The Year in Comics

It's BIG Check Day at The State!

Left click on comic to enlarge.

A Citizen's Letter to the Man

On Wed, 25 May 2005 18:12:54 -0700 (PDT)Kevin Ruppert wrote: Dear Mayor Mitman,
Please see attached letter published in the Express-Times 5/26/05 on the topic of noise pollution. I have spoken to Ms Hefley, Ms. Volcano, and Officer Lagathe regarding an engine breaking ordinance for the city. They all were helpful but the city seems to be under the impression that this is impossible according to state regs. I would like to refer your Honor to an article in the Morning Call; March 11, 2005 entitled "Braking Signs Target Excess Noise". I have included the link below. It is a column on Lehigh Valley roads and Rte 512 in Bath. The writer explains what engine breaking is; Bath was able to get a No Engine Braking Zone. This is done by making an application for reconsideration under 1 PA Code sec.35.241 of PA Code sec.179.10.Paragraph 20. I know that truck noise is a major complaint in the city and I hope the city will apply for reconsideration. This kind of quality of life enhancing ordinance lets all the districts gain and at no cost. Larry Holmes Drive, Bushkill St and Snyder St are flat; there is no need to use the brake retarder if trucks are observing the 25mph speed limit. I'm sure there are areas, especially in south side, that suffer from the same truck noise and would benefit from a noise reduction ordnance. Please contact me if I can be of any assistance to the city in this matter.
Best regards,
Kevin Ruppert
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/all-b5_5warrior0311mar11,0,4822286.story?coll=all-newslocalallentown-hed

Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2005 14:08:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: "kevin ruppert" <kjruppert@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Toll Bridge noise pollution
To: "Kenya Zimmerman - Mayors Secretary" <kzimmerman@easton-pa.gov>

Mr. Mayor, I assume you do not find any merit in my idea for noise abatement, I have heard back from Rep. Dent and State Sen. Wonderling. I assure you I intend to pursue this matter and I hope the city will become a more peaceful place, for instance the owner of the Piano Loft on Spring Garden and Fourth can not record performances there  because of "street noise" the quotations are mine the words from his interview in the E-T (Express- Times) Enjoy section. Also there is the Project Blue Gallery, Maria is very concerned and told me she “can’t even open her windows" because of the excessive noise. Again Mr. Mayor I ask that you look into making an application for reconsideration in order to create an ordinance banning engine retarders where appropriate. Traffic volume has increased exponentially over the past 5 years and the city is the loser. Making the Hundred of truck trips through the downtown area more quiet is necessary, and it's time has come.

Noise Pollution

Noise as a quality of life issue is often overlooked. One of the major detractors on Easton's north side is the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (D.R.J.T.B.C.) . For years the Bridge commission has been a bad neighbor' lowering property value and rattling nerves, windows, and foundations . The 1974 Environmental Protection Act grandfathered them in' they have never had to address the noise that their Rt.22 ramps create; yet the E.P.A required sound barriers on the Rt.78 bridge . The traffic on the Rt.22 bridge is only 50ft from homes and it has no sound barriers. Compounding the problem are the rumble strips , the failure to enforce the speed limits, and the lack of a "no engine braking" law for diesel trucks. The Commission’s plan to partner with Easton and Phillipsburg to fund projects outside commission property is admirable but the commission should find solutions to it's noise pollution problem first. All one needs do is go to the riverside under the bridges to realize that the planned Bushkill Greenway, Easton Riverside Park and Phillipsburg waterfront projects are located under a roaring highway, People don't use recreation areas that are as loud as a 747 lifting off an airport runway. The councils and administrations on both sides of the river should press the Commission and their respective D.O.T.'s for answers to the Rt. 22 noise pollution problem if they want to attract visitors to the area and improve the quality of life for residents.

Kevin Ruppert

Council Meeting Audio 12/27/05

Here is the link to download the audio from the December 27th City Council Meeting.

The budget and police contract was approved.

Your Neighbors

Right Click and choose "save target as" to download file
Part 1(5Mb)

Voodoo Leadership

Once again our needs are put on hold.

The citizens of Easton have been constantly subjected to a very poor method of representation. We have been left waiting. At almost every critical moment in the city for the past two years we have been put off. When we need answers we are delayed. When we require action, we hire people to think through our options. When we require service, we get last minute exclusions. What a disturbing trend.

The people's work is NOT being done.

The city's leaders are using the "wait and maybe they will forget" approach to problem solving. Examples:

Officer Jesse Sollman's Death-- We haven't heard the Mayor publicly say the name "Sollman" in many months. That's not an exaggeration.

Officer Jesse Sollman's public ceremony-- No one representing the city has spoke on paying for the PUBLIC ceremony.

The Early Intervention Program FINAL REPORT-- We let the EIP people present their voluminous report, call it a first draft, and disappear. Meanwhile, The Mitman Trio have referenced it as the "EIP report" or "Five year plan" many times during budget hearings. Care to discuss the final report???

The lost hand gun-- As a resident I am somewhat concerned about what my expectations should be when something like this occurs. Answers...? Anyone???

The mysterious disappearance of Steve Mazzeo-- That was news for like five minutes. "I am OUTRAGED!!!" wait 5 minutes "OK I'm better."

Police Chief-- They will let us know how long we have to wait for a plan to look for a new police boss after we are done waiting for the new year to come and go. That should be worth waiting for.

Oversight at the Easton Housing Authority-- Bet they thought no one would bring the EHA up again, Huh?

Fire Contract-- Good thing they don't count on this effecting the budget.

Police Contract-- The Chief of Staff seems very anxious NOT to let anyone forget this vote. Why am I suspicious?

Economic development that we can credit to the Mayor-- Wait, I'll see if Clay Mitman or the College can field these questions.

I'd just like to know the Mayor's address. Maybe he'll settle down soon. After he's all settled in he can throw a little attention to the needs of his constituents.

Your Neighbor

Easton Undressed Audio Blog (podcast) #3

Three's a charm. So, here's Easton Undressed Audio Blog Episode 3-- Budget Cheer. No guest this week, but we have a new one minute intro. It's amatuer... But it's a start.

Your Neighbors

Revitalization Does Not Grow On Wishes

For too long the leaders of Easton have equated assets to buildings. All of our economic development projects have been tied to specific buildings, and our resources have been spent on those buildings in anticipation of attracting a business to it. This flawed thinking has not been successful. Artificial intervention with tax dollars may attract development, but it won't sustain it.

For too long our economic development plan was based on our hopes and wishes instead of being market driven. If a business recognizes untapped consumer spending potential it will not hesitate to make an investment. Businesses don't migrate to buildings; they migrate to consumers. If risk is mitigated by consumer potential a business will have incentive to use its own capital to improve real estate.

A retail business should be located at a site with a good local consumer base. Very few businesses can count on consumers to flock to them. Businesses can not count on seasonal day tourists to make money; they need a full time consumer base, everyday, year round. And we need to make Easton more than just a tourist destination.

We need to keep Easton a living destination. We need local government to focus on the basics-- Essential services. We need a clean, crime-free city that provides services that are competitive with those of our neighbors. We need to improve the quality of life for the residents of our community so that people will come here, be happy, and stay for a lifetime. A pleasant by-product will be an environment that tourists desire. We need visitors to say, "I would like to live here."

It is ironic that many suburban malls are selecting "Urban Streetscape" designs. They are recreating what we already have. The investors want a clean crime-free environment near an new untapped consumer market. We have the "Urban Streetscape" now; we just need to mitigate the crime, keep it clean, and improve our consumer base. Economic development will take care of itself.

My suggestions to Easton's elected officials are focus on the basics, give economic development to groups or agencies more suited to deal with it, keep the city clean, reduce crime, maintain a safe environment, and reinvest in the infrastructure. This will improve the quality of life for residents (present and future) and attract businesses to serve resident consumers as well as day tourists.

