Villa Grove Colorado is on fire. It’s a little unincorporated town in Colorado and they’re already suffering a severe drought and water shortage and there’s not enough water to put the fire out and literally the whole town is on fire. This includes peoples homes a few small businesses in the town and this amazing pottery business that was a big tourist attraction.
Apparently there were helicopters being flown in from Colorado Springs that I guess they’re like those special ones equipped for fires, but the town is up in flames.
So this is a place experiencing extreme drought and water shortages. It’s on fire and the residents of this community and neighboring communities are also fighting data center issues in Colorado.
For me it really hits home that this is a place that doesn’t have water to spare, yet government wants to look the other way and allow data centers in the vicinity which suck water and energy.
Also, why am I posting this because I have friends that live there. This is personal.
Fellow residents are getting outreach from outraged types past and present over us having the nerve to want additional representation in local government. This tells all of us that we are on the right track.
People this is our right. It’s not political. It’s decidedly non-partisan and it’s about representation.
It is literally our right as residents in a second class township in Pennsylvania to wish to go up to five supervisors from three. Our mechanism for doing this is to get something on the ballot, a referendum. It costs us nothing and it doesn’t increase our taxes, but it does increase our representation and perhaps gives us balance which I think is lacking in a lot of local governments no matter how good the representation is.
People who think it’s a bad idea are people who have something to lose. They’re being narcissistic and selfish, it’s personal to them. We might not ever know why it is personal and frankly, I don’t care.
Keep up the good work. Regardless of political affiliation, we are stronger together than apart. And that residents is what people are really scared of who don’t want two more seats on the East Whiteland Board of Supervisors.
One more day for signatures.
Well allow me to expand upon that with real world experience. Back in the day when I was part of Save Ardmore Coalition and we were fighting eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore, we experienced every dirty trick possible.
We will start with I had a price put on my head by a then publicist doing contract work for Lower Merion Township. You see, we as a group of local community activists were at first fighting an issue that wasn’t sexy enough for media coverage. So we had to get creative. We joined what was anew thing called Twitter (now X.) We also joined a new thing, kind of a grandmother of regional blogging called PhillyFuture.org
PhillyFuture.org was a community blog and aggregator launched in the early 2000s (founded by a wonderful human named Karl Martino) that served as a central hub for the Philadelphia political and local blogosphere. It was early days when I and a couple of friends discovered it. It was the most marvelous thing. We learned about things going on all over the region. Even Natural Lands had a blog on this blog.
PhillyFuture gave us a voice. It was the beginning of blogging. We didn’t have publicists or anything like that. It was just us. So we had to get creative. While we were on this platform fighting for Ardmore’s historic business district, Lower Merion Township which still wanted eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore did not like it. The small group of malcontents or whatever it was they called us was starting to get traction. The township at some point for a while hired an outside publicist for in my opinion damage control of a very unpopular and bad plan. Said publicist put a price on the head to know the identity of the Save Ardmore Coalition blogger. At that point there were a few of us, but I always believed they were after me.
What we went through was the stuff Netflix and Prime series are made for. We were literally targeted as residents for wanting to stop eminent domain. Small businesses were targeted in a most petty manner as well. Back then one of the businesses threatened with eminent domain for private gain was HuNan Restaurant. That was actually WHY I got involved. The family that owned HuNan were dear to me. So when they said no to eminent domain, all of a sudden township folks who always ate lunch at Hunan because it was literally next door to the township building stopped eating lunch there.
Why is this pertinent today? Because everything old is new again and politicians always regurgitate the same old stuff. See this text message screenshot I was sent last night:
Former Supervisor and Chair/Co-Chair of Great Valley Dems has a nasty streak doesn’t he?
Meet Bill Holmes and his charming text message. For the last 10 years or so he and the Great Valley Democrats have eaten lunch together at Dixie Picnic. So he sends this text – to a woman named Tracey who has been a devoted Democrat and supported him as a supervisor AND when he was head of Great Valley Democrats. And she is an owner of Dixie Picnic.
Today none of them showed up. So they all followed daddy to where? Wegmans or Wendy’s?
I first met Tracey not that long after we moved here. I can tell you that she feels such a sense of betrayal by these people. Like literally she’s one of the most devoted Democrats, and always has been. I think she may have even had some sort of gathering for Bill Holmes in the past? I’m a little fuzzy on that detail because that was around the time we were just coming into East Whiteland or before.
But do we see the irony here that she actually lived up to her Democrat and personal values by wanting to put a petition out for people who were interested in enlarging the Board of Supervisors by two that is allowed under the 2nd Class Township code? So she exercised her right as an American and as a resident of this municipality East Whiteland Township and now this guy wants to punish her as a small business owner and a resident? Talk about acting like petty bitch, right?
Also there were signing events for this ballot petition initiative to add two more supervisors and guess what has been reported? Bill Holmes showing up with some unidentified man and one guy named Jerry Pyne whom I believe was the vice chair of the county Democrats and is now on the following committees: Property Committee, Collaborative Planning Committee (WTF is that? The give out gold star stickers committee?), and System Administration Committee? LOL LOL LOL how many committees do they need?
