Category Archives: Politics

some politicians need to stay in their lane

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Call me crazy but, meh, an endorsement from the not so pleasant lame duck Mayor of Malvern Borough is akin to il bacio della morte….. AKA the kiss of death.

A segue to Zeyn Uzman…I have said before I am not a fan of Zeyn Uzman who found himself out in the cold and UN-endorsed by the Great Valley Democrats and he was subsequently primaryed. All I know is his wee political machine went all gangbusters to discredit his opponent in the primary, Pete Papadopoulos, who owns Malvern Pizza and is the candidate the Great Valley Democrats chose to endorse. Now we all know I think endorsements should happen AFTER primaries to let water seek it’s own level, but whatever. I also think PA should become an open primary state.

Pete Papadopoulos beat the pants off of him on the Democrat side. Not sure if Zeyn Uzman prevailed as a Republican write in or not, honestly. it has been said he was once a Republican, but hey, lots of people myself included were once Republicans so that is that. So anyway, Joe Lorusso thinks it’s aces to be endorsed by Zeyn Uzman, I think does it matter and why him he’s not so hot? Oh and yes it is like a political il bacio della morte.

Oh and a tip here for Joe, whom I initially liked and like as a person? He pushed and pushed for me to endorse him, and I don’t endorse. He was told by all sorts NOT to do that to me or anyone else, that at its most basic, it makes people uncomfortable.

Sadly the largest impediment to Joe’s campaign is himself. He totally has the acumen and experience for the job, but he can’t stay in his own lane.

I actually find parts of his inner New Yorker and Brooklynite refreshing, but this is NOT New York. You can’t treat Chester County like New York City, they are two different beasts.

Joe also ran for Malvern Borough Council around 2023, and honestly he could have and should have won that race. But he has not learned he can’t just talk, he has to listen. He has to crawl before he can walk.

I never minded his messages until over this past weekend because he behaved like a man child when he didn’t like my thoughts. Honestly, it’s totally OK that didn’t like my answer and I tried to be polite because I don’t think he’s a bad guy. He can be quite charming. But he did the man child response thing and blocked me from replying to his last word and funny I thought we were having a conversation.

But it IS disappointing. He’s just not to me seeming like the guy I first heard interviewed. I think that guy is still in him, I hope he remembers that guy soon.

But then I caught wind of this whole thing where he is targeting the District Attorney’s office.

Chester County controller candidate decries ‘unaccountable’ administrators

Here is an excerpt:

The Republican candidate for Chester County controller is taking aim at the county commissioners’ administrative team — including its new chief experience officer — as an “unelected” and “unaccountable” executive branch of county government.

In social media posts available from the Republican Committee of Chester County, candidate Joe LoRusso sharply criticizes the three positions that comprise the top tier of county administration as being expensive and not accountable to ordinary residents and voters….In his social media posts, LoRusso has said, provocatively, that the county is becoming “Philadelphia West,” with “crippling taxes, rising crime and broken government.” While it is true that the county’s median property tax bill is among the highest in the region, at $6,191, according to the World Population Review website, it is also true that the county’s median household income of $104,161 is the highest in the state. (LoRusso did not cite sources for his suggestion that the count’s crime rate is rising.)

Now I will be honest, I do not have a problem with questioning the chief executive officer (CEO), the chief operating officer (COO), and the chief experience officer (CXO) of it all. It just seems excessive, especially since I was told county departments were supposed to trim the fat and for what? To pay more executive salaries?

Ok put that aside. What concerns me is he picked a fight with the District Attorney’s office. THAT is not staying in his lane and frankly puzzling and a bit concerning.

So the District Attorney put out a social media post:

So then of course, Joe Lorusso had to reply…well not him directly but that Chester County Moving Forward group:

Overly verbose and did I miss a memo somewhere that the Chester County District Attorney is having a special election this year and Joe Lorusso is also running for District Attorney? Funny I thought the next DA race was 2027?

Joe Lorusso does have the qualifications to be controller, but more and more he doesn’t seem to have the temperament. Joe is from Brooklyn originally, it’s something I liked in him EXCEPT he doesn’t get that he’s not in New York. New York politics is different from here.

I find it offensive that he attacks the DA and then cries foul. The DA isn’t taking anything out of context, Joe needs to stay in his lane. The DA is not deflecting, he’s actually not playing politics, but Joe Lorusso is….and Joe is doing the smearing.

