I think this is BS. Influencers do things for themselves. They don’t do things for your business …..and any of these people? These lame people are NOT how I judge where I’m going to dine…..
Save your money.
lame
Monthly Archives: April 2025
oh radnor
Sometimes when I have appointments down on the Main Line, I go back via Radnor Street Road to check on the Wayne Natatorium sign. The reason I do that is I actually do not trust Radnor Township to maintain it even though it’s a state historical marker. And I am the reason it’s there.
But as I was going through today, I noticed that the parking lot that is at the corner of Willow Avenue and Radnor Street Road for Cowan Field was magically FedEx parking.
Funny thing about that lot is it supposed to be permit parking only or if you’re using the park. I can tell you that there was no one in the park when I drove by.
So is FedEx renting parking spaces from Radnor Township? I didn’t see anything like hang tags that would make one think there’s a parking permit involved.
I did have a giggle over this because when I had come through Wayne earlier, I noticed the stealth parking enforcement fairies’ van roaming around so they could hand out tickets. I guess they don’t go all the way over into Little Chicago?
Of course, I also noticed there were plenty of cars parked around Little Chicago in places that aren’t actually legal.
But hey, that’s Radnor Township at its best: inconsistent.
Isn’t this part of Jack Larkin’s ward? He’s still the Ward 1 Commissioner, right?
Anyway, I hope these FedEx trucks have legal permits because otherwise it’s pretty crappy to get chased around by the parking enforcement fairies and there’s a double standard right?
god don’t like ugly, villanova.
For years, you hear these stories some of them make the papers and some of them don’t. Sexual assault and rape on Villanova’s campus.
And no, I’m not making it up.
And then there was this other thing that showed up in USA Today in 2022.
Sara Ganim Special to USA TODAY
June 2, 2022
A student at Villanova University who reported allegations of sexual misconduct was asked to sign a form that prevented her from sharing evidence of the case with almost anyone, even her parents. Violating the terms could have affected the outcome of the school’s investigation into what happened….At York College of Pennsylvania, one student said he was threatened with academic discipline for telling his story on a podcast, violating a nondisclosure agreement that said he couldn’t discuss his allegations, even though he didn’t name the student he accused of rape.
So this week, the news broke that the guy that videotaped the woman being sexually assaulted most recently at Villanova was still walking for graduation with the rest of his class. It resulted in an uproar as it should have.
If you’ve ever been a victim of any level of sexual assault, one of the things that you face is being re-victimized.
And it’s one of those things where this guy did something really really wrong. He’s not in jail, but it doesn’t mean that his life returns to normal as he finishes college.
by VICTOR FIORILLO· 4/7/2025, 10:31 a.m.
A Villanova University student who was sexually assaulted in a Villanova dorm room in 2022 is demanding that a student who was present for the assault and videotaped the incident not walk at graduation this May, according to the victim’s attorney.
At the beginning of the academic year in 2022, Villanova student Elijah Katzenell sexually assaulted the student in Katzenell’s dorm room. He did so while she appeared to be unconscious. It was the start of the woman’s sophomore year.
Villanova University Sexual Assault Victim Speaks Out For First Time
“Villanova must be held accountable,” she demands. “Not just in this moment, but always.”
by VICTOR FIORILLO· 4/9/2025, 1:03 p.m.
Here is a link to where to find Victor Fiorello’s articles:
https://www.phillymag.com/tag/villanova/
Today someone made a comment on my blog‘s Facebook page. And it just sort of made me stop not because I think they’re a bad person but because I think they don’t get it. This is what they said:
Villanova is a Catholic university , you would think the standards would be higher
Why would anyone think they had higher standards because they’re Catholic? I’m Catholic and I don’t think that matters a hill of beans to a lot of these schools even if they are Catholic.
I feel is the Catholic Church continually covers things up. Look at all the coverups of sexual abuse on the part of priests. Why do we think this is any different at Villanova? The university is run by Augustinians and they’re like money focused aren’t they?
Now the super Catholics are getting on my case, about my opinion on Villanova and sexual assaults. All of those people need to revisit the Clery Act and how that came to be.
Time to revisit the Clery Act Villanova University
https://www.clerycenter.org/the-clery-act
And I have never thought Villanova does enough. And I have all sorts of questions.
This stuff with Villanova University is everything and part of the problem is this is not the first time young women have been assaulted on this campus over the years is it? Things the media needs to look at include:
✅How is Villanova recording and reporting these incidents?