Ok so the fact they showed up is not the problem. The problem was they reportedly showed up with signs to essentially harass other residents into not signing the petition? They literally had “Do Not Sign” signs. Below is a photo taken of him and his cohorts being gently spoken to by the lovely woman who organized the petition. She was a lot nicer than I would have been. Sadly no sign was being held up in that moment.
This was at a petition signing event. Bill Holmes far left in mad for plaid shirt.
This further cements, why change must happen.
If you don’t regularly go to Dixie Picnic in Lincoln Court shopping center I am urging everyone to go and support Tracey because of what is being done to her which is petty, chauvinistic, and misogynistic.
And so we are all clear on who Bill is he is somebody who is a politician. He still plays politics. He’s the past chair of the East Whiteland supervisors as well as a supervisor and he was the past chair or cochair of whatever the Great Valley/East Whiteland Democrats. A man who wants to hurt someone with a small business who’s also a great human is just a tool. Oh and didn’t he come to power thanks to Michele Vaughn? makes you re-think her on county row, doesn’t it?
Here is Dixie Picnic’s website: https://www.dixiepicnic.com/ They are an amazing scratch kitchen and home of the UPcake and nice positive things. You can order through GrubHub and I think Instacart and you can place orders on their website for pick up and they do catering and their hours are your basic lunch hours. This is a restaurant which is also an amazing little community hub.
Now I fully expect the Great Valley Democrats powers that be and think they are still powerful will have a hissy fit over my posting this but they should KNOW that a MAN saying something like this to a woman who owns a small business, lives in East Whiteland, and is a supportive member of their political party is literally indefensible. Is this the only female Democrat he’s had issues with as a perennial politician now without an office?
And so we are clear on how I feel about this bullshit aspect to local politics, allow me to share more of my personal experiences with Great Valley Democrats.
When this all happened to me, I was still a Republican. In 2016 when a certain someone became the presidential nominee, I left the party because as a woman it had already kicked me and my rights as a woman to the curb I felt. I tried on the whole being a democrat but between Chester County Dems and Great Valley Dems it was so institutional, bad corporate and often soulless and that’s being polite. So again, once more I am an Independent.
It doesn’t matter in the big picture but I thought it is good for people to know. Just like it is good for people to know Bill Holmes also ran unsuccessfully for state rep once upon a time. Oh and he only beat his 2013 challenger when he was supervisor by 10 votes. In 2007 he only beat Rich Orlow by 7 votes. Rich Orlow eventually became a Republican supervisor in East Whiteland and then was defeated by Scott Lambert. Then in the true nature of flip floppy politics, Rich Orlow became a Democrat to finish out Bill Holmes term when he stepped down, didn’t he?
Below are some articles about East Whiteland politics and one about East Whiteland population growth. And old blog posts.
Politics is a dirty business and it’s time for people like Bill Holmes to retire and just sit down to begin with. If someone is doing something they believe in personally, don’t you encourage them especially if it is something positive?
These tired ass folks like Bill Holmes think better representation for a community that has grown exponentially is a threat to Democracy and they don’t actually get that it is literally Democracy in action. Behavior like he exhibited is thug politics and it’s time for him to stop.
Also please visit Dixie Picnic. You will be glad you did.
I completely expect I will be targeted with unpleasantness for this post. After all I have never been “on board with Bill” and I have been targeted by unpleasantness before because I believe in growing three person boards to five and I think the data center is a bad plan. Some of those folks should be glad I don’t share their emails calling me what was it? A back stabber? And why? Because I think the three person board in East Whiteland should be five person and I think the East Whiteland data center plan is a bad plan.
East Whiteland your political slip is showing in the most unattractive way possible. Put that in your proverbial pipe and smoke it.
People, if they don’t want this then get out and vote for it in November if t makes the ballot this time. If not, we will do it again.
#ShopLocal and #LoveWhatIsLocal and #ShopSmall and remember that community transcends politics in the end. Always.
East Whiteland residents and registered Chester County voters we have a very important task this week: to rock the petition to get 2 supervisors added under the second class township code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania!
We. Can. Do. This!!!!!
Years ago when this township was founded and they formed a Township government there were far fewer people. Over the last 15 years I would say, this township has grown exponentially. It is time to add two more supervisors to the three so we have better representation as residents and taxpayers.
Five supervisors is perfectly attainable and normal. If I am completely honest, I wanted to do this a few years ago and I was talked out of it. I was told it was a mistake. I should have listened to my inner voice because I knew it was right and I believe it’s right for residents now.
We need more representation in our 3 board member municipalities. More representation does not create chaos, in fact, it helps restore order and balance, and we should want that.
And in East Whiteland there are already people who are interested in running for office!
Here is the Google doc where you can sign up to be contacted for an in person visit. The important thing about this petition is you have to sign in person, you cannot do it online so to speak.
This petition can only be signed by legal residents of East Whiteland Township who are registered to vote. If you are not registered to vote, you cannot sign this petition.