Again, Joe, you aren’t in New York anymore. Please stop throwing all of the spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. And yes I can say that as half of my DNA is Italian.

Joe Lorusso has the ability to be controller, but he can’t always be a flea on a hot brick. Attacking the District Attorney is just a bad look.

Grow up Joe, and be that person I thought you were when I first heard you interviewed. Stay in your lane. And learn when to push and when NOT to push. And the art of subtlety in politics? That’s better then getting the reputation of attack rat.

I know Joe isn’t going to be happy with me for writing this, and honestly I am sorry. But he can be better than this. It’s not New York. It’s just not.

******************************************************************************

Also the FOP in Chester County did not endorse Joe, they endorsed Democrat Nick Cherubino, his opponent. That speaks volumes, sadly.

FOP Lodge in Chester County announces endorsements for November

” WEST CHESTER — Chester County’s fraternal law enforcement organization has announced the list of candidates that it will endorse in the coming November election, including judicial, county row office and local positions….For county row offices, the group endorsed the Republican slate, save for one. It chose Alissa McGrory for clerk of courts, Deana Wang for treasurer, Chris Thomson for prothonotary, and Thomas Hatzidais for coroner. It opted, however, to endorse Democrat Nick Cherubino over Republican Joseph Lorusso….Lorusso has made headlines recently for his criticism of the structure of county government, and has suggested that crime in the county is increasing. That assertion drew pushback from county District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe, who said that figures show that crime is decreasing in the county.“

~https://www.dailylocal.com/2025/08/22/fop-lodge-in-chester-county-announces-endorsements-for-november/

what do you think about this potential rock ’em sock ’em robots situation in downingtown?

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Publicly Posted by @abbers6520 approximately 8/5/25

I have no dog in the race and no horse in the race for Downingtown Borough Mayor. The guy they’re talking about in this TikTok video is one of the candidates.

This video seems to be making the rounds enough in the past couple of days, that I do want to say something.

I want to be super clear: I am NOT siding with either party, this is a public video, the creator is obviously soliciting feedback, and I’m sharing my perspective.

What I think is this is a neighbor dispute. It sounds a little Hatfields and McCoy to me to be honest, and I don’t know that this is really a legitimate reason to not vote for someone…unless where there is smoke there is fire? And to be even more clear, there is no record of issues other than this video.

Further an to make an important point, if this young woman if she thinks that he’s doing something unsavory with his security cameras, she needs to file a police report. If not, this mayoral candidate and his neighbors need to sit down and have a powwow with a mediator (AKA disinterested 3rd party) and work it out.

I’m guessing this mayoral candidate is going to be pretty pissy that I’m sharing this video, but I have to remind him that this has been PUBLICLY posted for like three days. On the Internet that’s kind of forever. People need to remember that the girl posting this IS young, I would guess early 20s if that. Her perspective is not going to be the same of an older person. She might not get her neighbor’s position and this could be resolved without further fuss.

I have had several people send this TikTok to me now. (link https://www.tiktok.com/@abbers6520/video/7535128157519760671 ) And as I said to one person who was curious about it and doesn’t actually live in Downingtown who sent it to me, I said for the record I have neighbors who play music outside with little speakers. Two of the neighbors I absolutely am in sync with their taste in music and I love it because it makes doing outside chores go much faster. And further away on clear Sunday mornings, I can hear the amplified music from a Christian church in West Chester. One person from somewhere close-ish by plays really bad country music sometimes.

And security cameras? Who doesn’t have them these days? Like the woman on the video, I looked up the camera. It’s not super expensive. I don’t know what kind of reach it has, but I imagine there is more than one camera in the guy’s yard? And do these properties back on any kind of an alley or something like that? A lot of these in town in the borough properties have cheek to jowl narrow back yards, much like a lot of homes in West Chester Borough. Translation? Not a lot of room to work with.

I would rather hear music than endless fireworks, personally. Security cameras and street cameras are part of our world, there could be a simple explanation.

Work it out people.

This is the guy they are talking about: https://richbryantformayor.com/

And he seems to have a second website, or this could be a parked site for if he gets elected? The site is https://downingtownmayor.com/

I actually heard him speak once on WCHE. He doesn’t sound like the guy this gal is dishing on, but hey, that could be down to neighbor relations, right?