✅Are victims encouraged to go to the hospital and get rape kits after a sexual assault or just to go to the health center?
✅The health center should be a reporter of crimes like this to law enforcement not merely campus security, but are they?
Even their own student body is concerned. 
It’s time for Villanova to really step up. I was speaking with a friend yesterday, whose daughter had been interested in the university and my friend and her husband have decided they don’t want her even looking at the school. and I know a lot of people are talking about this.
I’m sure Villanova alumni are circling the wagons because they have very dedicated alumni. And that’s great, but this is where the alumni need to stand up. And if they have to, they need to put their money where their mouth is and get Villanova to really change their ways.
I realize there’s only so much that a school can control, but they need to do better here. Students need to feel safe on campus, and God forbid something happens. They need to feel safe, reporting it.
I honestly have to say to any student out there that if something happens, you hit 911 you don’t just call Villanova security. You get real police on campus to help you.
And so we’re clear, Villanova did not tell Juan Eguiguren he wasn’t walking, Juan Eguiguren decided on his own. That means Villanova did nothing. That means Villanova‘s in the less than zero category when it comes to sexual assault of students and the aftermath.
Apparently, Villanova students are protesting the university and their behavior here this coming Saturday, which is also accepted students day. That’s a big message for the university. I’m waiting for the school to try to do something to bully the students into not protesting.
Villanova wants to tell students what it takes to be a good Catholic, I think they need to start by leading by example don’t you?
Have a good evening everyone and here are some other assorted links to follow.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=2950225
https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3416536&page=1
https://www.phillymag.com/news/2025/04/09/villanova-protest-juan-eguiguren-sexual/
https://6abc.com/villanova-university-sexual-assault-sex-crimes-on-campus/10388104/
https://issuu.com/thevillanovan/docs/the_villanovan___volume_112__issue_6_-wednesday_
reliving evil spying laptops in lower merion school district.
Wow. I think I will have to actually watch this twice to catch it all but I just finished Spy High. It’s well worth watching and it’s not just because although I had no kids in Lower Merion School district when this occurred, I was still living there. Some of my friends were right in the middle of this and I knew people who had kids in the high schools then.
This was in general a crazy time then. Friends of mine in Ardmore were also fighting redistricting. And the redistricting was insane. Literally they were spreading out minority students. And then of course there was this whole walk zone thing that affected the kids who walked from different places in Ardmore to Lower Merion High School. I swear some of the streets on the “no no” list were literally added because some residents didn’t want kids walking around their neighborhood….even going to school.
So yeah, I wrote about evil spying laptops when it was happening and after the fact. It was one of the creepier things that Lower Merion School District has ever done, and well it’s a long list for creepy things that the school district has done over time. What price first class, right?
So where to begin ? This one random day a man contacts me about the laptop scandal in Lower Merion. He was working on a documentary series about this.
Initially, he kind of wanted to talk to me and maybe did I want to be interviewed since I had blogged about it a lot ? I said thank you for asking, but I didn’t think it would be appropriate because I didn’t have kids in the school district back then I just had friends involved in the issue. And I also no longer lived in Lower Merion. So I offered to connect him to my friends.
So guess what? That was Jody McVeigh-Schultz… the director of “Spy High.” Life is just very random sometimes.
I realize that a lot of people don’t like bloggers and they don’t like me as a blogger in particular, so that was a definite factor as well in me saying no I shouldn’t be interviewed. And it’s not my story personally to be part of and it’s not just the story of Blake Robbins, who was one of the named defendants in one of the lawsuits and a part of this series.
There were a lot of victims in this and I’m glad this series is out now and I hope it’s so many people watch it because Lower Merion School District kind of made this go away in my opinion. The phrase swept this under the rug comes to mind….
There’s one person in particular whom I am glad finally got to tell his story. And he’s the young man whom my friend Lynn (who is also in the series) is very fond of and really good friends with his mother, June. His name is Keron Williams. And also another young man named Jalil Hasan. They both shine through in this series with quiet grace and dignity.
You see, the story always had the Robbins family kind of at the center of it and it’s not just about them. I don’t know them, and after watching this entire series, I am reminded once again at the inequity within this issue even within the financial settlements. How is it that the white student got so much more money than the black students? Especially when you think about the fact that at one of the black students had the same lawyer as the white student?
I have to be honest that the series made me sad as good as it was because you see how kids lost part of their childhood with this. And how this affected their families and community as well.
