Category: Gadfly’s posts

Watch City Council “live” tonight!

City Council meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7pm in the Town Hall rotunda.

Going is best.

But the meetings are now streamed “live” and are stored for later viewing on the City web site.

Go to the City web site >>> Quick links (bottom left) >>> City Council Meeting Agendas and Documents >>> “View Live Stream City Council Meeting” at the top of the page.

On that same page you can find the agenda for the meeting, any pertinent documents for the meeting – and, for later reference, the print version of the minutes plus audio and video recordings of the meeting.

This is a new opportunity.

Let’s make sure to use it!

Bethlehem Moment 6: “Whites Only” service on 4th St.

Bethlehem Moment 6
City Council
February 19, 2019

Ed Gallagher 49 W. Greenwich

A Bethlehem Moment: November 13, 1967

Twilight Zone theme

History is time travel. But this particular Bethlehem Moment seems less a journey in time than a wrong turn into the Twilight Zone. For on November 13, 1967, a Bethlehem black man had to argue that he was a human being with equal rights with whites. The Warner 3 Bethlehem black man was Malloy Warner, son of the first black trash hauler in the city, founder and president of the Colored Voters Association, president of the Bethlehem Trash Collectors Association, and member of the historic St. John’s AME Zion Church. In a bar on 4th St. in which I spent many a Friday Happy-Hour around the same period, Warner was several times charged double the white price for a bottle of beer. Bethlehem was not Mississippi or Alabama. Or so I thought. And it was 1967 not ’57 or ’27 or ’97. Or so I thought. Yet the message was clearly “Whites only.” Tension flared. The husband of the bar owner reported a death threat. “Some elements” in the black community were eager to “wreck the place.” But Warner neither turned tail nor turned tiger. He chose the “wiser course” of filing suit with the State Human Relations Commission. It was “humiliating,” Warner said, for a “human being” to be treated in this manner. “I’m not interested in financial reimbursement,” he said, “but I am concerned with the principle involved.” And again: “I personally felt that the injustice had to be brought before a court of law and handled through legal rather than violent means.” Justice was done. The Bethlehem Globe-Times called it a “community victory.” But for this researcher 4th St. will never look quite the same after learning of this uniquely brazen example of racism during this trip to the Twilight Zone.

Twilight Zone theme

“Trashman Wins Right to Fair-Priced Beer,” Bethlehem Globe-Times, November 13, 1967.

“Owner of Bethlehem Taproom Ordered Not to Discriminate,” Morning Call, November 14, 1967.

“A Community Victory,” Bethlehem Globe-Times, November 15, 1967.

——————————-

Additional notes:

Six months earlier, in his role as president of the Bethlehem Trash Collectors Association (made up of 27 haulers), Warner argued before City Council for private enterprise against a city plan to institute municipal trash collection, in what was described as “the most impassioned debate to happen in the 5 ½ year span of mayor-council form of government,” and for which the citizen-gallery “literally surrounded the council table, reached down the stairway, stood on tables and sat on the floor.”

Warner 2

Warner had a successful hauling company, with such clients as Food Fair, Bethlehem Steel, Dixie Cup, and Air Products. After leaving the business, he owned a bar in Easton.

Some of the language in the news stories is of interest: Warner, for example is described as a “well-spoken Negro,” and the bar owner is described as “blonde.”

“Install Officers,” Morning Call, May 10, 1949.

“Trash Collectors Appeal to Bethlehem Residents,” Morning Call, April 4, 1967.

“Crowd Protests Bethlehem Garbage Collection,” Morning Call, April 5, 1967.

Denise Reaman, “Father was first black refuse collector in city.” Morning Call, February 26, 1995.

Lehigh Valley Academy Charter looks to build (12)

(12th in a series on Education and Charter Schools)

“Bethlehem Area Superintendent Joseph Roy, a vocal critic of charter schools, said he doesn’t see the need for the charter school to build a new school with taxpayer money.”

“Most of LVA’s 1,700 students come from Bethlehem Area. The district is paying more than $12 million this year for 1,035 of its students to attend LVA.”

BASD is trying to hold the line on a tax increase, though charter school tuition is increasing $1m. Of the 12 charter schools that approximately 2100 BASD students attend at a taxpayer cost of approximately $30m, 50% attend Lehigh Valley Academy Charter. LVA is “eyeing” a possibly $45m building of its own and increasing enrollment. LVA needs BASD permission, but, if denied, can appeal to the state Charter School Appeal Board.

Gadfly is still looking through the web sites of the 12 charter schools listed in our last post on this charter school topic.

Jacqueline Palochko, “Bethlehem Area School District looking at no tax increase.” Morning Call, February 12, 2019.

“Facing one of its lowest deficits in recent years, the Bethlehem Area School District is aiming to hold the line on taxes for property owners in the 2019-20 budget. . . . Because of the low deficit, board President Michael Faccinetto said he’d like to see what the budget would look like without a tax increase. ‘I’m not saying it’s a done deal, but we’re in the position where we can at least entertain it,’ he said.”

“As has been the case in recent years for school districts, charter schools and employee pension payments are top cost drivers. Bethlehem Area is looking at an almost $1 million increase in charter school tuition that would bring the district to paying almost $31 million.”

Jacqueline Palochko, “Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter plans a $45 million school building.” Morning Call, February 14, 2019.

“Wanting to get out of the business of paying rent, the Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School is looking to build a 200,000-square-foot building at a cost of $45 million.”

LVA
LVA current rented space, 1560 Valley Center Pkwy

“At its Jan. 16 meeting, the board approved a $10 million sales agreement that could be for land. . . .  ‘The LVA Board of Trustees recognizes that owning our own facility is significantly more cost effective, fiscally responsible, and sustainable in the long term,’ the news release states. The charter school needs the permission of both the Bethlehem Area and Saucon Valley school boards to change locations because it is a regional charter school.”

“Most of LVA’s 1,700 students come from Bethlehem Area. The district is paying more than $12 million this year for 1,035 of its students to attend LVA. The news release says the new building would be for 1,950 students, suggesting LVA is looking to expand enrollment.”

“The charter school opened in 2002 and follows the International Baccalaureate curriculum, a globally focused program that requires students to take a series of demanding tests to receive an optional IB diploma.”

“LVA enrolls a diverse population; more than 30 percent of its students are Hispanic, 36 percent are white and 12 percent are black. Almost 50 percent are considered economically disadvantaged. The charter school has a 95 percent graduation rate, almost 10 percentage points above the state average.”

Jacqueline Palochko and Jon Harris, “Lehigh Valley Academy eyes Jaindl land for new charter school building.” Morning Call, February 15, 2019.

“Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School is eyeing 31 acres of Jaindl-owned land in Northampton County for its proposed 200,000-square-foot school. The charter school would pay $10.9 million for the land at 5300 Jaindl Blvd. in Hanover Township, according to the seller’s agreement between the charter school and the estate of Frederick J. Jaindl. The land is near Route 512.”

LVA 2
LVA possible new building, 5300 Jaindl Blvd

“Smith, the charter school’s board of trustees president, said LVA wants to own its own building because it’s more fiscally responsible than renting. The charter school pays more than $3 million annually in rent, he said. LVA plans to take out a loan for the new school, Smith said.”