BadApple

Joe Blackburn's Demands. oops! I Mean, Christmas List

10. A son in Hawaii and a daughter in Bermuda.
9. A tax-free luxury box at the State Theatre.
8. A boat for trips to New Jersey.
7. Bachman Publik House “special massage package”.
6. Reopen Eddyside swimming pool. (for my exclusive use)
5. An officer to drive my wife to the grocery store.
4. The title “Beatific Immaculate Glorious Almighty Stately Supreme Divine Illustrious Commissioner King
3. Have the Peace Candle moved to my front yard.
2. A $1,000,000.00 loan.
1. A clue.

Greed and Disdain

This is the transcript to Mr Reilly's Greed and Disdain speech from December 15, 2005

Madam President;
"Last night there was discussion about employee health care cost and that will continue tonight under item 18 of tonight agenda. In the discussion last night the Administration talked about cost reductions. Their suggestion is to add premium co-payments. This in and of itself is not a bad idea. But in there is an underlying motive. As you know there has been discussions on how to cut health care costs and several have focused on ways to encourage employees to drop the City’s coverage when another family member also has health care coverage. The Administration stated last night that their approach to obtain this goal is to introduce premium co-payments in such a fashion that it is a “disincentive” to continue with the City’s health care plan. This is called negative reinforcement. Others have argued from the opposite approach and proposed a sharing of the cost savings by offering a percentage of the savings to the employee who chooses to drop the City’s health care and is picked up by the spouse plan. This is call positive reinforcement.

"Anyone who has taken a High School or College psychology course knows the negative reinforcement is the least effective or desirable way to achieve an outcome. Likewise; such a person would know that positive reinforcement is the most effective and desirable way to achieve an outcome. This basic principle is taught in classes ranging from child rearing to business management to leadership training. Last night it became apparent to me that members of the Administration do not believe in this basic principle, nor sees any reason to follow it. This management tactic does nothing to foster the type of work environment which is needed to bring the level of City services up to the expectations of the public, or that which is required to promote economic development.

"It is also a punitive act towards the employees who do not have the option to drop out of the City’s health care plan because a spouse dose not have health care which could be used to avoid the premium co-payment being used as a disincentive towards those who can. The City should also consider the option to pay an employee a percentage of the City’s cost to seek heath care on their own and share the savings

"One could conclude that it is only greed and distain to the City’s workforce that’s drives such an approach which causes the Administration act in such a callas way. I urge City Council to keep this in mind when this discussion comes up tonight."


To clarify what the City Administration wants to do; they what to add health care premium co-payments to employee plans to: 1. defray some of the rising health care costs by having the employee contribute, which is acceptable in today's environment of rising health care costs; 2. have the co-payments so high that the few employees that can opt out, because another family member has coverage, do opt out because it is just to expensive to keep. They call this a "disincentive".

But City's Administration forgets is there is more than one way to skin a cat. According to statements the Administration made on 14 Dec 05, it costs the City $8,000.00 for a single employee, $12,000.00 for an employee and their spouse, and $16,000.00 for family health care coverage. If the City charged an employee $50.00 per pay they would collect $1,300.00 per year per employee. But if the Administration had an incentive plan for health care such as offering $4,000.00 for an employee for joining their spouse's plan, the City would have $8,000.00 in shared cost saving; which is the equivalent of 6.35 employees paying a premium co-pay. If they offer $5,000.00 for a employee's family to join the spouse's plan, the City would have $11,000.00 in shared cost savings, which is equivalent of 8.47 employees paying a premium co-pay. If the City offered single employee's $4,000.00 to drop from the City's plan either because they feel they don't need it or because they only want major medical coverage from another insurance company that the employee contracts with themselves, there is even more shared cost savings. But for some reason, the City does not want to share. Even if the sharing would eliminate the need for a premium co-pay, or reduced the City's total health care costs if enough employees participate in a shared cost savings plan, they run from giving anything that would possibly make the work environment more friendly.

T. D. Reilly

The Writing's On the Wall (EDITED)

Some of us are more than a little frustrated. Last week's tenative settlement of the budget was quite the display. There was a lot said, but very little was done for the people. No one stood up for the people. Well, not with any direct act. Here are our budget season highlights.

One of the most telling acts that preceded the budget was the release of the "draft" Early Intervention Program (EIP) report. The simple act of presenting the report THE DAY AFTER elections stunk of politics, And the stink stuck to both parties. The republican administration did not want to muddy any chances of getting a little party help by having angry voters. And the dems didn't want extra issues clouding their "friend of the people" rhetoric. So waiting to provide information served every one's interest EXCEPT the voters.

Even though the Administration clearly lost its bid for support; it succeeded in backing Council and taxpayers into a corner. They presented a hefty and controversial budget to Council and walked away. Council put on "The People's Song and Dance" as they returned the budget to the Mayor for adjustments (audio). Two weeks passed and the Administration tossed the same budget, but a little worse, on Council's desk. In the two weeks that passed we were kept busy-- and kept divided-- trying to save our own little special items. We fell for the same trick twice. Just a couple of months ago the EIP pirates created a panic, stole our money, and slipped out of town while we fussed over our interest. The Administration did the same thing; they spit out the most convenient budget possible, a tax increase with job and service cuts, and sat back as we scrambled and whined.

Twice during the budget proceedings I was disappointed by Ms Heffley. When she supported giving away parking revenue for the Christmas shopping days (audio), and when she protected Peace Candle money from being shared with the Heil Fieldhouse project (audio). Giving free parking (remember "every nickel and dime is gonna help?) while cutting jobs and services because of short funds is like giving away public money to the State Theatre. And sheltering a plywood facade from a children's cause is just plain special-interest selfish. Christmas will still come to Easton, no matter what we do to prepare or what we say to express it. Some ideas are better left as thoughts.

The double pay raise... Just plain sneaky (audio). That move in itself lends to character judgment. And in the same vein Miriam Huertas and Dave Hopkins deserve commendations for selflessly refusing pay increases. That also speaks a great deal to their character. Taking a double pay raise while cutting jobs and services because of short funds is like giving away $252,700.00 of public money to the State Theatre while giving us the impression it was about $150,000.00.

Another humorous moment was the Council Secretary's little exchange with the Chief of Staff over the Chief's covert line item granting him longevity of $1080.00 (audio). "You wanna start? We'll start!"

The only thing the Administration failed to do was fire a 73 year old employee. But they used the side show that he and his wild-eyed, hair-on-fire, lawyer daughter put on to obfuscate their 3 mil tax hike. The Mayor, Chief of Staff, and Business Administrator bit their collect lip and took what amounted to a verbal pimp-slapping (audio). But after all was said and done they pretty much said, "sticks and stones" and drove home to College Hill and the suburbs.

We would not be doing our jobs if we failed to expose what one resident eloquently dubbed "the Administration's greed and disdain for the workforce". The employee health care planning that the Administration is pushing is an ugly display of selfishness and for lack of another word DISDAIN. Instead of offering employees incentives for not carrying City insurance they would rather punish people out of he plan. The plan seems to be to make the cost of health care costs so high that people who have a choice will drop the City's plan. Hear it for yourself! My god, Mr Mayor, Mr Chief of Staff, and Mr Business Administrator how can you stand your selves. All three of you spent years enjoying better benefits than you offer.

Another slap in the face was the commissioner's pay and "No-additional-benefits" package. Just call us stupid, don't let our neighbors do it after they read in the paper that "the commissioner's annual salary [will be] $78,000 with $12,000 in deferred compensation...[and] the deferred compensation will be put into a pension fund for the commissioner...[and] the city will not provide any other benefits, perks or extras. [but] a vehicle is one of the issues the administration continues to negotiate with council... Other points include vacation time, sick time, insurance and attending law enforcement conferences." (Express-times 12/15/05) We were NOT aware that a $12,000.00 bonus, vacation time, and insurance were not "benefits, perks, or extras". And we all know what "negotiate" a vehicle could turn into. Only my friend, Mr Fleck, spoke to the record on what The Commish would and would not get (audio), and we all know where he'll be when the "would nots" become additional benefits. That's like telling us that an Amusement Tax will make larger venues pay a fair amount for city services, and then proposing limits that benefit the State Theatre, while giving the organization $252,700.00 in rebates.

