Poverty's Edge

The Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley's take on poverty, how it affects our communities, and what we're doing about it.

27 Aug
1

The’re Playing Games with the Budget

We are almost 2 months into the fiscal year and there is no sign that the legislature is going to do one of the most fundamental tasks they have as a governing body. We still do not have a budget and the halls of the Capitol were empty today. They appear to have no intention of resolving this impasse any time soon. Today, Better Choices, a statewide coalition of groups advocating for a fair budget, held a press conference in the...

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28 Apr
0

My City in Flames

by Alan Jennings Most people who know me know that I am a diehard fan of the Baltimore Orioles. I am from Hagerstown, Maryland. My family could only afford vacations returning home to visit aunts, uncles, grandparents. I learned racism there. It was weird: one of my baseball heroes was Orioles outfielder Frank Robinson; I never understood why people who looked like my baseball hero were getting beat up by people who looked like my father, simply because of the color of...

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12 Aug
0

The Sixth Street Shelter Celebrates Families With Free Games, Food and Fun

  ALLENTOWN – The Sixth Street Shelter, a program of Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, is celebrating its 30th Anniversary with a day of FREE family fun from 12-to-4 p.m. on Saturday, August 16, 2014, on the entire block of North Sixth Street between Turner and Chew Streets in Allentown, where the Shelter is located. What better way to celebrate 30 years of helping to keep families together than by offering free family activities such as carnival games, prizes, food...

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10 Jul
0

Bernie O’Hare and Mike Molovinsky on Lehigh Valley Discourse

Hello all, Tonight’s guests on my show are bloggers Bernie O’Hare (Lehigh Valley Ramblings) and Mike Molovinsky (Molovinsky on Allentown).  Both blogs are widely read and both cause just a little bit of controversy.  While Bernie focuses primarily on politics and government, Mike spreads his coverage to an array of favorite topics, like boxing and Allentown’s history, as well as politics and government. I’ll be exploring the blogging world as well as the issues in a discussion that has plenty of...

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12 Jun
0

Songs of Protest: This Week on Lehigh Valley Discourse

Most social justice movements seem to have a soundtrack.  Protest songs like “We Shall Overcome” have almost anthem qualities to them. So many of them are just great songs, plus they rattled the cages of the people in power. Join me on Lehigh Valley Discourse as I delve into protest music tonight at 6 PM on WDIY (88.1 FM or wdiy.com).  My guest will be Silagh White, adjunct professor in Lehigh University’s Baker Institute and Director of Arts Engagement and Community Cultural Affairs. Click

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10 Apr
0

Mayor Donchez on LV Discourse and also an interview with US Labor Secretary Tom Perez tonight at 6 PM on WDIY

Bob Donchez has spent his entire career in service to others: he taught social studies at William Allen High School for decades, served for many years on Bethlehem City Council, ran former Pennsylvania Representative Joe Brennan’s local legislative office before ascending to what may well be his dream job. Join the smartest radio listeners in the Lehigh Valley tonight at 6 PM as I welcome Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez to the show. You...

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07 Apr
0

CHARLIE DENT: STANDING ON THE FULCRUM OF AMERICAN POLITICS

By historical standards, Charlie Dent is a conservative; make no mistake about that.  Look at his voting record: he votes for cuts in many domestic social programs, against regulation of business that might improve safety or consumer protections, he gets high marks from taxpayer advocates and he scores low among the various environmental activist groups that rate lawmakers’ voting records.  So lots of liberals are appalled when someone like me suggests that Congressman Dent is actually a moderate....

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13 Mar
5

Karner, Longenbach and Hailstone on LV Discourse TONIGHT!

The Lehigh Valley’s cities have become a happening.  Through an array of factors, including progressive civic and business leadership, activist mayors, young adults’ interest in cities, tax incentives, location, location and location, Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton are on the march.  And who better to talk about its manifestations than the three cities’ directors of community and economic development? Join me on Lehigh Valley Discourse as I welcome Sara Hailstone, Alicia Miller Karner and Gretchen Longenbach, tonight at 6 PM on WDIY (FM...