“The charter school needs the permission of both the Bethlehem Area and Saucon Valley school boards to change locations because it is a regional charter school. It serves grades kindergarten through 12th. LVA has not yet filed a formal request with Bethlehem Area for a move. Saucon Valley Superintendent Craig Butler declined to comment. If either school district does not approve the location change, the charter school can appeal to the state Charter School Appeal Board.”

“Most of LVA’s 1,700 students come from Bethlehem Area. The district is paying more than $12 million this year for 1,035 of its students to attend LVA.” [Plans are to increase enrollment to 1,950 students.]

The Bethlehem Food Co-Op: you know you’ve been thinking about it (1)

(1st in a series of posts on the Bethlehem Food Co-Op)

Bethlehem Food Co-Op

‘Nuff said

069

Mr. and Mrs. Gadfly

 

Ritter
Presentation by Carol Ritter, City Council Candidate and all-‘round good person

 

Kathy Fox

 

House party hosted by the ubiquitous Kathy Fox

Sensible, reasonable gun control: you know you think about it

It’s Valentine’s Day – yes.

Boo! It’s also the anniversary of the Parkland shooting – it’s been a year? Seriously?

New York Times articles:

“Parkland’s Day of Remembrance: Moments of Silence, Reflection and Grief”

“Parkland: A Year After the School Shooting That Was Supposed to Change Everything”

“Parkland Shooting; Where gun control and school safety stand today”

Yay! It’s also one day after the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 by a vote of 23-15 and H.R. 1112, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019 by a vote of 21-14.

You know you’ve been thinking about the need for sensible, reasonable gun control.

Like background checks.

Gadfly joined some people not just thinking but doing something about it during the noon hour today.

A demonstration/march/rally organized by CeaseFirePA that started at Broad and Main, hiked to Senator Boscola’s office at Broad and New, then downhill to City Hall.

Ok, so you weren’t there, but Gadfly is here to help you join in vicariously (good SAT word):

Warm up, shake it loose, feel the vibes

Now march uphill to Boscola’s, stretch it out, I dare you not to chant
“Whadda we want? Background checks! When d’we want ‘em? Now!”

Stop for breath at Boscola’s house, listen to our message, Barbara was one of the 004conveyers of our message to the Boss Lady – Go Barbara!

Head south to City Hall, keep your eyes from drifting to the pizza shop, downhill,  stronger of voice
“Remember Parkland!”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Sharon was a little bit out of control, we were thinking of confiscating her shaker, Whoa, Sharon, whoa!

Look at those two at the window calmly, warmly eating their lunch — the nerve!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Let loose at City Hall, no holding back now, full roar!
“Death is not the price of freedom”
“We got the kids’ backs, they got ours”
“Thoughts and prayers are not enough”
“We want action”

068

Hear that Washington!
WE WANT ACTION!

Thanks to LEPOCO for alerting me to this event.

Callahan: proposal regarding equal pay for women

“We are not in the 50s and 60s where the guy is the breadwinner.”

“If a woman is doing the same job as a man,
she should be paid the same amount of money.”

Bryan Callahan

CM Callahan has initiated the process to introduce an ordinance banning employers BCallahanfrom asking questions about previous salary for the purpose of reducing racial and  gender salary inequality.

Hear him describe the ordinance and the rationale in a brief presentation at the monthly meeting of the Bethlehem City Democratic Committee this week:

See also: Nicole Radzievich, “Councilman Bryan Callahan wants to stop Bethlehem businesses from asking job applicants this question.” Morning Call, January 31, 2019.

“Looking to close the pay gap between men and women, Bethlehem City Councilman Bryan Callahan on Thursday called for a wage equality ordinance that contains a provision struck down in federal court.”

“The proposed ordinance would require employers in the city to compensate workers based on job function and experience, rather than what the applicant made at a previous job. Those who do business in the city would be banned from asking an applicant that question, he said at a news conference.”

“The rationale is that basing new salaries on past salaries perpetuates any racial and gender inequities. Women in Pennsylvania are paid 79 cents for every dollar a man makes. . . . The court ruled employers can be prohibited from basing compensation on previous salary, but it was a violation of the First Amendment to stop them from asking the question.”

“Bethlehem would be subjected to that ruling — at least under current case law — because it falls within the same federal court jurisdiction as Philadelphia, [Callahan] said. The ruling has been appealed to the U. S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, a level below the U.S. Supreme Court. In recent years Bethlehem City Council passed ordinances of questionable enforceability in order to send a policy message to higher levels of government.”

“Mayor Robert Donchez said he supports pay equality but wants to review Callahan’s proposal before taking a position on it. In Bethlehem, a job application posted on the city’s website asks its prospective employees for starting and ending salary at previous jobs. But Donchez said Thursday the city plans to remove that question from applications.”

“Callahan said he expects to review the details of the proposal in committee and would look for guidance from counsel about penalties and how it would work.”

Recruiting the developers

(No answer yet. If you know any of these gentlemen, please put in a good word for the Gadfly.)  

49 W. Greenwich St.
Bethlehem PA 18018
February 8, 2019

Dennis E. Benner, Lou Pektor, Michael Perruci, Jim Petrucci, Michael F. Ronca

Good Sirs:

I write you because Bethlehem Councilman Callahan cited you five at a recent Council meeting as developers who have made important contributions to the city. And who will continue to do so.

I have an idea that I ‘m going to pitch to Council soon, and I’d like to invite you to be part of it.

I’m just your average citizen who on retirement from Lehigh University recently as a Professor of American Literature for almost 50 years has been enjoying learning about and commenting on our City government.

One thing I could not help but notice is the importance of our history to the City’s identity.

You folks are instrumental in creating the present and the future of the City, but that work should always grow out of a connection with and feeling for the City’s past.

I’ll bet that you have all attended Council meetings for one reason or another and are aware that each meeting begins in traditional fashion with a prayer and the pledge of allegiance.

I am going to propose to Council that we add a third element to the opening ceremony – a “Bethlehem Moment.” The Bethlehem Moment – literally 1-2 minutes – would be a slice of Bethlehem history. For instance, I did one as part of public comment last meeting on the opening of Memorial Pool in 1957.

I’ll need to suggest to Council who would do these Moments. I have approached the School District about involving students, and I will be contacting Historic Bethlehem and many other organizations and individuals.

I’m wondering if I could count on each of you to do one Moment a year. You might think of it as a charitable contribution of a non-financial kind. I’ll bet that you have never received this kind of request, and I can well imagine you saying, O, my, this is not what I do! But I and others would be available to help you select a Moment and prepare the paragraph of text if needed.

Nothing definite required at this time. All I’m hoping for is a nod of willingness to hear more and to participate once we get organized.
Sincerely,

Ed Gallagher
610-691-2456
ejg1@lehigh.edu

A modest proposal: an even merrier more

(3rd in a series of modest proposals)

It’s the new year. And it’s an election year. A time to be proposing things.

The Gadfly project is all about participation of, interaction with, and communication to the public.

(It’s a bit distant but mark your calendars for the March 26 launch of the City Communication Survey led by CM Reynolds. 3:30 Town Hall. Gadfly will remind you.)

In his previous modest proposal Gadfly asked us to think about City Council meetings in terms of two metaphors.

The City Council meeting is the public face of City government and should be the hub of the wheel of City governance.

And he suggested that Council invite certain Authorities and Boards and so forth to “visit” the meeting twice a year to talk with/to Council and the public.

This next proposal is similar.