“Should two additional supervisors be added to the board of 3 supervisors, creating a board of 5 in East Whiteland Township?”
There’s no hidden message. It’s not like playing the Beatles White album backwards. It is what it is. It is as it is stated.
So come on East Whiteland let’s do this for ourselves. 
3 to 5 supervisors. It’s time to modernize.
Git’ R Done… we can do this this week! It literally takes like a minute and a half to sign and fill in your address. Again, you read the ballot question as presented to you in person and you sign your name like you do your signature for all legal documents. Then you print your name so it is legible along with your legal mailing address in East Whiteland Township as in the physical mailing address no PO Box. And the last thing you do is you date when you’re doing it.
It’s easy and it’s important. We get the government we deserve, and our vote is our most powerful tool. Some people will get very up in arms about this and the thing is it’s not a threat to democracy, it’s about democracy and our right to do this.
Plymouth Township just said NO to the data centers?
Why?
Simple there is NO permitted use under the Municipalities Planning Code of the Commonwealth of PA for data centers. It’s NOT a warehouse. Ginny Kerslake has been saying this forever and places like East Whiteland keep telling her she is wrong, right?
Further and somewhat related apparently developer is trying to get these places classified as warehouse locations even though it’s energy and isn’t that nuts sounding?
Last question for people is do we think developers are going through approval processes for data centers in order to flip the properties? Didn’t that come up at recent Upper Merion Planning Commission meeting?
Sign of the times taken by someone NOT trespassing.Not my photo, saw it on social media. Corporate welfare bought to you by Governor Josh Shapiro. Residents are always optional in his equations.
East Whiteland Township, Chester County is just a place where most honestly feel government pays lip service for every shitty thing that happens. Well not everyone. Some just ignore us altogether like State Representative Kristine Howard. She literally does nothing and says nothing. Never shows up for anything in her district. But she is BFFs now with neighboring State Representative Danielle Friel Otten whom people elected as a pipeline activist and that didn’t last long as she just wanted to sit at the popular kids table in Harrisburg and is a sell out.
Governor Josh Shapiro is everywhere as he is up for re-election. But he is busy having his literal neighbors dislike him and handing out corporate welfare as that sign in East Whiteland indicates. Yes I can have that opinion while I say I told you so. Shapiro has always been exactly who he is.
If anyone had been paying attention except for some of us, they would have seen it back when he was former Congressman Joe Hoeffel’s Chief of Staff (1999-2003). We certainly saw it when we were starting to fight eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore, PA. It was literally his job to help and/or at least listen to Hoeffel’s constituents. He didn’t and I can distinctly remember him avoiding residents in Ardmore at a town hall meeting in early eminent domain days. The meeting was at a senior center in Ardmore.
Now we don’t really have a viable choice on the other side of the aisle, just Marge Simpson, err Stacy Garrity. That woman was pro-data center until a lightbulb went off and she thought she could maybe get two extra votes and she flip flopped to being sort of against them.
There is one person whom we know cares 100%: State Senator Katie Muth. She is a fierce mama bear for all of us. She cares. She shows up.
I guess I just don’t understand how anyone thinks this data center or any data centers are OK. I also don’t understand one of the East Whiteland Supervisors after finding this video:
Now he is only one of three supervisors. But like with many other municipalities, you have at least one who thinks data centers are wonderful and the hypocrite tree hugger in that video from NBC 10 above that’s on YouTube is the one in East Whiteland. According to this media report and subsequent research, he apparently works for Morris Arboretum owned by the University of Pennsylvania so does that mean Morris Arboretum and Penn are pro data centers?
But the rest of the East Whiteland board? It’s like they are doing fear based governance. They are so afraid of what might happen to them that they’re not thinking about what will happen to the all of us and aren’t I allowed to have that opinion? Shouldn’t the courage of your convictions mean something when you’re an elected official? I mean, if you can’t stand up for the people who elected you why are you in office? What are you getting out of it?
Today, as I was standing outside in my garden, looking into my woods, I was pondering all of this. I will share my thoughts next in a little video, and then I will share some video snippets from the most recent East Whiteland meeting and some other stuff.
I’m sad. I am sad that we don’t matter. I’m sad that our local environment doesn’t matter. And I am fearful we will run out of water and not be able to afford our power. No one has been able to allay these fears and I don’t think they really can and I’m allowed to have that opinion too.
The fantastical green serpentine stone of the Darlington Inn
You know it started out like your basic hotter than hell day in Chester County yesterday. Then it got really hot in a particular township. Westtown Township to be precise.
It started when I was sent this message:
This is the current historic commission:
Now I have to be honest, Westtown Township has an enviable historic commission. They really work their tails off and I know they’ve been desperately trying to save the Darlington Inn.
Let’s chat Darlington for a moment. In 1843, David Taylor, who was a sculptor by hobby and a strong Whig supporter, carved Henry Clay’s face into the stone at Darlington. Henry Clay was the Whig presidential candidate in 1844.
So Taylor bought the house in 1843; he carved the face in 1844. In 1860 he also carved a likeness of his black dog, named “Lincoln” after the 16th president, who was then a presidential candidate. Now this is only part of the fascinating history.
