See 1:09:27 time mark in meeting for when the discussion of the police disciplinary action starts.
Back in January I wrote about a disturbing incident involving the treatment of a black woman which occurred in Bala Cynwyd in the WaWa parking lot which was videoed and witnessed with horror by onlookers.
This was widely covered in the media, as well it should have been. So here we are in March. Now they are talking punishment for the police officer. Lower Merion’s website allows you to download their meetings. So I downloaded March 8th, 2023 Lower Merion Meeting and watched it. At the 1:09:27 mark starts the police discussion. That is at the top of this post for all of you. I am going to jump into some of the commentary.
Lower Merion Police Superintendent Mike McGrath who has been under fire with his own force (vote of no confidence in 2022) , suggested an EIGHT HOUR SUSPENSION. Yes EIGHT as in 8. That was so shocking. What a slap in the face for anyone not a white face in Lower Merion and concerning for anyone in my humble opinion, women especially, travelling through Lower Merion in their cars. That woman was also a victim no matter what else happened. What happened to de-escalation tactics?
So then the public weighted in, demanding change. Interesting to listen to was former Commissioner Brian Gordon who is a very kind, fair, and thoughtful human being. He spoke about things proposed in 2015 that never really happened. Among other things. Some commissioner unfamiliar to me named McComb was actually kind of rude to him.
The other commissioner comment that smacked of hail fellow well met and worse, was Scott Zelov. He has been on that board a long time , maybe too long at this point, sadly. Prior to the board of commissioners he ran unsuccessfully for Lower Merion Township School Board at least once. His comments make one believe 100% in term limits. And he should be ashamed of himself. He thought an 8 hour suspension was jolly good. And talked about the charges against this woman. Does what they did justify the things they charged her with or does what they charged her with justify what they did?
I watched that video taken while that woman was being put through it by Lower Merion cops. It was terrifying. The woman was terrified.
I am not being a drama queen writing that this made me want to scream in outrage, cry, and be terrified. What is going on with Lower Merion Police Department?
I never talked about Lower Merion and their police really before this. I have law enforcement in my family so I am extraordinarily aware of how difficult a career path it is and I have respect for the badge. But what happens when you feel that some of those who wear the badge don’t have respect for you and others? Do your feelings matter, no matter who you are? Also note from jump I am not saying police shouldn’t do their jobs. But was this thing that happened really good policing and good police?
Regardless of what that woman may or may not have done – which didn’t seem to show up on the video, did she deserve to be treated the way she was? Listen to the meeting. Think on it. I do not think the racial and civic divide in Lower Merion can get much worse, and I too remember the issues of the past that residents commenting referred to.
Lower Merion is indeed a dumpster fire right now. They need a new police committee, and they need to look at the Township Manager Ernie McNeely. There seems to be a lot of chaos since he came to town, which is astounding because he was supposed to the best thing since sliced bread, right? As for Superintendent Mike McGrath, I think for his own sake he should retire. I mean does he really have control over his department or respect from his force?
This is horrifying and sad all at the same time. And while they throw the book at the black woman who was dragged around and tased, where is the balance on the inappropriate actions of the police officer and the officers who didn’t step in and pull him off of that woman?
Lower Merion Commissioners, you need to represent all segments of the population equally and you know you aren’t. You need to do the best by all residents not just your popular kids.
The longer this issue goes on, the sadder and worse it gets. Did I mention dumpster fire?
FEBRUARY 28, 2023 / BY CAROLINE O’HALLORAN / 43 COMMENTS /
Hillary White Jean wafted into Wayne on a cloud of luxury perfume, designer heels, extravagant cars and personal charm.
Sixteen months later, her splashy store, JWH Boutique, departed in the December darkness, leaving a string of angry landlords, fashion vendors and small business owners in her wake.
Court and police records show that Jean:
has declared bankruptcy five times in three states since 2011, most recently on Jan. 30 of this year.
has been repeatedly sued for alleged nonpayment of bills and has had at least four court judgments entered against her since 2021.
has been arrested three times since arriving in Wayne: twice last summer for passing fraudulent checks and once three weeks ago for witness intimidation, harassment and other charges at her preliminary criminal hearing before Radnor District Judge Leon Hunter. The Delaware County DA and Radnor and Newtown police have all confirmed ongoing investigations of Jean.
To the public, she was a smart businesswoman, a former hairdresser from Haiti with a sharp eye for style and a winning personality who worked hard for the designer clothes she wore and the Range Rover she drove.
Jean marketed herself as both “the first black business owner in Wayne” and a fashion pioneer who was upping the Main Line’s style game. “We’re bringing Rodeo Drive to the Main Line,” she once told SAVVY with a 100-watt smile.
Everyone and everything in Jean’s orbit looked the part. Her clothes were chic, her stores were sleek, her website polished.
And the media lapped it up.
She ran prominent ads for a year in Philadelphia Style, including a pricey full-page spotlight as a “Dynamic Woman” of 2022.
She made the rounds of TV news shows and newsmagazines.
And she threw showy shindigs, most notably last fall’s “Cocktails and Fabulosity” party to celebrate the opening of her second Wayne location. The e-vite asked guests to “dress to impress;” she hired a “Real Housewife of NYC” to up the glam factor….….But court and police records and our interviews with multiple sources reveal a woman who repeatedly changed names, addresses and businesses and stiffed people and companies whose fashions she sold, whose space she rented, and whose services she engaged.
In the last two years, Hillary White Jean has opened and closed three stores: Lady M Boutique (M was for millionaire) in Glen Mills, HJ Boutique at 106 E. Lancaster Ave. in Wayne (now the home of Wheelhouse Cards) and JWH Boutique at 209 E. Lancaster Ave. at the former Mattress Factory/Tehrani Rug Co. building, also in Wayne.
At 3,700 sq. ft., JWH Boutique was her most largest and most exalted emporium yet. Like the others, it lasted mere months until, faced with a court-ordered repossession by her landlords, Reuben, Benjamin and Youdi Tehrani, she quietly moved out on New Year’s Eve…..According to her own handwritten bankruptcy filing, Jean owes nearly $1.4 million to 27 different entities. While the bankruptcy claim is pending, creditors must stop collection efforts. If the bankruptcy goes through, Jean’s debts will be wiped out.
Among her listed creditors in addition to her two Wayne landlords: $44,189.85 to the fashion label Camilla Australia (a top vendor), $46,000 for a Land Rover car loan, $40,000 to Modern Luxury (owner of Philadelphia Style), $7,210.96 to PR agent Sarah Doheny of YUB PR, and a total of roughly $10,000 to the party planner, florist, and photo/video team she hired for “Cocktails and Fabulosity.”
In her bankruptcy filing, Jean claimed these were all personal – not business – debts. She filed under the last name “Jean Joseph.” On every other court and police record we reviewed, she is named “Hillary White Jean.”…On June 10, 2022, Jean was arrested, charged with four counts of passing bad checks and one count of deceptive business practices. According to court records, she was confined to Delaware County Prison briefly on July 18 until she was able to post $10,000 bail.
On August 15, Radnor Police arrested Jean a second time and charged her with passing bad checks and “theft by unlawful taking”…She did, however, attend her Feb. 9 preliminary hearing on criminal misdemeanor charges in Delaware County District Court. The hearing never happened because witnesses saw Jean moving closer to and pointing her iPad at alleged victim Volpe Beringer in the waiting area, presumably to take photos in violation of posted PA law, according to Reuben Tehrani, Volpe Beringer and a third alleged victim who wishes to remain anonymous.
Jean was also overheard repeatedly saying “bitch” as she spoke to a companion “in a foreign language,” according to the Newtown Township police report.
At Judge Leon Hunter’s direction, Jean was arrested. Police charged her with witness intimidation (a felony), harassment, disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a recording device in court, the report states.
If convicted, she could be fined, put on house arrest or jailed.
