness for hot dogs.

Hamilton Street Merchants Stare Down LANTA, & LANTA Blinks

LANTA's monthly board meetings are normally sleepy affairs. The Morning Call's Dan Hartzell tells us he's usually the only guest there. That changed yesterday when board members were awakened by a large and angry confedaracy of twenty-four merchants and bus riders, allied over recent bus route changes that have destroyed business along Allentown's Hamilton Street. After seeing them in person, LANTA has finally blinked.

Conveniently scheduled at high noon, it was virtually impossible for working people to attend. But twenty-four merchants and riders still crossed the wet 8th Street bridge and forged their way to LANTA HQ at 1060 Lehigh Street. Some merchants simply closed their shops. Mike Molovinsky and I ran a shuttle service, going back and forth. A local Korean association also bused merchants who were too afraid to get into a car with me. Wheelchair Jim, who must be turbocharged, beat us all. Believe it or not, we had to leave some folks behind. I was tempted to ask LANTA to send a bus.

Because there were only a few seats and a twelve-member board, most of us had to stand. That gave me a better view of the board. As one of my friends whispered to me, "Now, there's a diverse group." The skin tone ranged between lilly white and ash grey.

Perhaps that's part of the problem.

In vast contrast to the seated big wigs, there was a wide assortment of minorities in the peanut gallery - Korean, Chinese, Guatemalan, etc. And everyone knows Molovinsky is from Mars. The cultural divide was obvious, and I could see it in the looks on some board members' faces.

Fortunately, LANTA started the meeting by allowing the public to speak, and they were willing to listen. They listened to twelve different merchants and riders. And Wheelchair Jim chimed in at least three times.

The owner of the Indian Boutique told LANTA that on Halloween, he was robbed by two masked men. Because a nearby bus stop had been removed and the street was deserted, there were no witnesses. Allentown's vaunted surveillance cameras were no help, either.

And so it goes.

Merchant after merchant stood up to speak of declining sales. But Bibi Hazra, who owns the Loco Dollar Store, was not herself. I later discovered why. She had to pawn her jewelry yesterday to get the power back on in her store. She finally broke down in tears to Channel 69 reporter Bo Koltnow, who has a terrific report.

Wheelchair Jim expresses the sentiment of many riders. "It sure gets my Dutch dandruff up to hear that people are getting pushed around and must cancel their life insurance."

After everyone had spoken, LANTA chair Donald Lipson thanked everyone for coming, and said they would decide what to do at the next board meeting, scheduled for December 11. That brought Jim out of his wheelchair. "We need a decision now. Why can't you take a vote now so we know what's going on?"

"That's not the way we operate," answered Lipson.

At this point, a quiet woman in the crowd spoke up, and mentioned that the board does need to act quickly. "The Christmas season is coming. Most of these businesses rely on that to make their year."

Lipson then suddenly reversed course, and said LANTA would move quickly to implement changes, perhaps by Thursday.

Perhaps this is because the woman who made this request is Ellen Millard-Kern, and she just happens to be chief of staff for State Senator Pat Browne.

Merchants and bus riders may finally have another ally, too. According to Bo Koltnow's report, Mayor Ed Pawlowski finally called LANTA today on behalf of Allentown's suffering merchants.

After we had all left the building, board member Steve Schmitt had another amazing display of insensitivity. He's the LANTA board member who previously claimed Hamilton Street merchants just "wanted something to complain about, basically." Yesterday, he whined, "I find it hard to believe. ... I'd like to see the books."

If he really wanted to do that, all he had to do was ask instead of waiting for everyone to leave so he could talk behind their backs.

Regardless of Schmitt, LANTA finally appears to be willing to make some changes.

It just might save a few businesses.

If LANTA Won't Come to Hamilton Street Merchants, They Will Go to LANTA

LANTA, the Lehigh Valley's mass transit provider, has changed its schedule. Its Silverline Express is now ferrying bus passengers, every half hour, from Allentown's brand spankin' new transit center to Lehigh Valley Mall.

Whoopee!