Gadfly didn’t always understand the finances at the series of budget meetings at the end of last year, but he very much appreciated “meeting” the department heads, who were pretty much unknown to him beforehand, and hearing them talk expertly about what they were doing or planning to do in their areas.

Now that was interesting and enlightening. And humanizing.

Could these department heads be brought in to enliven the Council meetings with discussion of real work affecting residents in process or planned?

The City organization chart shows 7 departments under the Mayor. (There’s a link to the chart on the Gadfly sidebar.)

Gadfly would imagine that in conjunction with formulating a budget each department has a set of goals – an annual plan of some sort – for the year that is the subject of periodic review with the Mayor and is the point of reference for the department’s performance evaluation.

Similar to the previous modest proposal, Gadfly is suggesting that each department head come to a meeting twice a year, once in the first half and once in the second, and briefly tell “us” what’s happening in that department. Highlights.

Our Council meetings are “live” and on video now. We could announce a schedule of such guest appearances – “coming attractions” — and promote them in a modest way. People with interest in certain areas could be alerted to attend or tune in or catch up later.

Gadfly likes to say that he hungers for information. He wants to know as much as possible about what is going on in his town.

Newsletters and other mechanisms and tools to push out information to the public that will come out of the Communication Survey are good things.

But Gadfly modestly proposes modest personal interaction that would spice up the necessary and important business and busy-ness of necessary Council routine.

And give the public a reason to be involved.

(“Modest Proposals.” Things – even really small things – that we’d like to see happen. Gadfly invites you to contribute your modest proposals. If you favor a modest proposal, let the Mayor and Council know – email links are on the Gadfly sidebar.)

The City is looking for volunteers!

Eeek, Gadfly forgot to pass this notice on the City web site on to faithful followers:

February 1, 2019 8:21 AM

Anyone interested in serving on a City Authority, Board or Commission, please submit a letter of interest and resume to saugello@bethlehem-pa.gov or wkarras@bethlehem-pa.gov

Gadfly has spent a year vagabonding around from meeting to meeting of our Authorities, Boards, and Commissions.

Check them out on the City web site.

There’s a bunch of them.

By and large, Gadfly has been very, very impressed at the good, selfless work done by “regular” residents.

He finally caught up with a Southside group two weeks ago and was quite impressed with the range of activities going on that he never heard about.

You might have a particular skill, talent, or interest that matches with one of these ABC’s.Uncle Sam

Or you just might want to get involved.

Getting involved — participating — is what the Gadfly project is all about.

So think on this opportunity to get your name in the mix and consider hustling off an email to headquarters registering your willingness to serve.

The Dems host a handful of candidates

(6th in a series of posts on candidates for election)

Last night 5 of the 6 candidates for City Council gave brief presentations at the regular monthly meeting of the Bethlehem City Democratic Committee. (Candidate Ritter was not present.)

Very brief.

The Dems plan to have a more extensive forum with all candidates together at the end of April or the beginning of May, just before the election.

See below for calendar items.

New candidates

Grace Crampsie Smith

David Saltzer

Incumbents

Michael Colon

Willie Reynolds

Paige Van Wirt

*******

Now, class, are you paying attention? Can you identify the candidates?

Mark your calendars

Petition signing, Saturday, Feb. 23, Steelworker’s Union Hall, 53 E. Lehigh St., 10-5: candidates will probably be there.

Campaign kick-offs.  (I assume we are all invited.)

Smith: Wednesday, Feb. 20, 5:30-7:30, Roosevelt’s

Reynolds: Thursday, Feb. 24, 6:30, BrewWorks

Thinking green on a white morning

(The latest in a series of posts relating to the environment, Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, and Bethlehem’s Environmental Advisory Council)

It was a weekend to think green – like “Green New Deal.”

The weekend of the Ocasio-Cortez/Markey joint Congressional resolution (not a legislative proposal)  “Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal.”

Gadfly, as you followers can tell, he thinks, spurred by the fact that Bethlehem is ahead of the curve on local Climate Action Plans, is trying to school himself better in this area.

Here’s four texts he spent some time on this weekend.

1) The primary source: “Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal.”  A 10-year national mobilization scheme. Always start with the primary source.

Goals:

  • building resiliency against climate change-related disasters
  • repairing and upgrading the infrastructure
  • 100% clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources
  • energy-efficient, distributed, and ‘‘smart’’ power grids
  • all buildings with maximum energy efficiency
  • massive growth in clean manufacturing
  • removing pollution/greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector
  • overhauling transportation systems to remove pollution/greenhouse gas emissions
  • mitigating/managing the health/economic/other effects of pollution/climate change
  • removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere
  • restoring and protecting threatened, endangered, and fragile ecosystems
  • cleaning up existing hazardous waste and abandoned sites
  • identifying other emission and pollution sources
  • international exchange of technology, expertise, products, funding, and services

2) Ocasio-Cortez/Markey press conference (17 mins.)

  • resolution has many co-sponsors
  • green dream
  • great programs start with vision of the future
  • Pelosi on board
  • beginning of education phase of this idea
  • silent on any individual technology
  • some Republican support
  • also an infrastructure bill
  • appeals to swing voters
  • about the role of government
  • smart investment generating returns
  • small tax breaks as fossil fuels have gotten
  • green generation has risen up
  • among top issues in election cycle
  • people want ambitious plan
  • many different paths to the goal
  • charge of gov. expansion is hypocritical
  • Federal gov. scientists defying president
  • make default clean energy
  • this resolution outlines scope of bills that will follow
  • will be voting issue in 2020
  • resolution deals with principles

3) The politics: Ella Nilsen, “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is making the Green New Deal a 2020 litmus test.” Vox, February 7, 2019.

  • will be a litmus test
  • “Once this resolution is announced, there will be a really clear litmus test for what they support,” said Stephen O’Hanlon, spokesman for climate activist group Sunrise Movement. But there’s something larger at work here. The Green New Deal is fundamentally about making climate change a central Democratic priority in 2020 — without shoving aside health care and the economy. After years of this globally important issue languishing on the national agenda, it has come roaring back.
  • Some 2020 Democrats have also been cautious about a full-throated endorsement. While the Green New Deal has been endorsed by declared or potential candidates including Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand, Mike Bloomberg, and Cory Booker, exactly what that means is fuzzy. Staff for 2020 contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told Axios she supports the “idea” of a Green New Deal.
  • The fact this proposal is a catch-all of the most progressive programs means it probably isn’t going anywhere in the House, where House Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone has already called the plan too ambitious and unlikely to generate consensus among moderate Democrats in the House, never mind the Senate.
  • “The goal of trying to reduce fossil fuels and get to a carbon neutral economy is important and something that I agree with,” Pallone told the Asbury Park Press last month. “The Green New Deal says you can do it in 10 years. I don’t know if that’s technologically feasible. … Beyond that it’s probably not politically feasible.”
  • But to Ocasio-Cortez and Green New Deal backers, that’s not the point. They are banking that the idea will keep spreading. Even some in the House who are skeptical of whether the plan is feasible agree that the branding of the Green New Deal — harkening back to the days of FDR — is a brilliant marketing strategy.
  • Progressives are clearly using the Green New Deal to push the debate in their direction. The left wants to make sure they have fully vetted and influenced the ideas of any Democrats that have a shot at winning the White House.
  • If Democrats take back the White House and the Senate in 2020 — a big though not impossible if — activists want to have bills ready to go in 2021 to tackle climate change. Realistically, the bills that come out of the House in the next two years probably won’t be as bold as the proposal Ocasio-Cortez is floating.
  • But activists won’t be totally satisfied until 2020 candidates do two things: embrace Ocasio-Cortez’s plan and pledge not to take fossil fuel money. “We’re focusing on getting all the 2020 contenders to endorse the full vision of the Green New Deal and get specific about it,” O’Hanlon said.