So once we all got over oh le shock because of all the schools for scandal which have popped up on the Main Line, this one is a true doozy position, yes? So this morning, this is what popped up on Instagram:
I thought wow, she’s playing a card I didn’t see coming. Maybe I should have. We’ll start with the obvious: explain the “lies”? One of the folks she is in dispute with has shared this which was posted on social media:
So….there was also NYC. Found this video, which if it ends up like other social media will disappear, but for now there is also “in the beginning“:
So obviously this is an extraordinarily bright and resourceful woman, yes? So why did it all lead to this? And how? And her post today, which I am today was maybe not the only one? Is she someone who has literally been caught doing not such nice things and her response is to play the race card?
Yes there ARE two sides to every story BUT #alsharpton #protest #blackmainline REALLY? Is she saying this happened to her because she is black? Is she trying to get a civil rights thing going to cover up what was reported or distract from it? That just sat funny with me. So I called black friends to ask them their opinions. After all, I am a white middle aged woman and I don’t know what it is to be anything other me.
I spoke with black and bi-racial friends. I sent them the article from Savvy and the screen shot above. I asked them their thoughts. These friends are from various areas, including the Main Line (and not from living there as of five minutes ago.) They all said they found what she implied distasteful and one friend in particular said that it is wrong and just bad form to cry wolf after getting caught doing something potentially terrible and saying it’s a racial issue. A black female friend said black women have to work twice as hard as other women so why do something that may be classified as God don’t like ugly?
I marvel at this whole sad tale, and it is sad. Again, obviously a bright woman, so what happened? What is the disconnect? There is a lot wrong with the Main Line, no one can ever deny that. But to imply if she was white this wouldn’t happen? Nope sorry. If anything, I think she actually didn’t research the area she was coming into enough. And underestimated what would happen when she went from a smaller stage in Glen Mills and Delaware prior to that to a larger stage in Wayne, PA. And she started in New York, right? Huge city, blink and people are onto something else. But the Main Line? Over priced fishbowl. You could be a pink pussycat, it would still happen.
And let’s talk about that whole coming to Wayne. She got lots of press. She had a publicist who placed it well. That put a giant spotlight on her. Television and magazine and more. I have to wonder if the designer Caycee Black from Project Runway really hit her DMs up on Instagram?
The Main Line is a funny place. Always has been. However, even though it is more nouveau Main Line these days, you still have to watch how hard you try to climb. People keep book. It’s true. I actually have warned some others in the past who didn’t pay attention to that. While they didn’t have the scandal factor, it still didn’t work out how they planned. But this lady? Check her debtors list for the bankruptcy, it’s quite the who’s who. And seems like most aren’t talking. Why?
One thing I do not get is how did this all get so far? It’s genuinely a head scratcher for sure. Maybe we will never know. Maybe she will move away and the scandal will be forgotten. Except this happened in Radnor Township. Tongues wag there as fast and furious as in Lower Merion….and well when you pose for faux society photos….and I did have to laugh that these were still posted on the photog’s website of “society” because face it, Main Line “society” as it were doesn’t really exist anymore anyway.
Is this a story that will grow legs, or die on the Main Line and off? Too early to tell but I have to ask, are they opening a store in the Hamptons? If she thinks the Main Line is a tough crowd, oy wait until the bloom falls off the rose up there, right? Is she still pals with her housewives?
More in the category of social media manners matter.
Recently, a friend of mine posted their experience at an upscale restaurant in a closed group that is supposed to be about restaurant reviews and more. They weren’t nasty. They loved the food, but there were other parts of the overall restaurant experience outside of the food that bothered them.
Things like driving some distance to a restaurant that said they had valet parking only they did not really. Apparently around the corner, there was a valet guy, but he wasn’t particularly pleasant. A restaurant should not offer valet, if they cannot offer valet and it’s all right to tell people they don’t have enough staff for valet or whatever the case may be. And if someone has called in a reservation and leaves their phone number or they email a restaurant, why can’t a restaurant let the customer know that valet staff might be limited, here are the self-parking options? When people are prepared ahead of time, a problem isn’t necessarily a problem is it? Or if life happens and people don’t show up to work, just take a little more time with your customers when they arrive.
Other things like where your table is located. No one wants to be in restaurants Siberia, which to me is right by the kitchen door, having a go fwack, fwack. Or a table immediately opposite a bathroom. I mean who wants to hear flushing toilets as part of their expensive dining experience? It doesn’t lend to the ambience of a place. Which is why a lot of restaurants will have partitions going to the bathrooms so you don’t hear them or down a little hallway so you don’t hear them, see them, smell them. Some restaurants are small and should consider maybe a couple of less tables.
Also on the topic of tables would be specific requests. If a customer calls and says to the hostess or whomever when they are making the reservation that they would really love a table in a certain spot and can they be accommodated, don’t say yes, you can accommodate them if you actually cannot. It’s OK to politely say no I wish we could do that but we’re all booked or whatever. No one wants to lose a customer in this economy, but a quicker way to lose a customer is to say you will do some thing and then when they arrive, it’s not that at all.
Little bits of conversation with a potential customer, especially if they might have a special need goes miles in keeping customers. For example, a friend of mine said to me just recently that now because of health concerns, they have a very specific diet and they were super impressed with the new restaurant out near us, who took the time to steer them on the menu before they came in, to make sure that health related dietary restrictions could be kept. that is very cool customer service. I have food allergies and sometimes I ask questions ahead of time and I’ve had people be annoyed with me for asking questions. Personally, I think if one of my allergies caused a medical emergency in the middle of their dining room floor, that would be a lot worse but what do I know?
And that’s just the real world of it all. The not so real world of it all occurs when people leave an honest review of a restaurant within a closed group that is about restaurant reviews. No one wants to see a restaurant unnecessarily slammed, but if someone is thoughtful in their reply, and they show balance of what they loved, and what they liked and what they didn’t really care for how is that a bad thing? But we’re not talking about a review on the restaurant’s website or a Google review or a Yelp, we’re talking about a conversation you should be able to have within a closed group that is about the topic of local dining or travel, or whatever. Or even just a local group where you live that’s more generalist in nature, but contains things like this.
I am someone who knows a few restaurant owners, and a few chefs. One literally said to me yesterday when we were talking about this very topic that even if they do not want to hear it, they really want to hear it. Because sometimes they don’t know because they are so close to the topic. This person said to me they like to hear about a total experience, not just the food because it is something that could be a simple fix or improvement. To this friend, it’s simple: if they don’t know they can’t address and/or potentially improve the situation.
The flipside of this is, I have seen plenty of people who were just nasty to be nasty about a place. And I have seen restaurant owners and chefs be so incredibly gracious to these people to try to address their concerns.
I am someone who was totally slammed by a restaurant owner because I gave a mixed review one time. I wasn’t even negative. I praised to the heavens everything I liked, and was honest, but not mean about what I didn’t like. As a result of the way I was treated I will never be a return customer. Maybe that doesn’t matter to some people, but the restaurant owners and chefs I know really want to do the best by their customers whenever possible. And when this happened to me, it wasn’t in person, it wasn’t in a phone call, it was on social media. So when I see this happening to someone else for whatever reason, it gives me pause, especially when it’s from another member of the community.
Then there are the people that don’t like the terminology you use. If you use waiter or waitress instead of server. if you say janitor instead of custodian. Or my favorite is, you could never refer to a secretary as an administrative assistant. Some secretaries prefer to be referred to as a secretary. These words aren’t pejorative terms, they are alternate terms for a similar job description. But people get so hung up on being the online political correctness police that they go on and on and on about this completely missing the point of what somebody was trying to say, and being rather rude while they were at it.
Do I take offense if somebody just calmly kind of says to me, have you considered using a different term? I’m actually kind of OK with that even if I don’t agree with them, but the whole heavy-handed approach of the keyboard warriors leaves a lot to be desired. Keyboard warriors or typing tigers have room only for what their perspective is, not anyone else’s. And when you’re in a group setting or a guest on someone’s page, how is that even appropriate or helpful?
I belong to social media groups like ones that tell you about restaurants and different places to go and visit because I’m genuinely interested. But I also appreciate people who will say what their experience was honestly without being mean because I think you should be able to discuss things. And I think that is the biggest problem with so many people on social media today is that you cannot discuss anything.
There are some groups, even some which I belong to, that you’re never allowed to really be completely honest if anything is negative that you have to say. You cannot write it even if you are balancing with several positives. You’re just not allowed to say it. I understand wanting to keep a balance and keeping a group membership happy, but when did we lose the ability to be honest with one another, without tearing each other to bits?