So in the best interest of neighbor relations, can’t they work it out? Rock Em’ Sock Em’ Robots is so 1964.

worth noting: trying to find traffic solutions in bryn mawr and haverford in haverford township.

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Before I moved to Chester County many years ago now, I lived in Lower Merion Township. I was in the Haverford neighborhood sandwiched between Montgomery and Lancaster Avenues near the Haverford School, which was across Lancaster Avenue as a matter of fact, it had a nickname called “the island.”

This wasn’t the north side (as in other side of Montgomery Avenue or the Merion Cricket Club side) of Haverford neighborhood I grew up in that had then, and still has today insanely soaring real estate prices. This was just a pretty transitional neighborhood close to the Haverford train station, where you could easily walk to both Ardmore and Bryn Mawr.

The neighborhoods across Lancaster Ave from me were actually in Haverford Township. That used to confuse people to think Haverford Township came to there, but it did and it still does. It’s a county and municipal line, and five points in Bryn Mawr is also two counties, but three municipalities.

One of the best things about my then neighborhood was you could walk a relatively short distance to get access to the Haverford Nature Trail. It was awesome. I used to walk myself and my dogs over there once, if not twice a day. When I first moved into the neighborhood, you had to move quickly but you could safely cross Lancaster Avenue via North Buck Lane (Lower Merion) on my side and Buck Lane (Haverford) on the other side. By 2007, it really wasn’t safe to do that. Traffic was bad but unwanted development was starting to march through, which would ultimately increase traffic in my opinion.

Rugby Road: Another Main Line neighborhood at risk

In 2007, we watched as lovely houses were torn down for McMansion-ish dwellings on Rugby Road in the Haverford Township side of Bryn Mawr. It was when many of us started talking about the need for the Municipalities Planning Code of the Commonwealth of PA (MPC) to be comprehensively overhauled to help protect suburbs and exurbs.

Rugby Road plan clears another hurdle in Haverford
Our neighborhood doesn’t need to be developed
Neighbors ‘furious’ about proposed development

The day after Christmas in 2008, or Boxing Day, my neighborhood watched as a developer tore down houses, including one of which was technically historical. It was initially for a condo building. Eventually it became “carriage homes” / townhouses. I will note that even today, the structures don’t truly fit into the neighborhood and in my opinion still complement nothing much. Oh, and they still overlook Classic Auto Body. I still can’t imagine paying Main Line prices to overlook a couple of body shops as there is still one I think across Lancaster Avenue from Classic Auto Body.

Haverford neighbors fear a demolition for Christmas

In 2007, the then editor of Main Line Media News who before his death was editor of The Daily Local penned an editorial that still resonates today about development:

Moratorium on development needed on the Main Line

Neighbors of these developments came together, organized, and attended so many meetings during the early to mid 2000s. In some ways it helped, but in other ways it was soul crushing to see development that had little to do with the area itself taking over and not necessarily being harmonious with the neighborhood invaded. In late 2007, I wrote an editorial for Main Line Media News celebrating these neighbors groups:

It was the year of the neighborhood group

In case you missed it, this is why I get upset about a lot of the truly wanton development in Chester County. I lived it, in part, before. This is in part why I know in my heart Malvern Borough has made a mistake with that absurdly named Duffryn Mawr across King from the Flying Pig.

But I digress.

Why am I revisiting this? Because in my opinion, traffic issues we saw before the development projects I have mentioned in Bryn Mawr and Haverford even happened, have now morphed into a need for Haverford Township to rethink the configuration of what will always be small streets to protect the community and pedestrians.

I don’t pay close attention to Main Line and just off of the Main Line stuff like I used to, but this newsletter from 5th Ward Commissioner of Haverford Township Laura Cavendish:

https://mailchi.mp/havtwp/july122025?e=f434c78b67

Allow me to share the excerpt that caught my eye:

July 13, 2025

Dear Neighbors,

The Board of Commissioners will hold its monthly public meeting on Monday, July 14. In the meantime, I wanted to share a few updates and reminders from around the Township.

Safe Streets Demonstration Project on Buck Lane

Within the next few weeks, Haverford Township will begin a Traffic Safety Demonstration Project on the 800 block of Buck Lane (between Railroad Avenue and Panmure Road), as part of the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. 

