PA Rep. Paul Friel and PA Rep. Chris Pielli could have made a difference today. But they didn’t. Why did they sell out their constituents today? We may never know exactly but people keep voting for them so this is on the voters. Obviously they are not in office to serve their constituents.
These two men are supposed to serve Chester County, but did they do so today? My opinion is no. My opinion is they sold out Chester County to advance a data center bill that may or may not be politically advantageous for them. And I am allowed to have that opinion.
There are certain aspects to both of these state reps that I actually used to like, but this shows their true colors doesn’t it and if you were voting in favor of PA HB 2151, you are voting against the best interest of your constituency from one end of the state to the other.
A vote for this bill removes rights from residents and municipalities, boroughs, etc.
Now more than ever find your state rep call them up and tell them to vote no on this. Find your state senator call them up and tell them to vote no on this.
Data centers are an even bigger threat than pipelines in some regards and I didn’t even think that was possible.
Yet here we are.
And shame on the leader leadership of the Chester County Democrats for also ignoring the best interests of all of the residents of Chester County.
It’s time for the boot lickers to go. Friel and Pielli should have Democrats primarying them. This bill is wrong. This push for data centers is wrong.
This is once again why you have to look at the individual candidates, not just their political persuasion when choosing who represents you.
Whether it is a local, state, or a federal election people need to wake up. If this bill becomes a reality, all Pennsylvanians will suffer. It is that simple.
Start sending emails start making phone calls. If you’ve already done it, do it again these people are supposed to represent us not special interests of the governor. A lot of these people are up for election this year.
It’s time to make these political boot lickers work for our vote.
Ahh birds of a feather on a Monday morning? State Representative Lisa Borowski who was a self- serving commissioner in Radnor Township is now an equally self-serving State Representative for Delaware County is a co-sponsor of PA HB 2151 which adds data center language dangerously so to the PA Municipalities Planning Code gets voted on this morning.
Lisa Borowski doesn’t give a good god damn about Pennsylvanians obviously and well if she’s elected again then Delaware County has lost its mind. She could’ve removed herself from the spill, but she just ignored everyone and went to her little petition signing parties. Of course she’s also let down a lot of Radnor residents recently on issues they are having where she promised to help.
Kristine Howard of course is the great invisible state representative representing parts of Chester county including East Whiteland, which is fighting a data center.
From Ginny Kerslake:
📌At 10 o’clock this morning, March 2 the Pennsylvania House Energy Committee will be voting on HB2151. You can watch the vote at the link below.
HB2151 will NOT put strict guardrails on data center development as some in Harrisburg are claiming. Expect the opposite from the Department of Community and Economic Development which has been working hand-in-hand with corporations like Amazon to fast-track projects and keep information from impacted communities. They should not be in charge of deciding what is reasonable for local data center ordinances – such things as setback distances from homes and schools or maximum allowable noise level levels.
All of these state representatives are on the ballot this year. Let’s see how they vote
I have felt since I came to Chester County that Great Valley School District doesn’t see all kids equally. And that includes the immigrant population.
They should. It’s a diverse community, just as we in Chester County are a diverse population. So blondie the principal should know better. But instead I feel she is ruling with a heavy, even petty hand.
I shared before the school stuperintendant’s recent love letter to parents:
This school district doesn’t treat everyone equally and they are thuggish. They are allowing a club that represents a lot of the negative these kids see, and we all see at this point. But they won’t consider other things?
These kids are upset and unnerved by this world. They see kids being separated from their parents in this terrifying era our country finds itself in. So imagine my disgust in reading the following missive from Dr. Seems Like a Hard Ass:
What. A. Bitch.
Let’s get real. Does anyone feel safe protesting these days? Nope. But these kids are feeling like they need to be heard. Why does this principal not get that? Why can’t she find a happy medium like Rustin High School did?
Rustin which is part of WCASD managed a student desired walk out with minimal fuss. They set boundaries and parameters and it was mostly ok. Ironically the “club” which is not about indoctrination that Great Valley just approved has a sister chapter over in West Chester Area School District. They didn’t like it that Rustin worked this out with students. Have a listen and note this post was public:
So I leave it there. I think Great Valley needs to do better. And in the end when a principal rules with an uneven and heavy hand, it doesn’t work so well, does it? Instead of ferreting out whom they deem “bad kids” maybe they should do a listening tour instead?
Great Valley isn’t so great these days.
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PS please note BS below and then tell me again which group is the greater danger?