Back to our present in Chester County. As we know, in late April and early May, there was like a big meeting and they put the zoning change for the Darlington Inn on hold.
And before we get to that, there’s the endless curiosity I have with odd politics. So that new supervisor, Jodi whatever her name is? She’s been a supervisor for like six seconds and now she’s the chair? I watched her the other night. She can barely do a meeting. She needed a lot of handholding. Daddy instructs her constantly. Did she even finish that “supervisor school” new elected officials take?
However Jodi Nawrocki (I finally looked up her last name because I figured I really can’t refer to her as supervisor -Jodi -what’s -her -name) sure seems to have loved the Darlington Inn and the serpentine stone when she was running for office, didn’t she? so one would think she would be appreciative of a historic commission that was advocating for its survival and what not? But I do think that’s worth mentioning. So maybe it’s pertinent?
So how did she become instant chair of the supervisors in Westtown after just being elected? Was it like a cup of soup salt barf ramen noodles just add hot water?
Oh wait I forgot to mention something else. It seems like Westtown Township and Tredyffrin share the same solicitor? I find that very interesting if it’s true. I always find that crossover interesting don’t some of you?
Anywhooo….it seems at some point in June a Supervisor named Ed Yost resigned. He was moving out of Westtown so he literally had to. And when I was checking out this most recent meeting there seem to be a lot of contretemps about how a new supervisor was appointed. Someone named Frederick Manger. I also think he came from the historic commission and as the Saturday Night Live Church Lady would famously say “isn’t that special?” Also I have to ask the question is he a buddy of that one supervisor who’s like the cheese stands alone and is in control? So was this all by design even him going on the historic commission in the first place? And the supervisor who never seems to be able to leave Westtown might not like my questions, but there is nothing illegal about them
It is time for an intermission after a fashion before I circle back to what Westtown is actually trying to do to their current historic commission. Kindly allow me to give you a few snippets of the recent July meeting. I found them illuminating, fascinating, and like watching a municipal train wreck. I guarantee watching their meetings will create municipal gaper delay.
I hope you enjoyed the intermission or interlude, now it is time to go back to the whole historical commission thing. I posted the little screen message I got and I started getting other private messages from township cheerleader types:
Then an article came out yesterday afternoon in the Inquirer. A giant a-ha moment. Truly.
According to the article, the message I was sent seems kind of true, doesn’t it? And someone else after I posted the message essentially told me that this was about the Darlington Inn. That’s what the article says too, doesn’t it?
According to the article, there’s also an email that went out to this volunteer board, saying basically the supervisors were going to vote on their removal forthwith and they were being told as a courtesy. Apparently this was all stated in some email shared with the paper that was from the township manager Liudmila (Mila) Carter (the one on the meeting recording who sounds like Yvonne from the Bullwinkle cartoon.) It seems as if there will be a publiclynching at the next supervisors’ meeting, and that some upcoming historic commission meeting has also been canceled by the Westtown Township.
Oh, but if they really wanted to keep their volunteer positions, they could reapply for it. Needless to say no one in Westtown was available for comment to a regional newspaper. It seems when the article was being written again to quote the Church Lady “isn’t that special?”
And of course, none of this was supposed to get out in the public purview, but it has. Because when things are rotten enough, they can’t be hidden any longer, can they?
Now let’s go to the July meeting that I have the snippets posted up above. I don’t have the whole meeting up, but also with that meeting or maybe it was another one (I’m not really sure) the township solicitor suggested easements to help protect the Darlington Inn. Jodi with an “i” didn’t think that was a great idea. (This is all in the Inquirer article too by the way I’m not making this up.)
Isn’t it kind of fun that Jodi with an “i” had the Darlington in her campaign when she was running for supervisor but now that she is supervisor I guess she doesn’t think it has the same amount of luster because she didn’t want to add what the solicitor suggested?
Here is the entire July meeting- what the heck I will post it and hopefully it doesn’t disappear:
Here are their June meeting recordings:
So now I’ve set the stage right? There’s trouble in paradise in Westtown. In my opinion, it’s a very interesting political scenario over there. You have one supervisor with lots of experience like Wiley Coyote and two novices? (Yes, I can have that opinion. I figure I’ll get that out-of-the-way since I heard that Westtown supervisors can still be rather petty.)
Anyway, it makes you wonder about who really is the puppeteer here and why they really want to get rid of the historic commission? And I have to ask does someone in particular want the Darlington Inn gone in Westtown Township?
I can also tell you how some of the made up stuff that’s floating around and is not true.
My sources tell me that the purported sunshine violations are bunk. Apparently it’s stems from historic commission members who want to go to some historic preservation network dinner? They are being told going to a historic preservation event is a violation of the sunshine laws?
Are. They. Freaking. Kidding. Me?
A social gathering is not violating the sunshine law. Talk about desperados grasping at straws.
Here- think I am making this up? I have emails and this is what you need to see (below in light and dark because I don’t know which is easiest for people to see.)