Key features include:

  • Converting Buck Lane to one-way northbound travel (Railroad to Panmure) to reduce southbound cut-through traffic and improve pedestrian and bike safety.
  • Reconfiguring the roadway for one lane of traffic, a buffer, and a protected multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists.
  • Temporarily eliminating on-street parking on the block during the project.

During peak times, 65–75 vehicles per hour will be rerouted, but traffic studies suggest minimal impact on surrounding roads. The Township is coordinating with local schools to adjust transportation routes.

A community feedback survey will be shared about three months after the project begins. You can find the Brynford Safe Streets Study here. For questions about this demonstration project, contact Jaime Jilozian at jjilozian@havtwp.org or 610-446-1000.

Here is the link to what she referred to on Haverford Township’s website:

Click to access FINAL_Brynford_Bicycle_and_Pedestrian_Safety_Study_91423.pdf

It’s so weird to think that part of Buck Lane will be one way, but I applaud Haverford Township for seeking solutions. When we tried to get traffic calming in our Lower Merion neighborhood back in the late 90s to early 2000s before the development projects I have discussed here were begun, we only got so far and we got a municipal smack back.

The impetus was a hit and run of a neighborhood dog back then, and subsequent realization of how many little kids we had as well as pedestrians. We pushed for a traffic study and I believe that my then small street had a crazy number of something like over 1200 vehicle trips per day clocked.

Our neighborhood back then was a big cut through between Lancaster and Montgomery Avenues, and probably still is. We had neighborhood meetings called parlor meetings with township officials including the police in our living rooms. I remember this well, because I hosted the first meeting at that time in my own living room.

We looked at surrounding areas, and were particularly interested in something Radnor Township was doing back then: speed humps. As opposed to speed bumps. This was before 2006, but I don’t remember the exact date. It was before the current 10th Ward Lower Merion Commissioner in Lower Merion was elected. (He’s still there)

I remember speaking with traffic safety folks in Radnor to get speed hump information. They even gave me PennDOT information at that time.

But Lower Merion was having none of it. It got to the point where the Lower Merion Commissioners then introduced an ordinance to prohibit speed humps. They seemingly erased all evidence of this today because more recently they have selectively introduced speed humps in the township since that time. But I personally know that this happened as during the course of this all those years ago, I received a letter in the mail basically warning me off from asking for speed humps in my then neighborhood.

So because of all of this, I am glad Haverford Township is trying new traffic calming measures. But, this remains a cautionary tale in my opinion, of what happens when too much development comes to an area over time.

Take a look at what Haverford Township is trying to do here and I welcome comments from neighbors in the area if they read this post to learn their thoughts.

police back at krebs house in east whiteland this afternoon

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So we still don’t know really why, but law-enforcement had a play date at the Kreb’s house in East Whiteland again today on Conestoga Road. I have been told that today’s visit were the Chester County Detectives.

We first noticed earlier this afternoon this notice on East Whiteland‘s Facebook page:

Then this showed up as an update:

6ABC was out at the scene and I caught it on the 5 PM news. I don’t know if anyone else is covering this or not so I know residents are grateful for 6 ABC being there. more importantly residents are very grateful in East Whiteland for law enforcement and their handling of this. It has been a little unsettling for residents near that house, which is understandable.

Kevin Krebs has TWO separate court dates coming up.

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/Report/MdjDocketSheet?docketNumber=MJ-15401-CR-0000163-2025&dnh=V9anssomRR3EPv2Ei3Sddg%3D%3D

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/Report/MdjDocketSheet?docketNumber=MJ-15104-CR-0000125-2025&dnh=8noIvGulk6ZZlDUl5i5umA%3D%3D

I still haven’t seen anything posted to state whether or not Mr. Krebs will be facing Federal charges as well since the media reports also report the involvement of Federal law-enforcement agencies.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there was more media on this. And when I listened to the 6ABC reporter, I was somewhat gob smacked at the number of guns that the family turned in to law-enforcement that belonged to this man.

Also a related issue is I am sure we would all like to know why West Chester Borough Councilmen Bernie Flynn and Brian McGinnis allowed the Mayor of Downingtown to speak at a June meeting, but did not allow West Goshen Sunshine to ask a couple of simple questions?