Well, that's the Cliff's Notes of more than 24 hours of public meetings. I started this post 3 days ago, and the city IS NOW giving away free parking until Christmas. Please make sure you really take maximum advantage of the lost city services by parking in the circle while you buy your State Theatre tickets.

Eastonians... Let them eat cake.

Council Meeting Audio 12/14/05

Here are links to download the audio from the December 14th City Council Budget Adjustments Budget Meeting. It ended at 2am!!!!

And guess what? We ended up with 5 less public works employees, 3 less cops, 3 less fire fighters, and a 3 mil (2.99) tax increase! Oh yeah, we get to keep both pools-- If I work hard enough raising money. Wow, 3 years in a row... Can we get a little more help at the council meetings???

We forecasted this! We posted the Top Ten List on the tax increase(The Explanations The Administration Will Offer With The Next Residential Tax And Fee Increases.) the day before the Mayor proposed it. And I said in the 2nd EU Podcast that we would be stuck with a 3 mil increase. (listen for yourself in this clip)

Right Click and choose "save target as" to download file
Part 1 (2Mb)
Part 2 (5Mb)
Part 3 (13Mb)
Part 4 (10Mb)

Council Meeting Audio 12/13/05

Here are links to download the audio from the December 13th City Council Planning and Development Budget Meeting. 4 hours!!!!

The itunes subscription feed is always available before I post these links.

Right Click and choose "save target as" to download file
Part 1 (17.4Mb)
Part 2 (10.7Mb)

Council Meeting Audio 12/12/05

Here are links to download the audio from the December 12th City Council Public Services Budget Meeting. It was a 5 hour philabuster!!!!

I almost felt sorry for the Business Administrator... Almost.
He should resign gracefully before he's made the administrative scapegoat.

Right Click and choose "save target as" to download file
Part 1 (17Mb)
Part 2 (20Mb)

POOL DONATIONS!!!!

Ok Undressers, It is time for us to literally put our money where our mouths are! The pool situations have been a hot topic here and throughout the city. And the powers that be have subliminally received one of our ideas to help the pools. They seemed to have embraced the idea of soliciting donations and sponsorships.

Here’s a chance for some citizens to make a footprint. Let’s donate!

And I will be among the first. I will donate $50.00 this evening at the Council Budget meeting (PAyME, if you are there I will give you my $50.00 for the Lil’ Rovers too.) Along with my donation I will ask the city for two things. I will request that they make a method available for me to automatically donate money for the pools, and that they credit my donation as a EU referral. My plan is to give $10.00 a month for the pools until they are no longer in trouble.

If you choose, you too can reference your donations to EU. And after you donate, please sign the guestbook (YOU CAN SIGN THE GUESTBOOK ANONYMOUSLY!!!) with your donation amount and we’ll keep a tally. I will get a receipt for my donation and post it online.

So let’s get started! Make a pledge on the tagboard or to us at eu@eastonundressed.org and confirm you donation on the guest book. Let’s make a dent.

And Now a Word From Our Host

A friend pointed out to me that we haven’t written anything opinion-based since November 23. Wow, time is going by so fast that it is getting hard to focus. At the very top of the blog we state our reasons for doing this.

“What I would write if I were allowed to submit editorials at-will to the Express-Times & Morning Call.”

The past two weeks we’ve focused on content. We’ve added audio from meetings and some video to accompany the comics and opinion. Our latest feature is the Easton Undressed Audio Blog or podcast. All of this is very time consuming, but we try to stay on point. The 3 meetings in one week is the real limiter. It’s tough to do anymore than post the audio after the after meeting cocktails err debrief.

But as you can tell by the length of our podcasts there is much to talk about.
And tops among the talking points is the budget.

The “Shock-and-Awe” budget that the Mayor’s office is pushing is accomplishing one thing. And personally some of us here at EU believe this one thing is part of an agenda. The thing that the budget has done is splinter focus.

Just like the Early Intervention Program (EIP) report did last month, the budget has shot gunned us with preposterous alternatives. And as I alluded earlier, there’s method to this madness. Every one of us that gathered near to hear the reading of the budget went running back to our respective bunkers to plot our DEFENSE.

Ah the madness… Put the people on the defense. Make us backpedal, research, plan, and negotiate. Why? I’ll tell you why.

While we’re out here trying to fund the pools, save fire jobs, save police jobs, save public works jobs, save the water treatment facility, and get the budget proposals posted online the Mayor and his Cabinet are sitting back and biding their time. And they can do this because there really isn’t much time left. Council’s schedule has the budget accepted on Tuesday, December 27, 2005. We were backed against the wall well before many had a chance to take notice.

The EIP report was held and released as a DRAFT on November 9th, the day after elections. The administration used the EIP report as a crutch to support not taking all kinds of financial action. In the three weeks that followed they concocted the “pay more for a lot less” budget. And when it was given back for them to rework they came back with a higher tax increase. Laugh and spit in our faces.

Am I the only Eastonian wondering “What the Hell did they do all year long?!”

My guess is that now they are just putting in time. The Mayor, his Chief of Staff, and his Business Administrator all know that only a miracle will keep them in town past December 31, 2007.

Podcast Episode 2

The Garage band is still together.Check out the Easton Undressed Audio Blog Episode 2-- Drinkin and Thinkin. This week we have a very special guest. Hopefully, she is the first of not-the-last. It was fun.

We've decided to release the podcast on Saturdays from now on. Let us know what you think. "More beer you say?!" errr...ok

Your Neighbors

Council Meeting Audio 12/07/05

Here are links to download the audio from the December 7th City Council Public Services Budget Meeting.

Right Click and choose "save target as" to download file
Part 1(12Mb)
Part 2(14Mb)

There are Other Ways to Work with the Theatre

Maybe the City stop seeking grants from the Pennsylvania. Council on the Arts (PCA) for arts projects such as the murals and begin seeking “Pass Through” grants for the State Theater. This could be in exchange for the reinstatement of the State Theater obligation to pay back their loan from the taxpayers of the City of Easton. PCA grants normally do not exceed $5,000.00 but max out at $10,000.00. Local governments must match dollar for dollar. If local government wants to grant money to the State Theater, this is the appropriate way to do so. Not in some shady backroom deal that not only makes the taxpayers dig deeper into their savings to make up for the loss of more than a quarter million dollars. A move that gutted an Entertainment Tax that would have been a good revenue stream if it was enacted as it was previously. I think giving the State Theater $10,000.00 to $20,000.00 a year in grant money would be a good thing even if the City was picking up 50% of the costs, but only if they pay back the money they borrowed from me, you, and our neighbors first.

I believe most people who go to the theater go out to eat prior to the show. The State Theater has more seating capacity than all the restaurants in the City of Easton. That means the surrounding communities are directly benefiting from this lack of restaurant seating capacity. The Boro of Wilson; the Townships of Forks, Palmer, and Williams; and the Town of Phillipsburg, NJ, are directly benefiting from increased tax revenues because theater goers are spending their money in these communities and not in the City of Easton, which is host to the State Theater. It is time for these communities start providing their fair share support to the State Theater instead of only the taxpayers of the City of Easton, that way the State Theater can afford to repay their loan to the City of Easton.

Submitted by
Grant Keystone

Budget Proposal

As promised, the budget.

Warning file 1 is 104Mb file 2 is 42MB. I'll work on ways to chop them up. But don't hold your breath. There's a lot going on. Part 1 has the first 254 or so pages part 2 is the remaining 151 pages.

It cost $111.00. Thank you Mr Humphrey.

Council Meeting Audio 12/06/05

Here are links to download the audio from the December 6th City Council Public Safety Budget Meeting.

These two audio files cover the entire 2.5 hours. About an hour and a quarter a piece. The audience questions start at 2hrs 8mins.
Your Neighbors

Right Click and choose "save target as" to download file
Part 1 (18Mb)
Part 2(18Mb)

For the Record

Since it's public safety night.

Council Meeting Audio 12/05/05

Here are links to download the audio from the December 5th City Council Public Services Budget Meeting.