And it’s something that can be obtained on a right to know it’s not anything privileged. These are emails from the township manager, who apparently is also the head of building and planning and zoning and how can she effectively be a manager of a large enough township and do that as well?
I mean, call me crazy but I have gone to those Westtown Day things at historic Oakbourne and the historic commission people are all always there talking about the history of that township. I mean it was because of them and talking to them about the wonderful history of Oakbourne Mansion that we chose to get married there. So is THAT a violation of sunshine law too?
In my humble opinion the answer to that is no. This isn’t a violation of sunshine laws at all. It’s just bull twaddle.
And appointing a new supervisor in private and having to correct it is kind of wild, right?
This is the kind of crazy town bullshit that causes things to go south in a township. Who will be the fall guy or gal when that happens? You would’ve thought that elected officials in this municipality would have learned when they had to be talked into saving Crebilly in the first place, right?
I hate to say it, but if you live in Westtown or you care about the Darlington Inn, it’s time to start storming the Bastille over there because there’s something really wrong happening. These yahoos don’t have actual cause to divest themselves of their historic commission. It would just be more convenient for them to load up a board full of people they can control, wouldn’t it?
So are people, residents, taxpayers going to allow this to happen or are they going to call bullshit on these supervisors? Maybe the supervisors are the ones who should all be replaced?
I mean it’s getting to the point people that you have to wonder what municipality has not lost its damn mind in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
A recap before I leave you, followed by a delightful array of screenshots.
Westtown Township residents need to get busy. As was the case with Crebilly, in my opinion, rather troubling times once again. Meet your supervisors who wish to cancel your entire historic commission over trumped up BS.
First you have the new gal who ran on putting residents first along with the sentimentality of the history including the Darlington Inn. She is being led around like a puppy in a leash training class by the old timer who is literally on and off of the board and can’t stay away, can he? And then there is number 3. Buds with the old timer, correct? Once on the historic commission (isn’t that special and how’d he come to get there?) they tried to slide him in behind closed doors June-ish, correct? Kind of stealth and why didn’t the solicitor stop it and correct it then? I mean a solicitor should know, right??? So then number 3 was adjusted in during the July 6 meeting, correct? That’s neat shoehorning CYA if politicians can get it, right? Well his bio was up and then it was down right? Caught an important snippet still showing on a Google search that disappears when you click on it.
So now these people wish to magically erase the ENTIRE historic commission on made-up stuff? Hmmmm there’s something rotten in Denmark err Westtown and it seems obvious right? Like it’s 0”politically motivated retaliation or retribution? And what is the township manager actually doing about it? Shouldn’t she and the solicitor stop hiding about this?
Enjoy the screenshots snippets which in my opinion are so illuminating:
A good residents’ to do list should include start filing right to know requests in Westtown again ASAP.
Start with ALL communications between the supervisors (including the one who recently departed), the township manager, and the historic commission.
Ask for everything under the sun surrounding the Darlington Inn.
Talk to those who fought to save Crebilly to see what they might have vis-à-vis information that could be helpful.
Start looking into ways that the State Attorney General’s office could look into this board of supervisors.
Start checking out who would be good to replace all of these people who are currently supervisors with. How are their ethics going with the current supervisors? Are they violating oaths of office?
Stand up and stand withthe current Westtown Historic Commission, they deserve your support. Westtown residents you have to stand up and make some noise, and you should want to. This is pure, unmitigated bullsheit.
Today I was greeted by media images and footage of a white supremacist types in white masks, marching in our Nation’s Capital.
That’s not my America.
I think the deadly horrible hot weather is a reflection of the emotions and sentiments of the ghosts of our founding fathers.
This is what 250 looks like, America? We should all be ashamed. We are probably as divided as we ever have been in that saying something, considering the Civil War, etc.
I love this country, but I don’t love this point in our history. We are standing on the edge of a crumbling, dangerous precipice. I’m tired of politicians talking. They need to do something about this.
This country has all but forgotten from whence it came and do average people now actually know what it means to be American?
People are going to read this post and say “She’s not a patriot. She’s bad.”
Patriot is now an overused trigger word that has lost its meaning because people now have a distinct lack of understanding of the term and our US history, good bad, and indifferent.
No, I’m not bad. But I am fed up. I’m fed up with the pablum being shoveled at us from politicians on both sides of the aisle. I am tired of the ugliness, the divisiveness, the overt racism, and just anything ugly that you can attribute with a stereotype of what an ugly American looks like. I’m tired of the faux Christians who think they’re actually Christian. They are not. They are lizards who slither back and forth from under rocks.
Our country is in the toilet economically. The Wizard behind the curtain would like us to believe it is hunky dory but ya know how they are trying to reframe social security? We’ve paid into this our whole lives and it could be out of money or seriously cut by 2032.
The funny thing is I remember the Bicentennial. I was just a kid. and I remember people complained about it. And it wasn’t perfect, but I remember it was a real celebration and both sides of the political aisle came together for the greater good. I got to ride in a covered wagon to and through Valley Forge Park.