One thing I was really pleased to see in the series is in my opinion how visually uncomfortable the lawyer for Lower Merion School District was while being interviewed. And of course, Lower Merion School District wanted no parts of being interviewed for this.
I’m not a fan of Lower Merion School District. I have not been for a very long time. There was what I experienced my brief time there at Welsh Valley before going to Shipley, and then there’s just all the crap that they have pulled and tried to pull over the years.
Welsh Valley was really an eye-opening experience as to the mentality of the school district and a lot of the kids. I might be almost 61, but I can still see in my mind‘s eye the penultimate mean girls strolling down the halls in their crotch-splitting tight jeans and Candies flipping their crimped hair. I also will say I don’t think their middle-aged selves are particularly different from their young teen selves at that point. But they were the first ones that taught me that I really was strong and during those years, I did make some wonderful friends I have to this day.
I never understood in the first place why the Lower Merion School District thought it was OK to turn on the cameras. I mean if other Apple products like your phone can be located via a find my phone app, why couldn’t something like that have been used as extra security? Why the cameras? How would turning on a camera tell them where a lost laptop actually was? Did they think it was going to give a screenshot of a street name? 
And what happened to all the thousands of images that existed but disappeared? It is still seriously like they were stalking their own student body? Kids who never did anything wrong were deeply affected, and on certain levels permanently affected by this.
Other things I find astounding are the people still employed by Lower Merion School District who were part of this scandal and debacle who continued with employment by the district after this, some of whom are still employed today by the district? After this went down and the settlements were paid out these people should’ve no longer been working for the school district, yet there they are.
I will admit I was not only sad at the end of this, but I had many mixed emotions watching the entire four parts of the documentary series. Public schools are supposed to look out for the greater good of the students, but are they really doing that any longer, or is it just one big exercise in cover their ass which is kind of what I think happened here in the end.
If you get Amazon Prime I hope you take the time to stream Spy High. And to Lower Merion School District I simply ask what’s it like having the cameras turned on you?
OK, I am going to give you links to some of the past articles on this as well as the current coverage.
Thanks for stopping by.
https://time.com/7275031/spy-high-true-story-prime-video/#
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/spy-high-tv-review-2025
https://people.com/spy-high-docuseries-inside-teen-webcam-surveillance-case-11701579
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/610k-settlement-in-school-webcam-spy-case/
https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news20100416_1_000s_of_Web_cam_images__suit_says.html
https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/breaking/20100419_Lower_Merion_details_Web_cam_scope.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/20/us-school-accused-laptops-spying
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/19/laptop.suit/index.html
https://www.cato.org/blog/how-broadly-did-school-laptops-spy
https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2010/04/philadelphia-area_school_distr_1.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8523807.stm
https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/s/kILo80KUhg
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/02/school_laptop_spying_case_prob.html
really? haters is the best excuse out there?
So this post seeks clarity. Above is straight from the PA Department of State Bureau of Charities Charities Enforcement and Disciplinary Actions. You can look it up yourself. Search FarmerJawn squished together like that. Once in another life, I knew someone who in their other life was an investigator for the Bureau of Charities. This is what they do, they check things out.
See that notice above? That is when they received the letter from the IRS for tax exempt status. If you read the letter, the effective date was mid-2021.
Let that sink in. This has been for a few years. Around this time last year we woke up one day to the news that the Westtown location we knew for 30+ years as Pete’s Produce etc. on Westtown’s campus had been vandalized with hateful and disgusting graffiti.
What is interesting is this news report says that BEFORE the graffiti there had been other vandalism, but correct me if I am wrong (please) that there were no security cameras or trail cameras anywhere? I am guessing if I recall what was said somewhere after these incidents that now they do have cameras? I am glad they do because this criminal behavior is terrible, right? BUT to date these cases of graffiti and vandalism go unsolved, don’t they? And that is a great police department too (WEGO.)
https://www.phillyvoice.com/farmer-jawn-swastika-vandalism-antisemitism-west-chester
After these incidents, subsequent months featured pop up events under the theme of “Only Love Grows”. Interestingly, a lot of the events were not held in Westtown, but other places like Historic Maplewood Mall.…in Germantown.
So a lot of events are off site. She claims people have made her feel unwelcome in Chester County, so maybe one reason is her events seem more often than not elsewhere? As in other than all those lovely acres in Westtown? Take the free egg give away recently….in New York City no less?