These two audio files cover the entire 2 hours. About an hour a piece.
Your Neighbors

Right Click and choose "save target as" to download file
Part 1 (12.5Mb)
Part 2(16Mb)

What Did We Learn?

Gosh Darn it!!! Did I forget to save money for next year AGAIN!
...I paid the consultants their 10%, right?

Hey Stu, What's 10% of a $25 million dollar budget?
...Oh my, that's a lot of tax money!

Top Ten Reasons City Administrators Don't Live in the City.

10. Crime rate is too high.

9. Neighbors would be complaining to them about raising taxes.

8. So they would NOT have to shop at T J Barts.

7. They can leave council meetings early, because they have a long way to travel.

6. They can raise taxes without hurting their families.

5. They can be late and blame it on the commute.

4. They can run for elected office in another community, and destroy two municipalities at the same time.

3. When anyone calls to complain after 4:30, their secretaries can say that they're out of town without lying.

2. They would feel obligated to attend the candle lighting.

1. Their kids wouldn't have anywhere to go swimming.

EU's Podcast Pilot Episode

Ever play garage radio station? You know... you, a buddy, a stack of newspapers, and of course some beers.
No, Never?!!?
Well, BadApple and I did...

Check out the pilot episode of the EU podcast (17MB). It's an hour you'll never get back!

If you subcribe to the podcast feeds you will get this through the same feed.

Enjoy & Please comment.

Christmas in Easton

New And Improved

Great news Neighbors,
ALL of the audio files have been compressed to half of their original size. And guess what else, we think the sound quality was enhanced in the process.

You be the judge.

Your Neighbors

MY APOLOGIES

I owe everyone who has posted comments to posts a HUGE APOLOGY!!!


I changed a setting and had your comments hanging in Blog-Limbo.
Fixed it. There's like seven or eight new comments posted to be read. Happy comment hunting :)

SORRY,

Your Neighbor

Mcall.com: Bill White : Joe Must Stay

Once again I will gush all over Bill White...

As a person trying to influence people with words I am ALWAYS looking for "it". And I truly believe Mr White has "it".

I write to affect Easton social/political issues, but I read out of pure interest. I am not the biggest fan of the Morning Call, and that is simply because they really don't carry much Easton news. But two of my favorite writers are Call hacks, Tracy Jordan & Bill White.

Now, I like them for two entirely different reasons.

Tracy seems to dig deeper than most and gives good background and qualifying information in her stories. It also helps that she writes on my side of the opinion, and she smiles and looks you in the eye when chatting.

Now Bill, that's a horse of a different color... This guy sucks me in with catchy rarely biased wit. He gets me every time. I rarely read an author's name before I dig into articles beyond the front page. But it seems that every time I'm engaged in an entertaining piece I look up halfway through to see this cheesy head shot and the words "Bill White".

This guy is a teacher; a quasi-guru.

When he can write about the most benign disassociated subject and at the end give me a life lesson; I know he has "It".

I'm not much of a Penn State fan, but his blog piece was about a little more than fandom to me. Bill White IS A MAN. He reaffirms values. He serves us up big ole helpings of "Good Neighbor" hidden in stories. He even says I'm sorry, I was wrong with a smile and a handshake. Like a man should.

A lot of his topics I don't even care much about. I don't over-like dogs, But the phrase "Dog Pinata" was too much bait for me. I'm a sucker for over or misused cliches so "Dog and Pony Show" was a no brainer. "Bring me the Head of John Karoly"... Are you joking me!!! Never stood a chance.

He always sucks me in and when I'm finished I ask myself,
"So SemiAnonymousBlogger, What have you learned?"

House of Crayons,
Your Grateful Neighbor

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/3753331

Holy Hand Grenade

Two Blocks Past Wawa: Blogging

Here is some topical reference reading. The author has some good blogging references listed.

Your Neighbors

The Pledge of Apathy

I pledge allegiance, to the apathy,
That keeps me in my place,
And to the unwillingness, to take a stand,
Don’t count on me,
I will not help.
My opinion,
Means nothing,
At all.

Move, or They'll Make You Move.

The attempt by the Redevelopment Authority to use the threat of eminent domain to take a property at 223N Third Street is perverse. The plan would take a building that is in relatively good condition, while 30 or 40 other blighted buildings in our neighborhoods will continue to disrupt our quality of life. The question is why?
It is interesting that Lafayette College has its sights set on that property. They have been unable to negotiate a deal. So they have somehow enlisted the City of Easton to become their jack-booted real estate agent. Eminent Domain is a precarious tool at best. The ability to force the sale of private property should not be frivolous or preferential. Is taking a man’s property “to reestablish a view of the creek” not frivolous? Is providing continuity for Lafayette College’s string of real estate, while the armory at 7th & Northampton Sts continues to blighten our days, not preferential? This is what I consider abuse of authority.

Kudos to Mrs. Panto for getting action on the blight list. It is unfortunate that we stand to negate her hard work by diverting the funds and effort needed to fight the real blight that threatens public safety, endangers neighboring properties, lowers property values, and disrupts the quality of life.

This proposal might have been palatable if it increased tax revenue or created jobs. But to see the creek better!? And all of this while the taxpayer gets another tax increase via the removal of another building from the tax roles. I call it theft by deception.

This leads me to my theory of conspiracy. Let’s watch the Bushkill Creek Corridor project. Yes, it seems altruistic for Lafayette College to help finance the project study, but it smells to me. I believe the City will again act as the College’s agent by using eminent domain to secure properties along Bushkill Drive, improving them with State and Federal Grants, then selling them to the College and removing them from the tax roles.
Are more tax increases and service cuts looming thanks to Lafayette College?

I have a better idea… let’s buy the College, turn it into a business park, and return it to the tax roles.

Michael Krill

It's Gonna Sting for a Week or Two

Word's spreading around town fast. I heard the same story from two different and unrelated sources today. There's a pretty embarrassing incident set to hit the fish-wraps tomorrow. And the worst part is that IT INVOLVES COPS.

Tomorrow is a very big day in our community, and it's a very tough one to work when you're a police officer or fire fighter. PLEASE, channel any feelings of anger and embarrassment at the ACTUAL offender(s).

They have a tough job, and it just got tougher.

As Raw as it Gets

Audio from Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 6pm Public budget meeting. (32Mb)

This was one head spinning hour of public discussion. This is why meetings have rules. Do a few of these a month if you want to develop a drinking problem.

Lots of ideas were tossed about, but in the end it was "just a bitch session".

There's this funny phenomenon happening as a result of the Mayor's budget proposal. Instead of blaming mismanagement & the failure to raise money outside of taxes. Some people are getting angry at the city's workers. And not just the union employees. It seems that increased taxes makes all workers look greedy-- from the under-compensated over-stressed part-time council people to the brave and always-there fire fighters. This phenomenon makes people more agreeable to cutting their jobs and benefits. But some how the consultants, the commuter department heads, and the consultants they hire to augment their jobs walk away unscathed. This is LAZY thinking fits right into the LAZY budgeting effort.

You think our services stink now... Wait till you see next year's crime, rescue response, leaves, snow removal, and codes enforcement. I'm sure they'll be managed a whole lot better when they become even more unmanageable than they are now. hmmm Maybe the Mayor's just trying to challenge himself?!?

Do the hard work of marketing our services to other communities, regionalizing, enforcing codes, and taxing equally. Spend our money on things that will make us money. Make the streets cleaner and safer. It works other places.

The Explanations The Administration Will Offer With The Next Residential Tax And Fee Increases.

1. Council President says, “Somehow were going to end up about a quarter of a million dollars short over the next two years.” - House of Crayons
2. This is just a draft budget, I will be forming a blue ribbon committee to reveiw it. - Badapple
3. The dog ate my spreadsheet - Badapple
4. Stu ain't cheap! - Da Mare
5. My neighbors on Ferry Street needed an outlet for their disposable income. - Bill Gloveguy
6. If it cost more, it has to be better. - BigManFromFerryStreet
7. That green paint to cover-up graffiti is expensive. - Trimmer McGrady
8. It wasn't me, Tom set me up! - Anonymous
9. The college was a few dollars short on Mitman Hall. - Deconomic Envelopment
10. We always raise taxes!. - The Administration
11. You don't know what you're talking about. - The Administration

Submit more answers by email—let’s make the winners a surprise.
!!!Email Us!!!