I saw an Inquirer article about the reenactment of the 2nd Continental Congress of some sort that was down at Independence Hall within the past couple of days and it was pathetic. Face it, today’s Congress couldn’t do anything that those men did 250 years ago, they simply don’t have it in them.
My country ‘tis of thee, don’t let a mad man subvert our liberty.
I will end with posting the Declaration of Independence because what else can we do but remind people what our founding fathers fought for ? Why? Because otherwise the future is bleak house.
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Resident photo, East Whiteland Data Center Site NOT TRESPASSING!
The Sword of Damocles. I think that’s a good and applicable metaphor for those of us in any community throughout Pennsylvania dealing with the issue of data centers. We live in a state of eventual peril, and our elected officials don’t really seem to get it and or really care. Or if they care at all, do they care enough?
East Whiteland in particular I’m beginning to find especially frustrating. With everything it’s no we couldn’t possibly, it’s never maybe we can investigate that as a solution.
Every time you turn around yet another community is being faced with a potential data center, or inadequate bad pablum smeared data center ordinance language developed by people who are really in it to get data centers in communities. And yes, I can have that opinion because it’s the truth in my opinion.
The developers are your typical developers and this could be a warehouse or an apartment building or condominium complex or bad stick frame townhouse development. They don’t really care, they’re just in it to make money. and like typical developers they will build their build and move on to the next community whose lives they are going to impact negatively.
There seems to be a couple of court cases pending, so there’s no actual data center building going on at the moment in East Whiteland, but it never should’ve gotten this far. This township had the ability when this first started to say no, but they lost their balls along the way.
This started in 2018. I know because I was following it and so was Ginny Kerslake. It was around the same time that the developer tried unsuccessfully to get a hydrogen hub in West Whiteland next to where he wanted the data center in East Whiteland.
When I asked about this then and asked them if they had ever heard of Loudon County Virginia or how bad this could be the response was along the lines of (and I’m paraphrasing), “It couldn’t be that bad.”
I warned officials in this township then that a human tsunami would arrive when they least expected it about this data center. And the human tsunami is here and the residents are not backing down, which is something this township is not used to because there isn’t a lot of staying power on certain issues. But with this the issue of data centers, residents are united.
And it’s not just the residents of East Whiteland. It’s the surrounding communities who would be affected by this data center or who are going to be affected by another data center. This issue is non-partisan. People just don’t want them, and if you study the fine print in our electric bills, we’re already paying for data centers. We’re paying for what we didn’t ask to have dumped on us. That’s just classic isn’t it?
Resident photo no trespassing involved
A truthfully, we shouldn’t have to have it. There’s an opportunity right now in Harrisburg thanks to State Senator Katie Muth to pass a bill that would allow for a moratorium on data centers. It wouldn’t be forever, but it would give people breathing room, but of course the lobbyists and the politicians, who have swallowed the Emperor’s new clothes as being spun by Governor Josh Shapiro, just don’t get it, and their ignorance (or deliberate obdurance) could cost us our communities, our health, our environment, our home values, and more.
State Senator Katie Muth is the only elected official who seems to give a damn most days.
Who is going to take care of us when our wells run dry? Who is going to take care of us when we don’t have enough energy for our use because it’s being hogged by a data center? Who is going to keep us from literally losing our minds from the noise of a data center which will also affect our children, our pets, our wildlife?
Resident photo no trespassing involved
I’m tired of being Sister Mary Sunshine on this issue. It’s wrong and when did our government become people who didn’t protect the people who elected them in the first place? Do any of them have courage? That remains to be seen.
Now there’s this narrative being spun in East Whiteland that Foote Mineral really isn’t a super fund/EPA site any longer. Don’t know what they’re smoking, but it really must be good, huh?
Yes. It. Is.
That Foote Mineral site is a bad site and this is a greed driven bad plan. Data centers are not good for any community. And yes I can have that opinion.
And a brief segue to Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and Salem Township. Does anyone really believe that the data center land owners give a crap about the cats living on one particular parcel I mean, where are they going with them? Are they just making them disappear? Doesn’t the potential for animal cruelty matter either?
My greatest fear with these data centers is the reality that our local governments and our state government is creating a Logan‘s Run scenario for the future. And that’s not as crazy as it sounds if you look at what’s happening with the negative effects of data centers in other states already.
I remember the first time I saw Saint Peter’s Village as I guess a teenager. My father wanted to see it, so one day we went. I thought I had stepped into a magical place. It has felt like that every time I have been there since. It is in Warwick Township and has a cool history.
is a preserved 19th-century industrial company town located in a narrow gorge along French Creek. A company town. Much like the Village of Gladwyne, hence the reference. In the 1840s, iron ore was discovered there.
Cradled in the hills surrounding French Creek State Park was a run-down, sad-looking town called St. Peter’s Village. It’s cheerless, empty shops and crumbling walks hid this little Victorian hamlet’s history and charm.Originally founded and built as a ‘company town’ by Davis Knauer to house and provide services to workers of his Black Granite Quarry at French Creek, this picturesque Victorian community began to take shape in 1880.