Free eggs? New Yorkers wait in line for hours for chance at a dozen eggs
NBC4 NY FarmerJawn was giving away free eggs Friday morning at various locations in New York City By The Associated Press • Published March 21, 2025 • Updated on March 22, 2025 at 10:49 am
And her newly minted interview with desperately seeking relevance, Christina Pirello (used to have or maybe still has a TV cooking show), just days before the cease and desist thing broke interviewed her in Elkins Park. At least it looked like something was being grown on the handful of acres she “farms” over there, right?
Why not give out free eggs at the farm store she got to walk into over at Westtown? Why not show Christina Pirello Westtown too?
So first came Axios which most of us then noticed because of Vista today.
https://vista.today/2025/04/farmerjawn-cease-and-desist-register
https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2025/03/31/farmerjawn-nonprofit-charity-taxes-pennsylvania
Then came the Philadelphia Inquirer article. The reporter I have no issue with but she is part of features/food from what I can tell so we can assume the publicist placed this article?
Part of FarmerJawn lost its nonprofit status. Founder Christa Barfield says the organization’s charitable work continues.
“We’re community-oriented every way you look at it, and no one can ever doubt that,” Barfield said.
by Jenn Ladd
Published April 3, 2025, 10:49 a.m. ET
Next the Glenside Local picked this up.
Next came public chatter and a fair amount of it. People all over talking about it. I wrote about it.
Then comes the stunning public reel thing someone sent me:
That was sent with this screenshot to prove this was public and available for a re-mix:
Lets talk about this: if you ever question anything you are a hater or a racist, correct? And all the flurry of media? Isn’t it more like she talks when she wants something? Also there is still the whole 501(c)(3) of it all on her website and the donation link is still up:
And there is still a live GoFundMe as of the publishing of this post :
But hey, that is not active fundraising right?
And she gets defensive over her business entities being legally registered. Here they are and nice deflection, and no one said they weren’t registered:
FarmerJawn also had health department inspection issues last year. They were resolved, but they happened. So she says somewhere recently she’s letting people use the kitchen over there? I guess that means no more issues, right?
This fauxmer has gotten lots of support and money from all sorts of avenues. A James Beard award, and was briefly it seems a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier. That was for the tea company? Is she still a member?
She talks about keeping employees paid all the time? Has she really? Including all of the time in Elkins Park, as well as the stores she once had at 6730 Germantown Avenue? And what about that wellness spa Mae Bell or whatever from when was that? 2023? (And that wasn’t supposed to be at 6730 Germantown but close by?
Last May, I was attacked viciously online and off for questioning the grant of it all because among other things, the grant application had used that Germantown Avenue address and wasn’t that an odd thing as she no longer was a tenant there, correct?
I and others have been labeled “haters” and “racists” for questioning this from jump. What they always neglect to mention is I have never had an issue with her purported mission.
Also of no 501(c)(3) at present why does her Linktree go to her donation page? Do they have to be called other than donations if 501(c)(3) is not active?
I support supporting local farmers of all kinds and do.
I support dealing with food insecurity issues which is why I support local food banks when I can especially in helping get the word out. So yeah, if her mission statement was more than words at this point, I would be thrilled because there are so many people in need and we live in a world where so many of us have lived on the edge of not being able to be even self supporting.
I am also a big believer in things like community gardens and I think in today’s world having what used to be called victory gardens is a good thing because face it, the US is on the precipice of disaster, which of course will cause a whole other category of haters to rise up because I said that.
I am also not only a supporter of women and minorities in farming, but horticulture as well. Why? Because they are universal things that benefit us all as human beings, right?
I am wondering if the Westtown ought to consider at this point getting a real farmer, not merely a person who checks idealistic or ideological boxes on those acres? The other conversation now should maybe be in the landowner’s failure to supervise and the land’s future? Westtown has not said much of ANYTHING since they approved her to lease the land, have they? So we don’t actually know what they are thinking and how they feel, correct? Can we trust Westtown to keep these acres farmed in perpetuity? Aren’t there still other farmers interested?
And let’s talk about getting the organic status. I have no issue with that and neither does anyone I have ever spoken with. The only detractor is it is honestly expensive to accomplish this. BUT one thing I have never understood is why she didn’t really plant anything much the past couple of years in Westtown? I asked farmers (including female) who told me the land at Pete’s was in good shape and and apparently you can farm land going organic but you can’t sell the produce those years as organic so why didn’t she plant more? And last year (2024) as per a 2023 Daily Local article, 63 acres was supposed to be planted? Did that happen?