Let Us Not Forget Officer Jesse Sollman.

On March 25th of this year a civil servant went to work and didn’t return home. It is as simple as that.

Officer Sollman died in his workplace. Officer Sollman did not kill himself. Officer Sollman was working for us.

We celebrated Officer Jesse Sollman’s life at a PUBLIC ceremony befitting a fallen servant of the people. It should not be the burden of his survivors to pay for our display. The city government needs to pay for Officer Sollman’s ceremony.

Any personal feelings of disappointment any of us may have with the police department HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH OFFICER JESSE SOLLMAN’S LIFE ENDING. Please, let’s all separate our feelings and take care of our human obligations.

This needs to be done.

Balanced... Maybe - Unfair... Definately

PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO (16Mb)


Balanced… Maybe – Unfair… Definitely

Michael P. Fleck, Councilman

The 2006 City of Easton budget has been presented by Mayor Mitman and the Administration. The proposed budget calls for over a 3 mill tax increase and another water/sewer increase; while cutting public safety and recreation services. Wow! I think the Mayor is really out of touch with residents about their wishes and what they can afford.

As a resident of Easton, the last thing I want cut when taxes are going up is the number of police officers on the street. As the Chair of the City Finance Committee, I also know this will be a long term financial disaster as less officers equals higher overtime costs.

Here is the problem and the solution.

Problem: The Mayor has had two years to come up with enhanced revenue, new revenue sources and increased economic development. The residents of Easton have seen very little result. There has not been any regionalization of purchases. The only new revenue source presented was the Amusement/Mechanical Devices Tax which was done by Council without leadership or direction from the Mayor.

Solution: Mayor Mitman needs to stop forming committees and hiring consultants and take action. This is not a time in Easton’s history when we can afford a passive leader. Mr. Mayor, think outside the box to create new revenue, look for creative ways to enhance City services, not cut them, and use your economic development staff to create tangible development. For two years now the Mayor has promised and has yet to deliver. Mr. Mayor, stand and deliver, lead Easton.

In the meantime, we may have a balanced budget but one that is completely unfair to the residents. One of two things must happen real soon…either the Mayor changes or the residents change Mayor’s.

I sincerely hope the Mayor changes and leads in his next two years. I hope he becomes the Mayor that the people elected. I want this because I would rather participate outside of City Hall in an Easton moving in the right direction than inside City Hall in two years in an Easton that still lacks leadership and is moving in the wrong direction.

Why? You ask. Because I am a life long resident and put Easton’s future above my own.

Que Sera, Sera...

Who Works for Whom?

"3. Two representatives of the City of Easton shall become and remain members of the Board of Directors of the State Theatre until the $1,000,000 plus interest is repaid in its entirety."

That statement was signed and attested to by the Council President and the Mayor of the City of Easton on June 14, 1989 by resolution and again on November 21, 1989 in agreement. It reads very plainly, but really wasn't worth the paper it was printed on.

I'll have the documents posted tomorrow.

Check out this exchange from last nights Council Meeting. LINK

Money... We hardly even knew ya.

...until the $1,000,000 plus interest is repaid
in its entirety.

Council Meeting Audio 11/16

Here are links to download the audio from the November 16th City Council Public Meeting. The 1st 3 files are about 30 minutes the last about 13 mins.

Your Neighbors


Right Click and choose "save target as" to download file
Part 1 (14Mb)
Part 2(14Mb)
Part 3(14Mb)
Part 4(13Mb)

Or... If you prefer you can subscribe to our podcast of Easton public meetings using this button. Just drag the button into your podcast player, and your subscription will be set. After that, anytime you open your podcast player (we prefer itunes-- it's free and works GREAT!) you will download any new meetings we post AUTOMATICALLY. There's another podcast button in our sidebar. ENJOY.

I am Starstruck

As usual Bill White is brilliant. Read Dog and Pony Show.
Kinda reminds me of that story of the family budget I heard last week.

How’d he put it…? “…more pizzazz than substance”.

It’s true genius; dangling a topic, diverting us, only to make his point truly entertaining.
Bravo BW.

Pregame Warm-up & Short List (EDITED)

Hello Neighbors,

Tonight is council meeting night. Big goings on are happening. The biggest of which is the Mayor’s budget proposal. We’ll reserve all comment for this evening and tomorrow.
The audio will be available, at the latest, noon tomorrow.

It looks like we’ll be getting some guest writers and interviews soon. We also want to put the next top ten list up for bid. We will present the topic, and you will email us suggestions for the list. The top ten (duh) submissions will be printed as the list (authors will be credited by whatever name they choose).

The topic is:

The top ten explanations the administration will offer with the next residential tax and fee increases.

I’ll submit the 1st answer.
Council President says, “Somehow were going to end up about a quarter of a million dollars short over the next two years.”

Submit your answers by email—let’s make the winners a surprise.
Email EU@eastonundressed.org

Here’s our ***EDITED*** current shortlist for interviews.

Peter Koehler, Bill White, Tracy Jordan, Sandra Vulcano, Pam Panto, Carole Heffley, Ken Brown, Bob Freeman, Mayor Mitman, John Morganelli, Wayne Grube, John Stoffa, Sheldon Smith, the next police chief, Ed Sieger, Tony Bassil, Sal Panto, Tom Goldsmith, Dave Hopkins, Governor Rendell, oh yeah and Mike Fleck.

Any help in getting the person(s) cooperation will be greatly appreciated.


See you this evening…

Your Neighbors

Footprints on the sidewalk

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along Northampton Street with the Mayor. Across the sky flashed scenes from the past two years.

For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints on the sidewalk: one belonging to him, and the other to the Mayor. When the last scene of the last two years flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints on the sidewalk. He noticed that many times along the path of the last two years; there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very toughest and most challenging times of the last two years.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Mayor about it. "Mister Mayor, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times of the last two years, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The Mayor replied,"My son, my precious constituent, I respect you, I appreciate your vote, and Iwould never leave you.

During those times of social trial and economicc suffering, when you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I hired consultants.

And we were waiting on their reports"

City Council Meeting Audio

Here are links to download the audio from the November 9th City Council Public Meeting. These four audio files cover the Early Intervention Program presentation and Q&A session. The 1st 3 files are about 30 minutes the last about 15 mins.

Your Neighbors


Right Click and choose "save target as" to download file
Part 1 (14Mb)
Part 2(14Mb)
Part 3(14Mb)
Part 4(9Mb)

Or... If you prefer you can subscribe to our podcast of Easton public meetings using this button. Just drag the button into your podcast player, and your subscription will be set. After that, anytime you open your podcast player (we prefer itunes-- it's free and works GREAT!) you will download any new meetings we post AUTOMATICALLY. There's another podcast button in our sidebar. ENJOY.

NOTE: the term podcast does NOT mean you need an ipod. longstory... look it up.

10 Recommendations to Save the City Money

10. Apply for a transportation grant to build a high-speed rail line between Easton and Lower Mount Bethel. This way the Mayor’s Chief of Staff will have a more relaxing commute as he comes into town to tell us how we should live. And he will get home a lot faster.

9. Reduce the city’s liability by removing playground equipment, not sponsoring youth athletics, disbanding the SWAT team, and draining the Delaware River.

8. Outsource tax collection to Birkheimer & Associates.

7. Require prostitutes and drug dealers to purchase business permits. (Everyone knows who they are anyway)

6. Open “massage” parlors in more of the city’s historic buildings to bolster tourism and amusement tax revenue.

5. Shut off traffic signals on days with statistically lower traffic.

4. Shut off street lights on evenings with statistically less crime.

3. Reduce the demand for city services by encouraging so much economic development that tax payers will be too discouraged to live here.

2. Place John Karoly on retainer.

1. Outsource the Mayor’s position. (An outsider like Roy Afflerbach is just the kind of new blood we need to turn things around)

NOTE: This consultation has been provided FREE OF CHARGE to the taxpayers of the City of Easton.

