Chester County, like her neighboring counties used to be a farming seat. Acres and acres of fields as far as the eyes could see. Cows, horses, sheep. The landscape dotted with old barns and farmhouses. Sounds of fields, being plowed, or crops being brought in, and more.
Dairy farms were a big part of Chester County. Now all we have for the most part are memories of the farms that used to exist before development and before developers drove up land prices, making farmers unable to keep their land for future generations, like their fathers and grandfathers before them.
Now, for the most part, the memories we have are of those great dairy farms large and small are old glass milk bottles. I have little pint sized ones on my kitchen windowsill. I use them to root plants and hold flowers.
I really don’t think that government and politicians no matter what political persuasion really value farming anymore. Just like in Pennsylvania I don’t think they value the way we want our communities to look, as opposed to being stampeded and trampled by new development that feels like it arrives every minute of the day.
What once was hangs on in little memories like when you come across the little bottles. Here’s hoping people eventually wake up before all is lost. Yes, we do need some development, like it, or not for us to move forward. But there is simply too much of it. It has become a problem. It is destroying us.
Remember those fresh vegetables you love do not grow on the roof of Whole Foods in Exton, nor do cows and horses and sheep and goats and more graze there.
I just posted about the Oaklands Estate Tenant Farm House after driving by a couple of days ago. I said in that post, I feared it would just be torn down. I didn’t know. Now I know that it’s actually true I am going to say that out loud.
A bit after I posted my post, some of the family that used to live in that beautiful farmhouse posted some photos. Of a pool refurbished in 2021 and things like that. The house had huge beautiful gardens and a wonderful library in the house. It was a home, a much loved home.
The refurbished pool around 2021
1-28-1950 .. looking down Whitford Rd towards the house
1-28-1950 in front of the barn looking west on Rt 30
Some McIlvaine family members were living on site until they had to leave after the sale. They have been kind enough to give me these photos to show all of you.
Our farm sign selling milk. I still have all the Oakland’s farm milk containers. My granddad started selling turkeys too.
I get that a car dealership probably doesn’t care about an old farmhouse but we in Chester County should care about our old farmhouses, and I want the memories to survive through photos. The descriptions on the photos have been provided by a family member and I would like to thank Shane McIlvaine in for sharing his precious memories. And these are precious memories for these people.
My Grandad in the middle with his brothers at a farm show in the 50’s – Shane McIlvaine
But when estates have to be settled and there are a bunch of relatives involved, properties sometimes have to be sold. And given the absolute insanity of the real estate market and how developers on a quest to play PAC MAN and gobble up land all over, it makes it hard for individuals to compete to try to save these properties, let alone family members who want to hang on to familial homesteads and be able to afford to buy out other family members.
Shane McIlvaine : “ this was closing day last spring… My final picture at the house. Couldn’t believe they still wanted to buy it since it had 4ft of water in the basement. I have pictures of the property in all its stages dating back to 1707 and kept all the old farm equipment. Storing it across Rt30 at the main house and barn (Oakland’s farm). We still sell honey here!”
So when someone else asked Shane McIlvaine about the situation, we all learned some interesting information and the reality of the damage overdevelopment does over time:
“I moved out last year when we sold it to Exton Nissan. The chimney never caught on fire…it was an electrical fire from a poor stucco job exposing a wire…Even though I had just recently refinished the pool, the property was slowly sinking into the wetlands because of surrounding development. It needed hundreds of thousands in repairs. Decided it was time to go when yellow jackets were discovered within the entire back wall of the home. In the 70’s it never flooded and it had a useable pasture for farm animals.…Brand new pool put in 2021. It does make me a bit sad since it had been in the family since the 1700’s. My grandmother lived in the guest house and was the owner. When she recently passed her estate was divided, and I couldn’t afford to buy everyone out of their share of the acreage.”
Property around the farm house 1950s
The house and/or the spring house is sinking slowly into wetlands because of surrounding development. That old phrase you hear about water seeking it’s own level strikes me as apropos in a sad way. This is a real cost of over-development, which sadly is somethings the West Whiteland corridor has plenty of. Water no longer has anywhere to go because of all of the development. And with climate change and increasingly obnoxious weather patterns, where we never had flooding, we have flooding.
And if there was more open space, water would have a place to go. They can engineer stormwater basins and whatnot all they want, but it doesn’t really replace old fashioned open space with room for water to go.
Back to death of a farmhouse….
So Shane McIlvaine is the nephew of former State Representative Barbara McIlvaine Smith who was also Vice President of West Chester Borough Council once upon a time. Shane’s father was her older brother. His dad passed away in 2012, so his aunt became the Executrix.
Other information: Shane McIlvaine has the original deed, William Penn land grant paperwork, and some pictures of the farm workers from long ago.
