It’s no secret I have been following the plight of Jackie Schaffer for a couple of years now.
It seems to me that people are starting to believe her, and by people I mean, law-enforcement, and more. Do you see that above? That’s a police report.
I think Chester County needs to do the right thing with this messy enchilada at this point don’t you? And do we really think that someone who is guilty of doing something wrong with keep at it, and keep talking about this until people above Chester County started paying attention?
I don’t.
It’s a wild tale of bad checks (not hers, see screenshots below), crazy trails of court dockets and so much more.
This is a mother of an adult disadvantaged son, who is dependent upon her because he can’t live by himself. So if she is fighting for her life, and that of her child. And I think that a mother will do anything to protect her child especially when something wrong is happening don’t you agree?
Deed fraud is nothing new. Except you know, they seem to act like it only happens in underserved neighborhoods in major metropolitan cities like Philadelphia.
Deed fraud happens. Period. Jackie has a Facebook group called Chester County Property Rights. Anyway, I think this is really gaining traction. 
They say where there is smoke, there is fire. She followed the smoke and I think this dumpster fire in Chester County is going to blow up sooner rather than later.
I don’t know Jackie. I hope to meet her someday and give her a big hug and shake her hand. 
That moment when you post something that is a sad truism today (screenshot to follow this paragraph) and you get a comment that makes you laugh out loud (bottom of post screenshot.)
So it is “rich” that this guy thinks being an asshat with his comment makes him think that he appears smart.
He don’t even know what he’s talking about.
This mansplaining man child is actually BLAMING people who stand up to development or complain about development for housing prices. He actually thinks smaller lot development + lots more infill development = affordable housing. Actually all THAT is = to is a developer’s wet wanky dream because to them it = more development. They don’t care about affordability, only the money that they can make off of a development before they move onto the next community crushing development.
I guess that’s what is called pretzel logic economics.
I mean I guess it would be convenient and totally trendy beige man to blame the evil blogher for real estate prices but it’s just not realistic, is it? I mean gosh that would make me the oracle and wow I almost spit out my coffee when I read the comment.
Communities would welcome houses that were actually affordable, and we’re not even talking Section 8 subsidized housing, we’re talking about starter homes for young couples that moved back to an area where they were raised, or change of life housing for those who are older, who want to stay in the communities where they raised their families but wish to downsize.
But all we get in our communities is the BS the developers want shoved down our throats. Apartment buildings, condos, townhouses what I have called cram plans for over 20 years.
I actually had a realtor say in response to that guy’s comment that new construction is not the answer, that they are not sure what the answer is at this point.
Then you had the realtor who was taking an online marketing course recently probably because he had to say prices only go up in areas that are desirable. Has he looked at real estate everywhere? It doesn’t matter where it’s located. The prices are utterly ridiculous.
If you want to know partially why this is happening, check out this video before Mr. Mansplain’s screenshot:
I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I don’t pretend to necessarily have any of the answers except in Pennsylvania. I will honestly say, if state legislators got off their asses and updated the Municipalities Planning Code it would probably help.
Our communities are under siege. It’s either development or speculative and predatory real estate investors and it’s driving the people that used to make up the place we call home further and further out of the area. And this is happening everywhere. It’s even happening on the Main Line.
One of the things I first noticed when I moved to Chester County was a lot of the people I knew growing up on the Main Line, who I thought were super nice were living out here. They had moved to escape the infill development on the Main Line and what it brought with it.
But this march, this assault on our communities, no matter where we live, is not abating. It’s also not sustainable, so then what?
But please don’t present me with pretzel logic economics while I’m drinking my coffee. It’s really not fair and it ruins a perfectly good espresso.
Ciao for now. I hope you have enjoyed this episode of pretzel logic economics meets mansplaning Friday. 
A friend of mine reached out to me today to tell me a funny story. It’s the story of a very odd woman, whom I do not know, who was all concerned about how a 12-year-old no-name-know-nothing-practically invisible 6th district congressional candidate did in the primary.
First of all, no one knew his name before Election Day (and I forgot it again already), and second of all no one else is running. This was the only warm body that the Chesco GOP could dig up.
Sadly, it really is a day for the stupidity of politics.
So this silly woman was all concerned that I was “against” this candidate and someone she knew was campaigning for this candidate. So this woman said she had to check to see the election results and does no one understand how a primary works?
Even more to the point, I wouldn’t get too lathered about Pennsylvania’s lackluster primary because I think around here the voter turnout was some thing in the pathetic area of like an average of 29% statewide regardless of party. In Philadelphia, turn out was about 18%.