When it comes to dining out or traveling, I appreciate the feedback of others, who aren’t just publicists or members of some marketing team for a restaurant or a resort, but people who have actually done what you’re thinking of doing or visited where you’re thinking of visiting or dined where you want to dine. That’s why I’m not a compensated blogger. I chose that because when I voice my opinion, or give a review, it’s because I am just like everybody else, a customer.
And while on the topic, I appreciate actual writers who write a review who are not being compensated by the business to do so, it’s their job to review things. And I also appreciate the reviews of people in a comparable industry, who tell you what it was like for them to go somewhere. I don’t necessarily have to agree with any of these things that others are writing, but I appreciate the time they took to be honest.
Anyway, sorry to have another post on a similar topic, but these things keep cropping up and honestly? My opinion is people can be better and do better. I don’t pretend to be perfect, by any stretch of the imagination but I do not get why people join groups to share experiences, only they’re not allowed to open their mouths if their experience is less than glowing. After all, not all unicorns fart rainbows, some are just regular unicorns.
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.
I know I’m being repetitive, but there are just some people that you meet over the course of your life who are really special. Irénée du Pont Jr. was one of those people.
Over 20 years ago I was on the Main Line Delaware Committee for The Philadelphia Orchestra. At the time I was younger than all but a handful of the women by at least 20 or 30 years. There were three of us who were the youngest and they referred to us as the “working girls”. Yes, truly. They had no idea what they were actually saying when they said that – what they meant is that we worked. The majority of the rest of the members did not work. A few were high powered executives, but the majority of the ladies did not have to work.
So they planned this car rally fundraiser for the Orchestra that ended at Granogue, home and estate of Irénée du Pont, Jr.
When we were doing the walk through of the event, the event committee met at Granogue. Mr. du Pont was fascinating to meet and so nice to us. He showed us his home, his greenhouses, his collection of cars, and the water tower on the estate which has hands down the best view of the Brandywine Valley.
He took me up to the top of the water tower with a couple of the committee members. And he saw me looking over at the amazing greenhouses on the estate next to the mansion house that afternoon where he had banana trees. He then gave me permission back on that day to wander through his greenhouses. That’s where I first fell in love with the look of banana trees, even in a pot. (I have two banana trees of my own today overwintering in my family room.)
I never forgot meeting him or climbing to the top of the water tower. (And I said back at the time if I ever had the chance to go up to the top of the water tower again, I would bring a camera!)
Flash forward a couple of decades and I get go to another couple of events on Granogue. The last time was 2016. This time I climbed the water tower with a camera and I had the rare repeat opportunity to meet Mr. DuPont again. At this point he was well into his 90s.
In 2016, Mr. du Pont his wife Barbara had been married over 70 years when I saw him for the last time. He was an old school gentleman with a love of family, nature, people, and cars.
His beloved wife Barbara Batchelder du Pont died at 96 years of age in 2021. I remember thinking when she passed, that they had had such a love story that I wondered how he would go on without her. I saw a friend at an event this past fall who told me that Mr. du Pont was rather frail.
Irénée du Pont Jr died at 103 years old on January 16, 2023. I am legitimately sad. I think he was a really amazing man. Very humble and so bright, yet utterly down to earth. It was such a great experience to have the opportunity to meet him on different occasions. I still have the CD of the organ at Granogue he gave me so many years ago. I will freely admit organ music is not my jam but he was so proud of that Aeolian pipe organ!
A friend of mine once lived in one of the tenant properties as well. Mr. du Pont’s home, Granogue, was a truly beautiful place. It is a working farm and the beauty of his estate is naturalistic and magnificent. At one time, he also had his own train stop outside the boundaries of the estate. I am also pretty sure he had in his garage every car he had ever owned, and he had an amazing collection.
They don’t make men like him anymore. May he rest in eternal peace and happiness with his beloved wife.
I hope his estate remains intact. It is the most beautiful swath of land.
A long time friend from whence I came called me this morning. Had I seen “the” video about Lower Merion Police Department? I did not have any idea of what she was talking about. She sent me a link.
I am not being a drama queen writing that this made me want to scream in outrage, cry, and be terrified. What is going on with Lower Merion Police Department?
I grew up in Lower Merion. I met so many awesome and helpful police officers who were just good at their jobs for the right reasons from the time I was growing up through to when I left Lower Merion in my late 40s. So literally over 40 years. I will be honest, however, and say I encountered some that I was a little less enthused with. Who gave me pause, right or wrong.
I never talked about Lower Merion and their police really before. I have law enforcement in my family so I am extraordinarily aware of how difficult a career path it is and I have respect for the badge. But what happens when you feel that some of those who wear the badge don’t have respect for you and others? Do your feelings matter no matter who you are? Also note from jump I am not saying police shouldn’t do their jobs. But was this thing that happened really good policing and good police?
Also, If you talk about police and it’s not 100% positive, you often put yourself at risk. Sorry not sorry that is how I feel, and surely all the TV programs that discuss things like this have to have some real life inspiration somewhere, right? What I am going to talk about is long past, but it came rushing back today when I saw this video.
Right or wrong, when I was growing up and well into adulthood in Lower Merion, you were told (in a hushed tone) as a woman don’t get pulled over as a woman alone in a car. RIGHT OR WRONG being the key here. I always thought this was like urban legend until a rainy night many. many years ago now.
We were in the thick of fighting Lower Merion Township over eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore, or maybe it was just after eminent domain was killed which was like 2006. Below is a video of a news report that aired right before we killed eminent domain. I found it as I was thinking about my timeline. It’s a bit of an aside, but what we accomplished then (at personal expense sometimes) was kind of huge.
Anyway, when you take a stand against something big, you become a target. During those years private citizens and business owners alike, we were targets. It could be unnerving. Lower Merion Township was THAT angry we wanted to air dirty laundry about eminent domain. I have never known if what I went through was related, but somehow it felt related, right or wrong.
So this one night I was driving home after a Save Ardmore Coalition meeting above Hu Nan in Ardmore (the original Save Ardmore Coalition, not what it eventually became before it fizzled out when most of us were gone away.) It was a nasty rainy night. Driving, teeming rain. I was driving home when all of a sudden I saw flashing lights behind me. I drive like grandma, so I wasn’t speeding or anything. I didn’t think the police car meant me. But then I realized it was me being all flashed at and sirened, so I put on my hazards and stopped.
A policeman came up to the window of my car, yelling. He was yelling did I know what I did? I said (quietly) why are you yelling at me? That of course made him yell louder. We did the whole license and registration request and meanwhile I am on Lancaster Avenue headed west between Ardmore and Haverford, just past Woodside Road and the other side of a light not there, but next one up. S. Wyoming or something maybe? It was a weird light.
In between the shouting and the passing off to him of my information he tells me I ran a light. Again, I drive like Grandma, so I am not your lead foot pedal to the metal kind of driver. I did not run a light, and I am wracking my brain trying to think was the light changing as I went through it or something and I simply did not know. As I am sitting there I am becoming more and more uncomfortable and scared. I could feel myself shaking but didn’t let on or tried not to. Traffic was speeding past us at such a rate that I asked if we could literally move like 20 feet maybe into the parking lot that was just slightly up to the right. It wasn’t an accident scene, and it would have been safer for all. I really thought someone was going to hit the officer in his dark uniform standing outside my car or either one of our vehicles. The officer yelled at me no we weren’t moving. I asked again why he was yelling at me, which made him yell louder again. I never yelled, he never stopped, was that right? Was that a tactic? What was that?
OK look, I wasn’t being argumentative and told him that. I was a woman alone, very uncomfortable, very unsure as to what I actually did and terrified that I was going to get hit, he was going to get hit, WE were going to get hit. This was then the end of it and I drove home with my ticket, shaking. I kept on shaking for a good while after inside my home.