4) The other side, which we always must look at: Jonah Goldberg, “Green New Deal backers embrace their fantasies.” Tribune, February 9.

  • It’s worth noting that it’s not legislation as people normally understand the term. It’s a resolution titled “Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal.” In other words, even if it passed — a considerable if — nothing would really happen.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t taking it too seriously.
  • It’s not a very serious proposal
  • Well, at least the plan isn’t too ambitious. Retrofitting “every building in America” can be done in 10 years, but eliminating all the gassy cows will take a bit longer. Maybe we’ll move them all to Hawaii, which with the near-abolition of airplanes will be effectively cut off from America anyway.
  • Even if you take these goals seriously, as a practical matter it’s a fantasy masquerading as green virtue-signaling.
  • But it’s a fantasy based on a worldview that should be treated seriously because it’s so dangerous. NPR’s Steve Inskeep asked Ocasio-Cortez whether she was comfortable with the “massive government intervention” critics say is required by such an undertaking.
  • The free market hasn’t been given free rein, and over the last 40 years the free market and government regulations alike have made laudable environmental progress. In 2017, the U.S. had the largest reductions of CO2 emissions in the world for the ninth time this century. Rather than celebrate and build on that reality, the Green New Dealers would rather embrace their fantasies — and waste a lot of time and money in the process.

Now, to Gadfly followers much more knowledgeable than he, an invitation for things to read and to think about.

Reducing carbon emissions and making money H.R. 763

(The latest in a series of posts relating to the environment, Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, and Bethlehem’s Environmental Advisory Council)

“There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil.
The triumph of anything is a matter of organization.”
(Kurt Vonnegut)

Remember that Bethlehem under the leadership of CM Reynolds and the good volunteer folk on the Environmental Advisory Council chaired by Lynn Rothman and with the cooperation of City Hall has a Climate Action Plan abirthing.

Martha Christine, “The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act deserves bipartisan support.” Morning Call, February 10, 2019.

Here is one of Martha’s latest drumbeats in favor of the The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act H.R. 763.

Valentine’s Day brings thoughts of love, friendship and cooperation. But can members of the federal government cooperate? Yes, and it’s happening right now.

The House has introduced a bipartisan bill to address climate change. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 763) will reduce carbon emissions while providing a monthly dividend check to offset higher costs of energy. It will create new jobs and improve health. It’s revenue neutral so it won’t grow the government.

Senators are cooperating, too. They’ve re-introduced bipartisan legislation to reduce drug costs. I believe Republican and Democrat senators will work together to support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. The Chamber of Commerce has recognized that bipartisanship benefits business, so they should also endorse this business-friendly legislation. Even the president has called for cooperation between Democrats and Republicans.

So, there’s hope for bipartisan action on climate change. I love the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act — a simple, effective solution to climate change. I encourage you to urge Representative Wild and Senators Casey and Toomey to love it, too!

You can find email links to Wild, Casey, and Toomey on the Gadfly sidebar.

Martha introduced me to the national organization the Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

The local Lehigh Valley chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby meets the Tuesday after the 2nd Saturday of the month at:

Friends (Quaker) Meeting House
4116 Bath Pike (Route 512)
Bethlehem, PA 18017

6 pm: potluck supper, welcome & introductions
6:30 pm: business meeting

That means tomorrow, Tuesday, February 12!

It’s Monday, February 11, do you know where your local Climate Action Plan is?

Martin Tower: Not all icons were built to last (4)

(4th in a series on Martin Tower)

Gadfly has felt ripples and rumblings about the fate of Martin Tower.

An old controversy whose closure has not been fully digested in some quarters.

No surer sign of the recognition of that reality in the minds of some (probably inclined to be vocal) residents than this Morning Call article by our past Mayor.

The Cunningham piece has the feel of a strategic attempt by the business/developer community to get out in front of resurgent public controversy over demolition.

The article has the feel of an attempt to preempt a resurgence of controversy, at least over the fact of demolition.

This Cunningham essay is, frankly, a rhetorically effective and powerful piece of writing.

It would have received an “A” in Gadfly’s writing class.

If there is to be a fight over Martin Tower, as Gadfly strongly suspects there will be, its focus must squarely be on the nature of future development.

Which Cunningham does not raise here.

Not at this point wasting grief or grumble, however justified, over the fate of the building itself or the process by which that fate was determined.

Or do you disagree?

What do you think?

Don Cunningham, “Business Sectors: Not all icons were built to last.” Morning Call, February 7, 2019.

Selections, but you need to read the full article:

“There’s a historic gem hidden on a wooded hillside of South Mountain in the tiny borough of Fountain Hill. It’s just beyond the southern end of Lechauweki Avenue where the road dead ends at Moravia Street and the mountainside. The casual visitor won’t notice much. There’s a small pond with a gazebo, a nature trail and lots of trees just beyond a borough sign that reads ‘Lechauweki Springs: a public recreation area’.”

“The hillside looked much different 140 years ago, in the late 1870s. It was home to the Lechauweki Springs Hotel resort. There were three buildings on the site that could house up to 120 guests. Wealthy travelers from New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia came by horse-drawn carriage to rest and relax on this hillside and to drink and bathe in the mineralized natural springs of Lechauweki.”

“Lechauweki Springs was known for its exquisite cuisine. Gourmet meals were prepared by a French chef who served all that was fresh and in season from the area countryside.”

“Lechauweki Springs Hotel resort lasted about 20 years from 1872 to 1891. The end came when a fire destroyed the main building. . . . Today all that remains other than the springs and the rebuilt pond and gazebo are some fascinating stone cisterns dug into the ground around the hill and three former resort cottages on the west side of Lechauweki Avenue that are now six twin homes. Lechauweki Springs Hotel resort disappeared almost as quickly as it surfaced.”

“About two miles across the river as the crow flies in west Bethlehem another economic icon of its day is about to meet a similar fate. . . . Martin Tower, the last corporate office home of the Bethlehem Steel Corp., on Eighth Avenue in the Lehigh County section of the city will be taken down this year. It’s been vacant for 12 years.”

“The construction of Martin Tower for $35 million was just one example of a corporate leadership often more focused on building monuments, golf courses, country clubs and leasing suites at the Waldorf-Astoria than modernizing steelmaking operations and remaining cost competitive with international steelmakers and American mini-mills.”

“There are some who don’t want to see the tower go. I understand what underlies that sentiment. I was not alive to see the grand hotel of Lechauweki Springs but whenever I hike the site I wish it were still there. Of course, it can’t be there because its time came and went. Today, it would be antiquated, unsafe, wouldn’t meet modern building codes and couldn’t be cost competitive enough to stay in business. Just like Martin Tower.”

“All can’t be preserved just to make us feel better.”

“If something can be saved and repurposed it should be. The first inclination should not be to tear down and start anew.”

“But, there’s also a difference between something old and something historic.”

“The history of Bethlehem Steel happened on the South Side. . . . It was in those blast furnaces that raw materials were cooked into molten iron. And, it was in those mills where tens of thousands toiled to produce those iconic I-beams. We are fortunate the blast furnaces, former corporate offices and many of the mills remain there to remind us of our past.”

