Tag Archives: politics

librarygate….in honey brook. is a 501(c)(3) playing politics, or bowing to them?

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So recently, I expressed my thoughts on the Honey Brook Community Library suddenly deciding no candidate meet and greets would take place at their facility. To my understanding this is not a political party gathering, it’s a community meet and greet of all candidates of various offices and political parties for an upcoming election. What I was also told is the library lady told people on the phone that the library was uncomfortable given the political climate in Honey Brook Township. Yes I am paraphrasing, but anyway, here is what I said:

I think something has to be said about the situation involving the Honey Brook Library of it all and Valerie Shultz for Honey Brook Township Supervisor. The latest thing to fly around this bucolic municipality with the rotten underbelly, is that Val is a hater of libraries and they go further to intimate that she’s somehow “threatening” or “bullying” the library.

The library in Honey Brook historically has done political meet and greets until THIS election.

All of a sudden they were uncomfortable, and people were being told that some were fearful of doing a meet and greet? Val didn’t argue with them, she respected their position, but she like many of us have questioned the timing of it.

Sorry, not sorry the timing is totally suspect and that’s just common sense and if you go back to the most recent meeting for the supervisors, they had to go (and they meeting the library) proverbial hat in hand to ask for money from the municipality.

The way things work with bully or thug politics is often somewhat subversive and behind the scenes whisper down the lane where nobody overtly says an organization won’t get money that they need but they might intimate along the lines of maybe they won’t get as much because the political cabal is uncomfortable with Val running.

It is my belief and my opinion that any organization that needed money from Honey Brook Township would be discouraged this election season to do meet and greets.

This shouldn’t be the way it happens, but am I wrong? It’s bullying pure and simple, of Val AND the library? OK so the talking hoodie doesn’t want to debate, but are they so afraid of both candidates being at a meet and greet with other candidates?

These meet and greets feature all sorts of candidates running, including judicial. Just a little food for thought.

Of course the talking hoodie had to post a screenshot. Not that I care. That is an OPINION and they haven’t revoked the first Amendment yet that I know of.

This is shared because the library director was tagged personally, which is rather inappropriate – NOT her fault, just pointing it out.

Sooo before I get to the meat of the matter, let us address his accusation that Valerie Shultz is being terrible to the library. Honeys, I have it in writing and this is what Valerie said which was calm and measured (much like speaking to Valerie is):

Here is the text of the email in case you have a hard time reading the screenshot:

Jennifer,

First, I would like to thank you for working so well with Aurora, a member of my campaign team, for weeks to make the meet-n-greet candidate night a success.  I’m just saddened that your team felt unsafe by hosting the event and had to withdraw your offer to host.  Aurora indicated that you had been tagged in a FB post that led to your discomfort with hosting.  I want to assure you that at no time did I or a member of my campaign team tag the library in a post.  Unfortunately, there has been a pervasive effort by my opponent to intimidate anyone who provides me with a forum to speak to residents.  I am sincerely sorry if that indeed was what happened to your team.

Secondly, I wanted to make you aware that I was campaigning in the Township yesterday and when I unknowingly visited a member of the library board, I was accused of spreading lies about the library then had a door slammed in my face.  I do not know what lies I am alleged with having spread because she would not explain.  I want to make it clear that at the last Supervisors meeting I asked about the latest donation to the library because I was concerned about the impact on the budget.   It’s my job to ask those questions and the library is not the only instance where I have asked about expenditures.  I want residents to understand how their tax money is being spent.  I was in no way implying that I do not support the library.  I believe the library is a critical part of our community.  I am an elected auditor for the Township and have been carefully watching expenses for the last 2 years to ensure we are not headed for a tax increase.  I would ask if you are aware of what was so upsetting to one of your board members that you please inform me so that I can clear up any misconception or misinformation.  As a candidate for Supervisor, I want to have a excellent working relationship with you and your board should I be elected.  Please feel free to call me if you’d prefer to speak instead of email.  My cell is [REDACTED]

Regards,

Valerie Shultz

Here was library lady’s reply:

So all can read:

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Aurora, a regular library patron, who has never identified herself as affiliated with any particular organization or team, approached us about hosting a meet-and-greet event. Due to our limited staffing following our recent reopening, and after much insistence, we agreed to provide venue space only, with no involvement in event planning or logistics.