Back to a primary day election and what happens.
If you were a Democrat, you chose your Democrats, if you bothered to vote at all. The exact same scenario was wash, rinse, and repeat on the other side for the Republicans. Not particularly exciting although I fear that we will all be tortured straight through to November with the ridiculous MAGA ads like the one currently running seemingly every five minutes and wow can you imagine the good they could do with that money instead of wasting it on propping up Donnie?
And I seriously think that someday HBO will do a series on this some day like they have twice on Robert Durst. Sociopaths, psychopaths, politicians and narcissists make great TV.
Now do I feel that the Republican Committee of Chester County is once more fielding a bunch of sub par candidates? Yes I do. Especially “PA Women in Red” which sounds like an ad for Tampons and/or a supplement with a free T-shirt for menopausal women. ( Hmmm maybe it’s appropriate after all? )
But guess what? What I thought personally was utterly immaterial with the primary this week. The only thing you can do in the primary is vote for people within your own political persuasion.
Now a sad truth is in Pennsylvania , the majority of people of both political persuasions once again didn’t even bother to get off their lazy asses and go vote so I don’t even know why we’re having this conversation, except we need to have this conversation because apathy and misinformation seem to make the world go round in politics.
This fall, unless if for some strange reason, one of these trials against him, has any real effect on the political process, we are looking at the second coming of Humpty Dumpty Trumpty. He’s been all over the news recently for his various court appearances, and I think also for his really bad spray tans lately.
But it doesn’t matter what anyone espouses about the upcoming general election/presidential election in November if you don’t actually vote.
This coming November is very important if you like your rights as an American citizen. And the reason that is important is because if you vote for Trump, he’s someone who doesn’t care about the United States Constitution. He only cares about his crazy dictatorship dreams. As far as he’s concerned, rules are for other people. And he doesn’t actually do anything for anyone other than himself and never has and that is the thing that is the most fascinating about the Cult of Trump.
And Trump is like a cult leader. All these people worship at the altar of a man who’s never actually done anything for them, and probably never will. The common woman and man who worship Trump need a civics class and a refresher course on the history of how and WHY our nation was founded, and an actual copy of the US Constitution.
Now I know by now, all these people are ballyhooing moi, because I have dared talk about their Comb Over Messiah. Tough noogies. He is a charlatan and always has been. He treated this country like a personal piggy bank, and did a lot more damage than good, much like he has treated his own businesses.
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA Senior Writer PUBLISHED MARCH 2, 2024 6:00AM (EST)
Trump is and always will be a malignant narcissist and charlatan. He has single-handedly destroyed, the Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln.
If people vote for him again, and if he gets reelected, we are getting the government we deserve. And it is that simple.
Women in his world are not supposed to have rights, and basically anyone who disagrees with him is also not supposed to have rights. So if that’s the world you want to live in, by all means vote for Donnie Douche again.
Politics is a giant shell game of BS when it comes down to it. I am thoroughly disgusted, yet fascinated by all of it. And I will vote for a better America, not the Stepford kingdom that lives in Donald Trump’s twisted mind.
You don’t have to like me, love me, or anything as a blogger. But you will not tell me how to think as a woman.
At the end of the day, it’s pretty damn simple: our forefathers fought and bled and died for our rights. Voting for anyone in the party of Trump runs counter to that and those are not the people who want to respect the rights of Americans, regardless of race, creed, color, sexual identification, etc.
And again, one of the biggest issues facing this election, will be a woman’s right to choose. And that also is simple. What it comes down to is it doesn’t matter what each of us feel as individuals, what matters is, what any woman chooses to do with her own body is her business. None of us have a right to dictate what to do. This election we need to take this off the table once and for all. Men in judicial robes, clerical robes, and political snakeskins should not have the right to tell any woman what to do with her body. And other women should also not be telling other women what to do with their bodies.
As Americans, we should want peace back in our country. And peace means getting rid of the Cult of Donald, straight down to state and local races.
As Americans we should also simply want better candidates and political representation regardless of political persuasion. I would truthfully welcome some actual real Republicans because our country was designed on a two party system for balance, and we have no true balance.
The politics of extremism are ruining this country.
I also feel that the Chester County Republican Committee with all of their frivolous “Trumped up” litigation about absentee ballots and whatever else they dream up in a fugue state, should be paying court and whatever other costs the citizens of Chester County incur because the county has to defend it all.