While LANTA dumps Allentown customers off at Victoria's Secret and The Gap, the locally owned stores die, one by one, thanks to bus routing changes that have killed their business. Neither LANTA nor Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski has had the basic decency to respond to thirty-eight suffering, and mostly minority-owned, Hamilton Street merchants, or 1,800 unhappy bus passengers. My letters, now over a month old, have also been ignored.

Maybe it's time to change my name to Bernie Pektor.

Today, LANTA's board meets at Noon in its Allentown offices, located at 1060 Lehigh Street. According to its own web page, "The public is welcome to attend these meetings and the 'courtesy of the floor' will be extended to anyone who wishes to attend and make a comment or suggestion." Although this meeting is scheduled in the middle of the work day, making it nearly impossible for working people to attend, several merchants and bus riders will be there, to voice their concerns. Blogger Mike Molovinsky will be running his own mass transit service for merchants who can get away.

If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed will go to the mountain.

I can think of 378,300 reasons why the mountain should listen. Northampton County has budgeted $378,300 for LANTA next year. If this mass transit provider ignores the masses it is supposed to serve, it deserves no funding.

Update: Victory! LANTA's lilly white board has agreed to bus-routing changes to help the mostly minority-owned businesses along Allentown's Hamilton Street. This is what The Morning Call's road warrior, Dan Hartzell, tells us. I attended today's meeting and will post about it tomorrow.

Was Hershman Political Ad Censored in Allentown?

Bethlehem has none of these. Neither does Easton. Alone among the Lehigh Valley's three cities, Allentown has bragging rights to a very flashy and sophisticated 12' x 24' electronic LED billboard, strategically located at downtown's busiest intersection, 7th & Hamilton Streets.

Very avant-garde, eh?

But do Allentown city officials control what you see on that billboard? That's what city councilman and Bill White Hall of Fame member Lou Hershman claims. I was walking the streets of Allentown, hoping I could snap a few pictures of Chris Casey stumbling out of a Dunkin' Donuts, and heard the story in passing. I decided to check it out.

Hershman tells me he decided to advertise his city controller campaign at this billboard last Spring. Not long after he started, the building's then owner was reminded by unnamed city officials that his permit was still temporary and could be pulled. So the owner pulled Hershman instead.

Very 1984, eh?

Why didn't he raise holy hell then, or at least write a memo? Hershman had no desire to make trouble for the building's then owner, and only knows what he was told. He never confronted the city.

He should.

Can Easton Handle J. Spike Rogan on City Council?

Earlier today, I told you six people are seeking appointments to two vacant seats on Easton's city council, including the mayor elect's wife. All but one - J. Spike Rogan - have held or sought public office before. This post is about Spike, whose comments you can read here and at Easton Undressed.

Spike is a frequent visitor to Easton city council, and once attended a council meeting against his doctor's orders. He stayed out of this year's city council race so he would not draw votes from El Warner, who won. "I am 28 years old and can bring youthful energy and interest ... It is my generation that soon must take over the reigns and make Easton a great place for centuries to come."

I have just one question for Mr. Rogan - Are you out of your frickin' mind? Do you know of any councilman, anywhere, on this planet, whose name is Spike? That name makes me think about rabies shots, not government service. And dude, do you honestly think a city council will appoint a blogger, especially someone who decides to post Saddam's execution in "full clear?" I'm still having nightmares over that, thank you very much.

To his credit, Spike did answer a series of ten questions posed to candidates by Easton Undressed, and you can read his responses here.

Is Easton ready for J Spike Rogan on city council?

I know I'm not.

Should Panto's Wife Be Appointed to Easton City Council?

Pam Panto, Easton city council's VP, is one of two members who chose not to seek re-election this year. As she told The Express Times in March, "With my husband running for mayor, the logistics of the operation and maintenance of two separate and independent campaigns from one home will be laborious, tedious and exhaustive." But now her name is among those being considered for appointment to two council vacancies.