This was a new experience for me. I always before this had this kind of hero thing for police and firefighters. But this? It made me never want to drive at night as a woman ever again anywhere. I did take it to court and it didn’t make me feel any better. The whole experience left me feeling unsafe, uncomfortable. You see I complained, after the fact, so I still ask was I made to feel uncomfortable for a while because of that? I lived in Lower Merion for many years after this, and I always felt apprehensive even seeing a Lower Merion officer after that. As someone who is a law abiding rule follower even if I am occasionally politically/civically mouthy, I never looked at the police force where I grew up ever the same way again. And all these years later, this makes me very uncomfortable and sad to talk about. I hadn’t thought about all this for years until today, and watching that video brought it all back. Like a whoosh.
This scenario, right or wrong is one of those things that you aren’t just looking at race, you are thinking as a woman, what if she was me? What if that was me? What if I had been tased more than once?
Then it’s the scenario of a black woman being terrified, a cop with his gun out (listen to the recording – a woman who also happens to be a lawyer who was there speaking about it), and other black people as car passengers. This woman was handcuffed while her breasts were exposed after they dragged her out of the car? And tased how many times? According to the video, the female lawyer who saw it said the car passengers said tased 3 times? In the end like MORE than the police cars we can see in the video? Like 7 they say on the video? How is this not so incredibly action movie set excessive?
Then after that one experience of mine in years that followed, I had two experiences at public events where I was photographing said events, including one as the as the event photographer where I had police yell at me for taking photos. These were clear no expectation of privacy in a public space kind of deals and in one instance, a police officer from a suburban police force actually touched my person in front of witnesses including one of the event organizers and tried to literally RIP my camera off of me for taking event photos. In the middle of a public street, at a family friendly music event.
But these incidents have stuck with me. I rarely talk about them. And a big irony I keep coming back to regarding this whole LMPD debacle? National Night Out, the annual nationwide event to bring police and community together was founded in Lower Merion.
I live in a municipality now that I think has an amazing police force. I feel lucky.
Lower Merion Police Department is I don’t know what to think these days, but after this latest thing? Change has to happen. Multiple big white guys, one black woman. Her shirt is pulled up and in disarray, and I somehow don’t think it’s a Mardi Gras celebration and there will be beads, right?
To the poor lady, I am not trying to make light of what I have seen on video. I am so not. That terrifies me. That could be anyone. And if you listen to the recording which was as the whole thing was unfolding, this was for a supposed traffic infraction and the WOMAN COULDN’T SAFELY PULL OVER IN TRAFFIC, HEAVY TRAFFIC!!! This woman pulled into a parking lot, which is one of those public place situations/reactions women are told to do if they feel unsure, or unsafe.
And then all of a sudden it’s one, then two, then three, then FOUR police officers…eventually 7 cars as per the video. If I was THAT woman I would have been terrified I wasn’t getting home alive or in one piece. Absolutely freaking terrified. ALL yelling at her. And HOW many times is it even LEGAL to tase someone? It seems from the video she was tased MULTIPLE times. But seriously, they could have thrown her into cardiac arrest or something doing it more than once, couldn’t they have? What if she had a pacemaker for example?
And yes, the woman was cussing a blue streak at them by the end. I have to say in this circumstance however, if it was you or me would you have been able to not cuss them out given what transpired? I mean Jesus. What was all that?
Lower Merion Police has had a slew of issues making the papers off and on the past couple/few years. I am putting a few articles up because I think it is timely and I have to ask is this a department in turmoil?
This scares me what happened. What happened to me all those years ago has indeed stuck with me, right or wrong. And it’s hard to talk about because we are not supposed to criticize law enforcement.
But Lower Merion needs to deal with this, as well as their commissioner police committee and their Township Manager Ernie McNeely, who used to be West Chester Borough’s Township Manager. I will note that one Lower Merion Commissioner Scott Zelov has been on the police committee forever, and really, they need to deal with this. Something is wrong if things like this are happening.
Thank you for the brave women who put this forward in a video. That takes guts and courage. And again to the woman to whom this happened: I am really sorry. No woman black or white deserves what happened to you. It’s scary and was all unnecessary and should not be swept under the rug. I hope she will be O.K. That is enough to cause PTSD for real.
I have now walked away from this post for a while to let it simmer. I still feel quite strongly that this needs to be addressed. This is not just a race thing, this is something that needs to be dealt with for all women. And men. This is something that will outrage and sadden, and cause fear.
I found some press release thing via screen shot. Not sure to whom it was released and then I went to their website and I see a thing about George Floyd? Well what about Jane Doe from Norristown and her traffic stop 1/8/23? You as a department, can’t talk the talk if you don’t walk the walk and this thing that has happened? This thing will also affect other police departments who weren’t part of this “event”. Not right either.
Police are here to protect us. And this is not some de-fund the police post, so we’re clear. This is a big box of wrong that needs to be unpacked, discussed, resolved. Lower Merion isn’t the Magic Kingdom even in as much as they think they should be.
What happened shouldn’t have. I end this post being so lost in thought about after all we have been through as a country that this shit is still happening. To my friends who still live in Lower Merion, please demand better from this township.
ARDMORE, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — A Lower Merion Police Lieutenant is serving a 3-day suspension after allegedly providing help to a police candidate during an entrance exam.
Sources throughout the police department in Lower Merion told Action News the allegations have only added fuel to an already fractured relationship between some officers and police leadership. They also believe the punishment was not severe enough.
Sources inside the Lower Merion Police Department said a lieutenant, as part of a panel administering an oral exam to prospective officers, provided questions to one of the candidates before the exam earlier this summer.
Sources said after the candidate “aced” the test, it was clear to two other lower-ranking officers on the panel that the candidate knew the questions.
After an investigation, Police Superintendent Mike McGrath handed down a three-day suspension and it was approved by the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners. Action News is not naming the lieutenant.
Rank and file sources say the punishment was not severe enough, and compromised the department’s motto of integrity, professionalism and respect. They also accused the superintendent of trying to downplay the severity of the misconduct.
…Regular monthly meetings of the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners can be staid affairs. Presentations are made, reports distributed, ordinances amended. There are occasional raised voices from the public, and a developer might draw an unruly crowd
Wednesday night’s meeting was something else entirely, as a township police officer and resident separately accused the Lower Merion Police Department of racism and sexual assault, respectively. The ensuing local media spotlight left Lower Merion officials and the Montgomery County District Attorney to handle the allegations.
An African-American, Officer Kerry Godbold, backed by a group of township residents, said a civil service exam list, which he said put him at or near the top of the promotions list, was intentionally allowed to expire in order to avoid promoting a black officer.
“These are really some very serious allegations that have been made,” said Commissioner Jenny Brown, underscoring the commissioners’ concern that black residents felt underrepresented within the police department, and the audience applauded when commissioners said it was an issue that needed to be addressed further.
Later, an unnamed Bryn Mawr woman appeared at the podium and claimed she was sexually assaulted and stalked by a Lower Merion police officer, who she did not name at the time. She also said she was illegally detained by another officer—a friend of the first accused cop—and threatened, after she made a report of the assault.
“I was totally shocked,” said Board of Commissioners President Liz Rogan. “I certainly wasn’t expecting to see anything like that. But we take any allegations of impropriety very seriously, so we want a thorough and objective investigation to take place.”
Said Rogan to the woman before she left the podium: “I don’t want you to be embarrassed about this.”
Two days later, the county is investigating the woman’s accusations, and the Board of Commissioners says it wants to address and settle the officer’s accusations in-house, cooperating with members of the community.
The New York Times reported in 2014 on the vacated 1944 murder conviction of a 14-year-old black boy, George J. Stinney, “the youngest person executed in the United States in the last century.” Stinney was convicted of the murder of two white girls in a trial that took less than a day, and was executed only three months after the day of his arrest.
Circuit Court Judge Carmen T. Mullen’s decision to vacate, or legally nullify, the conviction was not based on the merit of the case but because “[t]he prosecution had failed in numerous ways to safeguard the constitutional rights of Mr. Stinney, who was black, from the time he was taken into custody until his death by electrocution.”
In light of the 2014 police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, along with other notable cases where a white police officer killed a black suspect, a reasonable person may ask the question, “Has much about the justice and police system changed in the last 70 years?”
From Stinney’s case in 1944 to the cases of Garner and Brown in 2014 and many others, police and judicial racism against black citizens blights the United States’ national history. Closer to home, a history of racial profiling allegations exists in the Lower Merion Township, perhaps less violent or high-profile than that of Philadelphia or national breaking cases, but no less important.
