Easton Tags Six Properties for Initial Phase of New Anti-Blight Initiative

The old armory at 687 Northampton Street is on the priority list.

Posted by: Noël Jones

Ed Sieger of the Express-Times reports that the Vacant Property Review board has chosen six of the 38 properties that it originally designated as either blighted or vacant, for the first phase of the city's new anti-blight initiative. The hope of the city is that the owners will remediate their properties now, rather than delay to the point that the city has to take them by eminent domain, but the process has now begun and will be assertive in moving forward. The six properties are:

If the Storm Doesn't Get You Friday, the Music Will

Brought to you by the Main Street Initiative

Posted by: Noël Jones

If Hurricane Irene hasn't hit our area by tomorrow night (which should be the story, since our area isn't supposed to get hit until Saturday) then by all means, get down to Centre Square from 7:30 - 9:30pm and

The Latest on Fracking in Three States: PA, NJ, NY

New York State Senator Greg Ball describing fracking in PA and calling for moratorium.

Posted by: Noël Jones

Now that the drinking water contamination resulting from the process of fracking for natural gas has been raised in the mainstream consciousness, and Ian Urbina of The New York Times has reported in his recent article that the U.S. Geological Survey has cut its estimates of natural gas reserves in the Marcellus Shale, we are seeing very different actions taken by politicians in different states who share the Delaware River watershed, where tens of thousands of wells are slated to be drilled in the next 20 years. As opposition among citizens, environmental groups and certain elected officials grows, the natural gas industry has bought ad time on the cable news networks, touting the

Hurricane Irene Headed Our Way

This sucker is HUGE...

Posted by: Noël Jones

UPDATE: THE DELAWARE IS EXPECTED TO FLOOD BY 6PM TODAY. Click here for NOAA flood watch in NJ/Eastern PA.

Hurricane Irene, a Category 4 storm, has already ravaged the Bahamas and is headed straight up our eastern seaboard, due to hit the Carolinas on Saturday and then travel up the coast. So far the word is that

Genesis Bikes to Host Annual "Bike to Brunch" on September 11th: Register Now!

However, the Genesis event will not be clothing-optional.

Posted by: Noël Jones

According to Kelly Huth's article in the Express-Times, Genesis is expecting hundreds of cyclists for their annual Bike to Brunch event to be held on September 11th this year. Riders can check in at 10 a.m.,

5.9 Earthquake Rocks East Coast

Posted by: Noël Jones

Being that I'm from Alaska, I grew up with frequent earthquakes, as well as the lore of my parents' generation, who were around for the Great Alaskan Earthquake of '64, which was 9.2 on the richter scale--the largest quake ever recorded in North America, and the second

SEC Whistleblower Exposes SEC Document Shredding on Maddoff and Wall Street Bankers

Posted by: Noël Jones


Again--why isn't this all over the news?


According to Matt Taibbi's article for Rolling Stone Magazine, a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) whistleblower, SEC attorney Darcy Flynn, has reported to Congress that the SEC shredded over 9,000 documents in 2008, at the height of this country's financial collapse, some of them having to do with the Bernie Maddoff ponzi scheme that ripped American's for millions, just as investigations were getting underway. But Bernie is small potatoes. There are much larger Wall Street criminals responsible for our economic collapse, and the SEC has been shredding their documents too, after each inquiry, so that no investigation could ever be re-opened. As Taibbi puts it:

How Jimmy Carter Saved Beer

Posted by: Noël Jones

I have to give a shout-out to another local blogger, Jon Geeting, who's blog Lehigh Valley Independent is great if you've haven't read it already. I'm linking one of my favorite posts of his here--on how Jimmy Carter saved microbrews from extinction in America. Our local pubmeisters are sure to find this interesting...

Analyst Blows Whistle on Moody's Rating System

Posted by: Noël Jones


This article by Henry Blodget of Business Insider on line, a former Senior Vice President at Moody's has blown the whistle on the rating agency's irresponsible practices with regard to rating financial products that eventually led to the crash of our economy.

Genesis Bikes Offer Cash for Clunkers

Posted by: Noël Jones

This deal seemed to good not to post--Genesis Bikes is offering a "Cash for Clunkers" program where you will get $25 - $100 for turning in your old bike when purchasing a new one and you can combine this offer with their ongoing clearance sale.

Click here for details and turn in that clunker!

Journalists Must Demand Political Answers

Posted by: Noël Jones

I am posting this interesting op-ed from The Morning Call, penned by Ken Sturzenacker, who, aside from being a regular commenter on this blog, is the former head of the Libertarian party for Pennsylvania. Regardless whether you share his political views or not, he makes really great points about the need for journalists and television moderators to demand answers from presidential candidates and

Be a Mentor!

Posted by: Noël Jones

West Ward resident, Althea Ruffin, is working with the YMCA to help put together a mentoring program for our city's youth. The program is a joint venture with Easton Police Athletic/Activities League (EPAL). Althea is a great person, so if you've ever considered being a mentor to a child in our community, I encourage to you get in touch with her. Below is a message about the program from Althea, as well as her contact information:

How's This for Government Waste? Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha Diverted Millions of Taxpayer Dollars to Tiny Pet Airport

Posted by: Noël Jones

This makes me really mad and is a perfect example of how badly the Democratic party in Pennsylvania needs to be reformed. Fortunately, there are young progressives who are working hard to do just that, but this video above is a testament to just how bad wasteful spending on earmarks by the oldtimers has gotten. Apparently, being a Vietnam vet doesn't make you an honest politician. Makes me so mad...

What the TIF?! Chrin Seeks to Build Interchange on 33 to Develop Farmland into Commercial Real Estate

This is blight?

Posted by: Noël Jones

My Republican and libertarian friends will have to excuse me on this post, because I am about to expose myself for the hippy love child that I am. Ever heard of a TIF? Me either. But at the Easton Area School Board meeting last night, there was a presentation for one on the agenda. The presentation was loooooong and boooooooring and the kind of tax talk that makes me dig my fingernails into my thighs once in a while so as not to fall asleep in the middle of a public meeting. But here and there a word or phrase caught my attention: agricultural land, highway interchange, Route 33, Chrin, development, developers, no financial risk, tax revenue...and...blight. Blight?

A Tax Increment Finance vehicle, I found out, is a way to fund things where funding doesn't exist, based

Why I Love Jon Stewart So Much: Daily Show Calls B.S. on Media Blackout of Ron Paul After Strong Showing in GOP Debate and Ames Straw Poll

The Daily Show - Indecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition - Ron Paul & the Top Tier
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Posted by: Noël Jones

Jon Stewart tells it like it is. While both the liberal AND conservative media channels pretend like Ron Paul doesn't exist, Jon Stewart points out the inconvenient truth--that Ron Paul won the popular vote in a nationwide poll by Fox News after the GOP debate by an overwhelming majority, and he came in a close 2nd to Michelle Bachmann in the Ames Straw Poll (Michelle Bachmann only eeked out a victory because she used a large chunk of her campaign chest to pay country music star, Randy Travis, to hold a