We subsequently removed this event from our schedule based on our standard evaluation process for all programming. We are deeply concerned about false statements suggesting external pressure influenced our decision-making. These claims are categorically untrue. This decision was made independently by library leadership to ensure alignment with our educational mission and community service goals.

As a community institution, we will not tolerate the spread of false information that damages our reputation and undermines public trust. Such misinformation has created legitimate daily security concerns for our staff and patrons due to the inflammatory rhetoric being shared online. The safety of everyone who enters our library is our highest priority. We take these security concerns seriously.

We remain committed to transparent communication with our community. We welcome respectful feedback and constructive dialogue about our programming. Our doors remain open, and we encourage community members to communicate with us directly about any concerns rather than engaging with unverified information online.

The library exists to serve all residents through educational programming, resources, and services. We will continue making decisions that support this mission while maintaining a safe and welcoming environment for everyone in our community. We remain committed to our mission of educating and serving the Honey Brook community with integrity and professionalism.

Jennifer Spade

Library Director

Youth Services Coordinator

Honey Brook Community Library

687 Compass Road, Honey Brook, PA 19344

610-273-3303

I call BS on the library lady and here is why:

So all can read easily:

On Monday, August 18, 2025, 1:37 PM, wrote:

I would like to inform everyone that the Honey Brook Library sent an email they are no longer comfortable hosting our meet and greet. Please see below.  

Hi Aurora,

Due to the way this upcoming political election is playing out online on social media, the Honey Brook Community Library will no longer be hosting a meet and greet event at the library on Oct 8.  We are concerned about the safety of our staff and building.  I hope that you have enough time to find an alternate place for your event.

Thank you,

Jennifer Spade

Library Director

Youth Services Coordinator

Honey Brook Community Library

687 Compass Road, Honey Brook, PA 19344

610-273-3303

And then there is this:

Once again a false narrative…and you’re lying when you say “ I can’t make this stuff up” because that’s all you do!!

I had a phone conversation with Jennifer, the director of the library, and asked her flat out! During our conversation she said that her staff was concerned about their safety and the intimidation tactics that you and Sal employ!

You talk about Honey Brook Twp being a bucolic community. I know it’s a big word. Perhaps you should look up the definition because your contentious behavior doesn’t align. Plain and simple. You’re just an overgrown, adult bully.

So then the trustees of the Honey Brook Community Library released a statement a couple of hours ago:

Here is the verbiage in case the screen capture is blurry:

A Statement from our Board of Trustees:

Honey Brook Community Library exists to serve our entire community through educational programming, resources, and services that enrich the lives of all residents. As a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we are deeply committed to this mission and take seriously our responsibility to create an environment where every community member feels welcome, safe, and able to pursue learning and personal growth.

This commitment requires us to exercise careful judgment in our programming decisions. As a private organization, we maintain full discretion over the events we host, grounded in constitutional protections for freedom of association and our rights as private property owners.

Our Executive Director, supported by the board, makes these decisions independently, guided solely by our institutional mission to educate and serve the community. We are not bound by external pressures or influences that might compromise our primary obligation to maintain the library as a neutral educational resource for all residents.

Libraries have always been sanctuaries of learning, reflection, and peaceful discourse. Our community expects and deserves a space where they can engage with ideas, conduct research, participate in educational programs, and find respite. Libraries, while champions of intellectual freedom, must also maintain environments conducive to their core educational purposes. This means we must sometimes decline to host events that might compromise the peaceful, welcoming atmosphere that defines library spaces or that could create barriers to access for any members of our community.

We value feedback from our community and encourage open discussion. While not everyone will agree, we ask that all comments remain respectful. Our goal is to educate and serve the community, and we’ll continue working toward that with integrity.

Our commitment to community betterment remains unwavering while preserving the neutral, inclusive environment that makes libraries essential community resources.

Respectfully,

I love libraries. Have friends who are and were librarians different places. But to this library I simply ask are you playing politics or bowing to politics? Either way, you are a 501(c)(3) and you best think about that carefully. That is not a threat or anything other than they are a registered non-profit.