And finally I still think the Chester County Democratic Committee needs better, more effective leadership.
So I hope that clears it up for the misinformed. And this post is not the Beatles White Album and there are no secret messages if you read it backwards standing on one foot or something.
I opened with that snippet from the Lower Merion School District meeting.
Why?
Because it has sent off a tsunami of social media speculation. I can’t resist and I have to memorialize some of it. It’s fascinating.
When I started seeing things appear on social media yesterday, I actually reached out to Natural Lands. They told me what was appearing on Facebook wasn’t true. I have no reason to doubt them. Because if Lower Merion School District is in the middle of a delicate transaction, no one might know anything yet.
They actually responded on social media:
I’m going with nothing to see here with Oakwell until there is actually something to see. Large real estate transactions, especially when you’re talking about hopefully a preservationist can be quite delicate, so in my opinion it’s time to put the egos aside and sit on the gotcha moments for now.
Like I said, sometimes the side show is more interesting than the circus. What is gained out of this game of gotcha?
Soooo the most recent West Vincent Township Supervisors’ meeting was a study in old school West Vincent crazy.
You can pretty much always count on West Vincent Township to bring the absolute freaking #crazy.
A resident at end of meeting was making public comment, NOT making a threat. See 2:01:30 of recording below (unless of course it magically disappears) – the West Vincent solicitor accuses a resident of making THREATS. That’s crazy. He was expressing his opinion that perhaps made someone UNCOMFORTABLE but it was not a threat and yeah Colonel Sanders the Solicitor WAS out of order IMHO.
And Colonel Sanders the Solicitor might not like my opinion either but perhaps he needs to freshen up his knowledge of the United States Constitution, in particular the First Amendment.
Now maybe the resident could have chosen words differently but to me what he was saying is as he listens to the petty back and forth in West Vincent Township, that there are bigger problems in the world and people are dying overseas. To be honest, that has little to do with what is happening in West Vincent Township, but that was his public comment. It wasn’t a threat, it was a bit of a word salad, but it was opinion. And that gentleman lived that overseas in the Middle East and is owed an apology by the township.
You can’t just threaten residents. You can steer them to stay on track for what is going on in the municipality, but you don’t threaten them and then say he was threatening the township. He wasn’t.
Once again it’s obvious that West Vincent needs another solicitor, isn’t it?
Then there is the whole thing about stormwater management. So what’s the deal with 1352 Shady Lane and pardon the pun there is something shady going on there? And their neighbors are their stormwater management plan?
And then the plastics bans and paper vs. plastic and the harvesting of tuna which was off topic to an extent, yet that was also not a threat….it was opinion. And then the guy who brought Richard Nixon to the meeting.
Oy just oy. What’s next tractor tipping in a certain field? Oh wait….never mind that already happened didn’t it?
Sign this post everything old is suddenly very new again in West Vincent. Or the more things change the more things stay the same.
Is there a fire on the floor or in the hearth because it looks like Mrs. Puddle Duck the Executive Disaster of Historic Harriton House built that on the floor? One would have thought she would’ve learned how to lay the fire by now? But then at her inaugural meeting 2 years the fire department came, right?
I am finally off of their mailing list but I have been told by people I know that they continue to send out letters for money etc. How long has it been since the rental property at 500 Harriton Rd. has been rented? They had it listed originally for $5000 a month which really made me laugh out loud. It has been empty since September 2023. So that means rent was last collected in September? The rent last paid by a tenant was $3000 a month so how do they justify the hike?
They had a wonderful tenant whom they gave the bum’s rush to and will they say why? I know that this person was probably the best tenant they had had since my friend’s sister and her husband rented it years ago, with another friend of mine in between. This most recent tenant whom I know? I provided an enthusiastic reference for them when the former executive director was there….but that was when Harriton still felt like Harriton….sigh.
I have to wonder if they fixed all the things that needed fixing in this property? It’s a very old building so things need maintenance and repair.
Listed for rent now for $4500 a month? Please don’t misunderstand me, it’s a charming rental, but it’s not worth what the ask is currently and it’s quirky. And I wonder what the realtor is getting as a rental commission because his mom is on the board of Harriton House yes?
So the Zillow listing has like 96 photos which is odd for a rental listing, or real estate listing in general. One of the photos on the Zillow listing gave me pause, because it shows there’s a problem with the inside ceiling, and this is a very important historic asset in Lower Merion Township. Is that wood rot? Rot from a leak? Is the roof okay?