In an exclusive interview with Terrance Hand at Easton Undressed, Mayor-elect Sal Panto addresses this issue. "I think she's been the voice of reason and common sense on city council. I think she's been an excellent city council member, and now that she has her four years of experience, she really was starting to make a difference. ... So she would be a very independent thinker. ... Putting someone on with no experience would be inappropriate at this point. ... She shouldn't be appointed because she's my wife or family member or son or daughter or cousin or relative or friend, but she shouldn't be denied that either, because she is an individual."

Here's The Express Times' view. "No offense, but the last thing Easton's hatchling home-rule venture needs is Bill and Hillary comparisons." I agree. A decision to put that much power in the hands of one family should be made by the voters, not four city council members.

Update: The Morning Call's Bill Ford today reports that, in addition to Pam Panto, five other Eastonians are interested in the two open seats on city council. These include failed mayoral candidate Mike Fleck, failed city council candidates Peter Melan, Roger Ruggles and Bill Timmann, and J. Spike Rogan, a frequent commenter here and at Eaton Undressed.

Veterans' Day! Here's Something We All Can Do

Nazareth's Bill Coker passes along this idea. It's a pretty good one, so he must have stolen it. When making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

A Recovering American soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

Update: Believe it or not, and as nice as it sounds, an anonymous commenter warns this is a scam. In fact, Snopes claims postal officials won't even accept this kind of mail because of security concerns. Paranoid bureaucrats apparently think we'll slip a bomb or anthrax into a Christmas card. Everyone is just a little nutz.

Answers to Friday's Pop Quiz

On Friday, I asked you to name who made each of the quotations below. Someone has identified each quotation accurately, and you can read this person's answers below. I owe him/her two boxes of pop tarts. I was told I could make my own selection, and got a deal on pizza berry mint.

1)"He's our father. He's the father of our house. He's supposed to take care of us. If he doesn't take care of his children, who can he take care of?"

Answer: Allentown merchant (BiBi Hazra) discussing Mayor Ed’s shabby treatment. I hear the case has been turned over to Lehigh County Children and Youth (child neglect).

2) "Nice guys finish last."

Answer: Ms. McHale, who came in first on Tuesday with the highest percentage of Council District vote. (Although Angle got the most votes within a District). By her own reasoning Ms. McHale must not be a nice person.

3) "The expansion of Properties of Merit to communities throughout the Lehigh Valley is an incredibly positive development! POM has had a wonderful impact on neighborhoods in Allentown where property owners have taken a greater interest in their own properties."

Answer: Lisa Boscola explaining why it is O.K. that the lowly taxpayer funds Ms. Bennett’s exorbitant salary.

4) "I realize your license to practice law has been indefinitely suspended for mishandling your clients' cases. I also understand that you blame your suspension of your license to practice law on your continuing recovery for alcoholism. Fair enough. But as a former lawyer who has lost the right to practice, even in light of New York Times v. Sullivan, you should be very careful before your accuse someone of violating the law."

Answer: Lamont [McClure] – bitterly defending his own lack of knowledge about the Law.

5) "The people who left under my reign are people I am still close with."

Answer: Her Royal Highness, the Great Exalted, All Powerful, All Seeing, Grand High Registrar Deborah DePaul.(Just pay no attention to the Man Behind the Curtain).

6) "Bernie, You're an Asshole!"

Answer: Joe (won’t be Democrat Chairman for) Long.

7) "Take three zeros off all of it, and you've got the right answer."

Answer: Sam Bennett’s campaign spokesperson – hoping to distract IRS officials from looking into Bennett’s offshore accounts.

8) "You keep writing about Lower Macungie and open records. Pat yourself on the back. What a difference you make."

Answer: Bernie Take No Prisoners. I think. This quote lacks Klieklak’s typical “flowery” language. It is a little difficult to identify. But the tone is bitter enough.

9) "We do it for the love."

Answer: Wall–to-Wall Organizer discussing why volunteers do what they do.

10) "The only ones I want to hear speaking up and complaining about immigration are the Native Americans who we screwed."

Answer: Rendell and, as tempting as it to expand on the “who we screwed” comment, I’m going to leave it alone.

Maher Loses Home Town By Four to One Margin

Politicians instinctively avoid controversial issues like the plague at election time. Not Ron Angle. He threw himself, head first, into the discussion over the unpopular Marshfield development proposed in Upper Mount Bethel Township. Instead of playing to the crowd, Angle actually advocated a compromise with the developer, a very unpopular move.