West Goshen Sunshine attended this public meeting and got up and tried to speak at public comment to inquire as to the timeline of events at the No Kings Rally. She was interested in when Mr. Krebs was detained and arrested, and where that was in the whole scheme of the event that day. She also wondered when elected officials and event organizers were told about this?

Allow me to quote her:

The irony is hard to ignore: in the same town that held a “No Kings” rally, I was silenced at the Borough of West Chester meeting last night. Councilmen Bernie Flynn and Brian McGinnis have clearly crowned themselves gatekeepers of free speech–deciding who gets to speak and who doesn’t. That’s not leadership. That’s arrogance.

Fortunately, not every official in West Chester in as bombastic as Flynn and McGinnis.

https://www.dailylocal.com/2025/06/18/mayor-council-thank-police-for-response-at-no-kings-rally/ West Chester Borough Police Department

Edit Council member Nicole Scimone tried to let me speak but was drowned out by Flynn and McGinnis even though she was presiding over the meeting. Thanks for trying Nicole Scimone!

West Goshen Sunshine is well spoken and polite. I am appalled, but not necessarily surprised by the behavior of these two gentlemen in West Chester Borough.

I am not some Luddite, and I understand there are certain things the public are not going to be privy to at this stage of an investigation, and the same goes for West Goshen Sunshine. However, lots of people want to know what the timeline is for notification concerning this incident. Let’s face it if someone hadn’t blown up the original social media video so that we all saw it , how long would it have been before we knew this incident even happened?

I have felt since this happened that politics, not necessarily law enforcement tried to keep a lid on this.

Now to me, it would’ve made sense that the event organizers wanted everything to remain calm that day, because face it if lots and lots of people there on that day had known they just arrested a man with weapons it might have been chaos. And law enforcement did a tremendous job in a huge crowd.

However, I also wonder if politics kept this from getting out until that social media video from TikTok or whatever was released everywhere so we all saw it? And along those lines until people like myself and others started publicly thanking law enforcement, it seems like a lot of politicians weren’t.

Law enforcement has been amazing through this.

Anyway, if you listen to the media reports, it looks like there was at least one more weapon seized today and computers and who knows what else. People are still asking questions like was Krebs egged on by some group or something like that or did he always act alone on his own?

This has been a sad and scary situation. I hope that as Krebs has been a guest of the county that he has perhaps been getting mental health treatment? Because anyway you slice it, what almost happened that day and what they found in his house after that is not the act of a rational human being.

good night, and good luck is not vintage, it’s timely…and some other thoughts.

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Edward R. Murrow was a pioneering television broadcaster who died way too young. He died of lung cancer in 1965 at age 57. Good Night, and Good Luck was a movie about a period in his life that came out in 2005. He is really the guy that shaped the television news. He worked for CBS. he started out in radio and covered things about World War II from London. He was head of the network’s then “European bureau.”

Eventually, his career took him to television news, then in its early days. He was a force for free and uncensored media ergo free speech in the era where he really changed our television news during the nationwide hysteria of the communist hunting McCarthy era the early 1950s. He literally took on the establishment and won.

The movie centers around Edward R. Murrow and essentially the pissing match between him and whom he referred to as the junior senator from Wisconsin, or Joseph McCarthy.

This movie has been translated into a stage play with a limited run on Broadway and tonight, CNN and Max broadcast it live from a Broadway theater called the Winter Garden Theater in New York City.

George Clooney has the starring role of Edward R Murrow, and from the movie to the current stage version this has been his baby and what I saw tonight was nothing short of freaking fabulous.

You’re watching a play set in the 1950s about what happened then, yet it’s a version what we’re experiencing today as in right now in this country. It’s almost eerie.

Also important, this is the first time a Broadway play has been broadcast live on television. I really think CNN was sending this country a message by doing this. George Clooney certainly is and I applaud him for the courage of his convictions.

Clooney showed us the new McCarthyism loud and clear. Will it be a catalyst of popular culture to enact positive change? I don’t have the answer for that question.

What I do know is the show has shown us the importance of free and fair journalism and the First Amendment. This show showed us the importance of why we can’t just allow this country to evolve into a fake monarchy or an unpleasant oligarchy meets a political circus, more accurately.

Now I’ll get to what this post was originally about, so read on.