Let that sink in: this is yet another property that was a William Penn land grant being destroyed for development. (Yes, that is my opinion that too much land, too many farmhouses, farms, open space, etc are being destroyed.) Lloyd Farm in Caln is also crumbling by the minute, was a William Penn land grant. Our history of Chester County, of Pennsylvania, of this very country is lbeing destroyed and for what?
1-28-1950 ..corner of Whitford Rd & Rt 30 looking down at that house
If you look at other countries like the one we spring from originally, England, they value their heritage. In this country, it’s super sad but we do not. Not all of us, but too many decision makers for sure in Harrisburg, for example.
So maybe, just maybe if state representatives and state senators could get off their collective political asses in Harrisburg and do their jobs, which includes updating the Municipalities Planning Code comprehensively to protect the constituency they are supposed to serve as opposed to special interests, that would be awesome. And it’s not all of the state representatives and state senators, but there are so many that are in with all sorts of obvious that they forget whom they’re there to serve.
So hypothetically, speaking, maybe if the Municipalities Planning Code had been updated, there might not be so much development in West Whiteland, and this farmhouse and William Penn Land grant remainder would be worth maybe saving?
We all need to do better. We can’t keep standing idly by as our very history disappears.
Here in Chester County we keep losing what makes this county special. Farms, land, open space, history. We loose it with every devil of a development project we don’t really need – you know like that warehouse development project being discussed at present in Uwchlan Township? Or any of the apartment and townhouse developments we don’t actually need more of in a county once known for farms and open space. It’s all bullshit being shoved at residents as the latest and greatest until it’s not. And it’s not.
I don’t think any bells can be unrung here with this historic farmhouse that’s part of a historic William Penn land grant. That actually upsets me. To follow in screenshots is all the West Whiteland stuff talking about the demolition execution timeline.
One last comment from Shane McIlvaine about all of this development. It makes me sad. He literally has been someone in a farming family who has grown up watching farms disappear. Imagine what he has seen. Chester County has lost so much. When will it stop?
“ It is sad. In the early 90’s when my Grandad and his brothers sold the 300 or so acres between Whitford and Rt100 (becoming Waterloo Blvd and a bunch of condos), I knew it was all downhill for Exton as peaceful farmland. A few yrs later Waterloo gardens sold to a developer when the matriarch of the Le’Bouttlier family passed and that property had to be split between siblings. So will go every other last chunk of Chester County land. Honey Brook is the next target for developers. Our other family farm called Springton Manor towards that direction was sold as well but partially preserved luckily.”
So Kristine Howard only won her State Rep re-election because her opponent was a cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs candidate who is even less qualified as a politician as she is, and because face it 2022 was the lesser of two evils election, wasn’t it? The woman who ran against her, was literally such a bad candidate that even Republicans voted for Kristine Howard.
Howard now wants to run for JUDGE. I mean, it would be a nice salary bump wouldn’t it? According to published media reports judges serve 10 years and the salary is supposedly$197, 119, so that is like more than double what she makes now, right?
There are a lot of Democrats who want to be judge this year, especially off of County Row in Chester County, correct? And then there are some running who are Magisterial District Justices and they haven’t even finished their terms yet, correct? Sorry, not sorry, I kind of have a problem with that. If you haven’t completed the initial task you were originally elected to, why should we consider you for judge?
Nice salary – that photo is the one from her first campaign.
And I think Kristine Howard is one of the worst offenders because I’m still trying to figure out what it is exactly she has actually done for us since she was first elected aren’t you? She doesn’t support the people whose lives have been damaged and ruined by the pipelines, does she? She’s not someone you see around unless she’s running. Like she showed up this week at the rededication of the Malvern Historical Commission and opened her mouth for a few seconds. Good thing a public photo op was posted. It’s like proof of life that this State Rep exists.
With this state rep photos are always the subject of some amusement where she’s concerned because when she ran for her first race, the photo was like 15 years old. Literally people didn’t know who she was at first because she was not out much and she didn’t have current campaign photos. I totally get liking certain photos of yourself over others but people literally didn’t recognize her when they actually met her for the first time.
So now Kristine Howard wants to run for judge, so she actually showed her face at something local.
She seems to hide from her constituency, and her staff is not particularly helpful, because there are so many people who have said so. I’ve never contacted her office personally, because when she abandoned her constituents harmed by pipelines, I was kind of done. I mean that was a pretty basic need to just be heard on the part of her constituents affected by pipelines before you get to all the other issues, and she couldn’t even do that.
And is she qualified to be a judge? It doesn’t appear as if she has ever had time in a courtroom does it? So, maybe if she was running for Magisterial District Justice? It would be different, but she’s running for Superior Court, and if you don’t have the chops, you don’t have the chops. And I don’t think she has the chops. I think she just wants this because it’s more money and job security for a decade.