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11 Feb
1

U.S Representative Charlie Dent on LV Discourse Thursday

U.S. Representative Charlie Dent has catapulted to the national political stage because he has tried to bring some moderation to his caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.  The so-called Tea Party conservatives’ strident rhetoric and extremist tactics such as forcing a government shut-down placed many Republican Members of Congress at risk of losing the off-year elections in 2014.  Congressman Dent will be Alan Jennings’ guest on Lehigh Valley Discourse on WDIY...

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09 Jan
0

Representatives Mackenzie and Schlossberg on LV Discourse

Pennsylvania Representatives Ryan Mackenzie and Mike Schlossberg are finishing their rookie years as legislators.  These two talented, smart, hard-working twenty-somethings are rare among partisans these days: they get along, they work together, and they want to get something accomplished.  Representatives Mackenzie and Schlossberg with be my guests on Lehigh Valley Discourse tonight (Thursday, January 9) at 6 PM.  The conversation will include such topics as a reflection on...

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11 Dec
0

Ervin and Ronald to Discuss Children’s Issues on LV Discourse Thursday

From wide-eyed children to a homeless child, this is the season for and about children.  The real test of our humanity is how we as a society treat the little innocents. On Lehigh Valley Discourse this Thursday, Jane Ervin, CEO of Community Services for Children, and Marci Ronald, Vice President for Community Impact at the United Way, will be joining me.  We will discuss how well the Lehigh Valley fares in its treatment of our children, not just during the holidays...

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19 Nov
4

Completion of the Sixth Street Shelter Expansion to be Celebrated by Donors, Volunteers, and Community Leaders at Open House

The Sixth Street Shelter is hosting an open house on Thursday, November 21, at 3:30 PM, to celebrate the completion of a six-month construction project to expand the shelter. The event will be held in the new building at 223 North Sixth Street in Allentown. Speakers will include the Rev. Dr. Tony Sundermeier, lead pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, Clyde Holman, deputy secretary of the office of community affairs and development at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and...

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14 Nov
1

SAY IT AIN’T SO

Many of us have been victimized by people who spread misinformation about us.  It is particularly frustrating when the perpetrator is actually the one violating the rules, whether they be stated or just understood.  They launch a campaign of rumors, half-truths and flat-out lies in order to distract attention from their own misdeeds.  The Second Harvest Food Bank is being targeted currently and we think that campaign has gone on long enough and deserves a response. The Second Harvest Food Bank...

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04 Nov
0

PROUD OF OUR RECORD

Esther Guzmán, Director of CACLV’s West Ward Neighborhood Partnership,  has been an activist for many years, working with Bethlehem’s Police Department, assisting many other non-profits and training the community in cultural sensitivity. As National Hispanic Heritage Month wraps up, Esther submits the following post: National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15 to October 15 to celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of persons whose ancestors came from Spain, the Caribbean, Central and South America. The observation started in 1968...

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17 Oct
0

Tonight on WDIY Lehigh Valley Discourse: Congressman Cartwright joins Alan Jennings!

Matt Cartwright is nearing the end of his first year representing a gerrymandered congressional district that includes Easton and the Slate Belt. His voting record is as Democratic as the other congressman who represents the region, Charlie Dent, is Republican. Listen in tonight as CACLV’s Alan Jennings welcomes Congressman Matt Cartwright on Lehigh Valley Discourse.  They will be discussing the government shutdown and other issues of our time, his impressions of Congress as an institution, and what makes him tick. Click here to...

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07 Aug
0

LVHN’s Ron Swinfard on LV Discourse this Thursday

Ron Swinfard is the CEO of the largest employer in the Lehigh Valley, Lehigh Valley Health Network.  The pressure of implementing the Affordable Care Act, also known as “ObamaCare,” falls on him more than, perhaps, any other individual in the region.  People are restless about their health care options, physicians are unhappy about the market and its impact on their profession, and competition between the big hospital systems leads some to wonder what the real motives are in health care these...

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05 Jun
0

Audio: June 6th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Lincoln Leadership Academy at 6 PM

     Tomorrow morning, the Lincoln Leadership Academy, a charter school founded by former public school principal Sandra Figueroa, will hold its first-ever commencement exercises on Thursday morning.  Tomorrow evening at 6 PM, Ms. Figueroa will be my guest on Lehigh Valley Discourse.  She will be joined by two of her graduates, Karina Lovera and Abraham Delacruz. Lincoln Leadership Academy’s students are almost exclusively Latino, many attending to seek an alternative to urban public schools.  Charter schools are...