I was sent photos this morning. Look at that claw reach into the house? She’ll be dust in no time. Or it might take them a while, because these historic stone houses were so well built.
I remember standing there with tears running down my face in front of the gates of La Ronda in Bryn Mawr as that was torn down years ago taking photos. Through the tears that day I had some amusement because her stone walls were so well built, it took time to tear them down.
This is so sad and heartbreaking. I am also told they are in that little field around back on this property and there’s a little spring house or something and there’s some kind of fencing there. Who knows if they’re putting the fencing up around the perimeter and who knows if the little springhouse will survive in the end, shall we start the odds on the tree out front?
RIP “Breeze Hill” at 400 Leopard Road. This house was constructed by Joseph W. Sharp for his younger sister, Rachel.
By 1857, Joseph was so successful in business that he had a imposing Victorian house built and thus the country estate “Hawthorne,” which has been restored and is located today at 521 Leopard Road in Berwyn, just down the street from Breeze Hill.
He was the first gentleman to commute from Berwyn into Philadelphia each day utilizing the newly-constructed “Main Line” train, and was a partner in what eventually became Hajoca Corporation, an early leader in the nascent indoor plumbing industry.
In 1865, Joseph married Sidney Serrill Bunting. Oral family history indicates that Sidney and Rachel did not get along well, so Joseph commenced the construction of Breeze Hill (so named for its location and the presence of a refreshing breeze during this non-air conditioned era) for Rachel some time before his wedding. As the home was on the Sharp family property, it didn’t receive its own separate deed when built, but was shown on Pennsylvania Railroad maps dating to 1873.
Rachel Sharp and other family members lived at Breeze Hill until 1888, when Joseph Sharp’s eldest daughter, Mary Bunting Sharp, married William Morris of Villanova in 1888, the young couple moved into Breeze Hill, where they lived until 1942.
Joseph Sharp and his wife subdivided Breeze Hill from their larger property and deeded it to their daughter for “$1 and her natural love and affection” in 1901, when it became legal for a married woman to own property in her own name in PA
To be fair, someone who has seen the plans for the new house I guess on Easttown’s website said that the little spring house will survive, but the garage which had been a stable will not. Now, if I was doing a new build on this site, I would actually see if an architect could incorporate the old stable section somehow into the new design- it could be accomplished.
I will also note again that I didn’t think the place was salvageable after the second fire. Especially with all of the time she stood open to the elements. Which couldn’t be helped because of the ensuing investigation. And that’s not pointing a finger at anyone. If you know anything about insurance work when it comes to arson, it takes a long time. If people add a public adjuster, it can take longer because that person is yet an additional layer.
I was a little surprised that the fencing came down yesterday and yet this started a little while ago. It’s a good thing no one tried to go in it while the fence was down overnight. I will also mention a certain wanna-be influencer posted about this house like they actually know from historic preservation with their McMansion mindset, which I found endlessly amusing, don’t you? But hey, for people like that it’s all about the clicks isn’t it? But oddly, I am told they did not allow comments on this post about an old house being torn down, which doesn’t even make any sense does it?
I hope the fire bug is happy. Yeah I know that’s a little obnoxious, but what happened here didn’t need to happen, did it? This was a historic asset and it was quirky and cool and it had lots of local history and now it’s just dust.
Yep, it is like a bad Lifetime TV movie, only it is real. I had heard about this at the beginning of the month at some point, only nothing came of it…until yesterday when NBC10’s Deanna Durante broke the story:
Dammmmmnnnn, it was fact, not fiction.
So let’s discuss: an elementary school age basketball team. 2nd grade I think? Like that is barely above pee wee. Were the bookies hot on these little people match ups or something? Do adults have so little control at kids’ games that it becomes this horrifying gaper delay watching scenario?
I am told the way this works for the Malvern Basketball League is you enter the league with an entire team. A lot of basketball recreation programs you enter just your child —pay the fee and then a coach is assigned to you. With Malvern, you pay the whole fee for a team of 10 and enter all the kids as one team. So are the “coaches” vetted like anyone else even volunteering in schools these days?
Her mugshot is total Elvira face. Who taught her to do lip liner like the crazy babysitter of one of my sister’s elementary school friends years ago? (Yeah seriously, this woman would do lipliner when driving kids around and it went everywhere.) Someone on X formerly known as Twitter had this to say about pops who is a financial services professional – “toupee should be charged seperately” , making this all the more ludicrous meets Lifetime insane and where’s his chapstick???