It’s like that quote out of the movie Working Girl in 1988 when Joan Cusack’s character Cyn says:
“ Sometimes I sing and dance around the house in my underwear. Doesn’t make me Madonna. Never will.”
~ Cyn, Working Girl 1988
I wasn’t even going to write about this until I saw that the good state rep was doing her proverbial kissing babies public appearance things. But it needs to be discussed. She has not done an adequate job as our elected state representative and now she wants to be a judge? We can’t see that she has any actual courtroom experience, but now she wants to be a judge? So is being a judge job security, and then a platform for running for something else?
Mar 21, 2023 1:31 pm EDT | Updated Mar 22, 2023 9:23 pm EDT
MALVERN, PA – State Rep. Kristine Howard announced Tuesday her candidacy for a judgeship on the Chester County bench.
Howard is serving her third term representing District-167, which consists of Malvern borough and Charlestown, East Whiteland, West Pikeland, West Whiteland, West Vincent and East Caln townships.
There are five vacancies on the 12-judge bench.
So far, 12 candidates have announced they are running in the May primary for a 10-year term serving the residents of Chester County. Judges earn an annual salary of $197,119.
Howard, a lawyer, is serving her third, two-year term as a Democratic legislator after being reelected in November.
” My work as a legislator gives voters a clear picture of the perspective I will bring to the bench,” Howard said in announcing her candidacy. “I have an extensive voting record and have written and published my opinions on many topics.”
Howard of East Whiteland Township said her decision to run for the judge was not easy, noting she loves her job as a lawmaker, a job which provides the public with her position on issues impacting the resident of Pennsylvania…..According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Howard and Judge Nicole Forzato are running on the Democratic ticket. The other 10 candidates cross-filed on both Republican and Democratic tickets.
They are Dave Black, Andy Rongaus, District Attorney Deb Ryan, P.J. Redmond, Don Kohler, Sheriff Fredda D. Maddox, Thomas McCabe, Judge Lou Mincarelli, Sarah Black, and District Judge Paige Simmons.
Her work as a legislator. Good to know she’s working right? Because it has been hard to tell and you rarely hear her actual voice. She’s pretty much invisible to her constituency as an elected official unless it’s a photo op for something.
Also look at who submitted that photo in the opening screenshot I captured from the Patch article which is really not an article but a press release? Isn’t that the guy who is supposedly both her political handler and fancy man? And you’ve seen him show up on campaign finance reports getting paid? If she was a judge, who would be the voice you heard adjudicating from the bench, him or her? What would he get out of her being judge?
Kristine Howard is also someone who always appears completely ill at ease speaking in public, and being a judge is a pretty public thing day in and day out, so how would she cope?
Then there is her LinkedIn. Again, you don’t see actual courtroom experience. You see that she has a law degree, but when someone is running for judge at this level, having a law degree isn’t enough, you need actual experience.
Running for judge of Common Please Court, is a big deal. And the Chester County Democrats did NOT endorse her either. Of course, that begs a different conversation of is the bloom off of the rose with her in Chester County?
Chester County Democrats Choose State and County-wide Candidates for Party Endorsement
West Chester, PA. (February 16, 2023) – The Chester County Democratic Committee (CCDC) has selected candidates for endorsement for the 2023 Primary Election at its annual Endorsement Convention, held virtually on Wednesday evening.
Chairwoman Charlotte Valyo stressed the importance of the endorsement process, especially given cross-filing Republicans expected on the May 16 Democratic Primary Election ballot for non-political races. She also noted the recent election successes of Democratic candidates across the county, leading to several very competitive primary races.
Valyo stated “The Chester County Democratic Committee has successfully endorsed a full slate of candidates to run for Judicial and County seats in the 2023 election. The Democratic slate is representative of Chester County, the candidates are highly qualified, and will continue the Democrats’ record of governing responsibly for all Chester County residents.”
For state-wide races, the Committee endorsed Dan McCaffery for State Supreme Court; Jill Beck, Esq., and Judge Timika Lane for Superior Court; and Judge Matt Wolf for Commonwealth Court.
The Committee was proud to unanimously endorse incumbent Chester County Commissioners Josh Maxwell and Marian Moskowitz, along with incumbent Prothonotary Debbie Bookman. Current Register of Wills Michele Vaughn was also endorsed, although not unanimously. Earning first-time endorsements for open seats were District Attorney candidate Chris de Barrena-Sarobe, Esq., Recorder of Deeds candidate Diane O’Dwyer, and Kevin Dykes for Sheriff.