I saw a gentleman on Lancaster Avenue or Route 30 in Malvern/Frazer on Friday. This is not the scene you expect to see out here. You don’t expect to see an unhoused man with his life in a grocery cart out here. A friend of mine told me they saw him in Thorndale Thursday, so that’s quite a journey on foot if he was passing through Malvern/Frazer Friday.

This kind of visual is something you expect from a more urban setting. Although you don’t expect such a sight out here I am told there are plenty of homeless that you don’t see and a lot of them are probably hiding in plain sight.

What is being done for these people now I’ve heard of tent cities or settlements in Pottstown (Chester County and Montgomery County) and further west along the river.

There was a bigger tent city in Norristown (Montgomery County) that was broken up by their borough council and I don’t know where those people ever went.

We don’t seem to have anything that can help these homeless, many of whom have serious mental issues. We have lousy mental health system in this country. There are too few solidly good practitioners, and there are sorts of levels of other kinds people who call themselves mental health professionals, only they’re not.

We have a healthcare system that is so frustrating that there are no words for most people some days if they even have health insurance. And then there’s just the general economy. It’s supposed to be so fabulous now, so where’s the fabulous? Has fabulous been subjected to a tariff, by chance?

There are people out out of work and there are people can’t afford to have safe and decent places to live. There are people can’t afford groceries or medicine. There are many who are white collar slaves at work.

And most of us are just trying to get through each day, each hour of each day, and each week with our heads down and pray for something better. Do prayers work come? Sometimes I wonder.

To see that man Friday in front of Planet Fitness pushing a shopping cart with his life in it really gave me pause. The simple truth is that could be any of us, you just don’t know. There are people I know who struggle, yeah, most of us ourselves are just getting by. It’s like when you see somebody going through cancer or who has lost a loved one, that also could be any one of us on any given day.

We have elected officials of every level of government who have forgotten why they are in office, or they never really cared in the first place, and we were deceived.

Then we have the good eggs, kind of like the proverbial white hats who bang their head on the wall just trying to do their best to help their constituencies.

And while the fat cats seem to get fatter, our media coverage seems to decrease day by day. Local papers have become eviscerated by soulless, nameless, faceless, hedge fund owners.

Regional newspapers, suffer similar issues and every week another voice who represented us retires or leaves or moves on. Some of the young and new reporters that you find don’t really have the institutional knowledge to get some of what they’re covering, and some of them I wonder if they actually have the intellectual curiosity. And I’m not trying to be unfair, because there are also some who are new and tremendously talented and very good. Only you don’t hear their voice often enough.

And then you go to television news. First of all, I want to know who is instructing half of the women what to wear on air, especially when there broadcasting from the studio. And the men aren’t much better and maybe I’m just showing my age, but it really bothers me when I see male newscasters on air wearing sneakers or similarly walk the dog or go to the farmers market type shoes. Can we also talk about how they don’t know how to correctly pronounce the names of the people they’re interviewing or discussing or the streets or the towns?

Next onto what’s covered. And it’s like a game of bingo to try to get a local issue covered. It’s just as hard as it is to connect with your local TV station as it is to get a live person when your Internet goes down and you can’t and you want to talk to somebody from Verizon or Comcast.

And then you wonder when a local story does get placed that affects so many no matter where they live, do people actually care?

These are all my meandering thoughts for the day. You can like them or not like them, it’s entirely up to you. And if you don’t like what I or any other blogger writes about, you are free to start your own blog and see if you can do it better.

Ciao for now.

goodness me another transit oriented development fairy tale puffy quasi pitch piece

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Goodness, some days articles just set my teeth on edge. And for those playing catch up, it’s a turn of phrase, it doesn’t actually happen.

MUST is Mixed Use Special Transit or as we knew it in Ardmore, More Unfair Special Treatment.

TOD is Transit Oriented Development, or another version of the Emperor’s new clothes.

First an excerpt:

The Main Line has bet on walkable, transit-oriented development. What happens if the train stops running?
Potential cuts to SEPTA would mean the elimination of the Paoli/Thorndale Line and all four bus routes that service Lower Merion and Narberth.

by Denali Sagner
Published June 5, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET

I wrote the rather young reporter. She was too busy to reply but she did correct the spelling of Carrie Kohs name. This morning when the article hit my in box she had another person entirely, Carrie Kohns. I have never been fan of Kohs who owns pucciManuli (very over priced and she’s definitely never been user friendly IMHO), but come on, if you are going to interview people and get paid for it, spell the name correctly.