FarmerJawn Agriculture is bringing organic farming to the 128-acre Westtown School property at 1225 E. Street Road, along Route 926, where farmer Pete Flynn once grew crops.
For the current growing season, FarmerJawn, more precisely CEO Christa Barfield, is farming two acres, and stewarding most of the school’s farmland. She is letting most of the land sit fallow, for this, her first growing season.
FarmerJawn will only raise crops organically. For fruits, vegetable and herbs to be certified organic by the USDA, the land must be chemical free for three years.
FarmerJawn has big plans for 2024; Barfield intends to grow and harvest on 63 acres. Although the crops won’t be certified organic by the USDA, the harvest will be chemical free.
~https://www.dailylocal.com/2023/10/27/farmerjawn-organic-offerings-growing-at-westtown-school/
During a 2022 Daily Local article it was stated:
Effective Jan. 1, organic farming is coming to Westtown School.
The Quaker pre-K-12, coed, day and boarding school has tapped Philadelphia’s Christa Barfield to farm 123 acres of the school’s 600 acres. She will farm organically, through an unconventional model.
Barfield is replacing long-time Westtown farmer Pete Flynn who retired in October.
How many of those objectives have been met? Again, where is Westtown School on this?
And again, for the record, what she claimed she wanted to do here is NOT a bad thing, but what has she actually accomplished vis-à-vis FARMING? Where is the food coming from that she sells and doesn’t grow? Pete and other markets will tell you who they bought apples from etc.
The problem is there has been a lot of talk and a lot of plans and a lot of spin courtesy of a publicist but what is going on? Other than events etc. off site from 1225 E. Street Road? Have all five acres on that Elkins estate been consistently farmed?
https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/christa-barfield-philadelphia
And the media flurry this time? She ranges between influencer behavior and hiding, but can it be she simply likes to control the narrative which is human?
Now in 2022, she was eligible for a $50,000 grant by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for Urban Infrastructure for Agriculture. That was a reimbursement grant so did she get that money in the end?
In an interview in 2024 for an online thing called technical.ly she talked about irrigation troubles in Westtown among lots of other things.
So the thing about Pete Flynn from Pete’s Produce? Did that actually happen? Now being new to Chester County can be hard for anyone, not just because of race. Being new in any community once you hit a certain age is hard. But it doesn’t sound like the Pete Flynn most talk about does it?
And that whole thing about the landlord issues in Elkins Park where she once had greenhouses?
So according to Resolve Philly (article embedded above):
Things are looking up for Christa Barfield, owner of Farmer Jawn Agriculture, who faced many hardships this past year. In April, Barfield made a big decision to move out of her old space in Elkins Park after facing landlord problems and the destruction of her crops. One month ago, she launched a new crowdfunding campaign to move the organization onto the Elkins Estate.
“I’m not interested in a farm that’s over an hour away from Philadelphia,” says Barfield, about the importance of the location. “I want it to be accessible, simple, and easy for people to go.”At 1760 Ashbourne Road, the Elkins Estate is a three-minute drive and a 12-minute walk from the Philadelphia borderline on Cheltenham Avenue.
Mmmmkay so if she didn’t want to be on a farm over an hour away from Philadelphia, she comes to Westtown?
Philadelphia Eater had an article in 2021 about the whole greenhouse thing and move to the Elkins Estate:
FarmerJawn’s Christa Barfield Left Her Philly Elkins Park Greenhouses. Where Will She Go Next? – Eater Philly
Ok that I can maybe comprehend. A bad landlord and not prepared? That is a learning curve. But then the store at 6730 Germantown Avenue? Poof? It’s gone and what about the tea business? And the garden supply store that next went into 6730 Germantown Ave? And then the spa thing close by that was talked about?
Grid Philly did a big article in 2022 that also filled in more blanks:
154 March 2022/All Topics/Community/Farming/Food
FarmerJawn is breaking new ground with dirt, grit and optimism
by Nic Esposito
February 28, 2022
You can read the whole article on their website. So look, I get that setbacks happen etc., but maybe the reality is that this is a woman who talks a good game and has good ideas, but really can’t execute them?
Too much too soon?
in 2023 PA Eats did a profile:
2023 is Going to Be a Huge Year for FarmerJawn
by Emily Kovach
OK so Westtown chose her for 123 acres when she had been farming less than 5 years?