With a very unusual five openings on the Chester County Court of Common Pleas and 13 declared judicial candidates, that position proved to be extremely competitive, requiring several rounds of balloting to endorse Sarah Black, Esq., Judge Nicole Forzato, Sheriff Fredda Maddox, Esq., Thomas “Tip” McCabe, Esq., and DA Deborah Ryan, Esq.
This year’s Democratic Primary Election is May 16, 2023.
That is a fascinating press release. It also mentions the Register of Wills race. The incumbent was not universally endorsed by her party. Does that mean perhaps she should spend a little more time in the office? And Recorder of Deeds? That is an office that has seemed to have had messes and messy revolving door hasn’t it? And the woman whom they endorsed has been there through a lot of it and it’s still a mess, so why should we vote for her?
But that’s a conversation for another day. Let’s get back to Kristine Howard. if she decided for some strange reason that she had wanted to run for Magisterial District Justice , I would not have had a problem with that and why do you ask? Because that is the one judicial category where you do not have to have a law degree or be a lawyer. And technically, you don’t have to have quart room experience either. But State Rep Kristine Howard wants to run for Court of Common Pleas. She just doesn’t have the chops for this job.
I know we all have to get through the primary before we get to the general election. I almost wished that judges were a political as far as parties went, and they just ran as qualified or not qualified individuals. I personally do not want someone who is purely a politician to be a judge, and that doesn’t matter what political party they are. When somebody runs for judge, they have to have some kind of practical court experience that would qualify them for the Court of Common Pleas.
So Chester County Democrats you have a task ahead of you. You need to separate the wheat from the chaff. Most simply put, State Rep. Kristine Howard when it comes to a judicial race is sadly the chaff. I mean, if she’s tired of going to Harrisburg, she could always run for County Commissioner like State Rep Tim Briggs had been considering in Montgomery County until he changed his mind, right?
It’s not up to me to decide if Kristine Howard ends up on the fall 2023 election ballot. But I can tell you she won’t be my choice. She shouldn’t be yours as well. She just doesn’t have it to be a judge.
We need judges on the bench for the right reasons. Being a judge should not be a political steppingstone, or a place to hang out for a decade with a higher salary. I believe people who run for judge should have a true calling for it.
That’s it that’s all I’ve got to say the rest is up to the voters in May.
Well, is it going to burble over again and Willistown like NOFIMBY (No Farm in My Back Yard) or bad septic and sewer? People say that there is an issue brewing over 8044 Goshen Rd. in Malvern. It’s a very windy and busy road. And now it seems a religious institution wants to turn this into some sort of religious institution property. I mean there?
No, I don’t quite get this whole thing. It’s not something I’ve paid attention to. I think it’s an extraordinarily unattractive house as it stands. It’s not exactly a house where I would say that it would be a crying shame to tear it down and start over, but is this an area where do you actually want other than residential and since it’s residential does that mean it needs a zoning exception? And was it really listed by a realtor in Jenkintown? Jenkintown is the other side of everywhere from here what do they know from Chester County?
This property at 8044 Goshen seems like it was a mention at a February Planning Meeting? And it is some sort of a zoning thing now or since, December, right? I’ve seen it mentioned on a few agendas, but what are they actually doing about it? Are they actually discussing it or are they afraid to discuss it?
Why does Willistown always seem to be growing zoning issues? Maybe they hire the wrong zoning officers for the township? And what about this new manager? Does she ever open her mouth about anything? Willistown is a wonderful area but it seems like it’s having growing pains or something?
Well, that’s also another plan in front of Willistown with this law firm, isn’t it? Aren’t they the Rock Hill Farm attorneys too? They’re good.
And this is yet another seeming zoning issue and land-use issue in front of Willistown? Willistown you’re beautiful, but maybe you need to up your legal game as a municipality, huh? And neighbors, it’s really great that you all been together, but banding together alone isn’t going to do it y’all better find yourselves good land-use lawyers, don’t you think? T-shirts and lawn signs and flyers are not going to solve these issues.
And now the neighbors are also passing out flyers or something? I am glad they are doing that but they will need to be a little more vocal about this I think. I think it’s just a really odd location for an institutional use and it’s not going to be a passive institutional use is it? It could be pretty busy and how will that affect the neighbors?
I think it’s a weird location for a new institutional use, and I’m curious as to why this religious organization thought they were just going to be able to buy this property in a residential area and do this? There are plenty of religious institutions and churches, and what not that co-exist in residential areas but this road is kind of busy and I just wonder how this would work?
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 7 PM is the next zoning hearing board meeting. And I have to be honest I think this is one of those issues where they might need more than the little Willistown board room don’t you? And that’s where it’s scheduled, that meeting.
It’s like a Catch 22 because it’s not another cram plan housing development, but it’s also contemplating a use of a property that would require a zoning change, right? So I guess my biggest question of all is because zoning doesn’t happen in a vacuum, what happens if you change the zoning here and this current project goes forward but doesn’t last and survive in this location? Then what would be next, what could be next?