Isn’t it true the League of Women Voters meets there? So why can’t they, like their branches in many other areas, host a meet and greet at a library? It’s not one candidate, it’s as many as wish to show up. It’s a community thing and benign. A library should be neutral and neutral ground. But this is Honey Brook and it’s like a corn field Tammany Hall.

That is all I have got but the library lady does in fact need to get her story straight, don’t you think? If they are concerned because of a highly charged political atmosphere, can’t blame them. But the problem is they have done these gatherings before.

If Honey Brook Community Library is not doing this kind of gathering this year, then perhaps they need to issue a policy going forward that they aren’t hosting meet and greets of a political nature period. That way there is no confusion on the topic or suspicions of motivations.

Enjoy the day.

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/

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.

happy first day of spring! narberth borough still has turning sabine park into development on the brain. borough council meeting 7 pm tonight.

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So yo, Narbs and Lower Merion neighbors, did you think this was going away? It is NOT. I wrote about this before and the lawyer fighting to save this park is working hard (Phil Rosenzweig) BUT people? You need to go BACK to meetings and speak. Or speak via zoom. Email. Contact media.

sabine bye bye in packetDownload
1 – 2025_0320_AgendaDownload

I checked when this all went up on Narberth Borough’s website for this evening and well, can you say shifty? They barely provide notice and that is a TYPICAL SLEZOID move to keep people away from meetings.

Narberth’s Democrats should be ashamed since well.. developing a park is hardly environmentally friendly is it? It’s just greed and laziness.

Where is the clause about shady shit in trying to sell a park for development???
March 2025 Council Business Meeting PacketDownload

People, you can zoom or go in person. But NOTHING beats bodies in the seats in person.

The Save Sabine Coalition has a website. It does need to be updated, as people have lives and they get busy. But folks? It’s pretty simple: if you don’t take an interest, Narberth Borough Council will continue down this path, which to me is sad and I thought they had grown past it but they haven’t.

https://www.sabinecoalition.com

I can’t fight this fight for you guys, I can only point it out. And I can say I think it is WRONG because it is wrong. But these people who are Narberth Borough government including lame duck Mayor Andrea Deutsch need to hear it from you guys.

That is kind of all I have got.

Narberth has issues and there are people on this borough council who leave me gobsmacked that they don’t get this.

Downingtown tried this a few years ago and got smacked down all the way to the PA Supremes.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. high court ruling preserves parkland, limits town power to sell

In a victory for land preservationists, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled municipalities cannot sell public parkland or allow developers to use public land for private easements without court approval and public participation.

by Michaelle Bond

Published June 21, 2017, 12:48 p.m. ET

https://casetext.com/case/in-re-friends-of-kardon-park-1

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Restricts Sale of Parklands

July 26, 2017
Montgomery McCracken

Other Narberth posts:

narberth borough wants to develop sabine park? 🛑 stop the presses and stop narberth borough
how are things in glocca morra…err narberth?

west vincent needs a quorum and they need a real manager. like yesterday!

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Ok look I have to ask: how can this one remaining supervisor in West Vincent Township sit here this past week at a gathering with bumble the solicitor and everything that is old is new again manager who was exited a bunch of years ago not because he was fab and came back as an interim with straight faces? They literally just held a meeting without a quorum which is really just a gathering right? How can you hold a meeting about the business of a municipality without a quorum? The answer is you’re not supposed to. It’s a second class township. This is the big flaw in the structure of second class townships because although you can have five supervisors too many places only have three like here.

You have one supervisor that I suspect people are not going to see again (Sara Shick) and you have another one also with obvious health issues (Bernie Couris formerly a Republican Borough Council person in West Conshohocken) given the gray pallor at the meeting they were last attending wearing a giant hospital mask and then leaving after 20 minutes. You may not see him again either, right?

Now many things people do not know about Bernie Couris is he was in the papers years ago for a heart transplant. I have never found him to be my type of politician either in West Vincent or West Conshohocken, but he had a heart transplant I want to say 1990-ish, and went on to run marathons etc, and that I do find truly amazing and inspiring. That being said, if he is not well, that could be super serious, right? (And if you don’t believe me check South Jersey papers archives, Inquirer, Daily News, etc.)