In 2011, Officer Kerry Godbold accused the Lower Merion Police Department of racially biased hiring and promotion policies, which further consultant investigation found to be untrue. In January 2015, Wynnewood resident Deborah Saldana speculated that the police stop of two African-American snow shovelers was racially motivated, which the police department denied on the basis of previous illegal solicitation stops.
Both of these incidents were covered in Harriton Banner reports. According to a 6ABC report, a February 2015 meeting between residents and police gave no further satisfaction towards ending a legacy of tension.
Data and coverage of police bias events on the national and even local scale abound, but we wondered what stories we would find within our own school. In order to learn more, in December 2014, we interviewed two Harriton focus groups, one composed of ten black students in the POWER program, and the other of ten white students in Mr. Crooke’s journalism class.
The primary question was whether any of the students had been stopped by police. Though the groups were small and we were unable to account for the exact reasons students had been stopped, the numbers between the races were quite different: Eight of the ten black students had been stopped, while two of the ten white students had experienced similar treatment.
Matt Powell, then a Harriton senior, had on a black hoodie and got stopped across Lancaster Avenue. A white woman had become frightened, but in remembering, Powell wasn’t sure if it was because he was wearing all black or because he is black. Ethan Anderson, also a former senior, got stopped once while biking.
Savannah Brown, then a junior, reported that she was stopped and questioned by law enforcement when walking home from a friend’s house down the street. Later in the interview, Brown shared that she has multiple relatives who are cops, and although she does not hold any resentment or suspicion toward them, she still believes that some of their colleagues are doing wrong.
She was with Chris Fulton and Robyn Clark when, as Fulton described, the three students were stopped as they crossed a street. The officer told them not to jaywalk and said “Don’t do it again” to Fulton but not to Clark and Brown. Fulton felt uncomfortable, like the stop was “politically incorrect.”
The world according to West Whiteland Stupidvisor Theresa HoganSantalucia , but is her truth anyone else’s?
Saint Theresa of West Whiteland. What can we say about her that is not true? She’s unpleasant, a bad bullying politician, petty, a wannabe tyrant and more, correct? She is incredibly angry and insecure, takes no ownership of her behavior, does she? She is a professional victim after she melts down every single time, isn’t she?
And oh yes, politician darling, I can indeed express my opinions on you.And ask questions.
We all remember her behavior at the reorg meeting in West Whiteland last January, yes? And that the truth with her is always stranger than fiction, correct? So before we get to the present and her relatively new Facebook page of revisionist history essentially insinuating she is the sole supervisor in West Whiteland, Bossette Tweed needs a dose of reality, truth, and recent history as it actually happened, not as she wishes it to be.
So every meeting or not even in meetings there are Theresaisms. Her clumsy, almost uncomfortable way of speaking. Her flipping out at residents and targeting whomever she feels is in her way, right?
Oh and the company she keeps. State Rep. Kristine Howard’s boys in particular are her BFFs and cheerleaders, correct? And Kristine Howard is a State Rep who only got reelected because her opposition was truly a nut bag, and now she wants to be a judge and does she even have courtroom experience? (But I digress.) Here lookee Lou at a recent T Bird post (which is PUBLIC note the globe):
In 2023 I am glad T Bird is suggesting reach across the “isle”, but I hope the islanders can swim, right? No you can’t make this stuff up, or her new page announcing her as West Whiteland Supervisor, like she’s the only freaking one, and how funny is that? Those sitting in Harrisburg and with aspirations in Harrisburg and who like to play at the power behind the throne, might wish to distance themselves, yes?
Now Madam doesn’t list her name or her bio. When she adds her bio I am sure Moses won’t have anything on her, right? And before I get to the next bit let’s seriously talk for a minute about what she has done while in office? Besides wreak havoc?
I’ll wait.
Does anything come to mind?
Yep, I can’t think of anything either and I know for a fact that residents prefer to go to Raj Kumbhardare or Brian Dunn. You see they are nice, they care, they listen. They are secure in who they are and are beloved by their friends and families. Guess she’s jealous, right? Sad, so sad. Pathetic, even.
So a brief segue to the recent 2023 reorganization meeting. I knew it seemed too civilized when compared to 2022. Nasty is as nasty does and please don’t jump ahead, I will get there.
To the public it looked like all were getting along up on the dais to begin 2023, right? Well let’s pull it apart. Theresa would not be elected chairwoman of the supervisors now, the jig is so very up, right? She undoubtedly in my opinion pushed for Brian Dunn to first of all punish Raj for essentially not being her boy toy. Sorry not sorry Theresa, grown men don’t gravitate towards your brand of leadership as it were. Besides supervisors generally rotate this position around within their board, and face it Raj was chairman through quite the difficult time, I am sure he doesn’t mind a break, does he? But why else Brian as chairman (and she was the one who nominated him)? Easy, she wants to set Brian up to fail in my humble opinion. She wants to say as she runs for reelection that only she can do the job. Blah blah blah.
So now I know you want to see what she is posting on her shiny new page that appears to only have one follower. She started the page November 18, 2022.
OK, OK you have been such good readers, so here are her first two and thus far only posts. And if they appear fuzzy on your screen, click on each screen shot individually or simply read the verbatim copied text:
Let’s talk December 2021. The week between Christmas 2021 and New Years 2022 I was summoned to a diner in Exton by the supervisor elect.
I found out that night that the supervisor elect and the chair of the supervisors had been colluding to fire the solicitor and replace him with a solicitor that had made campaign donations to both their campaigns. The solicitor they were planning to install had been turned down by the sitting supervisors in a 2-1 vote in January 2021 due to his heavy involvement in politics and heavy load of other townships. The solicitor that was in place had vowed to stay out of local politics to include donations to campaigns.
The discussion was started with, “ you are already outvoted,”. But out voted by who? The sitting Board of Supervisors didn’t have a vote or even a discussion.
Seems the chairperson and supervisor elect ( not sworn in) decided to fire the sitting Township Manager for reasons never explained.
The morning after the diner meeting the chairperson walked into the Township Building and fired the sitting Township Manager. She had a stellar reputation in Chester County, she was never written up or reprimanded in fact previous boards had given steady raises and bonuses to the Township Manager.
This all happened WITHOUT a vote by the sitting Board of Supervisors. This firing was illegal as was the replacement of the solicitor. The sitting BOS had installed a reputable honest solicitor and a supervisor elect and one member of the sitting board colluded to fire the Township Manager and solicitor for reasons still unclear.
AGAIN THERE WAS NO VOTE OF THE SITTING BOARD TO FIRE THE MANAGER OR THE SOLICITOR!
What I asked for. Given that the supervisor elect ( not sworn in) and the Chairman fired the Township Manager without the required 90 days notice. I asked the than finance director to pay the Township Manager the 90 days pay.
Yes I both phoned and texted the than Finance Director to give the money to the now former Township Manager. Since this needed a vote and the time was fading away I had to wait for the 2023 Board to be seated. The figure I asked for was 3 months pay, $41,250.
Because the time ticked away and now the board consisted of me and the chairperson there was no vote,
The former manager got a lawyer. And what we ended up giving her was.
Three months pay $41,250
Three weeks vacation time $10,312.50
Plus her medical benefits for three months including her HSA contribution
So instead of giving her the 3 months pay and being finished. West Whiteland had a no show employee for the first quarter of 2022. All due to two men throwing their weight around in an illegal firing of an employee.
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~Theresa Hogan SantaLUcia from her west whiteland supervisor page december 6, 2022
Let’s talk Trash:
In 2017 the then Board of Supervisors ran a survey to get an idea of where West Whiteland Residents stood on the Pay As You Throw (PAYT) program. The residents voted in a majority to continue with the PAYT program.
In the most recent local election in 2021, a new Supervisor was elected and he does not like the PAYT program. He wrote up a PowerPoint where he proposed getting rid of the PAYT program in favor of a more traditional program. One of the conditions of his program was a rebate program based on age. I would have qualified for that program. For the record I am against any rebates based on age, all rebate systems should be needs-based.