I think this is something worth watching. And if other municipalities are smart, they will also pay attention to this. It’s interesting.
If the “concerned” neighbors are smart they would hire a lawyer who could handle this. I would actually suggest a lawyer other Willistown residents hired a while back, the same one I mentioned the other day. Philip Rosensweig. And no I am not getting anything for saying this, he’s a fabulous land use attorney. And he was a good commissioner for many years in Lower Merion Township even when we didn’t agree.
I think this is a really weird place for something like this because of the road, and how an institutional use will potentially affect this are is also a valid concern, isn’t it?
Kevin Riordan of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this brand new article out. About development in Swarthmore. Swarthmore one of the last places with beautiful trees and not overtaken by ugly development…until now. And the players include the guy who went from zoning and planning dude in West Goshen Township to Swarthmore Borough Manager (William Webb) and the former Borough Mayor of Swarthmore and developer/builder, Bill Cumby.
I will start with not a big fan of West Goshen and West Goshen employee refugees because West Goshen just always has issues. And then there is this once a politician always a politician former mayor of Swarthmore and how can he really want to build something so out of character and out of scale in a small main street oriented community that is also home to lovely homes with terrific gardens and street trees, Swarthmore College, and Scott Arboretum? Political/personal gain? I mean you don’t want to think that, but this plan? It’s like all the bad plans for Ardmore, PA mated with Eastside Flats in Malvern Borough and The Elm in Narberth, and had an alien love child.
This proposed plan? One word: HIDEOUS.
No Swarthmore is not in Chester County. It’s in Delaware County. And Swarthmore and Media are two of my favorite Main Street small town feel towns. So yes, I am expressing my dismay. Honest, heart-felt dismay.
A local developer’s proposed condominium complex in Swarthmore would offer ready access to a SEPTA Regional Rail station as well as to shops, restaurants, and cultural amenities in the heart of the Delaware County borough.
Called 110 Park, the $30 million, five-story building would increase the town center’s population and provide Swarthmore empty-nesters an opportunity to downsize in their community. The proposal also includes 1,250 square feet of retail space and preservation of the facade and front section of the Celia Building, a Park Avenue landmark….a significant number of Swarthmore residents, including architects, preservationists, and businesspeople, say 110 Park would dwarf its low-rise surroundings, cast a literal and figurative shadow over the town center, and erode the borough’s distinctive character.
They also oppose the pending demolition of two vintage buildings and see the proposed 40-space parking garage at the complex as a potential threat to pedestrian and vehicular traffic safety….Ever since the developer, 110 Park LLC, submitted the first iteration of the proposal for review in 2021, public concerns have focused on the impact of replacing a small-town expanse of Park Avenue streetscape that includes green space with a residential building more appropriate for a city block…..The council is expected to vote on the measure on March 13.
Melanie Rodbart, one of the founders of a nonprofit called Save Our Swarthmore….is not opposed to town center development, including on Park Avenue.
“There’s a way to develop that site without razing everything on it,” said Rodbart, a structural engineer and owner of a company that specializes in historic preservation….
Incorporated in 1893 and best known as the home of Swarthmore College, the borough is an inner-ring commuter suburb of Philadelphia. It has about 6,500 residents in its 1.4 square miles and features comfortable homes on tree-lined streets named after universities.
The Cumby family has been a part of Swarthmore for generations, and Bill Cumby, a former borough mayor who owns W.S. Cumby, a Delaware County construction firm, is a partner in developing 110 Park….Prices would range from $600,000 for some one-bedrooms to $1 million and above for three-bedroom units….The controversy has alerted Swarthmore residents to what some describe as shortcomings in the borough’s development regulations. Although none of the buildings to be demolished or altered as part of the 110 Park project are on registries of historic places, the 100 block of Park Avenue is eligible to be declared a historic district but has not been proposed as such.
So Bill, Will, Willy, whatever you go by Webb are you actually LISTENING to your Swarthmore residents, the people whose taxes pay your salary? Because if you were listening you would know what the temperature is on this project.
Now Swarthmore has a big old page on their website devoted to this hideous project: CLICK HERE.
Some company called Bernardon has design plan things on their website: CLICK HERE.
Developer and former mayor guy has a website for his proposed project: CLICK HERE. He is heavy on the hype to get monster Lego land approved in my humble opinion.