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08 May
0

Audio: May 9th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Democratic Candidates for Bethlehem Mayor

    DEMORACTIC CANDIDATES FOR BETHLEHEM MAYOR  ON THURSDAY’S LEHIGH VALLEY DISCOURSE ON WDIY   (Lehigh Valley, PA)  WDIY’s weekly public affairs program Lehigh Valley Discourse will feature the Democratic candidates for Bethlehem Mayor on Thursday’s program, 6-7pm. In a relaxed, conversational style, J. William Reynolds and Robert Donchez will join host Alan Jennings on the program to discuss their vision for the city. The City of Bethlehem has a hotly contested race for...

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02 May
0

Audio: May 2nd on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Alan Jennings Talks with Republican Candidates for Northampton County Executive, Dean Browning and Scott Ott.

    An especially interesting primary battle is taking place in the County Executive election in Lehigh County.  While Democrat Tom Mueller is unopposed in the primary, former county commissioner Dean Browning and current commissioner Scott Ott are fighting for the soul of Lehigh County’s Republican Party.  Browning is a conservative who was ousted in his bid for re-election two years ago when he voted for the budget proposed by then-County Executive Don Cunningham because it included...

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16 Apr
1

PRESS RELEASE: LEHIGH UNIVERSITY INVESTS $250,000 IN LEHIGH VALLEY MICROBUSINESSES

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY INVESTS $250,000 IN LEHIGH VALLEY MICROBUSINESSES Unique Partnership with The Rising Tide Enables Students to Learn Community Development Lending By Making Loans Lehigh University officials and students joined representatives of The Rising Tide Community Loan Fund today to announce a unique partnership that will invest $250,000 in Lehigh Valley microenterprises through The Rising Tide Community Loan Fund.   Two Lehigh University seniors are learning community development lending, making loans from the university’s investment.  The press...

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11 Apr
0

Audio: April 11th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Alan Jennings Talks with Democratic Candidates for Northampton County Executive, John Callahan, Lamont McClure and Glenn Reibman

    This week on Lehigh Valley Discourse, WDIY (FM 88.1) will present a unique approach to the age-old candidates’ debate.  The Democratic candidates for Northampton County Executive will join Alan Jennings for a candidates’ forum on Thursday at 6 PM in a live session.  The format will dispense with the rigid structure common to candidate debates in favor of a no-rules, conversational approach.  John Callahan, Lamont McClure and Glenn Reibman will have a wide-ranging discussion...

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28 Mar
0

United Way Forum on The State Budget: Alan Jennings Offers Comments on the Governor’s Proposed Budget

The United Way held a forum on the state budget today. CACLV Executive Director Alan Jennings was one of the panelists who offered comments on the governor’s proposed budget. His comments are posted below. For more information on the state budget, we suggest you go to http://pennbpc.org/2013-14-budget. You know, when you look down through history at those who inspire us, those we quote, those to whom we erect statues, it is always those who stand in...

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07 Feb
0

Audio: February 7th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Alan Jennings Talks with former leader of the “Nuns on the Bus” Sister Simone Campbell and Maryann Haytmanek, director of the NCC’s New Choice program

    Sister Simone Campbell was the leader of the “Nuns on the Bus,” the group of activist Roman Catholic nuns who followed U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan on his election-year campaign stops, challenging his proposal to dramatically reduce spending for anti-poverty programs while cutting taxes for Americans in the highest income brackets.  She is the executive director of NETWORK and, in that position, has challenged America as well as church...

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10 Jan
0

December 10th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Alan Jennings Talks with Civil Rights Veteran, Sheila Michaels and Kevin Easterling, Executive Director of the Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King Memorial Project of the Lehigh Valley

“With the national holiday celebrating the life of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., just days away, I will turn the attention of listeners to the civil rights movement.”  – Alan Jennings, Executive Director of CACLV  Sheila Michaels, a veteran of the civil rights movement who worked for SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) and CORE (Congress for Racial Equality) in the early 1960’s, knew and worked with some of...