And Sara Shick is a breast cancer survivor – used to be a peer counselor at Living Beyond Breast Cancer which is actually one of the few breast cancer charities I believe in. BUT given the way she looked at meetings the past few months (wheelchair, suddenly a hair covering, looking frail, and a very wobbly voice) something is up and hasn’t been to a meeting or part of one since September?

Look, I am not being mean, these people are UNWELL and this township doesn’t have a quorum. So both of them need to put what is rumored to be some sort of competition or not getting along aside for the good of their township, don’t they? It is OK to say you are sick or whatever and step aside and release that stress from your lives if you have a medical condition that requires attention and less stress, correct?

back to west vincent. the supervisors aren’t doing so well, are they?


So who is running the township?


And I realize government in West Vincent can’t escape being Pennsyltucky once in a while, but you can have a meeting and just say you’re getting together so everybody can see literally who’s left! They’re not actually doing anything because legally they can’t do anything without a quorum can they? And that is exactly what the remaining supervisor Dana Allen did. Had a meeting without a quorum and did not know the basics of you can’t post minutes that have not been approved by quorum?


And then you have to wonder if any of the former supervisor(s) that people fought so hard to rid the township of are just waiting in the wings, looking to be placed as the pinch hitter(s)? Now one pinch hitter I would approve of is Mike Schneider, for example. Or even George Dulchinos, right?

I have to ask should the state be stepping in here because I think this is crazy town and if I was living or working in this municipality and they don’t even have like the audit from the prior year finished yet let alone how can they really be talking about 2024 because they can’t really do anything with that either, can they?


Because again…broken record time… there’s not a quorum now, so wouldn’t you be anxious as a resident ? Or even as a township employee? Truthfully residents shouldn’t be just anxious, they should be up in arms. And before anybody jumps down my throat and says I am unsympathetic to people dealing with health issues, that’s not the case at all. This is a broken down system in this municipality once again, and that is not fair to anyone is it???


Again, supervisors who are not at the table and haven’t been at the table now in one case for several meetings, and in another case for a couple of meetings need to do the right thing. It is OK to say their health comes first and they are sorry they cannot serve any longer… but you can’t just pretend nothing is happening here, can you? And should you?

And let’s talk the everything old is new again interim manager? A right to know uncovered he is billing $75 /hour. How is the recruitment going and how can they appoint a manager without a quorum of supervisors anyway?

West Vincent 1124 2Download


So then there is why are they using Keystone Municipal Services for manager searching when The Meyner Center at Lafayette has the better track record? Here, check this link because the Meyner Center has the track record IMHO:

Executive Recruitment

Here is the job posting for a new West Vincent manager, but again, without a healthy Board of Supervisors HOW do they interview and hire one??? Picking a new manager is not just playing that child’s card game of match, is it?

A resident asked at the meeting asked the question of what if there was no quorum in December and the solicitor basically told her not to worry her pretty little head about it? I mean for real?

And of course because there really is no local journalism anymore you have nothing about this in the Daily Local and I doubt the Inquirer even knows there’s a problem.

West Vincent is careening in my opinion. I am glad I don’t live there but oh hell if this is not a reason for second class townships to go to a five member board everywhere in PA, I don’t know what is.

West Vincent is Crazy Town and not in a good or productive way.

life and local-ish politics
lawd have mercy, it’s groundhog day in west vincent!

life and local-ish politics

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I have been musing about stuff. Sometimes I feel the need to write about something, only I have to chew on it a while or sleep on it. In this case, it’s been a few days.

It’s about the state of things locally and regionally. No not nationally. Nationally is what it is. No amount of breast beating will change anything right now. Also? Quite frankly I am tired of the excuses of state and local elected officials that everything s the fault of national politics.

It’s not.

We are here in our own corner of the country. People have to go on, but they also have to deal with local issues and regional ones and a lot of the time, the simple fact of life is Washington, DC has nothing to do with it. Neither does political party.

There are people on a state and local level who are supposed to represent all of their plurality fairly and to the best of their ability and not play favorites. But not all play that way.

Some elected officials you don’t hear from. They literally fade into the woodwork and it’s like not having anyone there, or worse, you constantly forget their names because they literally do nothing.