As a compromise, we distributed another survey to see where the residents of West Whiteland stood on staying with PAYT or going to a billing system and using any trash bag they want to use and putting out as much as they want for no extra charge.
The alternative for PAYT would start at $130 a year, the cost of one bag per week. Giving a break to those that put out 2 or more bags a week and costing more for those that put out 1-2 bags per month. Most smaller households either senior citizens or younger residents without children put out 1 or 2 bags per month costing between $30-$60 a year. The proposed non-PAYT system would have been an increase of $70-$100 a year.
In the 2022 Survey, we had 2032 residents on the PAYT system finish the survey. Of the 2032 responses, we had 1926 (94%) put out 1-3 bags. In the comments, some of the residents checked they use less than 1 bag a week but there wasn’t an option to say they use ½ to ¼ bag per week. The respondents voted 55% to 44% to stay with PAYT. That is an 11 point lead.
To be clear the newest supervisor wanted the survey and then claimed in the October 26, 2022 meeting that his son didn’t know about the survey. He also claimed the survey wasn’t the way to decide how to choose our trash collection system. Again, he was the one that wanted a new survey called the 2017 survey a joke.
~ Theresa Hogan SantaLUcia from her west whiteland supervisor page november 25, 2022
Umm yeah. OK Theresa. (dying laughing over here. Let’s talk trash or talk about your incessant trash talking, right? )Don’t you just love, love, love revisionist history in politics on a Sunday morning? Blessed be.
There actually isn’t too much to say about her posts other than, Theresa, professional therapy is cheaper. I mean it’s already been established that Ms. Gleason, the former township manager of West Whiteland had her contract simply NOT renewed. Perfectly legal, happens all of the time. Sometimes, municipalities will give managers the opportunity to resign in lieu of a non renewal but it is not a written in stone thing, is it? And if they are given the opportunity to resign in lieu of non-renewal and don’t? And no I do not know what happened behind closed doors, but there are only so many ways this can go, right? And not renewing a completed contract is perfectly normal and it happens. Everywhere. Not just in West Whiteland.
And then there is the whole issue of what Theresa did which was hardly Kosher before the 2022 reorg meeting at the end of 2021, right? The whole ordering township employees to just write checks to the departing manager because she said so? It didn’t seem to matter then that she was even told by the former finance director who had also been a supervisor that this was not legal and not done, right?
But here she goes again with her revisionist history and version of truth, right? I mean is it safe to have someone obviously unhinged and delusional in public office? I mean yikes!
And let’s review: no votes, as in NO votes took place BEFORE the reorg meeting in 2022. That is the truth, and the beginning and end of it. At that same 2022 reorg meeting she not only threw then brand new supervisor Brian Dunn under the bus for essentially not going along with her, she also tried to besmirch the reputation of the new solicitor. She so doesn’t get how municipalities work and what is legal and not legal that West Whiteland should get back all the money they have shelled out so she could attend PSATs conferences, right? And Mimi Gleason is now a manager or interim manager in Lower Gwynedd in Montgomery County, maybe no matter what you think of her, the woman wants to get on with her life?
On the agenda for the July 26th meeting of Lower Gwynedd Township’s Board of Supervisors are three items that involve a change in leadership of the township’s staff.
The first item is the consideration of a motion to accept the resignation of Township Manager Craig McAnally (pictured left) and to authorize the township’s solicitor to prepare a severance agreement. According to Linkedin, McAnally has severed as the township manager since April 2016 and was the assistant township manager for the 15 years prior.
Second is the consideration of a resolution to appoint Mimi Gleason (pictured right) to serve as the interim township manager and board secretary, treasurer, pension fund administrator, and assistant zoning officer. Gleason was most recently the township manager of West Whiteland Township, however, her contract was not renewed in a vote by the board of supervisors in January of 2022.
~Around Ambler
Of course I am amused to remember when Ms. Gleason retired from her job as township manager in Tredyffrin in 2012, declaring she had a life to live yadda yadda yadda and a “job is not a life” I have to wonder HOW she feels about Theresa right now…you know as she is trying to live her life now not after Tredyffrin, but West Whiteland? I mean you can almost feel for the woman because and old adage comes to mind — with friends like these, who needs enemies? Oy, Joey Adams, truer words were never spoken. Bossette Tweed, Saint Theresa of West Whiteland is such a liability politically and otherwise, right? If the Democrats were smart they would just formally censure her for behavior unbecoming of a public official and a Democrat.
So next let’s discuss Theresa’s Pyrrhic victory of 2022. Pyrrhic victory defined is:
Pyrrhic victory (plural Pyrrhic victories) A very costly victory, wherein the considerable losses outweigh the gain, so as to render the struggle not worth the cost.
Bossette Tweed carried on most of 2022. Her Pyrrhic victory of 2022 was the whole trash issue. Yawn. Supervisor Brian Dunn tried to offer alternatives to West Whiteland residents because at it’s simplest, SO MANY WEST WHITELAND RESIDENTS ASKED FOR AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE INEFFICIENT, RIDICULOUS TRASH BAG PLAN THAT SHE LOVES. That friends and readers, is called doing his job. She should try it sometime.
So next we go to how Bossette Tweed has her page set up for the public:
Oh yeah….that….Theresa Hogan Santalucia is an elected official. A politician. I guess she also doesn’t get that the plurality has rights. My blog has a Facebook page, and how many of us have our own personal Facebook pages? We can control our own pages because we are not politicians and elected officials. We can be as private or as public as we choose and can remove comments and block people if we so choose. Also we are all guests of social media platforms, so there is that aspect as well. Madam decided to be a politician and the rules for her are different. I will let the ACLU speak on the topic:
For generations, physical spaces – like public squares and town halls – have been critical forums for people to speak out on issues of public importance. But with the rise of social media, the avenues for members of the public to speak with their elected officials have expanded. Facebook comments and Twitter retweets are replacing the public meeting. In fact, the Supreme Court recently called these sites, “the modern public square,” where constituents can “petition their elected representatives and otherwise engage with them in a direct manner.”
If a public official uses their account to carry out their role as an elected official, then their page or account is subject to the First Amendment. That means they cannot engage in most forms of censorship such as blocking someone or deleting someone’s comments just because of their subject or opinion. It is also generally unacceptable for the official to ask the platform to delete comments for them.
How to determine if an official’s social media account is being used as an extension of their office:
The official identifies as a government official (e.g., includes their official title like @POTUS ) on the account.
The official posts announcements about their policies, responsibilities, or actions to communicate and interact with constituents and voters.
The official uses the account to seek or encourage comments about what legislation they should bring or support.
The official uses the account to call official meetings or declare orders within their authority.
The official encourages public discussion on their account or page.
The official allows users to ask for government services on their account.
The page lists or otherwise indicates the official’s title.
So don’t waste your breath telling her she is wrong to do this on her page other than to bring it up at a public meeting where in Public Comment you CAN challenge her on what she says and writes. That is your right as a resident of West Whiteland. I do not live in West Whiteland, so it is my right as a woman with a brain to say she is ridiculous and an embarrassment to the office she holds and to female politicians in general. She is no better than politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene. She is a risk to the Democrats in Chester County and they should start distancing themselves now. West Whiteland Democrats and the Democrat Party of Chester County should truly consider censuring her. They ALL know her behavior is unhinged and a censure (sometimes referred to as condemnation or denouncement) does not remove her from office. However, it is a formal statement of disapproval. And necessary.
The removal of this politicians should come this election cycle. Republicans and Democrats alike in West Whiteland should unite in removing her. If they get their collective acts together they can oust her in the upcoming primary and put a stop to this by lame ducking her. For the sake of this township, this actually has to happen. Primary her ass.
As a politician, this woman also makes a mockery of local government. She wants to rule like old school back in the day Delco, only this is Chester County, and she forgets? Doesn’t care? Is that stupid?
Look West Whiteland, I am being completely transparent when I say I find this elected official’s behavior horrible. In my opinion they also lack humanity and sense of decency and that right and wrong is entirely subjective by her actions. But other than express my opinions, it is up to all of you as residents. And whether she is running or not, people should go every public meeting and at public comment speak up and speak out about this craziness and ongoing reign of terror and ask for her resignation. Maybe she won’t do it, but it is your collective right to ask.