ROVER PRIDE!

"Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is." -Vince Lombardi

Hat's of to the athletes, students, parents, and fans of Easton Area High School. Your citizenship and sportsmanship are true tributes to our community.

BEAT P-BURG!!!

H E L L O !!! Is Anyone Out There?

Is anyone even listening?!?!?!

Is this thing on?

My friend the badapple is very right. We got sold a big ‘ole jug of snake oil. The EIP consultants have a sweet little Nigerian Millionaire scam going—and it’s STATE SANCTIONED! We got ripped off, and I want my money back.

Add another $100,000.00 to the “money down the drain for 2005” column of the budget. It’s like we’re banging our heads against the walls. Bob Sabatine even told us publicly that a lot of the recommendations would be ours. But did anyone in control listen? So we just spent $100,000.00 to buy our own ideas back.

TANGENT

Yes, we were taken for $100,000.00 not $50,000.00. You see, it’s semantics, but state grant money is just reallocated tax money. Our tax dollars go to Harrisburg, mix with money from the entire state in order to bear more interest, and is then given back to us if we are deemed worthy.

Ms Brown, taking grant money is “drinking from the public trough”. You can ask Mayor Mitman if you don’t believe us. The mayor himself has repeatedly praised developers Koehler and Kheel for not “using any public monies, in the form of grants”.

END TANGENT

Someone at the spring EIP meeting asked the two consulting firms how they could possibly offer more than a years worth of their very valuable time for only $100,000.00. I’m still not sure what the answer was. But we do suspect that they can do it because they are serving several communities at once; offering each the bare minimum in boiler plate consultation. NO PROOF—JUST A SUSPICION.

Well this is probably our WORST posting ever. So thanks for reading it, because it will probably get deleted next week when we do our weekly editing review.

We REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, want and need some guest writers. The tag board’s ok, but we need some people to…

TANGENT

“Step up to the plate” is officially the most overused cliché at city council meetings. Shame on you, Ms Heffley, for using it. And more shame on you, Precious Petty, for filling up column space by quoting the lame overused phrase. NO PROPS FOR YOUSE!

Oh Yeah, Mr. Sabitine gets the award for single-handedly beating a phrase beyond the glue factory with: “There are no sacred cows.”

END TANGENT


Your Neighbors
bigeredrover@yahoo.com

Thinking Out Loud

Left click on comic to enlarge.

Call Out, Come Out, Speak Out.

Ok it’s over… Time for us to move forward. Council’s profile may not have changed much, but that don’t make me no nevermind. We can still help our city achieve great things.

Mrs. Millen-Eustis (congrats and good luck on the school board) has responded to EU on behalf of the Lil Rovers. They are open to any support we can offer. It would be great if EU readers would write, call, or (for the hard-core among us) speak in favor of the Heil Field House project. In the interest of making this easy the message could simply be, “Hello, [Mayor/Councilperson], my name is [My Name] and I would like the city officials to take a more proactive approach to help with the Heil Field House project. The reports of the volunteers’ frustration with the city are disgraceful and embarrassing. Thank you.” Or something to that effect.

Phil Mitman, Mayor – 610-250-6610
Sandra Vulcano, Council President - 610-250-6732
Michael Fleck, Council Vice-President - 610-250-6733
Pamela Panto, Council Member - 610-250-6734
Ken Brown, Council Member - 610-250-6791
Carole Heffley, Council Member - 610-250-6792

I’m calling right now, and I will address council in a few hours. PLEASE COME OUT TO THE COUNCIL MEETING TONIGHT!!! This evening’s meeting is one in a good string of IMPORTANT council meetings this month and next. The business on the agenda is not to be taken lightly. The report being presented this evening will be very long and very controversial. If we let it be presented and allow any of its recommendations to be passed quietly, we stand the chance of furthering the excessive preference that our city government is giving businesses over residents. Don’t let them continue to ignore our neighborhoods, services, and programs.
This is not a township. This is a city. And in a city government SERVICE TO THE CONSTITUENCY is the NUMBER ONE job. Any other pursuits the city undertakes must not undermine service to the residency. Tourism, business, and development must not spend resident tax dollars. Our city is being used by our suburban neighbors, developers, and our county government tenants as everything but a home.

Stay tuned tonight or tomorrow for new cartoons, and we hope to have a couple of exciting new features up this week. PLEASE email us at bigeredrover@yahoo.com FOR ANYTHING.

This is really just the beginning. We have BIG things planned, and we need each other.

Your Neighbor.

Is My Trash a Republican?

Mom13my that is an excellent counterpoint! It was well versed and true. Would you be interested in contributing some editorials or essays to the cause?

When it comes to small communities and the business of the people, effective service delivery works well when ideas mix. I agree with Fleck, because the service itself is non-partisan. It seems to be the details that favor party thinking. The mix—publicly controlled services that function like privatized businesses-- seem to be functional and beneficial. Businesslike public services also serve well as revenue gainers when they are shared with neighboring communities.

Not Endorsements Just My Votes

Since the election is a little over a day away, I will discuss my votes. For County Executive I have to vote for Mr. Nyce, simply because I believe that Mr. Stoffa lacks focus.

My Easton City Council votes will go to Mr. Corpora and Mr. Bassil. Roger Ruggles is a more than worthy candidate, but his answers to the questions we posed were too abstract for me. Mr. Bassil and Mr. Corpora’s answers were more than just ideas, studies, meetings, and support they both physically described how they would accomplish tasks. I plan on voting for Mr. Ruggles in two years. I think he’ll make a fine councilman.

I will not vote for Mrs. Vulcano, because she seems to be too reluctant to interrupt the status quo. We need people willing to do the difficult research and make decisions that may be against the interest of certain establishments. We need our government to be more transparent to the voters.

There I said it.
Best of luck to all of our city’s candidates. Please do your best for us.

Your Neighbor

The People's Business

Ok tagboarders, get the partisan politics out of you system now. Because after the election buzz has worn down it's back to the people's business. As my friend Mike Fleck (yes, I like the guy) likes to say, "there is no democrat or republican way to collect the trash or clean the streets." So, after we ordain our new doers of the people's business, we need to do some of our own business.

There's still the little matter of the $252,700.00 that my friend Mike gave away. The EU community has a strategy or two brewing that will hopefully get us the people's money back. We need to offer the people's opinion and the people’s oversight on the Early Intervention Report (which, by-the-way is slated to be released this Wednesday at the council meeting). The budget is after that.

Also, the EU staff would like to offer any help we can to the Little Rovers organization. If anyone associated with the field house project is out there please get in touch. Email bigeredrover@yahoo.com.

The elections are a very small part of what we hope to accomplish within our community. Our city is one of the greatest cities I know of (and I’ve lived in a few). The best thing we possess, next to our excellent location, is a VOLUMOUS amount of untapped potential. We live in a city that is laid bare and waiting for some really industrious leadership. Leadership from our residents, our politicians, our educators, and our businesses. The more people we get involved—the more people we have represented. If we do that we stand a good chance to rid our city of single-minded selfishness. We can accomplish things that benefit more than just the arts community, the business sector, College Hill, or the county. OK, enough of that. I’m getting all gushy and stuff.

Next topic. Twice, in the span of 5 days, I was overtly called a “COWARD”. And both times for the same reason— anonymously posting, and supporting, the anonymous posting of opinions. The first person was a local editor (who by-the-way is in an industry that has successfully argued that the lawful guarantee of anonymity is necessary). And the other person is a colleague who knows most of the EU staff. I value ALL opinions, but I don’t have to agree with them all. And right now, I can’t agree. While EU is really only semi-anonymous, it has been developed this way on purpose. We do not want any action that gets developed through EU to be attributed to any one person. This blog is not really about a single person’s anything.

We may be small group now, but we are not fringe. This is an Easton thing, and it’s only about the people’s business.

Let's Saunter.

College Employee--"John, tell them about your proposal for the Bethlehem Steel property..."