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07 Jan
0

Audio – Philanthropy on Lehigh Valley Discourse

Alan Jennings with special guests, Laurie Gostley Hackett, Charles Marcon, and Marlene Fowler discuss Philanthropy in the Lehigh Valley, December 10th, 2012 on the WDIY  – Lehigh Valley Discourse radio show.   [ca_audio url=”http://blog.caclv.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Philanthropy.mp3″ width=”500″ height=”27″ css_class=”codeart-google-mp3-player”] ...

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27 Dec
1

The Lehigh Valley’s ‘Collective Resolve’ Means 2013 Will Be Better

I’m not sure how many of us have the time anymore to take a deep breath, clear our heads, and reflect, as we once did, on the year behind us.  Maybe we don’t have any interest in dwelling on the past, given how painful it was for so many.  But it can be a productive exercise. To be sure, it was dark.  We still feel the lingering effects of the Great Recession, as unemployment rates remained stubbornly...

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13 Dec
0

Press Release: Bosch “Stands Up To Sandy” With $100,000 Contribution to Relief Effort.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             CONTACT:    Alan L. Jennings  610-248-9900  BOSCH “STANDS UP TO SANDY” WITH $100,000 CONTRIBUTION TO RELIEF EFFORT  With Another $20,000 From Catholic Charities, Fund Quadruples, Enabling More Assistance to Be Offered to More Lehigh Valley Homeowners  The Bosch Group, a leading technology and services company with a major facility and over 700 employees in Lehigh Valley Industrial Park, has contributed $100,000 to the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley to...

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12 Dec
0

Media Advisory: “Stand Up To Sandy” Relief Effort To Receive Major, New Contribution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:    Alan L. Jennings                          610-248-9900 New Funding Will Enable Assistance to Be Offered to More Lehigh Valley Homeowners A significant, new, private contribution will enable more lower-income homeowners whose homes were damaged by “superstorm” Sandy to receive help than originally announced.  The task force of local organization that raised funds and recruited volunteers to assist victims of the storm will announce details of the expanded relief effort at a press...

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13 Nov
0

Media Advisory: Low-Income Elderly and Disabled Homeowners Eligible For Repairs To Homes Damaged By “Superstorm” Sandy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:    Alan L. Jennings                          610-248-9900 Details of Special Initiative to be Announced Wednesday  The task force that came together to coordinate the outpouring of good will following the February, 2011, gas explosion in Allentown has organized a volunteer-based effort to assist Lehigh Valley residents whose homes were damaged by the “superstorm” that disrupted the region the week of October 29.  The effort, custom-made to respond to the storm’s...

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07 Nov
0

November 8th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Alan Jennings Talks with Representative Jennifer Mann

Among the changes that the 2012 election will bring is a new representative for Pennsylvania’s 132nd district, long served by Jennifer Mann. Representative Mann was elected at the age of 28 and served seven terms.  She has lots to say and Lehigh Valley Discourse will be giving her a venue on Thursday, November 8, at 6 PM.  Join Representative Mann and CACLV’s Alan Jennings as they talk about her experiences, the difference she made, her regrets, what’s wrong...

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16 Oct
0

Press Release: CACLV Calls National Penn Bank Move to Downtown Allentown “The Ultimate Community Reinvestment Act”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                          CONTACT:  Alan L. Jennings  610-248-9900 Early this morning, National Penn Bancshares CEO Scott Fainor announced that the company will move its headquarters to downtown Allentown in 2014. The bank will bring hundreds of employees to the city, occupying several floors in City Center Two.  The building will be constructed on the northeast corner of Seventh and Hamilton streets where a building once occupied by First National Bank of Allentown is being demolished. The Community Action Committee...

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11 Oct
0

October 11th On WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Discussing Children’s issues with Marci Ronald and Gregg Dowty.

If, indeed, children are our future, as so many like to say, what might that future look like, given the many challenges our children face: declining resources for education, for intervention when they are victimized by predators, for nutrition programs, limited ability of their parents to save money for their educations or to leave something behind for them, neighborhoods that are unsafe and so much more.  With an election just a few weeks away, the public policy debate...

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02 Oct
0

October 4th On WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Economist, Kamran Afshar and Tony Ianelli, CEO of The Greater LV Chamber of Commerce,

“The economy is bad.  The economy is good.  It needs to be stimulated.  It needs to be left alone.  It’s good for Obama.  It’s good for Romney.”  – Alan Jennings Join CACLV’s Alan Jennings and his guests for WDIY 88.1 FM Lehigh Valley Discourse on Thursday, October 4th, at 6 PM, as the discussion leading up to the November election focuses on the economy.  Alan’s guests will...