No words.
So this is kind of a messed up thing with messy problems, right?
So maybe every time she opens her mouth she shouldn’t essentially intimate that if you aren’t like her, you’re bad?
So maybe any time people question what’s going on, she shouldn’t obliquely or overtly play the race card or the sexism card?
So maybe she just doesn’t have the experience plain and simple?
We can have great ideas but in life you can’t always fake it until you make it.
Fox 29 covered her again at the end of February. Here’s a snippet:
To hear the whole interview: https://www.fox29.com/video/1600231
She gets good press. She should, as again she is that rare bird who calls herself a farmer and has a publicist. But the proof is in the pudding. Maybe it’s time to tell the truth and shame the devil as some old people I once knew used to say?
There are just too many questions. And they can’t all be fobbed off as comments from haters, correct?
What will be the future at Westtown?
Will Westtown ever talk about it?
Right now this is all still something I am skeptical of. And after going through her placed media coverage for the past couple of years, a lot of the issues at a minimum come down to a lack of experience. Some will say how can you get experience except to dive right in? Ok right, except we’re talking how many acres of land mostly in Westtown? Perhaps it’s just too much?
It’s time for straight answers. If she doesn’t she runs the risk of hurting the goals she claims to have and the people, all of the people. who are trying to support her.
Will FarmerJawn survive? Will FarmerJawn survive in Westtown? Is this all still too much the Emperor’s New Clothes?
Time will tell.
Sign me, still not a believer and I am allowed. And no, I still have no desire to meet her. Her interviews, when granted, speak volumes. I will however still support local farmers as I always have done. I believe in that. And I also actually love being in Chester County.
Have a good night.
influencing #winning ?
Yeah, what he said. The brave New World of Meta is showing us things we wouldn’t look at unless they forced it on us. These are things we aren’t actually even interested in, but they think we should be interested in.
This includes the two geniuses that think it’s a great idea to make your dinner in your kitchen sinks. But of course, these are also the two geniuses who are then seen cleaning their toilets by stuffing it full of rolls of toilet paper and covering it with cheap kitchen sink detergent, and I don’t know what happened because I couldn’t watch that to the end. And then there was the Thanksgiving turkey prepped in the toilet, but I digress.
These ding- a-lings have a compatriot or kindred spirit who makes pasta fresh out of dried spaghetti. Because apparently wherever she lives, they don’t sell flour at the grocery store.
And these women for being domestic stupidity experts have millions, yes millions of viewers. Talk about the dumbing down of America.
Coming from Italian heritage both of these things are actually offensive to watch. And I doubt very much that Blondie with her super gelled fingernails learned how to make pasta out of dried pasta in Italy. Nor does Velveeta go in actual Italian pasta dishes.
Madonna santa!
But this, like flat Hal faced Easter Bunny costumes, gets clicks. And it’s just so freaking stupid. These women should be embarrassed, but they’re not, they’re counting their clicks on Facebook to buoy their virtual lives.
I will note I did not intentionally click on either of these videos. I was scrolling through my feed and it’s part of the things that just sort of pop up like my husband will ask me why are you playing that and I’m like I’m not playing anything deliberately I was scrolling past things on Facebook and Instagram.
Anyway, I just figured I would post my disgust of these two examples of “cooking.” and help them get more click bait.
Except they’re not cooking.
Ciao for now.
a new jawn and more questions, right? what does westtown school say? rodale institute? james beard?
Yeah that. Talk about taking the boring out of Wednesday AKA “hump day”, right? Is this to be filed under emperor’s new clothes does a strip tease and enters burlesque phase?
Oh wait, am I being bitchy? Gosh I am sorry Allow me to share these little articles:
https://vista.today/2025/04/farmerjawn-cease-and-desist-register
https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2025/03/31/farmerjawn-nonprofit-charity-taxes-pennsylvania
Mar 31, 2025 –News
Axios Scoop: FarmerJawn nonprofit hit with cease-and-desist
Well a few days ago this popped up:
Just last year:
Also recently? Rodale Institute put her on their board:
In 2021/2022 she got non-profit status from the IRS:
So today when I went to the IRS site to look up Farmer Jawn I found:
Ok READ IT. It says:
Organizations whose federal tax exempt status was automatically revoked for not filing a Form 990-series return or notice for three consecutive years. Important note: Just because an organization appears on this list, it does not mean the organization is currently revoked, as they may have been reinstated.