[paraphrased]
Candidate--"Well, the world's oil supplies will be exhausted in about 30 years; according to oil company research. So we must dedicate ourselves to finding a viable alternative. We could build a world-class energy research facility there. And the worlds great minds can come from near and far to make hydrogen fuel economical and viable. All-the-while putting the Lehigh Valley on the map as an academic Mecca."

Voter--"Is that really important to the Northampton County voters? I mean, if you really want to get elected with a small budget campaign, shouldn't your time be spent touting more Northampton Countyish issues?"

College Student-- "Do you have any other plans for the Bethlehem Steel site?"

Any hopes I had of firming up my vote for County Executive after that hour were destroyed. My head was spinning. I found the candidate to be a bit aloof and very apathetic to issues important to Eastonians. He was a nice enough guy, but he failed to give me confidence in his abilities to represent me as a resident of the county or city. His focus was lacking.

When he praised the current executive's work on the new court house facilities a voter asked him how the neighborhood surrounding the complex was being helped. The candidate focused on justifying the prison. The voter stated that he understood the need for the prison, but he understood the needs of the city's residents more. The candidate failed to notice that "Northampton County Camelot" was constructed in the middle of one of the lowest earning areas of the city. A shiny castle in a sea of urban decay.
The candidate talked of taxes as a way of life and expressed his belief in the necessity tiny increases, but he failed to discuss tax compromises such as fees and new revenues. Garbage tipping fee increases were mentioned, but he acknowledged his competitor for pushing the issue forward.
He debated a voter over whether visitors were as important as residents. Being the world's concierge seems to be all the rage these days. Service out over service in. Hosting friends over providing for the needs of the home.

He gave the impression of being just another suburban bureaucrat that only thought of Easton as a living; not a place to live.

By not satisfactorily addressing the county's relationship with the city (outside of pledging to meet with the Mayors-- including Allentown's--monthly), he failed to lobby my support. The only thing he said that actually leveraged my vote was that he thought his competitor "would make a very good County Executive."

That's It!!! I'm OFFICIALLY Spooked!

Just TWO days before we started EU someone got a similar idea to start a Blogspot blog dedicated to the news buzzings of the State Theatre http://www.statetheatrewatch.blogspot.com/ . We swear that the idea popped into our heads and began on October 17, 2005. WE HAD NEVER DISCUSSED BLOGGING EVER. NEVER EVER!

S P O O K Y !



On Another Note...

Is anyone in contact with the Vulcano campaign? If so please get our questions to her. We really want and need to hear what she has to say.

EVENT POSTING!!!

One of our college neighbors sent this email to bigeredrover@yahoo.com . It's county level politics. I know we haven't sauntered there yet-- So let's saunter!

Here's the message:

Hi, neighbors,
Some of you/us might like to attend this event on Lafayette's campus Friday. The person who arranged it would--I believe--welcome local neighbors at the event. I figure it might be an opportunity to locate some more common ground between "town and gown":

Just found out that John Stoffa will be able to come to the College on Friday for a brown bag. He is running against Bob Nyce for County Executive and will be discussing the issues of importance to the County. I originally tried to schedule a debate between John and Bob but Bob refused to engage in another debate with John. He emailed me that there were enough debates in the Easton area and that another one was unnecessary. I advised him that John had agreed to come and gave him another opportunity to participate. I received the same email again in response. Therefore, John will be here alone to discuss the issues. Please let the underground know. Perhaps those who do not support his candidacy can come out and ask some of the difficult questions. Also some classes could be asked to attend.

It will be held in Kirby 104 at noon on Friday, Nov 4. Pizza and soda will be served.

Our Good Neighbor Tony Bassil Replies

Our third candidate of four, Mr Tony Bassil, logs in with these answers:

Dear residents,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to answer these questions.


1. Could you give us your goals for the city's neighborhoods?

To create an environment that everyone feels safe and comfortable. To develop neighborhood parks into urban gathering places where children can play safely and adults can enjoy a real sense of community. To make neighborhoods more attractive and pleasing. To keep the streets and sidewalks clean. To improve the quality of life for all citizens of Easton. I want people to look at Easton and say I want to live there; I want to raise my family there. Just as I did; Years ago.

2. What is your recreation plan?

In order to develop a recreation plan we must first find out what our children want our program to be. What children did for recreation in 1980 is not necessarily what children want today. I would ask the school district to conduct a survey to see what the kids would like and then build a plan on it. If you build a new baseball field and no one wants to play baseball, than you have wasted money with no positive result. Today kids want skateboard parks, BMX runs and Kayak trails. The other part is to make sure the parks are kept clean and well maintained. To accomplish this I would encourage the administration to assign parks workers to specific parks and give them responsibility and a chance to instill pride in their work. Give them the tools, equipment and knowledge to make our parks shine.

3. How would you work with the block watch and neighborhood associations?

Their role in our community is extremely important. Their impact on crime prevention is priceless. I would take every opportunity as a councilman to promote participation in this organization. I would also encourage the administration to escalate the community-policing program and to marry these officers with neighborhood block watches to provide focused crime mitigation for high crime areas.

4. What can be done to foster a fair, equitable, and profitable partnership with Lafayette College?

The college is not doing enough; it must take a more active role in improving Easton for its own students and our citizens. Students also need to feel safe and they need to have places to go and things to do beyond what the Lafayette campus provides. In order to accomplish this it must do more than shore up it’s borders. It must reach out into the larger community. Positive change for Easton is positive change for Lafayette. I will go directly to the President to attempt to convince him and the trustees that they need more. I believe together we can identify some projects that they would be willing to move forward

5. If you had to raise a tax today, would you raise a business or a resident tax?

Neither is acceptable. I believe we can find ways to reduce costs without cutting services. Then we need to find alternatives to these taxes like the amusement tax. We need to look at increasing the scale of delivery of services in the form of regionalization. We must stop the bleeding caused by preventable lawsuits. Then we need to rev up our economic development program. The amusement tax will give us some time but we cannot drag are feet.

6. What are your opinions on the Amusement/Mechanical Devices Tax?

Should have imposed it two years ago and we should not have forgiven the loan

7. What are your opinions on our property tax?

Too high, discourage improvement, archaic. Need to find alternatives

8. What are your opinions on the sewer, water, & garbage fees?

We currently use the inflated fees to fund other parts of our budget. We should be using these funds to improve our infrastructure. The City is full of antique under maintained systems that need immediate attention or they will cost us much more when they fail catastrophically. If this would be the case I could tolerate the rates. As far as Garbage we should be looking at a joint collection system with West Easton and Wilson. The private contractors played bait and switch. They gave us a low contract price until we dismantled our system, and then escalated the cost.

9. What are your opinions on the proposed rental inspection ordinance?

May be a good idea, but it must be run effectively. I am not sure the expected results are realistic. Something we can do is enforcing the current ordinances fully and fairly. An example is the Building Maintenance Code of the Uniform Building Code, which provides regulation to assure the exteriors of buildings are properly maintained. This could be enforced quickly at little or no additional cost without entering a single building. This would go a long way to improve the general appearance of the City.

10. Are the city's services sufficient?

No, we have insufficient personnel in the police, fire, parks, and code departments and maybe others. We can also do a better job of delivering these services. Our street sweeper should only stop for maintenance. Run it at least 24/6

11. Do you have any plans that specifically affect city services?

Develop a fiscal plan that will allow us to hire the personnel so that we deliver the highest quality service we can. Service is our selling point. We take service into consideration when we buy a car, we take service into consideration when we go back to a restaurant, we take service into consideration when we buy a computer, and people take service into consideration when they choose a place to live or choose a place to start a business, we just do not know how to sell it. I want better, better, best.

12. What are your plans for the public works?

If you are talking about water and sewer, we need to look at all the options, but we must be sure we protect our loyal employees from damage that could occur with some of these options.

13. What are your plans for the emergency services?

We must look at regionalization, but again with concern for the protection of our loyal employees. Regionalization can stabilize costs while improving the scope and quality of service. It is not just our community that must realize this but also all the communities around us. I will encourage input and ask the administration to look at opportunities and options.

14. Would you be willing to work on the daunting task of regionalizing/combining services? If yes, in what areas?

Garbage, water, fire, police, but only if the personnel issues can be resolved.