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19 Sep
0

Audio: September 13th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse “Party Officials on the 2012 Election”

Labor Day is the historic “out-of-the-gates” day for elections. While many have been paying attention for some time, over the next several weeks the candidates and their parties and surrogates will be pummeling voters with attempts to convert them to their side or fire up their side to get out and help them win. Below is an archive of September 13th’s Lehigh Valley Discourse, as we discuss the 2012 election with guests Tom Carroll, vice chair of the Northampton County Republican...

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17 Sep
0

Audio: August 30th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse “The Politics of Welfare “with Maryann Haytmanek and Kathleen Daugherty

It’s a storied tradition in American politics: pick on the weakest among us. “Welfare” was (re-)introduced into the national political debate recently.  Join me this Thursday at 6 PM on Lehigh Valley Discourse with my guests, Maryann Haytmanek and Kathleen Daugherty, both of whom have decades of expertise on the issue. They’ll talk about the facts, including how many people receive benefits, how much they receive and how many obstacles are in place that are designed to keep people from...

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13 Sep
0

TONIGHT! September 13th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Party Officials on the 2012 Election

  • By
  • September 13, 2012

“Labor Day is the historic “out-of-the-gates” day for elections.  While many have been paying attention for some time, over the next several weeks the candidates and their parties and surrogates will be pummeling voters with attempts to convert them to their side or fire up their side to get out and help them win.”   – Alan Jennings Join CACLV’s Alan Jennings and his guests Tom Carroll, vice chair of the Northampton County Republican Committee, and Walt Garvin, chair of...

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05 Sep
0

TOWARD A NEW MARKET, A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD, A NEW TOMORROW

Over the weekend, The Morning Call reported that CACLV had offered a proposal to ensure that the benefits of $500 million in new development resulting from the Neighborhood Improvement Zone had a lasting impact on the downtown, its neighborhoods and the residents who live there.  The proposal is printed in its entirety, below. Matt Assad’s article was well done.  However, as usual, some of the people in the region who couldn’t find a good word to say about anything, especially our...

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30 Aug
0

TONIGHT! August 30th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Maryann Haytmanek and Kathleen Daugherty

It’s a storied tradition in American politics: pick on the weakest among us. “Welfare” was (re-)introduced into the national political debate recently.  – Alan Jennings Join CACLV’s  Alan Jennings and his guests Maryann Haytmanek and Kathleen Daugherty, both of whom have decades of expertise on the issue.  They’ll talk about the facts, including how many people receive benefits, how much they receive and how many obstacles are in place that are designed to...

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15 Aug
0

Lehigh Valley Discourse – 2012-08-09

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski has a problem. Actually, like all mayors trying to make their cities viable in Pennsylvania, the mayor has big problems. Having cut city spending to the bone, he still has major obligations such as meeting its pension obligations for retired city workers. So Mayor Pawlowski is proposing some bold measures, including unloading some major operations to private and/or outside interests. → ...

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09 Aug
3

TONIGHT! August 9th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Allentown’s Mayor Ed Pawlowski

“So Mayor Pawlowski is proposing some bold measures, including unloading some major operations to private and/or outside interests.” – Alan Jennings Join CACLV’s Alan Jennings and his guest Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski.  Allentown’s Mayor Ed Pawlowski has a problem.  Actually, like all mayors trying to make their cities viable in Pennsylvania, the mayor has big problems.  Having cut city spending to the bone, he still has major obligations such as meeting pension obligations for retired city workers.  Tune in...

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08 Aug
4

THANKS TO THE NEW MAJORITY ON LEHIGH COUNTY’S BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, THE AGENDA IS GETTING CLEARER

The new majority on the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners wants to kill the decades-long campaign to extend critical public health services to all residents in our two counties.  I won’t go into a long account of the many merits of making sure people have access to immunizations, that restaurants be inspected so we are reasonably safe from cutting corners that can lead to ugly little diseases like salmonella or even being prepared for a terrorist attack on, say, our...