For many decades families flocked to the village to ‘jump’ the rocks and picnic by the stream.
Winter sleigh rides and festivals were a constant as was, in later years, the sound of old Aunt Lena playing the saw. The village’s fascinating history and the memories of thousands who visited could not preserve it from the descent that followed the closing of the quarry and the subsequent selling of the village by the Knavery family in the late 1970’s.
For over 20 years this charming Victorian town sat neglected with its magnificent Inn deteriorating into a shabby shadow of its former grandeur. But all that has now changed.
Tom Drauschak of Earth Companies, the builder of the nearby Stone Wall Golf Course, and his partner, Vince Piazza, the father of future baseball Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, purchased the Inn as well as several other buildings in the village two years ago and already life has come back to the town. Paver sidewalks were installed, the quarry had what can only be called a ‘face-lift’ and working with the Chester County Historical Society, existing structures have been restored to their 1880s Victorian charm and are now occupied. The historic Inn at St. Peters Village (http://theinnatsaintpetersvillage.com/), which first opened in 1881, has been radiantly restored…The best part, however, are the careful measures that are being taken to maintain the historical integrity of St. Peters. Mr. Drauschak is working with the historical society to ensure that the new construction will be representative of the architecture of the era, thereby making this lovely neighborhood fit seamlessly into the charming village and its setting. Home site reservations at pre-construction pricing are now being accepted. So, what happened to St. Peter’s Village? It’s Renewed, Revitalized and Open for Business!
Wellllllll….I had not really paid attention to the whole thing that this little village always had overlords err owners and then the news broke:
St. Peter’s Village, a 19th-century industrial town along French Creek in northern Chester County that’s protected under the National Register of Historic Places, is being put up for auction by its owners.
The sale includes the Inn at St. Peter’s Village and accompanying restaurant, 121 residential and 13 commercial properties and subterranean mineral rights to the land, according to Philly-based Traiman Auction Company. The village will be sold Sept. 30 at the Desmond Hotel in Malvern.
June 29 is ironically the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul.
AUCTION???? yeah this gets an oh fuuuuuuuuck for sure. The auction house has tried to be coy about ownership but Philadelphia Business Journal burst that cherry:
An entire 83-acre village in Chester County with a hotel, shops and over 100 developable home sites is being put up for auction by Piazza Management Co.
The historic St. Peter’s Village will be auctioned off Sept. 30 with no reserve price at the Desmond Hotel Malvern. At that time, the village will be sold to the highest bidder, no matter the price, and with no set starting bid.
~By Ryan Mulligan – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal
Philadelphia Business Journal also pointed out that this is the SAME Piazza tearing up Ardmore in Lower Merion Township for a mixed use development that will supersize and citify.
Radnor Property Group is set to begin construction on a mixed-use development in Ardmore that will add hundreds of apartments to an area drawing attention from multifamily developers looking to build near transit hubs.
The $187 million, 270-unit development at 100 W. Lancaster Ave. is planned to have about 30,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 480 garage parking spaces, including 108 for public use by retail customers. The project is named The Piazza at Ardmore after property owners Daniel Piazza and his family.
Radnor Property Group CEO David Yeager said he and Daniel Piazza view the project as an opportunity to “create a gateway” into downtown Ardmore.
Those are my photos from when I was in Ardmore recently and I was horrified. Another fun fact? Former East Whiteland Supervisor Rich Orlow works for Piazza, who also has a seemingly stalled project in East Whiteland – a car dealership.
Engineer’s plans, plot plans, and other property details will be available at the property.
Description
Owner has directed an Absolute Auction for their portion of its property located in historic St Peters Village, Warwick Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Step into a one-of-a-kind opportunity in the heart of St. Peter’s Village, a nationally recognized historic destination in Chester County, Pennsylvania. This mixed-use development invites major builders, venture capitalists, and historic preservationists. Located in a growth corridor, this intriguing property sells at absolute auction to the highest bidder. The offering includes 121 Home Sites, consisting of 33 single-family homes, 33 twins, 34 town homes, and 21 expansive 2-acre home sites; also a wastewater treatment plant that services the existing structures, which must be improved by the buyer to accommodate the full build out. Thirteen historic and commercial village buildings—totaling approximately 43,500+/- square feet—create exceptional potential for retail, hospitality, or adaptive reuse. The property also conveys valuable subterranean mineral rights, including documented iron ore deposits, adding a rare investment dimension.
Also includes liquor license, utility systems, personal property, and goodwill
It’s all being sold “as is, where is”.
Now someone has to ask the question is Saint Peter’s Village being auctioned off to pay for Ardmore?
Well?
Last year part of the road was closed by PennDOT, does that have anything to do with this? After all it is no great secret in Chester County that PennDOT road closures can help kill businesses, right?
The small sewage treatment plant nestled into the hill behind St. Peter’s Inn discharges directly into French Creek, an “exceptional value stream” that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is charged with protecting.
The sewage treatment plant has had serious problems over the years with aging pipes that allowed stormwater to infiltrate. Every time it rained, the plant would not be able to handle the flow, and thousands of gallons of raw sewage were discharged into French Creek.
