Seniors Can Get Help with Sandy Home Repairs

Task force that came together to help victims of Allentown gas explosion reunite to help low-income seniors and disabled who need home repair help after Superstorm Sandy.

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 Superstorm Sandy. The project, announced last week, is being coordinated by Hal Black, a volunteer who is a retired Air Products executive. Black and the task force recruited teams of volunteers to visit the homes of eligible households to assess the damage. If the repairs needed fall within the scope of the volunteers' skills, they will be made immediately. In situations where the home requires more specialized skills, the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley will use the contractors that work in …

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Your Call Is Important to Us. NOT!

Automated answering systems contribute to the public’s impression of government being run by nameless, faceless bureaucrats.

My 90-year-old mother still has all her marbles, though sometimes she forgets where she put them. But a recent go-round with a couple of government agencies and a doctor’s office over a misprint on her Medicare card tested her patience and her sanity. The main villains were automated answering systems, those unforgiving “Press 1 if you want this, press 2 if you want that” mechanisms that mostly don’t let you talk back. Trying to navigate them can be frustrating for anyone, but it’s especially tough for those with poor vision.    “I just remember I thought I was going crazy for three days,” said my mom, who otherwise is a huge fan of Medicare.  When I call an agency or company and the first thing greeting me is a live voice, a feeling of …

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Charlie Dent "Vulnerable" Under New Political Map

Redrawn congressional map changes Charlie Dent's district

Four-term Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent, a Republican, will see the legislative district he serves change under a new political map - and some say those changes will make him vulnerable to defeat next year. PoliticsPa ranks Dent fourth in a list of U.S. representatives made vulnerable by redistricting. Morning Call columnist Bill White says the new gerrymandered congressional district map looks like "somebody holding a crayon had a series of seizures." For the last 10 years, the 15th district has consisted of all of Northampton County, most of Lehigh County and small parts of Berks and Montgomery Counties.  Under the new map, the district will extend across five counties from Northampton County to Dauphin County. The district will…

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An interested bystander

4:21 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Using Obama's vote totals as indicators is not accurate. He's completely lost the Independent voter who was duped into believing him. That being said, all incumbents are at risk because Washing is as dysfunctional as ever, and that's a tribute to both parties who are equally to blame.   more ›

Life in the Slow Lane

Charity chief tired of ‘blame the poor’ mentality

Growing mean spiritedness is used to justify abandoning those laid low by the economy.

There’s a concept in social psychology that goes something like this: When other people err, we attribute it to flaws in their character; when we screw up, we blame it on circumstances – the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. So when someone else runs up credit card debt, we think “spendthrift.” When we do it, it’s because of a medical emergency and necessary student loans. Alan Jennings, executive director of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, says he has seen this type of thinking amplified since the economy tanked. Instead of sympathizing with those who lost their jobs or homes, some blame the poor for their plight – which makes it so much easier to justify not helping them. These critics have found a home on the…

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