Exemption Type: 501(c)(3)
Exemption Reinstatement Date:
Revocation Date: 05-15-2024
Revocation Posting Date: 08-12-2024
Then looked up on PA Charity search thingy and the only thing on there :
You she’s in Westtown, right? Chester County, right? So why in the hell does everything still say 6730 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119? She rented that space and there is a spa there that has zero as in ziltch to do with her, correct? Which makes one question this little nugget from today’s news:
Separately, Barfield and her company, LifeLeaf Organic Farms, owe the state more than $6,300 in unpaid sales taxes and penalties, per a lien filed against her Germantown Avenue property in March by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.
People have been noticing a whole lot of nothing at Westtown so what gives?
What about all that grant money Congresswoman Houlahan allocated last year? Where is it and how much was spent?
And whatever happened with that horrible graffiti case from last year? (Note “Police tell Axios the case hasn’t been solved.”)
So the Fauxmer has been busy giving away free eggs including in New York, which is right down 926 from Westtown, right?
Now so we are CLEAR: I applaud efforts like this to educate and reduce food insecurity. I support local and regional farmers.
But I have questioned this woman ever since she started posing on tractors at Westtown. And it was never because she replaced Pete’s Produce. Pete retired, and that dog still don’t hunt.
Every time I have questioned anything here I am abused essentially and called a racist. This has never had anything to do with race. It has been about right and wrong. Like another wrong is she always talks about URBAN farming and well, Westtown ain’t urban…but then technically she’s not fauxmering in Westtown yet, right?
I expect her publicist (because all glamour fauxmers have publicists, right?) will be putting out something soon right? Either to address it or deflect? Are both she and the land lying fallow? Inquiring minds want to know!
Whatever. I am sure I will somehow be blamed for this news although I hadn’t a clue until a little while ago. This sure makes thing interesting and wouldn’t you LOVE to be a fly on the wall with James Beard , Rodale, and Westtown School about now? Does she actually pay rent to Westtown School?
It’s truly jawning news to me.
https://vista.today/2025/04/farmerjawn-cease-and-desist-register
Now, I end with new farmers to me we can support in Chester County:
https://www.theedgefarms.com/about.html
The Edge Farms (Chester Springs and Glenmoore):
Next for old favorites for me:
And Thornbury farm:
Sugartown Strawberries:
https://sugartownstrawberries.com
https://www.phoenixvillefarmersmarket.org
sometimes orphaned railroad structures just need to go.
Yesterday I threw up a post about a problem in East Whiteland with an orphaned railroad bridge/underpass. It was once part of the West Chester Railroad. The structure is dated 1915 and I’m posting photos that a neighbor to this structure took today.
It’s kind of obvious what’s happening. It’s falling apart and it’s dangerous and it needs to come down. Not everything can be saved, not everything should be saved.
Here’s hoping Chester County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania can look beyond their collective navels and assist East Whiteland here .
I would say it was safe to assume that time is of the essence here and people need to pay attention to the fact that this road is closed with good reason. Today, people have a habit of ignoring police barricades and road closed signs.
Yesterday‘s post by me is at the bottom, and this is one of these things that well a local paper used to write about. But who knows what they let our local paper write about most of the time.
Please avoid Ravine Road in East Whiteland and this specifically is why it’s closed. And please don’t start some big thing about “Oh we need to save this structure.” No, we don’t. It’s dangerous. It needs to come down.
Thanks for stopping by.
abandoned railroad overpasses, underpasses, bridges: always a problem. this time in east whiteland.
So Ravine Road in East Whiteland, which runs between W. King Rd. and Phoenixville Pike has been closed since March 23rd. The reason it’s closed is because of one of the lovely abandoned railroad structures that dot our land landscape in Chester County.
And every time there’s an issue with an underpass, an overpass or a bridge or a tunnel or anything having to do with what the railroad used to be, municipalities have to figure out what to do when there are problems. I do believe this is what East Whiteland is facing right now.
Engineers are assessing this overpass thing that was built in 1915. It periodically gets hit, periodically sheds pieces of crumbling concrete. There’s nothing running above it now as far as a train and ownership of course is always a question. It used to be part of the West Chester Railroad I do not believe that Immaculata owns it and I really don’t believe that East Whiteland owns it. I think it is straight up abandoned, but now because it’s straight up abandoned and falling apart, who takes care of it??