Some elected officials you had great hopes for. You may have even been personally invested (not financially, but personally as in you volunteered for their campaigns, etc.) in them and at first you feel happy and have a sense of hope that the right thing will happen with them in office.

Then with some of them you watch a slow metamorphosis. First it is barely noticeable, then all of a sudden they drank some Kool Aid and kind of sold out. With others, it is once they are elected, they don’t remember your name. That is not me personally, it’s whomever volunteered for them. I don’t volunteer for campaigns, and I don’t donate to them.

Next you have some elected officials begin to believe their own press releases and become rather full of themselves. And then there are those who are just obnoxious at public meetings. And in some cases as I witnessed in the past, abusive of their positions. That used to be a fan favorite in the good old bad old days of Radnor Township for example. I am actually unsure if it is happening again, but seems to appear to be so which is so sad. It’s like everything watchdog citizens did years ago to clean up. The township has been for nothing

There is one commissioner in Radnor who is being particularly pissy with residents lately. I noticed it when they announced the potential of eminent domain against a church. You have to wonder if they think so little of their residence. Why not just resign and do something less stressful with their evenings at times?

You just have to wonder.

Some of these elected officials have a basic issue with maintaining composure at public meetings. But when it’s a politician having outbursts at residents, it leaves a lot to be desired. I wrote about one such person recently. I call it meeting Tourette’s.

This supervisor that I wrote about recently is in West Goshen Township. And for someone who is the chair of the supervisors, I don’t understand why is she so insecure? Since she became a supervisor, she is prone to these outburst on occasion and she can’t handle public comment and then there’s the whole thing of where she basically was trying to apologize to people and then said they were lying and how does that work?

And again, this isn’t a once or maybe even twice occurrence over the I guess it’s about five years she’s been a supervisor, is it?

Yes, recently I wrote about this politician after I saw one of the meeting tirades. I was astounded and as a woman I was also embarrassed that as another woman she lost control like that. I understand being human, but she’s held to a higher standard as an elected official. She’s also held to a higher standard because she is a female politician, so when she throws her little temper tantrums in the public view she makes it harder for the women who come up behind her no matter what the political party because that’s what people remember. And again not a new meeting occurrence for this politician is it?

So this female politician first reached out to a friend of mine. Asked her to take down her post and then asked her to have me take down my post that she was having a bad day. My friend lives in municipality and decided that she would be the bigger person and take the post down. I told my friend I was not taking the post down because it wasn’t the first time it had happened not even the first time in almost 5 years that it had happened.

I thought this was the end of it.

Apparently not since a few days ago this politician then reached out to me singing a very sad song of having a bad day, etc. etc. and she wasn’t a bad person. I never said she was a bad person. I said she can’t control herself in public meetings and is a shrew to the public she is supposed to be serving. The public who elected her to office.

But the best part was, she said she had never read my blog post, but she was asking me to take it down anyway. I mean HUH?

I am choosing not to share what she wrote to me specifically although I could. And again, if this was the first time she had meeting Tourette’s I wouldn’t have written another post, but last time I wrote about her, it was because she was telling a resident who was calm and polite that she would have police remove him and how is that normal? Was that just another bad day?

I asked that politician if she was contacting a reporter working for a or a newspaper or a TV station, would she have contacted them to ask me to take something down?

I think we know the answer to that question don’t we?

And to this politician, I will say a lot of people have bad days, actually truly awful days and don’t act like that do they?

And then another township that has been on. My radar of late is West Vincent again.

And in West Vincent, I really don’t understand what is going on. You have one supervisor who the last time they were at a meeting was in a wheelchair and has not been seen for a bunch of weeks? And then there is another supervisor there who also must have other health issues and the last meeting they were seen wearing a mask as in a medical mask and then left like 20 minutes into a regular board meeting looking scary gray on camera? Then another meeting was canceled because they didn’t have a quorum wasn’t it?

And what’s going to happen at the next meeting which is like Monday? They are literally putting the business of a municipality in Pennsylvania at risk and what’s the endgame? Will they try to slide in politicians that people voted out of office as benchwarmers? It’s a valid question since the manager whose contract they didn’t renew a few years ago is suddenly back as the interim manager, correct?