Oh and better yet? Her sister was one of those “alternative” code for cuckoo school board candidates in Tredyffrin Easttown School District – she was the blondie “diversity” candidate because yeah that is so diverse, right?
Overall I just can’t with these people. This was a second grade basketball game. So that is what? 7 and 8 year olds?
When I was growing up it was the ice skating moms who I thought were the worst. I had friends who were competitive skaters so I used to watch the momzillas in action over at the Humane Society in Ardmore. They were vicious. To each other, to their own kids, to other people’s kids. Then as we aged and friends had kids playing baseball and soccer –wowza. Then of course there were the high school ice hockey parents in recent past. I remember being embarrassed how my friend’s son’s high school team (and parents) were treated in Great Valley a few years ago.
Amazingly this happens – see Staten Island recently:
People wonder why kids fight and bully in school? Look at the fine examples being set by the adults? Anger management, fines, long and humbling community service, and no more youth sports for the win.
This story is not new. It has surfaced here and there, but there is possibly a court date next week it looks like.
Yeah ok, that is sadly not the only thing here. He was also a sergeant with East Whiteland Township Police Department as well as an elected official as a school board member for a few years in Octorara School District. He resigned from that position in April, 2025 not long after he retired from East Whiteland Police Department.
It is no secret that I do not believe serving PD member should be any kind of politician elsewhere. Maybe PD unions don’t say no, but maybe they should? I don’t think given the nature of both positions both can be done and well I am allowed that opinion, yes?
Initially there was a Pennsylvania State Police press or some sort of release 1/23/26:
That was just sort of a “holy cow, really?” thing to read. Mind boggling. Sad. Have I recorded PUBLIC meetings? Yes. But this was different. What is implied here and under investigation would be recording NON-public meetings. Executive session or pre-board or whatever and I know it happens, but utterly unexpected in this case to be honest.
So Goffredo the Superintendent who I have felt should be replaced back in the TikTok of it all is at it again. The TikTok of it all made international news. Essentially there was zero accountability on the part of the parents or offending students IMHO. Of course it is also my opinion that the teachers’ union should have been more supportive of the teachers talking to law enforcement, but hey can’t un-ring that homeroom bell, right?
In a time when our country is fraught with strife and anger and divisiveness and violence, Goffredo is allowing a club that is not some normal high school kids’ political club.
Let the not so subtley veiled attempts at indoctrination begin – the failed political Sabo duo want to “train” your kids and isn’t that special? If you have a problem with this: hcapetola@gvsd.org dgoffredo@gvsd.org jwexler@gvsd.org sotoole@gvsd.orgScreenshot
If this was a regular Republican or Democrat or even Independent or Libertarian political club, I personally wouldn’t give a damn. But this? This is something unlike all of the rest and well, even if in the end allowed, it puts forth a group think that is not actually peaceful or inclusive.
Someone commented on my blog’s Facebook page:
I recall similar groups throughout history who used to pass around flyers and recruit people. I think their activities were a little different but I’m sure the end goal is the same here. I don’t see this as a unifying club. Pretty clear how the language starts off with “Identify…” The only thing missing is a symbol and the letters. How about we start a club called “society” where EVERYONE is included and works together to find common ground and solutions that make sense rather than continuing to file every into Red or Blue and spreading hate while we all get fleeced by those in power.
Then of course we had these treasures who escaped from the echo chambers of hate:
Sigh…can’t even explain the difference between group and page to them, or point out their general ignorance. To not wish to live in the US when it feels like 1930s Germany with social media in the year of our country’s 250th anniversary is a very real feeling. Here we are loving our country, yet wondering why it has deserted her people in favor select factions, and yes this is a real feeling. Conflicted. Sad. Somewhat disgusted that freedom is only if you tow the party line.
So there is a school board meeting this evening. Great Valley School Board won’t do anything, honestly because I don’t know that they can or have the courage to do? However, they can get a new superintendent and exit Daniel F. Goffredo, Ed.D. and assistant superintendent Stephen O’Toole, Ed.D. (whose contract is up for renewal and is supposedly on agenda this evening?)
Below is the activities application which is tearing apart a high school….and community.
Oh and speaking of Great Valley? Kids upset with the new “club” who ripped down posters for it received detention and a fine? And rolling into this…
This “club” which does not have at it’s core an actual desire a real desire to embrace diversity of any sense of the word in a high school that does have a diverse population is really upsetting the KIDS. Not just parents. And the kids need to be taken into consideration here. Fair is fair and if that club gets a chance with this administration, why so punitive on kids upset about frozen feds everywhere? What is it that this school district doesn’t *get* about kids worrying that because of the shade of their skin or perhaps nationality that they will be safe going to school or going home from school?