In my humble opinion, this is where the state and county could be of more assistance.
A couple people I know are digging into this for me. I don’t know if they’ll come up with any answers, but in the meantime, an East Whiteland Township road is closed.
This is not on any historic bridge inventory that I can find although technically it probably is because the dates to 1915. But is it anything special? Can we just take the top off of it so East Whiteland stops having structural issues? But if you take the top off of it, you have to cap the sides and deal with making sure water doesn’t undermine it right?
From HistoricBridges.org;
Bridge Documentation
This bridge is a reinforced concrete slab overpass of short length. It has pipe railings. The date of construction is cast into the side of the superstructure. The superstructure rests on concrete abutments. It is part of the old West Chester Railroad, which is long-abandoned in this section, with this bridge being a rare reminder of what used to be. A preservation group still maintains a different section of this line.
On their 10 point scale of historic value, it’s a one as in 1. So most do not consider it much of a historic asset. I personally like this the least of the three underpasses you go through on this road. I’ve taken lots of photos over the years, but mostly I take photos of the ones down near Phoenixville Pike.
Now many moons ago, Immaculata had a train station on her campus. A few years ago, there was a study to try to recreate it. It’s not happening. I was told that back then by the outgoing general manager of SEPTA before Leslie Richards came in. (Of course, at the time no one believed me. But hello it’s 2025 and it didn’t go anywhere did it? Just more wasted study money.)
This was someone I had known since he had been an engineer fairly high up in septa. He had always been really helpful and responsive to community things. I met him when I had written about the Wayne train station and flooding off of the tracks and a big drainage pipe that had no grate on it- it is so big that kids and dogs could get into etc. He had read what I had written and in the end the Wayne train station in Radnor Township got some much needed stormwater management underneath the parking lot when they redid it. And then a simple yet effective grate was placed over a concrete drainage tube on the Pennsylvania Avenue side, which of course dissuaded dogs and kids.
And before COVID when I asked about a station again at Immaculata he told me that realistically, we weren’t going to see a train station revived at Immaculata because there was one in Malvern and it was already taking long enough to get past Malvern to the stations west of Malvern . Then there was the fact that Immaculata didn’t really want a train station with the public parking on their campus for that, because hello it poses a safety concern, doesn’t it? I thought maybe since they put the money into the study they would look at oh I don’t know putting a train station somewhere over around 3 Tun Rd., but nothing ever happened and then Covid happened.
Now this Ravine Road underpass/railroad bridge or whatever I believe, belongs to exactly no one. And what that means realistically is getting it dealt with is going to be a monumental pain in the ass for East Whiteland. I think it would behoove Chester County and the state to help them out with this.
So until it gets figured out the road is closed. You may not use Ravine Road in East Whiteland.
And as I have said multiple times before, not just in this post, there are structures like this all over our region and they need to be better documented. And I get really tired of the abandoned of it all when there are existing railroads which could help us with the costs of dealing with these things.
And having to do with the April Fool’s at all? There are so many gullible people. Where do you think I’m going?
Byee!
time to say goodbye, bitches…
All my haters will get what they want on April Fool’s Day: I am shutting down Chester County Ramblings. So sick 🤢 of the obnoxious idiots with zero boundaries.
So goodbye bitches, I will be henceforth taking up booze bingo with the hoi polloi!
I leave you to the emoji laden narcissists , gaslighters, and their AI. Maybe I will instead start sending out emails about asking for free stuff if I mention it.
Maybe I will take up gaslighting like crocheting.
The possibilities are endless in fact.
Maybe maybe maybe…
Just not today, babies.
It’s just for April Fool’s,
Teaching unadults they need to be schooled.
You don’t have to like it,
I don’t give a good god damn.
It’s just fun to school some,
And pop them back in their cans.
So next time some wish a big exposé,
Perhaps they should look in the mirror and wonder,
What if it was them today?
Now I know I am not a poet, but I didn’t use AI to show it.
Perhaps just a wee enigma wrapped in a riddle,
Yanking your chains just a little.
Maybe it doesn’t actually matter what I write,
It’s just Pavlov’s theory applied to blogging?
Maybe it’s time for those who don’t to take a flogging?
Oh wait is that too mean?
Was it all just a dream?
We may never know except on April Fool’s Day some of you are rather slow!
Ta ta for now!
PS but the booze bingo? It’s a real thing in Thorndale apparently….