“Martin Tower is the youngest of all the steel buildings in Bethlehem. The company occupied it for just 30 years. Some things disappear nearly as quickly as they come. That often happens.”

A bridge under the bridge? (8)

(8th in a series of posts on Walkability and Bikeability)

“Tail on the Trail” challenge started last week. Are you in? Not too late.

Gadfly needs everybody in shape in case we have to march on City Hall or something.

Spring is coming.

Yeah, right.

Gadfly was trying to push the season yesterday and get some outside Tail miles in.

Was the fastest 70+ in a 5k “in support of People with Disabilities” in deliciously sunny but windswept and frigid Fogelsville. 002

(Well, truth be told, he was the the ONLY 70+.  All others were sensible of living till 80. And, more truth be told, he was 4th from last. Just in front of 3 strolling women of a certain age eagerly engaged in a really quite interesting conversation — sprinkled with biographical admissions and evidentiary anecdotes — about whether if they were dating now would they find the Bezos-Sanchez pictorial email interchange a matter of routine. Normal conversation for a “Cupid” race in which participants — Only in America! — wore shirts marked “available” and “unavailable.”  The conversation actually helped keep Gadfly warm. )

Not Spring-y at all.

But he was thinking about Spring.

And realizing that he has let this thread go dark for about two weeks.

And so he went looking for several City studies done on walkability and bikeability.

Like the 2016 “Beth Connects: A Trail Study.”

Seemed beautifully done. Stem to stern. Soup to nuts.

Divides the Bethlehem trail system into eight easily identified geographical sections.

Take a look. Easy reading.

Because a pedestrian bridge has been in the news lately (funds for a feasibility study on the horizon), Gadfly was especially looking for info about a bridge.

See pps. 46-49 of the report itself.

I wondered where such a bridge would be.

Ok, possible bridge from the foot of Main St. at Sand Island over to Union Station area.

And, quite interestingly, possibly a bridge UNDER the Fahy Bridge.

Wheeee!

Belle Island

See as an example: Richmond: Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge

http://www.rvariverfront.com/trails/belleisle.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THldCVllv7M

Has anything been done with this “Beth Connects” report? Does anybody know?

Gadfly has a vague recollection of news stories about the City with plans to purchase land to connect the east end of the Greenway with the Saucon Rail Trail.

Having worked in Academia, Gadfly is used to reports that collect dust. In fact, he wrote several of them.

Granted, all the Beth Connects recommendations have hefty price-tags.

But Gadfly hopes dust collecting is not happening here. Certainly looks like a lot of productive work was put into this study.

Welcome candidate for City Council David Saltzer

(5th in a series of posts on candidates for election)

Nicole Radzievich, “David Saltzer to run for Bethlehem City Council.” Morning Call, February 5, 2019.

Sara Satullo, “Retired Bethlehem firefighter running for city council.” lehighvalleylive.com, February 7, 2019.

Gadfly has not seen the press release on David Saltzer yet.

The news stories have the following info:

  • South Bethlehem resident
  • retired Bethlehem firefighter
  • sustained a catastrophic knee injury fighting a fire in 2015David Saltzer
  • president of Bethlehem Firefighters IAFF Local 735
  • 911 acting supervisor at Lehigh County
  • Upper Saucon emergency medical technician
  • emergency dispatcher for Medevac at Lehigh Valley Health Network
  • volunteers as a grant writer, treasurer and fundraising coordinator for Aunt Helen’s Cat’s In Need, a local nonprofit cat rescue
  • passionate about animals and is a “proud dog-dad” to Chevy and Cloie, both Shih Tzus, and Sophie, a Husky.
  • strong advocate for city’s first responders
  • backs investments in Bethlehem’s working class.

“These men and women put their lives on the line daily and cutting funding for personnel and infrastructure for first responders is unsafe,” he said in a statement. “We do these jobs because we are called to help people, and in order to do that we need to be funded for success.”

““I’ve grown up in this beautiful city, and I had the privilege of serving as a Bethlehem City Firefighter for 15 years,” Saltzer said. “Since I was a teenager, I’ve held multiple jobs at one time to make ends meet and I want to represent the hard-working people of Bethlehem.”

“Since I was young, I’ve felt a strong drive to help people. That’s what I find fulfilling and serving on city council is another way I can do that,” Saltzer said in a news release. “Bethlehem is a historic steel city made up of hard-working people and I want to be a voice for these hard workers. I feel like I can represent them because I’m just like them. I’d feel so honored to be able to do that.”

A reminder that the other new candidates for Council thus far are Grace Crampsie Smith and Carol Chamberlain Ritter. Incumbents running are J. William Reynolds, Michael Colon, and Paige Van Wirt. Incumbent Shawn Martell is not running. There are three four-year seats and one two-year seat on the ballot this year. Smith is running for the two-year seat, Ritter and Saltzer for the four.

Hitting the pause button on Bethlehem Moments

Gadfly has done 5 “Bethlehem Moments” now.

See the link on the sidebar or under Fun Stuff on the top menu.

Time to reflect a bit.

The idea was for Gadfly to do some to give a sense of what this “Bethlehem Moment” thing was all about.

And then to pitch it to Council to see if they were interested in incorporating it into the opening ceremony after the prayer and the pledge.

It could always continue randomly even as part of public comment without Council involvement.

But if the idea has interest and value at all, it deserves to be at the “top” of the meeting and not in public comment where it would follow, like it just did Tuesday, a guy complaining about neighbor dogs.

If I pitch this idea to Council for consideration, I’ll have to suggest how to staff 24 Moments a year. The idea is no good if it becomes somebody’s hassle to fill out a roster.

I have made very preliminary contact with BASD about students participating. I see a lot of pluses educationally for the students in doing the Moments, and it would bring them and their parents to meetings.

I will be contacting such various organizations as Moravian Archives and Historic Bethlehem to sound out interest, and, a less obvious but intriguing source of Momentors, I’m even asking developers in a letter I will share with you.

But I should ask Gadfly followers. If you personally would like to do a Moment (help available if needed) or if you belong to an organization that would like to participate (help available if needed), perhaps doing a Moment connected to the  nature of the organization, please let me know.

The Bethlehem Moment idea, I know, might seem a bit fluffy, and now that Council meetings are filmed I’ll be able to see if people are yawning, and if it goes bust, so be it. But I’d like to give it a good chance of catching on.

Where do all the students go and why? (11)

(11th in a series on Education)

Gadfly still wrapping his wings around charter schools.

Approximately 2100 BASD students attend charter schools, about 13% of the total student population. Charter schools cost Bethlehem taxpayers 29 million in charter tuition this year, which is roughly 10% of the budget.

Where do they go?  And then the next question is why do they go?

They go to the following 12 charter schools, only 3 of which have Bethlehem addresses. 5 have Allentown addresses, and 1 each to Catasauqua, Fogelsville, Emmaus, and Easton.

Charter schools are about choice.

So why do they go? Gadfly wonders if there are any surveys that shed light on this question.

(Another interesting statistic would be what is the percentage of BASD students to the total enrollment in each of the charter schools.)

We have profiled in previous posts 2 of the 3 charter schools with Bethlehem addresses. Gadfly who has two granddaughter “performers” who went to a public school in Massachusetts that excelled in the Arts can understand the attraction of our Charter Arts. And to Gadfly the appeal of the Dual Language school is also quite understandable.