Something’s definitely got to give there and you have to wonder like when does the state come into municipalities to clean up messes?

And then down in Oxford, they seem to want to get rid of their police force? What kind of politicians want to get rid of the people that serve and protect the public?

These are but a few examples of messy politicians and messy municipalities and the thing is they make it more difficult for other municipalities and other local politicians don’t they?

Face it, for the most part the public trust is broken. And it’s broken also because of the shenanigans at the county level in various counties. Maybe this is just my opinion. Maybe they’re all going to think I’m imagining things, but I don’t think so, do you?

Eventually, for these people, there’s going to be a reckoning. Pick a county and municipality. It can be Delaware County. It can be Montgomery County. It can be Chester County. Note, I left Philadelphia county out because Philadelphia County is a hot mess all by itself and has been for decades.

We all have to want better for our communities then just going along to get along. But you have a lot of social media misinformed armchair quarterbacking and you don’t have a lot of people that go to meetings regularly or even have a clue what’s going on in their own municipality regularly and that’s on the plurality.

I’m sure there are politicians who will read this post and say they haven’t read it (of course) and think they’re being singled out or picked on. They’re not. They’re just part of the problem as far as I’m concerned.

We elect these people in good faith to look after our communities and represent all of us equally and fairly, but do they do that?

My last word on this is if they were doing that, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation, do you?

These politicians need to be better or make way for people who can be better. However, as the plurality the people out there in these communities, we also have to want better.

Do you want better in your community?

Thanks for stopping by.

oh neil, nice try, and the last word? all mine, bless your heart.

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Apparently I got into his head. And he’s welcome. After all, he’s a pleasant looking human and now he has better haircut styling than before:

a face for radio?

However, you did not learn the lesson of politicians are judged by the company you keep:

ummm? lynda carter called, and she’s embarrassed for all of you.
oh neil, you really do have a wince worthy campaign. THAT is the “teachable moment”

So a little while ago I was on WCHE with my friend Barry. And yes we are friends who can disagree and walk away friends. One area where we disagree is him having Neil Young on a second time (as in the guy running for Congress.)

Once again, he followed in my wake, assuming he has the last word and in a sense today, trying to ride on my coattails. It was amusing. I am so far in his head he couldn’t keep my name out of his mouth.…only I am not running for office and have no desire to. And yes I have been asked over the years…by both sides.

This is pretty amusing to me. But again, at least he learned he needed a better haircut. Maybe it’s a female thing. We notice haircuts. Apparently our friend Neil might be a little insecure having had to follow moi not once but twice on the same radio show? Sorry not sorry.

But that isn’t the funniest thing. He says how he reads my blog etc. etc. yet his campaign Facebook page block’s my blog’s Facebook page? I don’t block the page, I checked. That didn’t work so well for Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale once upon a time and others Not merely referring to my blog, but all of the people who have disagreed with politicians when there is case law about it.

Whatever. It’s not the first time it has happened, and I honestly do not care, it’s just amusing. It’s also amusing when you know you have been blocked and say it and then you are all of a sudden not blocked at some point. It’s just social media.

Just like it’s social media and election season when candidates for political parties that do not actually believe in affordable housing, imply they are.

And although a candidate should actually truly as in daily LIVE the area they are running in, someone who moved into an area for college and stayed, or moved here to raise a family, or moved here because of a job but stayed are not any less important than someone who was born in a particular area. Neil it’s about the actual living here part, not when you arrived or like the fake living here as is the case with Dave McCormick, Rick Santorum, and Dr. Oz for but 3 examples.

And Neil your district extends well beyond the boundaries of Downingtown and Coatesville High Schools.

As an example of moving here, there is former Congressman Jim Gerlach was born in Ellwood City, PA which is not too far from West Virginia and Ohio borders yet he was an amazing Congressman to the 6th district. He came into the district originally to take a job in Chester County. Also important? He served in the state house and the state senate before running for congress. He didn’t just wake up and decide to run for congress. He had huge bi-partisan support when he ran for congress. He had that in his constituency all of the way through. You sure don’t.

But Neil sweetie, you will have to get up a lot earlier to get the last word on me. Sign me still not buying what you’re selling.