Maybe Goffredo it is time to take your jackass self on out of this school district?
Today the bulldozers have arrived at 400 S. Leopard Road in Berwyn, Chester County and Easttown Township. We have been living this since the first fire in 2024. Charged with arson in one fire here is still Kathryn Calmus Frankel. She was charged in the new year with a dangerous fire in York County, PA. She was also charged with some sort of fire in Delaware County (Radnor Township.) I am uncertain as to which prison she is located in – I presume York County which is county of latest arson.
Frankel has not been tried in any of these cases as of yet, although I did notice this on the Delaware County, PA docket:
Is there a chance she pleads on all of these cases? Who knows. The media down here has not followed up and we haven’t heard anything out of the various District Attorneys’ offices about that have we?
I am so sad that this quirky old house is becoming something we will maybe remember for a while and then forget as ashes to ashes dust to dust…and we know a McMansion shall replace part of our Chester County history, but two brutal fires have killed this piece of history.
This is yet another reason why this country needs better mental health services.
Here is one more photo and then to follow current dockets from 3 counties and a couple of prior posts.
Bye house. You were once beautiful, quirky, and loved even by strangers driving by.
This whole billionaire is buying up a Main Line area village is disturbing, yet expected at the same time, isn’t it? Is it as simple as nothing says I’ve arrived like “I own you and all of this?”
Ok yes, slightly generalized and sarcastic but that is how this feels, doesn’t it?
Why Gladwyne village? Some might say “why not” but I honestly want to know why don’t you? To me, in my opinion, this doesn’t feel altruistic or having a love of historic structures. I can have that opinion, unless of course in this process the first amendment was purchased as well?
Doesn’t this feel more personal to you? I mean look, Jeff Yass, who is very much part of this is a self-made man of an extraordinary level? An impressive career and financial trajectory is undeniable. After all when you look up his Wikipedia page you see he was a guy from Queens, NY. Described as growing up in an average middle class family and now he’s the Sheriff of Yasswyne, err Gladwyne?
All snark aside, on its face it is impressive. BUT. And this is a big BUT. But why Gladwyne? Is it to be able to look out from what we grew up with as The Guard House, now part of the Union League Club to be able to wave and arm and declare ownership? I don’t have that answer only the little voice inside me says this is still not just about sprucing up a historically listed village, but most billionaires play things close to the vest don’t they? (Not actually a dig, it just makes sense.)
I don’t know that I like the idea of this all being bought up by a new entity who doesn’t seem to truly understand the history of Gladwyne or Gladwyne village. Or maybe it’s just I truly wonder do they care? Is this a passion project or an enormous exhibition of ego meets narcissism?
Things I really don’t like are the word of mouth and direct conversations with people who have been having land agents or realtors or whomever showing up unannounced and uninvited. Whomever these people or this person is, they are trying to chat people up to sell their property and why? They don’t seem to wish to disclose who they are representing and why? Is this deliberate vagueness? A question I have NOT heard asked is DO THEY HAVE SOLICITATION PERMITS FROM LOWER MERION?
What these smiley doorknockers are doing is door to door soliciting, so has the commissioner now representing Gladwyne actually looked into that matter? Shouldn’t he and shouldn’t Lower Merion? They aren’t exactly peddling Girl Scout cookies, after all.
In my opinion (again allowed to have) the more properties acquired means the project gets bigger. I found the house bought at the end of 2025 close to other acquired properties:
So this house is zoned residential, right? I guess then it has to be moved to like some kind of commercial zoning in order for it to be a viable part of the revamped village concept or whatever the hell they’re calling it?
When it comes to bending over for developers, the current director of building and planning at Lower Merion Township is an expert isn’t he? I mean, we all remember or some of us remember the days of eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore don’t worry?
I don’t trust Lower Merion Township. When Bob Duncan was head of Building and Planning you could always count on him doing the right thing, or at least giving you an honest answer, even if it was hard to hear. In my opinion, those days are long gone at far away. And then you look at the manager’s office – the guy formerly from West Chester Borough. He was at that job for 27 years until 2014. He is super development loving manager, look no further than the path he set for West Chester Borough, yes? So in my opinion, is he going to actually care about preserving the historic village center of Gladwyne, PA?
I don’t know enough about the composition of the current Board of Commissioners in Lower Merion to know if any of them really give a good goddamn about the Historic Village of Gladwyne being preserved and not turned into Peddlers Village do you? What I doknow is Lower Merion is prone to historically bad decisions. Look at the failed attempt at eminent domain for private gain years ago?