Here are the 12 charter schools in descending order of the 2100 BASD students attending. Let’s spend some time browsing through – especially the “top” schools – to try to sense what the draw is.

Almost 50% go to one school — what’s up with that?

1038
Lehigh Valley Academy Charter School
1560 Valley Center Pkwy #200, Bethlehem, PA 18017
http://www.lvacademy.org/

246
Executive Education Academy Charter School
555 Union Blvd, Allentown, PA 18109
https://www.ee-schools.org/

183
Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School
675 E Broad St, Bethlehem, PA 18018
https://www.lvdlcs.org/

165
Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School
1414 E Cedar St, Allentown, PA 18109
https://www.llacslv.org/

94
The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts
321 E 3rd St, Bethlehem, PA 18015
https://www.charterarts.org/

55
The Arts Academy Charter School
1610 E Emmaus Avenue, Allentown, PA 18103
http://www.arts-cs.org/

25
Innovative Arts Academy Charter School
330 Howertown Rd, Catasauqua, PA 18032
https://iaacslv.net/

23
Arts Academy Elementary Charter School
601 Union St, Allentown, PA 18101
https://www.artsacademyelementary.com/

19
Easton Arts Academy Elementary Charter School
30 N 4th St, Easton, PA 18042
https://www.easton-arts-charter-school.com/

17
Seven Generations Charter School
154 Minor St, Emmaus, PA 18049
https://sevengenerationsschool.org/

15
Circle of Seasons Charter School
8380 Mohr Ln, Fogelsville, PA 18051
https://www.circleofseasons.org/

2 Roberto Clemente CS
136 S 4th St # 1, Allentown, PA 18102
http://www.myrccs.com/en/

Like Gadfly, this is probably the first time realizing the local “universe” of charter schools. What are you thinking?

Watch meaningful interchange at the January 15 Council meeting (18)

(18th in a series of posts on City Government)

Next City Council meeting 4hrs from now as Gadfly writes this.

Can you make it?

If not, remember that the meetings are now filmed — accessible on the Council website, and accessible on Youtube.

And that they will soon be televised “live.” 7PM, first and third Tuesdays of the month.

A tip o’ the hat and wave of the wings again to President Waldron and others for making this happen.

We must take advantage.

To wit: I went to another meeting January 15 instead of Council, and so “took advantage.”

I’m glad I did.

There is a very interesting and revealing interchange at the January 15 meeting among CW Van Wirt, CM Callahan, and CM Reynolds.

Take a look.  10 mins. The full episode is 1:24:30 – 1:33:40.

Council website or Youtube.

The interchange is revelatory in respect to both substance and style of each council person.

I have said that one mission of the Gadfly project is to get to know the CPs better when it comes time to vote and to help you do the same.

CW Van Wirt is bothered by actions of three city agencies: Redevelopment Authority, Parking Authority, and BRIA. Here are clips of her concern, but watch the whole thing:

Why am I bringing all this up? Because I do not want it to go down unchecked in the public record. We as a Council are representatives of the taxpayers. We have not received an adequate explanation of why this $800,000 grant to the developer was made instead of into what the public would benefit from. I’m deeply troubled by the lack of oversight of our boards and commissions. . . . I’m concerned about lack of oversight of the Parking Authority. . . . Why does all this matter? These three Authorities – BRIA, Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority, the Parking Authority – were created to work for Bethlehem citizens. . . . I think they have been exceptionally poor performers. . . . I will be calling out crony capitalism and poor management when I see it till things start to change.

CM Callahan responds by suggesting CW Van Wirt needs to do more research.

CM Reynolds cools things down a bit.

Passionate concern at visible wrong > defense of the ones perceived to be committing wrong > calm, sensible reconciliation.

Very interesting, and, I think, representative of their Council personae.

Now, in terms of the issue of oversight and explanation here, let Gadfly say that, as followers will surely remember, he followed the Parking Authority diligently through 70+ posts in the last quarter of 2018, and his conclusions on that organization align as completely and as passionately as CW Van Wirt’s.

That is one of the reasons for his Modest Proposal post of January 20:

that the half-dozen or so “independent” Authorities be requested to attend at least two City Council meetings per year, once in the first six months and once in the second, to report on current activities and future plans and to receive comments and questions from both Council members and the general public.

Let me take this opportunity to say that if you agree with this or any other modest proposal, that you take the opportunity to let the Mayor and/or Council know. We can’t be sure they are reading the blog. But, in any event, receiving responses from other than the Gadfly would be a great gauge of public worth. You can find links to email addresses on the Gadfly sidebar.

Two other allied sections in last meeting are worthy of attention too. During public comment Bruce Haines (begin min. 28:15) challenged Council to be more critical of those nominated for city boards, authorities, and commissions, and CW Van Wirt (begin min. 50:12) asked for resumes and contact info for nominees to be provided to Council. The idea from both is to tighten up the oversight.

Thumbs up from Gadfly based on his sense from following the Parking Authority that serving too long on a Board might in some cases be a problem and a sense that some board members are not involved as they should be.

So “take advantage” of the new opportunity afforded you to see your city government in action.

Bethlehem Moment 5: A Handless Hero helps dedicate Memorial Pool, pleading for peace

Bethlehem Moment 5
City Council
February 5, 2019

Ed Gallagher 49 W. Greenwich

A Bethlehem Moment: May 30, 1957

“Amputee Veteran Pleads for Peace in Dedicating Pool as War Memorial,” Morning Call, May 31, 1957.

On Memorial Day May 30, 1957, there were two stars in Bethlehem, one a half-million-dollar pool, the newest addition to our “recreational parade of progress” on Illick’s Mill Rd., and the other an honest-to-goodness movie star. The 75’ x 165’ pool was to be a “living memorial” – a tribute, as the now age-stained plaque to the left of the entrance says, “a tribute to those citizens of Bethlehem whose services to our nation in times of peace and war have preserved our freedom and independence.” Mayor Earl Schaffer touted the pool as the “greatest shot in the arm” to his ambitious recreational plan. ButHarold Russell 1 the fittingly somber tone of a war memorial dedication was set by the daunting appearance and foreboding words of Harold Russell, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a disabled World War II veteran returning home in the brutally frank film The Best Years of Our Lives, which is ranked 37th on the American Film Institute’s 100 best films of all time. Both Russell’s hands were blown off in a demolition accident on D-Day, and he bared his stumps as well as exhibited his consummate skill with a pair of prosthetic steel hooks in the 1946 film that had just been re-released in 1954. In a “stirring message” to an audience of 500, Russell, “Mr. Veteran,” as he was called, who enlisted right after Pearl Harbor and went on to become National Commander of AMVETS and a founder of the World Veterans Foundation, cautioned that we find ourselves in a “death struggle” with “international gangsters” led by the “evil” Soviet Union and under the “threat of a dreadful atomic war” — and that the elusive path to peace lay in sincere international brotherhood. It is a sobering and chilling reflection on this “handless hero’s” hopeful words that in 1957 the Vietnam War was already two years old, that the first Bethlehem mortality there was only eight years away, that each of the 32 Bethlehem men killed in that war might have innocently swum in those inviting waters before which Russell spoke and pleaded for peace, and that one or more might even have been there that very day.

“Brotherhood Key to Peace, Pool Dedication Crowd Told.” Bethlehem Globe Times, May 31, 1957.