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10 Jul
0

July 12th on WDIY’s Lehigh Valley Discourse: Scott Parsons and Vic Mazziotti

“There is so much going on, so much at stake while too few people are paying attention.  Local politics affect our lives in so many ways and, yet, so much of it happens with too few people weighing in.” – Alan Jennings Join CACLV’s Alan Jennings and his guest Scott Parsons, first-year county legislator who defeated Ron Angle last year to join Northampton County Council, and Vic Mazziotti, who was part of an organized block of conservatives elected to the Lehigh...

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28 Jun
3

FAIR HOUSING PRESS CONFERENCE ON JUNE 26, 2012

Allentown, like so many cities, has challenges that, under the best of circumstances, cause disinvestment, concentration of poverty, diminishing tax base, substandard housing and public school issues that feed on each other, accelerating as they do.   Even a mayor as good as Ed Pawlowski must wonder whether God is on his side. The Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley has a long history of joining the cause, fighting the good fight, hoping to improve the odds.  Our approach rejects the...

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25 Jun
12

A REVELATION

It all fell into place at the grocery store tonight. Have you ever wondered why people who just aren’t very nice through much of the normal course of the day are so polite, patient, deferential and even friendly when they encounter you in the grocery store? I think it’s because there is such anonymity when we’re driving or on the phone with a stranger.  In a grocery store, on the other hand, it’s too uncomfortable when you can’t help but look...

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29 May
0

THE FRAY

CACLV has at any time an array of public policy initiatives.  Sometimes we are fighting policy retreat that takes past gains away, sometimes we’re fighting to advance a progressive agenda.  But we’re always in the fight.  Following are some key issues we are watching or are in the middle of the fray: GOVERNOR TOM CORBETT’S PROPOSED 2012-2013 BUDGET To study this budget proposal, one would think our problems are over: deep cuts in human services, education, community and development, and still no...

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17 Apr
1

It’s Time To “Save Our Homes”

  The American Dream is in danger.  The recession that began in 2008 has decimated Pennsylvania’s families and the communities in which they live.  While the recession is, technically, over, the sluggishness of the “recovery” has meant unemployment in excess of 8% for almost four years. Few families have the savings to outlast that kind of economic climate.   Since that time, foreclosures have occurred at an alarming rate and are expected to rise.  On April 3, 2012, the PA Save...

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10 Apr
8

Press Release: Lehigh Valley Fair Budget Coalition will host a Legislative Forum on April 13, 2012 at 1 PM.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Lehigh Valley Fair Budget Coalition will hold a hearing at which invited state legislators will hear the concerns of constituents who have been receiving services but are at risk of losing those services due to proposed budget cuts to critical state programs.  The event will take place on Friday, April 13, 2012, at 1 PM at Northampton Community College’s Fowler Family Southside Center, located at 511 East Third Street in Bethlehem.  PA Representatives Steve Samuelson,...

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27 Feb
2

LVRC’s Annual “State of the Valley” Report Released: Alan Jennings Offers The Closing Comments

 On Wednesday, February 15, RenewLV and the Lehigh Valley Research Consortium teamed up to release LVRC’s annual “State of the Valley” report.  The report offered a sobering assessment of the region that should surprise few people.  The report is full of very interesting data.  Alan Jennings offered the closing comments, imploring the nearly 200 community leaders in attendance to pursue solutions with a sense of urgency.  Many in attendance...

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13 Jan
0

CORBETT BUDGET FREEZE TO BE TARGET OF PRESS CONFERENCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CONTACT:    Alan L. Jennings                          610-248-9900                                                               Coalition Sees Irony in Increased Corrections Budget Coinciding With More Cuts in Programs That Develop Pennsylvania’s Human Resources A coalition of groups that serve residents of the Lehigh Valley will hold a briefing on Tuesday, January 17, at 11 AM, to stress their objections to Governor Tom Corbett’s budget “freeze.”  The event will take place near...

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12 Jan
6

Responding to a Pot-Shot

The Morning Call published a letter from former Allentown Redevelopment Authority director Karen Beck Pooley in which she lauds the decision of the Allentown Zoning Hearing Board for its rejection of the variance Rite Aid sought in order to move to Seventh Street.  Our subsidiary, the Community Action Development Corporation, operates an award-winning Main Street Program on Seventh Street.  In her letter, Karen takes a pot-shot at us for siding with the company.  No mention of the remarkable work we’ve...

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