During the campaign, Machine Maher did his best to exploit this to his advantage. It was the subject of anonymous robo calls and negative mailers, and Maher himself complained about Angle's position at a county council meeting.

So how did this strategy work? According to unofficial tallies, not well enough. Angle still won Upper Mount Bethel, 647 to 603. They still like their Bull Dog.

In Maher's own home town, he lost 229 to 57, four to one. Voters don't like smear campaigns. And in Wind Gap, they detest weasels.

The Eye of Mordor Invades a Norco Council Budget Hearing

Yesterday, Northampton County Council conducted the second of a series of budget hearings before it decides to accept, amend or reject what county exec John Stoffa has proposed. As boring as this may sound, it is probably council's most important job.

For example, should prison guards be working so much overtime? Although the bean counters say this is actually cheaper than making new hires, doesn't it also stress out corrections officers? What's the right choice?

Should the county spend more time on repairing and replacing its 119 bridges? Their average life expectancy is around fifty years, so we should be replacing two every year. But instead, we've replaced only eight bridges over the past five years. A big reason for this is the bureaucratic red tape imposed by PennDot. And it's going to get worse because now the feds are getting involved, and even PennDot complains about them. How do we solve this problem?

These are the kinds of problems a county council faces at budget time. Sometimes they find an answer. Sometimes, there is no answer.

Yesterday, council members John Cusick and Tony Branco were MIA. But the Eye of Mordor fixed its unrelenting gaze on cowering council members. Morning Call columnist and blogger Bill White was in the house, and everyone was on their best behavior. Council members often looked anxiously in Bill's direction to see what he was doing. Even Ron. And Bill was writing furiously.

Uh oh.

Charles Dertinger took his obligatory swipe at the administration, but after doing so, I saw him look regretfully at White. Bill just kept scribbling away.

After the meeting was over, Bill White dropped a page from his notebook, and I stole it. Here are some of his raw notes.

Friday's Pop Quiz: Who Made These Statements?

Who do you think made the statements below? I'll have answers on Monday.

1)"He's our father. He's the father of our house. He's supposed to take care of us. If he doesn't take care of his children, who can he take care of?"

2) "Nice guys finish last."

3) "The expansion of Properties of Merit to communities throughout the Lehigh Valley is an incredibly positive development! POM has had a wonderful impact on neighborhoods in Allentown where property owners have taken a greater interest in their own properties."

4) "I realize your license to practice law has been indefinitely suspended for mishandling your clients' cases. I also understand that you blame your suspension of your license to practice law on your continuing recovery for alcoholism. Fair enough. But as a former lawyer who has lost the right to practice, even in light of New York Times v. Sullivan, you should be very careful before your accuse someone of violating the law."

5) "The people who left under my reign are people I am still close with."

6) "Bernie, You're an Asshole!"

7) "Take three zeros off all of it, and you've got the right answer."

8) "You keep writing about Lower Macungie and open records. Pat yourself on the back. What a difference you make."

9) "We do it for the love."

10) "The only ones I want to hear speaking up and complaining about immigration are the Native Americans who we screwed."

Northampton County Has Flawless Election With Ol' Faithful

I've been a harsh critic of both touchscreen voting machines and the Northampton County voting registrar Deborah DePaul. Amazingly, with Ol' Faithful lever machines back in action, Tuesday's election was about as flawless as you can get. The county web site, instead of being days behind The Morning Call and WFMZ, was actually ahead of them both. I've been told that even those cranky editors at The Express Times fired off a letter to commend the office.

Here's what the real bossman, Norco exec John Stoffa, told Sarah Cassi. "I was very proud of our elections office. They've taken a lot of abuse, but last night they rose to the top."

Meg Holland's Campaign Explains Her Upset in Bethlehem Controller Race

"The Democratic nominee is David DiGiacinto (and he is going to win).

The Republican nominee is Meg Holland (and she is going to lose)."