Residents have banded together. Their group is SOS or Save Our Swarthmore. They seemed to have one of my favorite land use lawyers and former Lower Merion Commissioners assisting them. Phillip Rosenzweig, Esq. (Now for those of you reading, yes indeed this is indeed one of the land use lawyers I talk about as being AMAZING. He is also the guy that wrote that piece of fabulousness that ended eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore, PA when he first became a commissioner. And no, he is not a commissioner now, which is a shame for Lower Merion.) Here’s something off the SOS site he penned regarding this hot mess of a proposal for Swarthmore:
Swarthmorians fight for your town. Human scale matters. Fitting the existing landscape matters. You have an old school main street oriented town. It should be a historic district. Learn from the mistakes of other towns. Preserve what you have. I find it completely appalling that someone who once was an elected official and lives in Swarthmore thinks this is right for the character of your town. I am allowed to have that opinion. I feel for you guys. I applaud your efforts.
…. it will be ginormous. Over 300-some loading docks running 24 seven. Going to look like the New Jersey Turnpike in Uwchlan Township. Not to mention the truck-stop atmosphere that will accompany it.
Lionville Station Road is just fields and 2 empty farmhouses butting up against Milky Way Farm. I’m sure they aren’t happy about this with all the water and air pollution this will cause them and their animals. Can’t imagine my back road to home having 300+ tractor trailers coming and going on it.
~ LOCAL RESIDENT
I think I should state that I have NOT heard about this before today. AND Milky Way Farm is staying put and not going anywhere from what I am told, but they might turn into a farm island as a result of this right? Also Gardner’s Landscape is NOT going anywhere, so can’t imagine what they think of this, other than abject horror like residents, right?
Another BIG HUGE QUESTION is ARE THEY SURE AMAZON IS COMING? Read today’s article about Amazon slowing it’s roll in the Washington Post. Article is gifted so follow
The residents are up in arms. I would be. And when I zoomed in on the plan thing above? I saw my friend’s house! I mean can you even imagine waking up for years to loveliness and now be threatened with the ass end of a warehouse as your view???
The next Uwchlan Supervisors meeting is Monday March 6th and as of the time of this post NOT much of an agenda. That of course is sunshine UNfriendly…. .AND IT IS SHOWING AT 12 NOON…OR YOU KNOW WHEN PEOPLE WORK!!!
I don’t have anything more. But people need to be aware and get themselves to Uwchlan meetings and bug their supervisors.
Happy Friday, what isn’t being developed in Chester County?
Poor Ebenezer. Historically significant as quite literally perhaps the second oldest AME site in the country, except for Mother Bethel AME in Philadelphia. And I believe Mother Bethel’s current Pastor Mark Kelly Tyler knows this as he was in West Chester prior to Philadelphia.
Everything the engineer told me a few years ago now that I passed along to East Whiteland Township and East Whitehead Historical Commission is sadly happening. The walls have never been shored up, and the development going along around it is taking a toll. Time, weather, and circumstances are not friends to this site.
This is so sad. Quite literally an important historical asset, including as part of black history in Chester County. This was part of Bacton Hill. I have been told Bacton Hill was one of the early black settlements and well, most of the history has been bulldozed away, hasn’t it?
Black History Month starts when? February 1st? I would say maybe this February 1st someone will care about the history of Ebenezer and Bacton Hill, but really does it ever happen enough to make a difference? Sadly, no. So all I can ever do is point out further deterioration and prior posts over the years.
Before COVID hit, there was a lady from the National Trust for Historic Places I had connected with who seemed interested. Her name was Lawana Holland-Moore. I have tried following up since, but nothing, not even a reply. (Sigh.) Who knows? Maybe she will see this post and renew her former interest. There are so many historic places and structures at risk, but I just wish this place would matter for more than just an occasional minute.
I also hope that someday the East Whiteland Historical Commission really gets a fire lit under them. I have kind of given up there, I find little point in trying to connect with them at this point. Their chair is very nice, but they have never really been comfortable with me or interested in what I have to say.
At one point I had wanted to volunteer for the commission, but political road blocks came up and COVID happened. I’m not welcome there, and why should I keep trying? At one point I even offered to donate my time to help them photograph historic assets and I helped the former members who updated the History of East Whiteland Book, but they cycled off the commission. Hell, when I contacted a member of the commission last June looking for an update on Ebenezer I never even got a reply from them or anyone so I can take a hint.
But, I still need to remind people that #ThisPlaceMatters . Ebenezer and Bacton Hill are disappearing.
Last evening there was the Zoom Pow Wow of Endorsement for the Chester County Democrats. To say I am confused by some of the outcome would be an understatement. I also heard it was a Zoom that needs a replay but that will never happen, right?
All sorts of things about people seemingly trying to get back what had been removed from and candidates who didn’t exactly shine as Republicans, trying to become candidates as Democrats and seeking endorsement no less? The Chesco Dems released a very distilled and watery press release much like their Republican counterparts, but suffice it to say I heard from both sides of the aisle nothing to write home about, right?