15. Would it be fair and/or appropriate to appoint non-residents to city boards/commissions?

No, would these non-resident members want our residents on their boards? The exception would be joint boards involving regionalized assets or services. Then an equitable representation from participating communities would be required.

16. Should the city's directors/top level managers be required to maintain residency?

This is truly a difficult question. My gut feeling is yes. I believe they should be stakeholders in the community. They then could really understand the needs of the community. They could see the positive and negative effects of their work always. Unfortunately is it realistic? Will someone with the qualifications be willing to take the job if they have to move in the City only to have to potentially have to move again in four years when the boss they serve is no longer in office? I do believe the administration needs to do everything it can to hire personnel from the city and provide incentives to keep the personnel living in the city. Living in the city gives us eyes and ears working 24/7.

17. Is a part time city council effective enough?

In its current form I believe it is. But it may not be part time enough, salary and benefits.


Tony E. Bassil

Roger Ruggles Is On the Board!

Candidate 2 of 4 has responded to our interview. Here is what our neighbor Roger Ruggles says:

Dear Neighbors,

The following are my responses to the questions that you posed:

1) Could you give us your goals for the city's neighborhoods?

Re-establishing the city's neighborhoods is one of my highest priorities. Neighborhoods with strong identities foster a strong city. With the influx of new residents into the city the traditional neighborhoods are slipping away. The problem is that we as a city are not evolving with this new demographic. My goals are to develop ways in which neighborhoods can establish their identity and then provide ways in which that identity can grow. The primary methods of accomplishing this would be through existing neighborhood organizations and other established organizations within each neighborhood. As a council member I would be eager to work with these organizations to develop ways to improve all of the city's neighborhoods.

2) What is your recreation plan?

I believe that the recreation activities available to the residents of the city needs to be significantly expanded. Initially I would focus on youth recreation and ways in which we can enhance the experiences that the children receive. This would first focus on current demand and how the recreational facilities of the city are positioned to meet that demand. Developing the facilities to accommodate the needs of the city's residents is essential to the development of a strong recreational program. I believe that much of this development can be accomplished through private donations as we have seen in the recently proposed field-house project. As we continue to develop the facilities we also have to develop the structure of support for the program that includes recruiting and training of coaches, identifying volunteers and providing the necessary equipment. The benefits of this plan are obvious to both the participants and the city.

My secondary work on recreation would be to expand the program to the adult population of the city. Adult recreation in the city could develop a sense of community and provide for the participants a healthy alternative for their free time.

3) How would you work with the block watch and neighborhood associations?

I am a supporter of both the block watch and neighborhood organizations. As a council member I would make every effort to work closely with these and other non-profit organizations in the city to improve our community. My efforts would include developing ways to enhance communication between the city and these organizations or individuals, identify and help pursue external funding sources, attend meetings, and be available to all to discuss goals and objectives of both the organizations and the city. Through working together we will only improve our city.

4)What can be done to foster a fair, equitable, and profitable partnership with Lafayette College?

As a faculty member at Lafayette College I am very aware of the positive impact that the college can provide to the city and the importance of the city to the college. Both the city and the college benefit from the other. As a member of city council I believe that I would be a bridge that could develop a relationship between the city and the college that is fair, equitable, and profitable for both. The college's investment in and future development of the N. Third St. And Snyder St. Corridors could provide a significant positive impact on the city. I believe that I am in a unique position to insure that both the city and the college interests can be merged to the benefit of all.

5) If you had to raise a tax today, would you raise a business or residential tax?

To answer the question I would have to say that I would raise the business tax. I am not in favor of raising ANY taxes. During my campaign as I walked throughout the city I heard on several occasions that a life long resident of the city feared that they would have to move out of the city in the next few years because of increasing taxes and cost of services (water, sewer, and garbage). These residents told me that they could no longer afford to live in the city. This to me is totally unacceptable. City council and all of city government needs to understand the financial burden that is being placed on both residents and businesses and work to improve the situation.

6) What are your opinions on the Amusement/Mechanical Devices Tax?

I am in favor of this tax. I believe that it needs some modifications to its current form but that opportunity will occur in three years under the current legislation. We need to closely monitor the implementation of this tax and identify the areas that need improvement.

7) What are your opinions about our property tax?

As I stated previously I believe that our property taxes are too high when life long residents of the city are considering moving because they can no long afford to live here. New ideas and methods of handling the financial obligations of the city, decreasing expenditures and increasing revenue are needed.

8) What are your opinions of the sewer, water, and garbage fees?

Again we are addressing a cost to the residents of the city. These fees are very high and we need to find ways to reduce them. During this next year the city will be negotiating a new garbage contract. Developing methods of reducing our waste stream are very important. Recycling programs are in the process of being developed within the city and these will provide some relief. Keeping the residents of the city informed about these measures is essential. I believe that we can continue to do more. Conservation, planning, and wise use of our resources can control costs and reduce future increases.

9) What are your opinions on the proposed rental inspection ordinance?

The second most complaint of residents of the city that I heard during my travels through the city in this campaign was the negative impact of rental properties on the neighborhoods. While I found that there were many rental properties that were in very poor shape I did find properties that are well maintained and a benefit to the neighborhood. I am in favor of a rental inspection program that addresses the former but that encourages the later. I believe that the current legislation falls short of this.

10) Are the city's services sufficient?

Overall I believe that the city is providing good services to the residents. There are many areas that need improvement but most of the city workers that I have met who provide those services are hard working and serious about their responsibilities to the residents of the city. Better planning on how to provide city services is needed and this planning will result in lower costs and a higher level of service to the residents.

11) Do you have any plans that specifically affect city services?

Yes I do. I want to use my experience in planning and my leadership abilities to identify the service areas that need improvement and develop ways in which they can be improved. As I responded in the previous question, " I believe that the city is providing good services to the residents" but I also believe that those services can be improved and cost of those services can be reduced.

12) What are your plans for public works?

The City of Easton is a relatively old community. The infrastructure of the city is in most cases also old and is being taxed by the demand of our modern society. The area of public works in the city has seen significant improvement in recent years. We do however need to develop an accurate inventory of city's infrastructure and upon completing that inventory develop a plan to maintain and improve the various components. My expertise as a licensed professional civil engineer will be a significant benefit to city council in this area.

13) What are your plans for emergency service?

The city's emergency services provide very good coverage to city residents. Response times are short and the capabilities are good. I do believe that we can improve the emergency response system through continuous evaluation.

14) Would you be willing to work on the daunting task of regionalizing/combining service? If yes what areas?

Yes, I would and I would expect all members of city council to do the same. I believe that this is one of the many ways in which we can lower costs while maintaining or improving services. Currently, the Easton Area Joint Sewer Authority is a board (on which I am a member) that has representatives from all the member municipalities. This authority functions very well and is a model of inter-municipality cooperation.

The areas that could be regionalized or combined need to be determined. This has to be done in conversations with the surrounding municipalities and with the understanding that we will not adversely affect current municipal employees.

15) Would it be fair and/or appropriate to appoint non- residents to city boards/commissions?

I would only be in favor of appointing non-residents to boards or commissions if (a) we were unable to find a city resident that was qualified or (b) if the non-resident had specific skills that were required and we could not identify in a city resident with those same skills.

16) Should the city's directors/top level managers be required to maintain residency?

Yes, I believe that they should. I do not believe that we should make individuals who currently hold those positions move into the city but I do believe that future hires should have this requirement. We would not tolerate a member of city council or the mayor living outside the city why would we accept something different from the city's directors/top level managers?

17) Is a part time city council effective enough?

Not when the city council believes that it is part time. We all know that the city is in a serious condition and it is going to take extra effort to turn the city around. When members of city council consider themselves as ONLY part time and do not provide that extra effort the city will suffer. I believe that the part time designation of the city council member is adequate but I believe that significant time needs to be invested by each council member into the city's problems. When I decided to run for city council this was one of the issues that I considered. I plan to invest the time necessary to turn the city around.

Roger Ruggles
Candidate for Easton City Council