Please refer to Bernie O’Hare’s Web page, “Our Common Bond,” precursor to his blog, “Lehigh Valley Ramblings.”

Please refer specifically to “County Council Giveaways to the three Little Piggies!”: Piggy #1 - Palmer Towne Center; Piggy #2 - Bangor Junction Industrial Park; and Piggy #3 - Arcadia East Industrial Center, the last of which I quote here in full verbatim full text:

“The E. Allen Twp. official who proposed this project last week now opposes it because the water extensions will benefit only the industrial developer and not nearby residents. He [the E. Allen Twp. official] was not permitted to speak during the first supposed ‘public hearing,’ a violation of both the Sunshine Law and the Home Rule Charter [of Northampton County]. Council has no intention of listening to the public anyway. Why? The developers have political clout. State Rep. Craig Dally [Legislative District 138] has telephoned all Republican [Northampton County] Council members for support because the developer is a big political contributor. Turns out the developer has also given to Nick Sabatine [a former Republican Northampton County Councilman and chair of council’s Economic Development Committee], who seems to think this is the best project of all [of the three piggies]. Sabatine stated publicly that he would abstain from voting on this project (MC [The Morning Call]. 2/20), but his committee voted to endorse this project to the rest of Council, and he has actively supported it to other council members. Perhaps he forgot. (During his election campaign, he said he opposed all government grants to developers. Perhaps he forgot that, too.”

Arcadia is the developer of the Easton Riverwalk project, the subject of last night’s first “public hearing” on the project, conducted by Easton Mayor Phil Mitman and the project’s developer and architects.

Mitman and the developer and associates committed their sacrilege (betraying the public trust, offenders of which Dante in his Inferno condemned to the hottest chambers of Hell).

I urge readers to read the rest of this “Our Common Bond” issue by Bernie O’Hare for a colonoscopic view into the diseased bowels of government.

For example, the TIF (Tax Incentive Finance) subsidy for the Piggy #1 (Palmer Towne Center) developer Easton Ventures LLC was opposed by Palmer Township Supervisory Board Chairman David Colver - until Northampton County Executive Glenn Reibman’s Administrator Jim Hickey leaned on him to support the tax subsidy that diverts substantial Palmer Township, Easton Area School District, and Northampton County revenue to the developer.

News reports at the time suggested that the EASD superintendent made commitments to the development in the absence of publicly advertised hearings before and approval by the EASD board of directors.

In a Rapture, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell plucked Hickey from his county administrative position and transported him to Harrisburg - together with Bethlehem Mayor Don Cunningham and Easton Mayor Thomas Goldsmith.

Rendell thus opened the door of the Christmas City mayor’s office to his surrogate John Callahan and 126 acres of the defunct Bethlehem Steel Corporation to his surrogate BethWorks principal Michael Perrucci and associates.

The transfiguration of Goldsmith from mayor to Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board member also opened the door to his successor, City of Easton business administrator Mike McFadden.

As mayor, McFadden conspired with Northampton County in the zoning approvals and construction permits required by the County Government Center Expansion under the construction managment of Alvin H. Butz Inc. and Bean Construction (courthouse) and Keating Construction (prison).

McFadden creaed the committee, a member of which was the current chairman of the Easton Parking Authority and spoke at last evening’s meeting in the First United Church at 27 N. 3rd Street, that recommended a prison expansion devoid of fire- and smoke-detection systems in order to save the county money.

McFadden retained Goldsmith’s zoning officer. director of planning and development, and executive director of the Easton Redevelopment Authority, and chairman of the Easton Zoning Hearing Board, Robert O’Neil,and chief planner Barbara Kowitz, until all zoning requirements and construction permits had been approved.

Only then did O’Neil resign for positions and places never made publicly known, to be succeeded in most of his former City of Easton positions by Kowitz, whom Easton’s current mayor Phil Mitman has also retained.