I am conflicted about Marian Moskowitz. She is self made, which I respect, but I question sometimes WHY she serves in public office? And a big part of WHY I am troubled is the whole Advaite of it all.. I wrote about Advaite (check out their press releases) again yesterday in conjunction with a new court case that is kind of adjacent related, right?
Advaite is a Chester County COVID thing. And it seems along the lines of bad like Philly Fighting COVID was, doesn’t it? And it cost Chester County a big black eye and lots of money which affects taxpayers, residents, etc., right?
A recent scandal in Philadelphia involving a local startup embroiled in a public health fiasco showcases how times of crisis can allow fraud to rear its ugly head. As financial and public pressures to succeed create more opportunities for fraud to be committed, similar cases of mismanagement and ineptitude may surface across the country.
Philly Fighting COVID began as startup using 3-D printing to create face-shields for students at Drexel University. It then became a non-profit aiding the city of Philadelphia with testing, working with partner organizations to provide community testing.
Upon news of vaccine approvals in the fall, Philly Fighting COVID’s CEO, 22-year-old graduate student Andrei Doroshin, began to impress himself upon city officials. With claims of vaccinating between 500,000 to 1.5 million people through five mass-vaccination sites, Doroshin and his startup seemingly appeared right when Philadelphia needed them.
The startup secured a deal with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health after pitching its services to the Philadelphia City Council in November 2020. While it did not sign an official contract, it received a portion of Philadelphia’s vaccine allotment. However, problems began to arise shortly thereafter.
An investigation by WHYY, a Philadelphia public media organization, revealed that in December, Philly Fighting COVID reorganized as a for-profit company, Vax Populi. According to WHYY, Philly Fighting COVID officials maintained that “a for-profit entity was needed to bill insurance companies for reimbursements from the vaccine, a plainly untrue claim in a city with numerous nonprofit health care providers.”
Following that, in January, Philly Fighting COVID closed down all testing events, leaving community members effectively in the dust as Doroshin told partnered groups that testing was no longer important….
Communities, strapped for resources made acute by the pandemic, can be targeted by those looking to profit off of rapid spurts of funds, “get-rich-quick” schemes and assorted administrative chaos that arises in crises. While it may not explicitly be fraud, it is clear that Philly Fighting COVID aimed to profit off of COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in Philadelphia.
Similar schemes may be happening across the country. With more cities desperate to vaccinate their citizens, misplaced trust in organizations like Philly Fighting COVID can lead to fraudulent activity, negligence, and delinquency of duties. With opportunities for fraud on the rise, those brave individuals who speak out like Lipinsky or Flamholtz could be critical in identifying fraudulent actors and rooting them out from high-profile positions.
So Advaite. Remember the glowing press release in 2020? Here:
There are more articles on the topic. Until recently, I only read a couple of them. But then I started to read more about Advaite. And I began to wonder. Then came the whys without answers.
Marian Moskowitz was newish to her commissionership when Advaite happened, right? But where I am troubled is, WHY did she push so hard for this? Personal relationships? Glory? Trying to do right by big campaign donors to many politicians from Chester County and others including former Gov. Tom Wolf?
There is obviously some sort of a relationship because it seems to show up in emails released in a Right to Know over Advaite. Here to follow are some and I quietly suggest if Marian Moskowitz in running again and has been endorsed by the Chester County Democrats which seem as problematic right now as their Montgomery County PA counterparts, she needs to talk about this and explain her exact role, right? Just like she needs to explain why she has seemingly turned a blind eye to her constituency affected by pipelines, right?
Maybe just maybe in the end Advaite will be chalked up to a “mistake”, except this is a “mistake” that cost Chester County millions, didn’t it? And continues to grow legs seemingly? A reader sent me a comment about the company recently:
Advaite really is a company. Innovative, therapeutic and healthcare solutions.
BUT the word “advaita” is totally ..something else
Advaita is a Sanskrit word that translates as “not two” or “no second.” This gives the idea that the inner Self, or Atman, is the same as the Absolute Reality, that is Brahman.
The meaning of ADVAITA is Vedanta nondualism that denies the separateness of any aspect of reality from the impersonal oneness of Brahman.
Marian, come on now, you got to office as a Wolf gal, correct? Well now it’s time to stand on your own and not be a wheeler dealer of connections. That all has it’s place in this world, but Chester County needs and deserves answers. It can’t just be a continual inter-political party swirling mess of Democrat in-fighting and it can’t be the Hatfields and McCoys of it all, Democrats vs. Republicans. If you wish to continue to lead, lead by example: transparency, full disclosure, etc. How you act can also affect Josh Maxwell, who really does his best literally every day. So if you don’t provide clarity for the sake of the residents of Chester County, do it for your running mate.