Transit Oriented Development is and always has been mostly a myth to get more infill development, do try to keep up. In order for something to be destroyed it actually has to work. Since they included the photo of Narberth in the article, why isn’t the Inquirer covering important issues like Narberth residents trying to save Sabine Park from development? Wouldn’t that fit with the “Inquirer Lower Merion” of it all I guess? If they had done their homework here already they would know there is legal precedence that matters. See Downingtown, Kardon Park, Friends of Kardon Park. The Inquirer I believe is one of the papers which covered it years ago. https://www.sabinecoalition.com/

Also , Carrie Kohs and Chris Leswing whom they interviewed for a lil’ Lower Merion Township rah rah have it wrong. Bad plans for Transit Oriented Development and Mixed Use have almost killed Ardmore over and over. What you have now is a more transient community and still no parking. How do I know? Used to live there in that township and once was part of original Save Ardmore Coalition and helped fight for Ardmore against eminent domain for private gain ( heck it got national and international press – Economist etc.)

Look at the things NO longer in Ardmore – Clover Market and First Friday Main Line (also worked on First Friday for years) – one would hope that the regional paper’s “Lower Merion” section would be a little deeper than township propaganda (or Borough propaganda in the case of Narberth), but that would mean really getting out in these communities and asking people what they want, what they need, and what they think.

Oh and the photo of the man jogging past the historic Ardmore sign and showing the corner of the mural in the article? Residents and Save Ardmore Coalition did that mural. Not the township, not the Ardmore Initiative. ( See attached photo next.)

Mostly now people wonder what the Ardmore Initiative does and what people are paying for? Check out the crumbling broken sidewalks and overflowing township trash cans….and again no place to park.

I get that there are not enough folks left at the Inquirer with any institutional knowledge of the suburbs and Chester County, but you have archives.

Septa has been mismanaged and a mess for decades. For a while it was better, when Jeff Knueppel led them. He was their former lead engineer at one point, and he really cared. Then they handed it all over to Leslie Richards (Tom Wolf girl former Montgomery County Commissioner along with Josh Shapiro) after she made a mess of PennDOT. then all of a sudden Septa was flailing and she “retired.” My goodness what a trail of political breadcrumbs you are missing between Septa and the Emperor’s New Clothes fairy tail of MUST and TOD.

Wouldn’t it be nice if a paper ever wrote something helpful like how the Municipalities Planning Code of the Commonwealth of PA is woefully outdated (since 1969 or so) and needs a comprehensive overhaul? That weighty tome drives ALL of the zoning in PA and is why we can’t achieve any sense of balance or more productive development. And HB Act 502? All bundled in with other stuff by Shapiro? NO ONE has covered that much and they have zero clue the damage THAT could do to municipalities which is why maybe speaking to someone like Ginny Kerslake might help them. Part of what Ginny has said about this bill:

HB502 is a fast-tracking scheme for power generating or storage facilities for private or public consumption. It creates a seven member, heavily industry-biased board with immense power to issue a “certificate of reliable energy supply” – a golden ticket of sorts- to a developer/corporation, exempting their project from local zoning, land development and other ordinances:

Section 805

(d) Effect of certificate.–

(1) A county or municipal or other local government or authority by ordinance, regulation or other action may not require any land use approval, consent, permit, certificate or condition that materially impedes the purposes of this chapter or will delay or prevent the construction, operation or maintenance of a reliable energy generating facility or storage facility that has been issued a certificate of reliable energy supply.

HB502 usurps local authority over zoning and land use. It’s not surprising that the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) opposes this bill.

This new Lower Merion tab for the Inquirer is merely an elitist suck up version of the old Neighbors section. The Neighbors section was great while it lasted. I was actually a freelancer for them when the Neighbors section went online only. I wrote about Chester County and Main Line things. It was really fun.

Look I support journalism, especially print media. But they need to cover what matters, not just what panders well. And these papers need to keep some of those with institutional knowledge of areas around as well as educating the next wave of young journalists how to comb through their own archives. Heck if I can do it, I am sure they can as well.