Kiss kiss.

That silly man thinks he gets the last word with me? LOL

hood mansion in limerick demolished today: r.i.p. to history and a historic asset that limerick township didn’t give a damn about.

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Those bastards in Limerick. I have no pretty words for Limerick Township, Montgomery County, PA.

I got the call this morning and half an hour ago this was posted on Facebook:

190 years of history

7 years of battles

4 hours to be erased

Today, the Hood Mansion was torn down. We were able to rescue the date stone and a few interior pieces – the rest will end up in a landfill.

We were given less than 24 hours notice of the permit being filed – this comes after the property was recently sold yet again to another shell corporation based out of the Bronx.

It will be replaced with a data center warehouse – yet to be officially approved. More on that later.

All of us here at EPPS have worked tirelessly since 2017 to save this incredible piece of American history on a shoestring budget. This is a tragic failure in our country to continue to allow pieces of our shared past to be erased for corporate interests that contribute nothing to our sense of place and community. Preservationists aren’t magicians, and it takes many parties working together to try and save what we can. Unfortunately it’s difficult if not impossible to fight the corporate machine.

We can rest easy knowing we gave it our best shot up until the very end, but as a great friend and mentor of mine once said about the field of preservation:

“You’ll lose more than you save”

Thank you to everyone who has supported us in this fight for many years, and a heartfelt apology to the Hood Family, whose contributions to our society clearly didn’t matter enough to the powers that be.

Please stay tuned to our pages for an additional press release.

Thank you,

Tyler Schumacher

President & Founder

Eastern Pennsylvania Preservation Society

This is the greed that drives it:

Data center zoning being adopted in Limerick

So hopefully now the data center and environmental activists wake the hell up about what is happening in Limerick. Thus far they have been strangely silent given the environmental impacts.

Congratulations Limerick Township you feckless bunch of nitwits. You have just taken a step closer to making your area like Louden County, Virginia and all it entails. Hope the realtors who brokered these deals choke on the commissions.

I am really sorry Hood Mansion. We all tried. Please tell your spirits to haunt away.

I am out of words.

People suck.

#THISPLACEUSEDTOMATTER

#HISTORICDESTRUCTION

#LIMERICKTOWNSHIPSUCKS

warehouses proposed at a historic site…in limerick, montgomery county…crucial public meeting tuesday, september 19.
tsk tsk limerick….hood mansion….human remains….data center plans???

Enjoy the photo slideshow courtesy of the Eastern Pennsylvania Preservation Society:

now they are targeting me for supporting sugartown strawberries?

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I have thought what has happened to Bob Lange and his wife who own Sugartown Strawberries abominable.

Now, probably because I am a blogger, and I wrote about this, I am being targeted from random people in other parts of the country.

These people should be advised that I have absolutely no problem sending everything to federal and local law-enforcement. They want to vomit their First Amendment rights all over everyone and they want their rights to matter more than my rights, for example? That’s not the way the Constitution works.

We will support our local businesses around here, in spite of the craziness of election season.

Shame on any person who calls themselves a Republican, who thinks that this kind of behavior is acceptable.

It’s a shame that people are acting like this, but to the rest of you out there I say vote. Vote to preserve your rights.

So yeah, vote for Kamala Harris.

#CountryOverParty

chester county farmer being targeted on social media by political extremists
let’s talk about bob…and move on, shall we?
BREAKING: hear that chester county republican committee? that’s gop hell freezing over

nope duane, just nope

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Duane Milne, much like the rest of the ChesCo GOP, is out of touch. He is now sending text messages, which is rather ironic at this point because no one has heard much of anything from him, and when we do he’s stuck in a time warp…again… hence the Rocky Horror video.

📌Hi, this is Duane Milne.

Thank you for voting by mail in this election.

If you’re like me, you want to restore the principles of compromise, civility and centrist leadership guiding our governments.

My commitment to you as Senator is to be independent and lead from the center.

Please join me in rejecting the extremes in politics.

I’d be honored to earn your vote for State Senate. Thank you.

Paid for by Friends of Duane Milne.

Reply STOP to unsubscribe📌

(Yo’ Duane we never signed up for your drivel in the first place.)