I do not even know where to go with this. So just throwing it all out there.
Does “Advaite” really mean “CRAZY”?
I will say this ALL ties to the Advaite kerfuffle. Don’t remember Advaite? The case of the missing COVID antibodies tests? The company based out of Malvern (East Whiteland Township)?
I am astounded at the layers upon layers to this whole thing around Advaite and the county, and many politicians as well?
Regular media, this ball is in your court. Don’t you think this needs a whopping dose of SUNSHINE?
Now there is the new layer of a former Chester county lawyer filing suit? And didn’t this all start with a Right to Know over Advaite?
Now this Advaite case is ongoing – just run the dockets. And also a couple of interesting emails out of the Right to Know makes you wonder about a county commissioner too?
So then the Daily Local had a gift on Valentine’s Day about a new court case:
By MICHAEL P. RELLAHAN | mrellahan@dailylocal.com | PUBLISHED: February 14, 2023 at 1:04 p.m. | UPDATED: February 14, 2023 at 1:54 p.m.
PHILEDELPHIA — A former “star” in the Chester County Solicitor’s Office claims that he was retaliated against by his immediate supervisor in the office — who is now a sitting Common Pleas Court judge — for complaining about being the target of racial bias by an private attorney he encountered while on county business.
Juan P. Sanchez, in a lawsuit charging violations of his federal civil rights and the state’s anti-discrimination law that was filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, said that Judge Nicole Forzato, who was county solicitor at the time he worked in that office in 2020 and 2021, illegally fired him after he said he wanted to take a stand regarding his interaction with the unnamed attorney, who he believed had treated him unprofessionally because of his race. Sanchez is Hispanic, of Puerto Rican descent.
But Forzato suggested that such an action would put the county “at risk,” the complaint alleges.
“Unfortunately for (Sanchez), Forzato … had no interest in addressing or understanding (his) concerns of racial bias and instead began retaliating against him,” the complaint, filed Jan. 17, states. “Forzato immediately unjustly criticized (his) performance, accused him of misconduct regarding months-old events, and issued him an unjustified written warning.
WC Daily local 2/14/23
Daily Local has a pay wall that totally blows, so:
Every day this week, I have wanted to wake up, have coffee, and then get into my day. EVERY day it has been something else. Blogging is not my actual job LOL, but you have to try to help when you can.
Recently this nice lady kept tagging me on Twitter. At first I was “yeah whatever” because it happens all of the time and I can’t be everywhere. But she was very nice and told me this crazy tale of someone else essentially taking the deed to HER house, as in stealing and who would think deed poaching happens in Chester County, right? You think of this in cities like Philadelphia. See next two NBC10 Philadelphia stories:
So I listened to this lady Jackie, and introduced her to Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell. He stepped in to help right away, because among other things this lady has a special needs son.
This seems crazy, but the thing is this: stuff like this happens ALL of the time.
So I thought it was straightened out and this lady Jackie wasn’t losing her house, that they realized she didn’t sell her house to some real estate investment company out of…CHESTER, and more.
Then came this today:
So here are the blown up images from Tweet above:
Look I don’t know what is going on but County Row in Chester County, are your officials in the office? They sign off on things but are they in the various offices enough? I heard that you can do a Right to Know literally on the time records they keep. And Recorder of Deeds has just turned over at the top because Chris Pielli was elected State Rep for example. So Diane O’ Dwyer is Acting Recorder of Deeds, but she was apparently been there a while?
Oh and fun fact the address of this house in Penn Township/West Grove is 367 Woodcrest. So did you know there is also a 367 Woodcrest in Westtown, and a 367 Woodcrest in Tredyffrin?
And what is this Kevin Jackson Group out of Chester? Apparently they show up in Chester County property records also with a property in West Whiteland which they apparently sold?
Look this is so out of my realm of knowledge. But for the love of all that is holy, Chester County helped perpetuate this mess, now they should straighten it out. And how did this random Kevin Jackson Group get her deed in the first place??? Why aren’t they stepping up? What Realtors who do business in Chester County know about this group? Who can help? Who should help? Who needs to come forward?
And this Kevin Jackson Group also shows up in Montgomery County and Delaware County? Have fun, media. (OR YOU SHOULD.)
DEAR CHESTER COUNTY, PLEASE FIGURE THIS THE FREAK OUT! THIS LADY KIND OF NEEDS HER HOME, RIGHT?
So now there is more. And this is a horror show and no one will listen, is how it seems?
Let’s start with the whole Kevin Jackson of it all:
So Jackie has been messaging me. She is very open. Her now ex has been removed from property she says since 11/08/19 and there is apparently a PFA….which I saw this evening.
This woman is a VICTIM. This tale is crazy like a made for Lifetime TV Movie crazy.