———————-

Further info on the pool:

The pool cost $460,000, a sum, as Mayor Schaffer liked to point out, raised mainly from sale of the Lehigh golf course (now the site of the Lehigh Shopping Center) and a contribution by Bethlehem Steel and only minorly by tax money. Even so, as you can see from the design sketch, a canteen and a wading pool to the east of the adult pool were cut for financial reasons.

Memorial Pool design

Further info on Harold Russell:

Harold Russell 3“Russell received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1947. Earlier in the ceremony, he was awarded an honorary Oscar for ‘bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans.’ The special award had been created because the Board of Governors very much wanted to salute Russell, a non-professional actor, but assumed he had little chance for a competitive win. It was the only time in Oscar history that the Academy has awarded two Oscars for the same performance.”

Russell was one of only two non-professional actors to win an Academy Award for acting.

Richard Severo, “Harold Russell Dies at 88; Veteran and Oscar Winner.” New York Times, February 1, 2002.

The Army film Diary of a Sergeant (1945) showed Russell cheerfully in his daily Harold Russell 2activities.  He would write, “the human soul, beaten down, overwhelmed, faced by complete failure and ruin, can still rise up against unbearable odds and triumph.”

Moving clips from The Best Years of Our Lives:

“Dependent as a Baby”

“And for what?”

——————————

The first Bethlehem soldier to die in the Vietnam War was Robert S. Ruch, October 30, 1965.

Taxes: grin and bear ’em

(8th in a series on Education)

What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector?
The taxidermist takes only your skin.
Mark Twain

Gadfly loves to do his taxes early. Hates doing them. So best to get them out of the way.

Appointment with the tax guy Monday.

Which makes today a Tylenol-for-Tax-Relief day.

Gadfly grew up on Lichty’s “Grin and bear it” daily cartoons.

Sardonic. Cynical.

A wonderful tonic.

Comic relief.

I’m sure Lichty helped shape Gadfly’s sense of humor.

Taxes were a common theme.

Lichty 2

Taxes, best to just grin and bear ’em.

Lichty 1

Taxes. Nothing you can do about ’em. Just grin and bear it.

But we’re in the process of thinking about charter schools and taxes.

So Gadfly is curious today to know exactly what he’s been paying in taxes to the Bethlehem Area School District.

The records aren’t great. But here’s what he has.

2010: $1646
2015: $1984
2016: $2046
2017: $2085
2018: $2120

What’s your graph look like? It’s germane to our thinking about charter schools.

 

Did you get the memo?

(3rd in a series on Martin Tower)

Nicole Radzievich, “Martin Tower ‘is a proud part of our history, but the reality is we are forced to move on,’ and other reactions to its looming demise.” Morning Call, January 30, 2019.

Martin Tower demolition: What readers are saying, Morning Call, February 1, 2019.

These folks got the “move on” memo

Martin Tower “is a proud part of our history, but the reality is we are forced to move on. That building served a purpose in its day, but it is now an anomaly in the market. There have been many efforts over years to repurpose it, but there simply is not a demand for that type of office or residential space. Unless people want an incredibly big museum that stands there empty, it’s time to move on just as we have on the South Side. … We need to build a new economy for this new generation.”

”It was a great part of my life, and I’ll never forget that, but you have to move on.”

“But it’s not going to be redeveloped, and I’m realistic enough to know its time to move on.”

“A lot of us are sad to see it go, but it’s progress.”

“Life goes on.”

Gadfly believes it’s been a half-dozen years since the Martin Tower conundrum’s been in the news.

Gadfly was in another life at that time, but he remembers the gnashing of teeth and the rending of garments.

Are we going down that road again?

Did the developers think that “we” had forgotten?

These folks didn’t get the “move on” memo:

“I think the plans for the removal of the building are a business decision. Having said that, for historical and sentimental reasons, I think it would have been great if the business plan could have included the tower. That was not the case.”

“What could be more sustainable than preserving this iconic building? Are we as a community to just shrug our shoulders and walk away from this gift that Bethlehem Steel gave us?”

“Remove the tower for sure, but how about setting some of those 53 acres aside for future generations to appreciate?”

“Imagine how our downtown would benefit from parkland with some apartments thrown in. Burnside Plantation adjacent to this land could replant some of the land too.”

“We have climate change that is exacerbated by overdevelopment.”

“Future generations will thank the smart planning that saved all this open land.”

“This demolition of Martin Tower is a bad joke against the Lehigh Valley perpetrated by the outsider property owners who recklessly abandoned the property for close to a decade.”

“They then asked Bethlehem City Council for a change of zoning that may allow demolition. This was done after they donated funds to a few of these council members who, for some reason, didn’t recuse themselves as they ought to have done when the vote came to the floor.”

“What resulted was a nearly unanimous vote by council to permit the zoning change despite those who spoke on the public’s behalf just as nearly unanimously opposing the measure.”

“I recommend a total ban on any contracts to be bid on this property until a complete investigation is made into the process that led to the development.”

Bethlehem’s H.D.: the Lehigh Valley’s most important literary figure (1)

(1st in a series of posts on H.D.)

“FINDING H.D. is a community exploration of our greatest literary native daughter.”

“H.D. is the most profound interpreter of the meaning of Bethlehem that we have yet had.”

Seth Moglen

One of the warmest places in our town for fifty or so lovers of literature on a brutal bitter Wednesday night was the 2nd floor meeting room in the library, where Prof. Seth Moglen of Lehigh’s English Department led a “community exploration” to find H.D.

Hilda Doolittle (1886-1961), known as H.D., was a Bethlehem native whose “innovative and experimental poetry and prose established her as a leading Modernist artist and pioneering voice in feminism in the 1910s and 1920s.” City Hall was built on the site of her family home, she’s buried in Nisky Hill, and Lehigh gave her an honorary degree in 2015. She was added to the Literary Landmarks register in 2017, and there’s a plaque at the library.

hildadoolittleh.d.

“FINDING H.D. A Community Exploration of the Life and Work of Hilda Doolittle” — a partnership between the Lehigh University English Department, the Bethlehem Area Public Library, Mock Turtle Marionette Theater, and Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center — is a 12-month-long community exploration of the life and work of H.D., culminating in the premiere of a new play by Mock Turtle Marionette Theatre in October of 2019 at Touchstone Theatre.

Jodi Duckett, “’Finding H.D.,’ a year-long exploration of the life of feminist poet Hilda Doolittle, kicks off in Bethlehem.” Morning Call, November 9, 2018.

Linda Doell, “Hilda ‘H.D.’ Doolittle: Exploring a Bethlehem-born poet and a community.” Morning Call, January 25, 2019.

Moglen’s warmly intimate remarks entitled “How I Fell in Love with H.D. (And Why You Should Too)” was the second in a series of about a dozen events centered on “the Lehigh Valley’s most important literary figure” starting last November and extending into next October.

The full calendar of this “Year of H.D” can be found in the FINDING H.D. brochure linked here.

The next event is “H.D.’s Moravian Roots in Bethlehem” by Moravian’s Craig Atwood, February 26, 6:30-8 at the library.

Logistics done for now. Let’s begin to think why we should “find” H.D.

Gadfly is ashamed. Not only has he not covered “the Arts,” but he must candidly admit to knowing virtually nothing about H.D. Gadfly bets most of his followers would say the same. “Who is this remarkable woman whom most of us have never heard of?” says Moglen.