Besides, I have maintained all along that SEPTA is fear mongering shutting down lines to get what they want. Maybe SEPTA does need to partially shut down and start over. It is one of the worst transit systems in the country. I think it’s a political ploy and another article in the Inquirer which I agree with says so. I will share an excerpt as I sign off.

Development fairy tales are generally speaking, just that. TOD and MUST and stupid zoning overlays are creating more issues than the problems they were advertised to solve. That is my opinion and I am sticking to it. Maybe just maybe, lots of things in Pennsylvania are simply mismanaged?

Philadelphia Inquirer: Transportation

Close the Paoli/Thorndale line? Many say SEPTA is using the threat as leverage.
Debunking a persistent rumor about why certain Regional Rail lines are on the chopping block.

by Thomas Fitzgerald

(Tom said what we are all thinking: it’s a BS political ploy)

so….upper main line ymca’s neighbors are taking them AND easttown township to court over pickleball?

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A little birdie told me the other day that pickleball had gotten very quiet at the Upper Main Line YMCA in Berwyn.

And indeed it has.

As previously documented and witnessed at many meetings in Easttown Township, the neighbors have been trying to see an amicable solution that is fair to everyone, not just the Upper Main Line YMCA (UMLY.)

This has been going on for a couple of years, right? And I remember from watching the meetings that the neighbors tried really hard to just be good neighbors and get treated fairly and no one heard them, so now they have filed suit and they have a shark as an attorney.

They have hired I think one of the best land-use lawyers that exists in this area, Phil Rosensweig. He was one of the seven commissioners in Lower Merion many years ago who helped stop eminent domain for private gain. As a matter of fact, he wrote the ordinance revoking its potential use.

Buckle up buttercups, this will be interesting.

UMLY is part of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine family. And the YMCA of Greater Brandywine is no secret to contretemps at times including prior pickleball issues, correct? It was at the Lionville Branch according to a Daily Local article, correct?

Easttown Township should have been better with this issue. Truthfully, Tredyffrin Township a couple of years ago was very proactive on the behalf of neighbors dealing with pickleball issues. And I believe that now today, Pickleball and residence are coexisting fairly peacefully in that municipality.

And just for the record, I’m not against pickleball. I have a lot of friends who play it, but I am also cognizant of the fact that a lot of times neighbors get railroaded over issues where they deserve better treatment.

UMLY could have avoided all of this, couldn’t they have?

From before:

umly is a pickle puss in easttown.
in a pickle in easttown

oh radnor

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Sometimes when I have appointments down on the Main Line, I go back via Radnor Street Road to check on the Wayne Natatorium sign. The reason I do that is I actually do not trust Radnor Township to maintain it even though it’s a state historical marker. And I am the reason it’s there.

But as I was going through today, I noticed that the parking lot that is at the corner of Willow Avenue and Radnor Street Road for Cowan Field was magically FedEx parking.

Funny thing about that lot is it supposed to be permit parking only or if you’re using the park. I can tell you that there was no one in the park when I drove by.

So is FedEx renting parking spaces from Radnor Township? I didn’t see anything like hang tags that would make one think there’s a parking permit involved.

I did have a giggle over this because when I had come through Wayne earlier, I noticed the stealth parking enforcement fairies’ van roaming around so they could hand out tickets. I guess they don’t go all the way over into Little Chicago?

Of course, I also noticed there were plenty of cars parked around Little Chicago in places that aren’t actually legal.

But hey, that’s Radnor Township at its best: inconsistent.

Isn’t this part of Jack Larkin’s ward? He’s still the Ward 1 Commissioner, right?

Anyway, I hope these FedEx trucks have legal permits because otherwise it’s pretty crappy to get chased around by the parking enforcement fairies and there’s a double standard right?

for april fool’s will it be shady as always, west goshen township?

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Oh yes, it’s never dull whenever West Goshen is trying to pull something shady as shit.

The latest? They want to erase their meeting videos.

You know just when you think this truly bass ackwards Pennsyltucky municipality has nothing left to make you say WTF, oops they did it again.

Start copying all those videos West Goshen residents if you wish to preserve whatever shady ass record exists or literally they will make a giant April Fool’s joke out of all of you. And oh yeah, get thee to the APRIL 1, 2025 meeting starting at 6 PM. Pack the halls.