Government is NOT supposed to be about politicians who don’t know how to do their job and what doing their job well and fairly actually entails. This is an elected official who doesn’t seem to like anyone or anything so why is she in office? Is her version of change and good government constantly projecting ugliness? Why does everyone on God’s green earth have to be continually punished because she is unhappy?
I am not an elected official, and I have no desire to be. But there are plenty of local officials who do a really good job, and there are others out there who wish to. Life is too short for ugliness, West Whiteland. Voters need to primary her this spring. And if you all do and she next plays West Vincent politics by running as a fake Republican or Independent, vote her down in the fall. Get her gone. I can’t speak for her abilities as a nurse, but I can offer my opinions on her as a politician and elected official.
Thank you for allowing an intrusion on a Sunday. I am sure this politician’s brain will explode when she reads this post, and undoubtedly she will say I am secretly running West Whiteland or something else ridiculous like she is living rent free in my head. And if you see her at a Starbucks, make sure to snap her photo.
At Christmas I had a Christmas calamity. I had this beautiful number 3 crock that I use as a planter. I had bought it from the Smithfield Barn a few years ago. It always lived inside the garage against the wall in the winter.
Right before Christmas, when my stepson was pulling one of the cars into the garage, he accidentally smashed it with his tire. I was pretty upset. I love my old crocks.
So I contacted my friends who are in the business of old things that I buy things from and said to let me know if you see an old number 3 crock I’ve had a calamity.
Today I got a text message from one of the folks at Sales by Helen. They were telling me my package was going to be dropped off soon. So I texted back because I hadn’t bought anything. And they said no you’re being gifted something. So then I wondered who was still spreading Christmas cheer right up to the end of Christmas season – well it is not Epiphany quite yet.
Well, it’s John Romani, who owns Sales by Helen.
A perfect old number 3 crock with a note:
I am totally in awe of the gesture of kindness. This is a small business owner in a very uncertain economy and this is why I support local small businesses. No, not for free stuff because they will tell you I am not a free stuff blogger.
This is quintessential of local small businesses. They know their customers, and they remember what their customers are looking for. They are our neighbors and friends as well.
Sales By Helen is a business I have supported since I first went to a Helen sale and met John’s mom Helen, years ago. I have all the things that I bought over the years still today. Not only do they do house sales and estate sales, but they also have online shopping available. And there is complementary delivery within a certain area and shipping.
A random act of kindness on a cloudy day. Thanks John and Company ❤️
Ebenezer Scrooge. One of the most remembered characters in literature. Created by Charles Dickens in the 19th century for A Christmas Carol.
A Christmas Carol was published December 19, 1843. 179 years ago this year. And the characters are still relevant today…179 years later.
The most recognizable and remembered of the characters is Scrooge. Also his clerk, Bob Cratchit. In his time Bob was the symbol in Victorian England of the overworked, essentially abused working class person. Long hours, low pay. The irony of course? This also sounds like today, doesn’t it?
In a Christmas Carol the Ghost of Christmas Present debunks Ebenezer Scrooge’s “un Christian” beliefs on religion and the “sabbath” in the context of business. This ghost also talks about how many people who claim a religious justification for their actions, yet in reality live literally not getting or caring about the true meaning of Christianity. Sort of a do as I say, not as I do thing and utter hypocrisy. Now today, we experience that hypocrisy of true Christians every day. You know like Stepford Wives for Totalitarianism and their ilk?
In any event this ghost thinks man should judge morality by the deed, not by how a man doing describes/labels his actions. Under the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Present are two ragged spirit figures. They are supposed to be like starving children.
The identities of the sprit figures are “Ignorance and Want.” I have never been sure that was other than the proverbial metaphorically speaking of it all: this ghost cares for these children because society, or man, should care for ignorance and want always, and not just talk about it. For the good of mankind.
There are some on this earth of yours… who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us….they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. The boy is Ignorance. The girl is Want. Beware of them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.
~ghost of christmas present in a christmas carol
I started thinking about the metaphors in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol again a few years ago, when I read this article in The Guardian, a U.K. paper. I was able to find it again:
…A Christmas Carol is more than just a story. It is a tirade against greed, selfishness and neglect. It uses the story of a rich man – the startlingly nasty Scrooge – to highlight the plight of those affected by the greed and meanness he exemplifies.
The famous child in A Christmas Carol is poor “Tiny” Tim Cratchit but there are two others. When Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present, he is shocked when two wild and ragged children tumble out from the giant’s robes.
He thinks they must belong to the giant, but he tells Scrooge that they are Man’s. He tells him the boy is called Ignorance and the girl Want.
“Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy…”
Every Christmas through the 70s (I was now on a council estate in Newcastle where snow was more familiar), the BBC showed an Oscar-winning animated version of the story by Richard Williams, with Alistair Sim voicing Scrooge. It is beautifully animated in a style that evokes the John Leech illustrations from the original publication, but whereas the children are fairly bland creations in those engravings, here they are snarling beasts. I was – and remain – fascinated by them.
It is a brief moment in the story but surely a key moment – and a big part of why the story is still so relevant. Ignorance and Want remain the prime movers behind so many of the worlds ills….But Dickens was having a go at his complacent readers – he was chastising them about their own ignorance…
A Christmas Carol is actually life lessons wrapped in a Victorian Christmas story. Allow me to liberally quote an article by a professor at Indiana University named Richard Gunderman in a publication called The Conversation:
…The story begins on Christmas Eve. The “grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner” Ebenezer Scrooge is toiling in his office, where he turns away two fundraisers seeking to provide for the poor, rudely rebuffs his nephew Fred’s invitation to Christmas dinner and berates his underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, for expecting to get Christmas Day off with pay.
At home that night, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his partner Jacob Marley, who “died seven years ago, this very night.” Now wandering the earth dragging heavy chains forged by his own avarice, Marley warns Scrooge that he will meet the same fate if he does not listen to the three spirits who will visit him during the night.
The first of the spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to scenes from his earlier life, where he is reminded that he was once a kinder and gentler person….
he reexperiences what it is like to be lonely at the holidays until he is rescued by his sister. He then visits the holiday party of his employer, Mr Fezziwig, who despite modest means embodies the spirit of celebration.
He then sees his younger self with his fiancée Belle, to whom he intended to devote the rest of his life, until he was gradually overmastered by the love of money. Belle eventually breaks their engagement and marries another man, whose large and happy family Christmas the ghost takes Scrooge to witness.
The Ghost of Christmas Present whisks Scrooge to celebrations of Christmas in different settings throughout the land. They then travel to the home of Fred, who valiantly defends his uncle against criticism, choosing to pity rather than condemn him. Then Scrooge finds himself at the modest holiday feast of the Cratchit family, where he meets Tiny Tim, their ailing youngest child, and learns that unless the course of events changes, this will be the boy’s last Christmas. Finally, the ghost shows Scrooge two starving children, Ignorance and Want…The ghost of Christmas Yet to Come transports Scrooge to the holiday one year later, where he witnesses the reactions of various people to the recent death of a “wretched man.” A businessman states that he will attend the funeral only if a lunch is provided, and various people sell stolen items from the dead man’s estate to a fence. The only people who feel any emotion at his passing are debtors who now have more time to repay their loans. After returning to the Cratchit home, where Scrooge sees the family mourning the passing of Tiny Tim, he is taken to a neglected grave, where to his horror, he sees the name Ebenezer Scrooge.
Dickens was always about teaching us lessons. Read any article about A Christmas Carol especially, and you will see that it is a cautionary tale wrapped in a tale of redemption. Dickens refers to the lessons of the present to see the effects on the present and into the future. He also makes us think about how the past influences it all.
That should give you chills, because this is so very true today. And it’s that old thing about ignoring the past means we are doomed to repeat terrible things. That is why some history, although unpleasant, should not be made to disappear. Look what the dumbing down of America has currently given us. If we don’t persist in being and doing better, where will we all end up?
I have felt this way since before the onset of our COVID-19 world view existence. But COVID and the Trump years and Trump mentality have definitely thrown us into a post Victorian world that once again shows the vast chasms of life between the haves and the have nots.