Zoom in to the left to see some of the most obvious damage
Of course, my other thing I wonder about the attic is did they fix the missing panes of glass up there because there had been a couple of panes missing for years.
Also they don’t mention that this place has no air conditioning or a garage. And it’s a shared basement in a sense with the original historic part of the house, and that basement floods.
But the biggest question is how can the rental have the address of 506 Harriton Road when it’s attached to the historic home which is 500 Harriton Road? 506 was the address attached to the office and education center, so how does that work exactly?
So there’s this developer who presented the same plan about developing affordable (“attainable”) housing to West Goshen like the day before they made a pitch to West Chester Borough.
And again in West Chester Borough, it’s a developer drooling after that Church Street lot where the West Chester Growers Market is. One of the longest standing and truly wonderful farmers markets in our region, and they’re threatening it again. What is it about the church street lot that makes every developer have to have it ?
Also interesting about this other than the fact that the in my opinion back door presentation was done the day before West Chester Borough in West Goshen. Very interesting that both municipalities share the same solicitor, right? That’s kind of a coincidence that really isn’t, isn’t it?
So yeah, this developer is shopping. This idea all over the place correct? Give them the land they’ll build you supposed affordable housing. I have a bridge I can sell you.
And I know the solicitor isn’t going to like my opinion because they haven’t liked my opinion for years, have they? But the one thing they can’t remove are our constitutional rights to have an opinion and ask questions, correct?
And they said West Chester Borough has to make a decision in four days? Four days for a life, altering decision for residents, and one of the oldest farmers markets in the area? Most reasonably intelligent elected officials would walk away from such a proposition, but who knows what will happen with the Borough of West Chester, because that place is perennially slightly shady about stuff, right?
This is not about truly building affordable housing. This is just another way for developers to get projects built.
Look no local government should be assisting a developer with financing, correct? In the end is this all just to support the developers and those developers support?
And regarding the numbers of “needed” units, no one has asked them to produce the data that lead them to that number, have they?
If West Chester Borough or West Goshen really needs/wants “accessible housing” then apply for the state funding to do it . Or get a 3rd party 501c3, like SELF Inc. purchase an appropriate spot and create housing – same BS is happening in Montgomery County and Bucks too.
Supposedly, there are West Chester Borough Council meetings this week. Their website isn’t very good but I know this will be discussed, and people are entitled to public comment. People should check the agendas carefully because this is also something that would have had to have been properly advertised ahead of time, and have you seen it properly advertised anywhere? 
I will close this post with another snippet from the West Chester meeting this week. Listen and decide for yourselves. If I lived in West Chester Borough, I would get all my friends and neighbors at every public meeting this week to protest this. if I was running the West Chester Growers Market, I would be consulting with attorneys to make sure rights were protected, can’t you agree?
HT to West Goshen Sunshine for alerting all of us to this latest episode of stupidity by West Chester Borough.
Once again West Chester Borough is trying to develop the parking lot at Church and Chestnut for a fake “attainable” housing development and destroy the West Chester Growers Market? And I can tell you that I believe development there wouldn’t either be “attainable“ or affordable. In my humble opinion, it would just be another hot mess for this over developed town.
Presentation and discussion at 1:03. Assholes. And yes I just said that. Out loud.
Go to 1:03
It’s like literally every few years they have to have some latest greatest stupid development plan to destroy one of the regions most established and well respected farmers markets, and the neighborhood where it’s held.
The Borough of West Chester doesn’t need more development they can’t handle what they already have.
While the market may not bring huge revenue, tall buildings or more parking spaces to the Borough of West Chester, they do bring something of great importance:
COMMUNITY.
Please if you live in the borough, contact your borough representative and ask them to consider these factors as they make their decision:
This market hosts 2000+ people every Summer Saturday
They provide a sense of community, where neighbors talk to neighbors
Their market acts as a drawing card to downtown businesses. Customers frequently shop there after leaving the market.
If the lot is developed, there is a chance that the Growers Market will no longer be able to serve the community.
So please, if you value the sense of community and supporting the local farm fresh foods that our market has brought to West Chester, contact your borough representative and tell them what the market means to you.
The Borough Manager’s phone number is: 610-344-3346. His name is Sean Metrick. He came from the Borough of Narberth, and he should know better.
Even if you don’t live in the Borough, but if you patronize the West Chester Growers Market or work in the borough or have friends in the borough I urge you to contact West Chester ASAP.