Well, Gadfly learned a lot about H.D. last night, things he will share over the next several posts about her. For starter was Gadfly’s surprise that the work of this woman who left town while quite young, who traveled the world, who spent virtually all of her adult life outside the United States, who moved in the highest literary circles of her day always had Bethlehem on her mind. She wasn’t just born here; she was shaped here.

FINDING H.D. is a community exploration of our greatest literary native daughter, and FINDING H.D. is posing the kind of question that I wish people all over the United States were posing, which is to say, not just how can we learn about an important writer but how by engaging with art do we learn who we are, how do we learn about ourselves by encountering writers and artists who have shaped and transformed us. Every time we encounter a work of art you encounter partly some aspect of yourself which resonates with that work. And to be part of a community engaged in a systematic endeavor saying what does it mean that this writer who transformed literature in English grew up, was a child, and was raised in this place, and thought about Bethlehem all her life. What does that mean to talk about the poet she became, and what does that mean about the city she bequeathed to us.

And she wasn’t just born here and shaped here, but she can tell us about ourselves: “H.D. is the most profound interpreter of the meaning of Bethlehem that we have yet had.”

Now that’s intriguing!

In my view, H.D. matters to the city of Bethlehem not only because she was born here. But the body of poetry and fiction and memoirs that she created would have been unthinkable had she not grown up in this place and had her family not had such deep roots here. But in my view, H.D. is the most profound interpreter of the meaning of Bethlehem that we have yet had. The body of work that H.D. produced about the city of Bethlehem, about the meaning and evolution of the city over the 150 years before her childhood is an extraordinary body of work

So mark your calendars for the February 26 “Moravian Roots” lecture.

Gadfly will remind you.

And Gadfly will present more of Moglen’s remarks in upcoming posts.

A tip o’ the hat and a wave o’ the wings to event organizers Doug Roysdon, Jennie Gilrain, Seth Moglen, Mary Foltz, Josh Berk, Liz Bradbury, and others I don’t know – and to BAPL’s Matt for coordinating the local arrangements.

Keeping an eye on the politics of climate change

(The latest in a series of posts relating to Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan
and Environmental Advisory Council)

Gadfly is keeping one eye out for hopeful indications that climate change will get more political attention.

See Kamala Harris — newly announced presidential candidate — foregrounding it.

Colby Itkowitz, “Kamala Harris just set the litmus test for Democrats in 2020 on health care, climate change and guns.” Washington Post, January 29, 2019.

Harris also came out in support of a Green New Deal, a plan to address climate change and income inequality promoted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). In tweeting about it in December, Ocasio-Cortez wrote, “Our goal is to treat Climate Change like the serious, existential threat it is by drafting an ambitious solution on the scale necessary – aka a Green New Deal – to get it done.” At the town hall, Harris adopted similar language: “I support a Green New Deal. And I will tell you why. Climate change is an existential threat to us, and we have got to deal with the reality of it.”

See the CNN Town Hall (mins. 28:45 – 30:45), where Harris talks of going with science fact rather than science fiction.

On a different note, the DNI Director Dan Coats report (p. 23) that was the basis for the newsworthy “Worldwide Threat Assessment” meeting yesterday didn’t mention threat on our southwestern border but did mention climate change.

Global environmental and ecological degradation, as well as climate change, are likely to fuel competition for resources, economic distress, and social discontent through 2019 and beyond.

Climate hazards such as extreme weather, higher temperatures, droughts, floods, wildfires, storms, sea level rise, soil degradation, and acidifying oceans are intensifying, threatening infrastructure, health, and water and food security. Irreversible damage to ecosystems and habitats will undermine the economic benefits they provide, worsened by air, soil, water, and marine pollution.

Good signs that good things might get done?

It’s Wednesday, January 30, do you know where your local Climate Action Plan is?

Dr. Roy responds on charter schools (7)

(7th in a series on Education)

High-five to Dr. Roy for immediately responding to Gadfly’s charter school questions  with this mini-tutorial. Let’s take some time to absorb and then discuss.

1) What is the cost per student – regular and special education – you used for charter school payments this year? (here and below, or for the last year you have figures)

Regular Ed per student = $12,099.34 — Special Education per student = $25,760.00.  Please note that the issue here is that the special education charter tuition is calculated on an AVERAGE of BASD’s special education costs — which include very involved, high-need students. Charter schools do not accept students with multiple physical handicaps or significant disabilities. Special Education students at charters tend to need limited supports for learning or speech therapy, for example. As a result, charter reap a windfall because the tuition they receive from BASD far exceeds their actual cost of educating the special education student. Note that on one of the slides attached titled Charter School Subsidy [see link below] we make the point that when the charter law was originally passed in 1997, it included a reimbursement from the state to district recognizing that district overhead costs remain when a student goes to a charter. In 2011, Gov. Corbett cut that subsidy, and it has never been reinstated. If the reimbursement were in place at the old rate of 25%-30%, BASD would receive $7 million per year in reimbursement. It is not an exaggeration to say that without charter, BASD would have had no reason to raise property taxes over the past number of years.

charter slides 19-20 for budget

2) How many students from BASD are attending charter schools this year?

2099, although this number fluctuates weekly by a few.

3) What percentage of BASD students are attending charter schools?

13%. Important to note that as one of the largest districts with a concentrated population, we have one of the largest charter populations in the state. In fact, roughly 75% of all charter students statewide come from only 20 school districts (out of 500). So the cost of charters is borne disproportionately by a handful of mostly urban districts.

4) How much of the BASD budget – dollar amount and percentage – is going to charter schools this year?

We expect to spend $29 million in charter tuition this year, which is roughly 10% of our budget. Please note that 14% – 15% of each homeowner’s property tax bill goes solely to paying for charter schools!!

5) What charter schools are BASD students attending this year? Both name and number.

headcount on oct 1 2018 – charter by grade

6) Is there a limit to the number of students that can attend charter schools? For instance, is the only limit the number of charter schools and their capacity? Theoretically, could charter schools drain the district of students?

Interesting question. If a charter school and the district agree to a limit on students, then, yes, there can be a limit. Unfortunately, a charter can reject a limit and go to the state’s charter appeals board and receive a generic charter to continue to operate. This happened recently with the LV Regional Academy Charter School refused to agree to a generous cap on students and appealed to the state board. Conversely, the LV Dual Language Charter agreed to a limit. Another angle on this is when Allentown approves a charter and puts limits on only the number of Allentown students. The charter school then recruits heavily in Bethlehem. So we pay the price and have absolutely no oversight authority for a school approved by Allentown.  Could charters drain the district? It won’t happen here. But in places like York and Chester Upland School District and to a degree Philadelphia that is what has happened — putting the district into a death spiral financially.

7) Is there anything else about this issue that you think we should know?

Interestingly, the vast majority of elementary school charter students return to the district for middle school and high school because charters cannot compete with us for the range of courses, music, arts and athletic programs we offer. Also interesting to note that the vast majority of students in charters started in charters in kindergarten. Most kids who start with us, stay with us — with very satisfied parents. PA has enabled two publicly funded education systems at great additional cost — our traditional public schools and the privately run but publicly financed charter schools. It’s an enormous waste of money. BASD estimates that if all 2,000 charter students returned to us, we would spend about $6 million in additional teacher salaries but SAVE $24 million per YEAR overall. We can easily absorb those students into our existing 22 schools. This is the cost of school choice the proponents of choice simply deny.