And for those who think houses can’t be torn down by subsequent owners? Remember La Ronda.
I grew up in Lower Merion and enjoyed it and loved the quirkiness of old Gladwyne. I laughed when with the presentation for the Yasswyne of it all people were ooohing over picnic tables. Why? Had they never visited the Gladwyne Lunch? Not new.
Again, adaptive reuse and restoration? Not a bad idea. But wobbly plans that seem too good to be true? Shall we contemplate they probably are? I’ve been looking at their plans and again no problem with restoration and adaptive reuse but there’s big question marks over the Walter Durham building that houses the pharmacy, etc. and it’s always been an awkward building.
That’s nothing new. I actually don’t think it’s worth saving as it doesn’t work. BUT what replaces it? This is listed historic district, correct? It can’t be too huge and average retail looking it has to be special. It has to fit with the historic district. Size and scale matters. Design matters and this is a historic village, it’s not a beige beige world with loads of stucco.
When you look at the back of the parking lot, which actually isn’t that expensive now you can’t help but wonder are those townhouses over that wall an eventual target of this “reimagining”?
And no matter what happens who protects the residential residents around this “reimagining” ? Why do I feel like the Civic Association isn’t doing much here? Are they afraid? Are they unsure? Are they ignoring it hoping it’ll all go away? And what about the commissioners, including the new guy in Gladwyne?
A wonderful piece of art on a building not owned by the current buyer uppers of the village
And other than the legal wrangling and wondering about commercial and residential deeds and commercial and residential zoning of it all, what about traffic and practical things? Like current traffic? The car rider lines for the Montessori school are no joke and even I have seen those over the years. And then there’s the car rider lines for the elementary school.
And parking. I think it’s a no secret that the Guard House doesn’t have sufficient parking right? So how do we know there will be sufficient parking for this proposed Shangri-La of a Main Line Peddlers Village?
I mean, come on wouldn’t that be better to start smaller and see how this all works? Restore and work with what they have and not tear down houses? or did they buy that house in December to put a business there? If so, what kind and where will the people park for that?
Should we ponder that this is about the soul, moral values of a community and what people want it to be in the future? Do these village purchasers actually want meaningful input from the community or are they paying the community lip service just to get what they want? Come on now, don’t act surprised that I said that because developers do that all of the time, don’t they?
I have written before that there’s a whole history here. That history should neither be ignored nor denied. One of the problems overall on the Main Line in general as newcomers have moved in is they’re there for the lore not the reality. You have all the funny bullshit of what the Main Line is supposed to represent and a lot of. It’s just realtor marketing, take Malvern, which isn’t actually the Main Line but every time you turn around somebody is saying it is.
The village of Gladwyne I first saw as a kid wasn’t perfect. It was quirky, it was old, it was historic, and it was kind of awesome. It still is kind of awesome and it doesn’t need to be tarted up, just spruced up and restored a little bit better.
But nothing is going to happen if concerned residents don’t get off of their behinds and start going to commissioners meetings. Every resident in that municipality has a right to public privilege of the floor as they call it. There is a section set aside for that for non-agenda items at every commissioners meeting. There is also public comment on agenda items, should any of these things about the village of Gladwyne come up on the agendas.
I have noticed that the Township of Lower Merion offers Zoom. I don’t know that they offer comment on Zoom but residents can ask. People can keep up with the agendas and things that have been filed that are loaded on the website as well.
Years ago, the then director of building and planning also often used to have specific mailing list for specific issues within the township. I don’t know if they still do that. But again, I do know that residents can’t depend on the civic or going to those civic association meetings alone. People have to go to the township meetings, when they can in person, an alternatively on Zoom. The residents need to speak for themselves.
But people should be polite. And I know it can be difficult when you’re dealing with a municipality and you don’t feel like you’re being heard. But taxes pay for those bureaucrats, etc., remember that.
It’s not hard to organize, but the people of Gladwyne have to want this for themselves. Because if they roll over now, no matter what happens they’re going to end up with stuff they’re not happy with because they did not participate.
These are just my opinions and observations. In my opinion on the specialist of Gladwyne, as in the village has lived in me since I was a kid. It does not have to be super expensive and overpriced. It just has to be nice. Gladwyne used to be a bit more inclusive.
At the end of the day, I’m also concerned because I have seen what random development does and I’ve seen it in Gladwyne in other parts of the 19035.