Anyway….GLADWYNE PEOPLE like the good for nothing civic association and Lower Merion Township sit up and pay attention as this could be the fate someday of Gladwyne Village. You have a new owner turning it back into a company/mill kind of town. Don’t say it couldn’t happen in 19035, it certainly damn well could.
I am sure I am not the only one extremely worried about Saint Peter’s Village which to be honest has started to look a little run down in the past couple of years. If residents and preservationists don’t get busy and pay attention who knows what could happen here and it might be on the National Register of Historic Places but how many times have things on that register been demolished for “progress”?
No rest for the historic preservation weary, I’m afraid. Only potential profits for developers, right?
I just can’t with these people. I got an email this morning:
Guess who just declared she is running for Chair of the ChesCo Republican Committee?
Ada Nestor. Yep. Nutjob at large. I have never met her but she is one of those people that when I read her writings, they sound legit….until you start looking into it. But lazy people don’t. They take things at face value. And the crazy thing is she has a following.
This woman is dangerous! She belongs to this group that is some kind of political machine. The RCCC will become some kind of arm of a murky group called Keystone Fair Business that is a 501(c)(6) that will control the RCCC for it’s specific donors, basically making the RCCC a lobbying group. And who is her right hand girl? Felice Fein, chair of whatever area has West Goshen, I can’t remember right now, where Ada is now the Vice Chair.
Anyway, I know you are a fan, so I thought I would clue you in! Re-org is the following Thursday.
She used to love Raffi Terzian until she didn’t. But I’m sure as was the case when she used to go yell at Michelle Kichline at Chester County Commissioner meetings as she thinks her vote means she owns Republican politicians personally, right?
Here’s something off of someplace she scribbles. Just an excerpt:
The screenshots are out of order, probably but they don’t matter because they never make any sense like most things that come out of her mouth.
I love how she’s talking about “success stories.” Let’s start where she lives in West Goshen what Republican success stories do they have there where she is Vice Chair of that Republican Committee? Didn’t they have the guy that scribbled on lawn signs of Democrats and then there was the whole gun raffle ticket at tables at the polls during an election that even appalled the fellow Republicans. Yep so #winning right?
And lest we all forget, this was a woman who thought January 6th and assaulting people at our nation’s capital and defacing our nation’s capital was OK ? And she is part of Klanned Karenhood too?
This is a woman who is a legend in her own mind. She even took to trying to say earlier this year that I was impeding law-enforcement because I wrote about ICE in either Coatesville or Phoenixville or both.
Now the people she brings with her? Felice Fein who has been at the helm of the sinking ship of West Goshen Republicans not knowing her ass from a hole in the wall for how long? And the crazies from Oxford and Tammany Hall politics in the cornfield of Honey Brook Township? Gosh how exciting! (No not really.) These are the people that keep what is left of the Republican party in the toilet. Remember what my pen pal said:
The RCCC will become some kind of arm of a murky group called Keystone Fair Business that is a 501(c)(6) that will control the RCCC for it’s specific donors, basically making the RCCC a lobbying group. And who is her right hand girl? Felice Fein
So it’s up to all of you whomever you are as Republicans. Do you want nutbags to further ruin what national politics has done to local and regional Republican committees, or someone like Dave Buckta who will tell them to sit down and mind their place?
While Raffi’s politics have never been mine, he is not a bad person. I first met him through the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust events years ago. He has tolerated an unbelievable amount of constant garbage from the QAnon Princess and those like her. Well, now once again, they want to take over. Why??? Because of the guy Dave Buckta who is in line to be Chair. NO BS about him and they can’t have that, can they? And no, I do not know Dave Buckta, only have actually heard positive things about him and he is not a crazy nutbag QAnon conspiracy theorist who suffers from chronic identity crises.
Dave Buckta who is the current Vice Chair of the Chester County Republicans is too normal, doesn’t live his best fake life on social media, therefore in Ms.- Pretzel -Logic -QAnon- Princess- with- a- Bible- Verse style, he must be bad. That means of course he has probably said no to her or her sidekick Felice- I -Whine -Fein right?
She’s even tried to pervert the data center issues. Going back to her QAnon roots, bless her heart, and everything has a bible verse like it absolves her behavior. (It doesn’t.)
Of course now, Martyr QAnon Princess will rise from the ashes and create a wailing wall about me for writing this. She still never gets her largest impediment to her success is herself, and always will be. She will launch another campaign making me the problem.
LOL I am neither Republican nor Democrat. Her followers with speak about how “liberal” I am, but am I really? I have never thought so. I am just not a Stepford Wife. Women like her say they admire independent thinkers and women, but they don’t. Maybe just my opinion, but a lot of that has to do with their insecurities and feverishly wanting to belong, yet always being slightly on the fringes.
Look Chester County Republicans, you have a choice, and if this one gets another insecure foot in the door, you can really and truly kiss the Republican Party good-bye. If you want a better party, don’t let the worst in. Keep the tin foil hats outside, and The Real Housewives of West Goshen cast members OUT.