That's what BethlehemDem wrote a few days ago about Bethlehem's Controller race. I agreed with him, too. After all, Democrats have a vast registration edge and DiGiacinto outspent Holland three to one. But when the dust had settled late Tuesday night, Holland was standing on top. She won in both Lehigh and Northampton County, squeaking by with 51.38% of the total vote.

So how the hell did Meg pull this rabbit out of a hat? Here's how campaign volunteer/daughter, Meg Holland Schaeffer, explains it.

- Walking to 3,000+ doors

- Poll coverage by family members (almost all polls were covered and we all stood out from 7am-7pm most without leaving) and even with all the press coverage people still did not know much about the Controller race (DiGiacinto floated around between polls, but I believe only had 2 or 3 covered all day)

- Very effective campaign mailers

- Qualifications (people who did read about the race said they understood that she was more qualified)

- "Holland" last name and people's friendship and respect for my grandparents and other family members (Attorney Robert Holland and Marie Holland) (BethDem told me it didn't matter about my grandparents.. a lot of people told us at the polls they came out to vote for my mom because of them)

I'd prefer to think it was magic.

Easton's Bachmann Publick House Slammed by Imperious Ann McHale

Easton's 1753 Bachmann Publick House, Easton's oldest building, one-time tavern and home to Northampton County's first courtroom, has fallen upon hard times, just like Easton herself. Easton Heritage Alliance, the building's owner, had no money to repay a $500,000 county loan.

The deed has been surrendered to the county, and a determined group of Bachmann believers are working on a business plan that will hopefully allow continued use of this historically significant property as living museum. And at a recent budget hearing, the county revealed it intends to fund an estimated $75,000 for repairs, operating expenses and maintenance of this building from some of the anticipated $1.2 million in hotel tax revenues.

Enter the Imperious Ann McHale. She instructed county administrators that hotel taxes can't be used to fund this Easton treasure because it is not a tourist attraction.

Huh?

Somebody better tell George Washington and Ben Franklin, two tourists who spent time there.

Radio Personality Ken Matthews Has a Blog!

Ken Matthews, a popular Lehigh Valley radio personality, has started a blog. He kept threatening this during his brief stint as a talk-show host on Jolly(?) Joe Timmer's WGPA Sunny 1100 AM, and now he's kept that promise.

As it turns out, he's a natural. But he's got the perfect background for this gig. He's gone through thirty-seven bosses, and has been fired at least seven times. Anybody that screwed up is bound to be a good blogger. His profile tells us he's a father of two boys but is married to only one woman around 17+ years. ("That's how long we've been married - not her age").

Don't tell Ron Angle, but I actually listened to Ken on WGPA. Man, do the ladies love this guy! Even Lisa Boscola was calling this guy out of the blue. I can't quite figure that out because I'm at least ten times better looking. For one thing, I actually have eyebrows. I even speak French and like classical music and perfume and shit like that.

Angle Having Victory Parade

UPPER MOUNT BETHEL: In the wake of a convincing victory against John Maher's anonymous robo calls and sleaze mailers, Ron "the Bull Dog" Angle is having a parade. He's converted an old truck at his farm into an Anglemobile, and is currently standing in the flatbed as one of his servants careens down Route 611. Angle is tossing twinkies and coins to everyone he sees. Those who forget to genuflect are immediately shot.

Awaiting him at the courthouse, terrified county workers have already rolled out a red carpet they stole from one of the judges.

A Few Words From Mayor Sal

Bernie,

Thank you for the kind words. I am grateful for the support and confidence the electorate has placed in me and I pledge to work hard so that I do not let them down. Our city will have a bright future. It will be bright because we will open the doors of city hall to any individual that wants to help us make our city better. We pledge not only an open door policy but an open mind policy as well. I also want to remind my friend Billy [Billy Givens] that the vast amount of additional land and property sold by the city to the county was after my two terms as Mayor and not during.Thank you again to all of the voters and our more than 300 volunteers for the trust they placed in our campaign.
Update: On my way to the courthouse this afternoon, campaign signs from victors and vanquished still decorated Easton. But Panto's red, white and black signs were not among them. He's removed them all, just as he said he would.