We live in a world full of exceedingly selfish and mean people a lot of the time. That is not being a Debbie Downer, as anyone in corporate America and they will tell you it’s a harsh and true reality.
Take this time of the year, for example. It’s the time of year when employees receive year end bonuses. Only that is at the discretion, more like whim, of corporate overlords. I have remarked before about the year of the canned Polish Ham or a box of chocolates that then Prudential Securities offered hard working sales assistants, other support staff, and operations personnel in the early to mid 80s while the stock brokers all got fat, monetary bonuses. I know it happened, because I was literally there. Essentially all of the people who slaved to make brokers look good, got the short end of the stick. If you were lucky a broker gave you a monetary bonus, but it was not a requirement.
Total Scrooge moments, indeed back then.
Then there was always working in an office where the proverbial office pets got bonuses, and the rest? Nothing. It didn’t matter how hard you worked, you were just forgotten. You got to watch as others received bonuses, as you were deliberately overlooked. Yet another Scrooge moment, but then you figure Karma is a bitch and everything that goes around will come around eventually. The universe is funny and true that way. Oh wait, another Dickens lesson, correct?
And then there were the generous and kind bosses. I had a few of those over the years. They remembered Christmas and the actual spirit of the season. If not with a monetary bonus, then a nice gift. I wonder, do those bosses still really and truly exist?
But there will always be the bosses who will Bob Cratchit as many as possible, whenever possible. For them, it is always how much money they can make, and everyone else is well, kind of expendable. I do believe those people will indeed have a reckoning. We may never see it, but it will happen. These are a lot of the people who end up terribly alone…wait for it….like Ebenezer Scrooge.
The holidays are supposed to be pleasant, and while business might always be business, it seems like today more than ever you hear these tales of being Scrooged. And here we are supposed to be living in a world and a time where worker bees are supposed to be respected and have rights, but do they?
We will always live in a world where the next guy might have a lot more, or a lot less. But it’s all about how do we deal with this in our world, isn’t it? It’s also about being kind once in a while.
My critics like to tell me I am not kind. That I am mean. But am I really, or is it just about speaking my truth? That’s for them to figure out, incidentally. I know who I am, and my self-worth.
Now I know speaking my truth comes with a cost. My cost is corporate America. I am like a whistleblower after a fashion, so they will shun me until I am of retirement age. So it is a good thing I am content as being self-employed, a variation on a gig worker. I use my talents for various gigs of varying durations. I am not and will never be wealthy, but it has become enough. That probably makes some uncomfortable because I should want more. But what will more get me precisely?
When more becomes too much, and more of too much becomes the focus you get the Scrooges. Self focused, bullying, miserly, cold. No spirit of generosity. Lacking in actual joy about anything.
So sure, would it be nice to have more? Yes, because having a little more makes paying the bills easier. But our society has become one where we live seemingly only to work, and there is no balance. And those who crave balance, are often punished for that. If you think about it, we seemingly live in a world at times which punishes us for being happy or even wanting to be happy.
We all deserve to be happy, don’t we? So maybe we have to hit the pause button and reflect? We all struggle at times, right? So why can’t we reflect and be human and move forward?
Life is short. Re-read A Christmas Carol and learn from it. Hopefully it is not on a banned or book burning list somewhere. Life and Dickens, still true today.
Move over Marie Antoinette, Saint Theresa of West Whiteland is on the Zoom! Apparently people are being chastised for NOT going to the grocery store and using services like Instacart and Amazon? Nice. I found her interaction with this resident completely condescending, and did she go to the political graveyard of West Whiteland to dig up dead bodies to say they like the crappy and overpriced big W trash bags too?
Seriously, there were former officials speaking whose idea it probably was in the FIRST PLACE to do this whole trash bag thing! So of course they were good ol’ cheerleaders! (Full meeting video available HERE.)
Now I honestly couldn’t decide if Saint Theresa of West Whiteland should be Marie Antoinette for Halloween, or just a witch. So she has two costume options. Readers can decide on the best costume.
I will share video snippets of this public meeting and a word of warning to Supervisor Rajesh Kumbhardare. To Supervisor Raj, I caution you on your tone with residents at meetings. You are starting to sound dictatorial and combative. That is really unattractive and you can do and be better. Generally speaking, I think you are a good guy, hence the warning.
But Saint Theresa? Oy woman, just #resign already. You are an embarrassment to women, female politicians, and your own political party. Quit acting like Bossette Tweed of New Tammany Hall. How you grocery shop isn’t necessarily the golden rule of shopping is it? Who are you to judge every resident who essentially doesn’t agree with you? Ed the nice and friendly resident who spoke wasn’t the enemy. He expressed his opinion politely and in a non-threatening manner. You were rude. But then again you are always rude. You talk OVER everyone and CONSTANTLY interrupt. It’s like you are so damn afraid you won’t be paid attention to, and why is this always “The Theresa Show”? If the world revolves around YOU, lady then stop the spin so we can all jump off.
Why do you care where the guy gets his groceries? Why do youcare where the man gets his toilet paper or paper towels? What does THAT have to do with West Whiteland’s over priced but cheap trash bags? And no, we all actually don’t have to go to the grocery store any longer. And however you parented and whatever you thought when you had school age kids way back when is not necessarily everyone else’s opinion and experience. We don’t care. You aren’t a shining example of anything other than an extraordinarily unpleasant politician. That, madam, will be your enduring legacy.
You want to complain constantly on social media about how hard you work, like you are the only one who has ever worked hard, right? Ok, we get it. One of my grandmothers would have called that poor mouthing.
No one is ever as good as you are in your estimation. But then again you were the one who wanted a finance person to just cut a big check at the beginning of the year, bypassing proper procedure, so is your personal estimation even one we should take into account? I guess that might be a conversation for another day. But hey what do I know, I am just a troll, right? (Your words, I also saved the screen shots before you deleted them but you haven’t deleted that post dated September 15th where you trash talk a resident you are threatened by, right?)
Back to the trash: I do not believe all of the people who say they only put out one little trash bag a week. I DO believe that people dump their trash elsewhere, I have seen it with my own eyes in East Whiteland where the walking trail goes behind some office complexes. I literally watched someone drive into the place from the road, stop their car, pop the trunk, dump trash into office complex dumpster and drive off. I have seen it in other places too. When I lived in Lower Merion there was once an apartment landlord that would pick up his trash in Lower Merion and take it to apartments they owned in Narberth.
I understand why people in developments don’t want trash cans. They don’t want trash cans because their neighbors now just leave the recycling bins out everywhere for days without bringing them back to their garages. But that is an issue with the association that runs their development, isn’t it? If the HOAs were proactive and said they were going to fine residents for leaving trash bins out all of the time and blocking sidewalks, don’t you think development residents would be more proactive?
And the quality of the trash bags is poor. Even residents who like the trash bags say that. And they also comment on how the price can jump around if the retail outlets are paying molly markup. Why can’t trash bags be delivered to residents like quarterly? Or have them available at the township building?
And as for the trash haulers making coin on the side? Cash is king, and if people are tipping them to just just make the trash go away, as long as there are bags, I think this will continue to happen. It’s human nature, sadly.
It’s a shame, really. This is really about politicians who want to govern by surveys. Not everyone will take a survey, some actually want people to TALK to them. But some won’t do surveys in addition because they fear retaliation. Some just don’t have time. I think the survey was set up to fail because two supervisors wanted this to fail. But that is on them and their future elections, isn’t it?
The other thing that is a shame is while certain things in West Whiteland seems to be improving, certain elected officials are not. Saint Theresa of West Whiteland is unpleasant essentially EVERY meeting. Sometimes she has public meeting wig outs, other times it’s on social media. And when she puts on the extra special Bossette Tweed outfit on election day, well look out?
Why does she have to be that way? The simple answer is she doesn’t. The more complicated answer is appears she is not capable of any other way to be and is just so utterly unhappy and angry a person, that it spills out in all directions. And I can wonder aloud about politicians, Theresa.
Anyway, just another trick and no treats meeting this week in West Whiteland. And that is not because trash bags won. It’s because SOME had issues with the public speaking out and not agreeing.