Tell them the numbers of “needed” units is wrong, ask them to produce the data that lead them to that number. They have to prove that this isn’t just to support developers etc.
Somewhere along the line we have to start saying no, and meaning it for development that is removing things that are integral to our communities.
I don’t know why West Chester Borough seems to think this is a good idea every few years but it’s time for people to stand up now and stop this before it goes further.
This is not about affordable housing. This is about some developer getting a project and making money. This is about coin. Nothing more, nothing less and I can have that opinion.
So the other night was a meeting of the West Whiteland historic commission. (Zoom link HERE.)
On the April 8th, 2024 agenda is this planned development that will literally destroy a small neighborhood on Old Phoenixville Pike . It is the plan for the 20 Schiffer Farm acres that are 15 in West Whiteland and 5 in East Goshen. It’s on their agenda because there’s a historic asset being discussed.
Discussing the historic asset is in the purview of the West Whiteland historic commission. The chair opining obnoxiously about the neighbors is definitely not.
At around the 32:00 minute meeting mark, this man calls concerned neighbors “whiners” and denigrates and mocks them. At around 38:20 minute mark again mocking residents about not having them pick a street name. Boaty McBoat face? I have to ask is that code for he’s an asshat ?
I don’t know this guy. But if that’s the attitude he takes about the residents and he’s in a volunteer appointed position serving a municipality, perhaps he should step down, because if this isn’t a clear-cut example of conduct unbecoming in an elected or appointed official, and he’s an appointed official I don’t know what is, do you?
Audio segment showing jerky boy behavior beginning at 3:04 or so…just press play.
Of course, this meeting was very interesting to me because other things fell into place. I noticed on the corner of the plans being shown to the township, the name of the engineering firm.
And I wonder, is it just coincidence that this is the same engineering firm where I had to block someone on LinkedIn for comments on my timeline since I started talking about development here and off West King Road? It was kind of obnoxious comments and mansplaining that I had chosen to ignore on things I had posted or shared until today when I decided I didn’t invite this man, so I blocked him.
As an amusing also maybe related fact, I’ve had at least three other people from Howell Engineering studying me. LinkedIn tells you who has been playing peek a boo. I just never knew this was in the job category of engineers? I wonder if they are the ones that showed up at my friend’s back deck incorrectly surveying his property as part of Schiffer farm a couple months ago maybe?
So it’s painfully obvious that this whole situation concerning those poor beleaguered residents and their lovely neighborhood on Old Phoenixville Pike is just going to be ugly until it’s settled.
But the guy from the historic commission, and it sounds like the guy who basically started the meeting who research indicates is the chair, was out of line. His job is history. His job is not opining on what kind of a development this is and how it will affect or not affect the neighbors and it begs the question is this guy a realtor? If so, when he’s sitting on the historic commission in West Whiteland, he needs to take his realtor had off and leave only his history hat on. And if he can’t be polite and professional, when referring to residents in the township he is supposed to be serving then he needs to sit down, shut up, and get off any commissions in West Whiteland, doesn’t he?
I personally find this recording of this meeting beyond disappointing. And the reason I say that is, this is a historic commission that until this point, I actually held in high regard. They seemed much more proactive than a lot of other historic commissions, and they’ve done some really good work. BUT for all the good work they do, any member being obnoxious about the residents they are supposed to be serving to the best of their volunteer ability takes it all away.
This guy needs to apologize to those neighbors. He’s not in their shoes, he has no idea how they feel and if he can only mock fellow residents then he should step down from the historic commission.
As a matter of fact, officials at West Whiteland Township need to look into that. This is not acceptable behavior. He can say it’s a joke, but this is where these people live. Essentially, if this development gets built, it will destroy this entire neighborhood. People will potentially lose equity in their homes when a development comes rolling through their teeny weenie, narrow street.
The residents in this neighborhood on Old Phoenixville Pike, and the neighboring streets love where they live. They are fighting for their survival and rights much like other small neighborhoods all over.
This whole thing is very uncomfortable, especially for the people who will be most directly impacted. And it’s really disheartening when as residents they are just starting to go to meetings in some cases for the first time ever since they moved into the township to learn about what their rights are, and what this plan will do and how they will be impacted, and then they’re basically put down by this guy on the historic commission.
And what made it even worse is there’s a supervisor who is the liaison to the historic commission. This supervisor should have politely corrected him about not mocking residents who are also HER constituents. I did not hear her say anything in defense of those poor residents.
The strange tale of development behind Old Phoenixville Pike continues.
