Still Locked Up

Looking at my last few blog posts, I see that in mid-March the temperature in Morgantown was in the seventies and eighties. April is running thirty degrees cooler, rainy and overcast.  There are only eighty-three confirmed COVID-19 cases in Monongalia County, but that is eighty-three times the one case we had a month ago. Two counties in West Virginia, both somewhat larger than ours, have more cases, and their number of cases is rising more rapidly. I would suggest that people here are more immune, not to the virus, but to the talking heads of Fox News and the White House who think we should just go about our business and let people die.

We are both busy. Joe is teaching and leading services. I have city council business to deal with and a meeting coming up Tuesday. I will be at an online funeral tomorrow for a long-time acquaintance in Los Angeles who died this week, and my postponed class at Osher Life-Long Learning, "The Great Hits And Albums of 1968," starts online this coming Friday. I have learned to use Facebook Live, Zoom and Cisco Webex. For me, all this isolation is a taste of the world to come, not the afterlife, but the time when I'm really retired and can sit home and read books and not have to be anywhere.

I've been taking my temperature and monitoring my breathing. My temperature has not gone over 98 F.  My breathing has been impaired from the dust in the house, from running on windy, pollen-strewn days, and from Joe occasionally adding an unfamiliar spice to his cooking. I always think I have "it," but I recover quickly.

Our Governor, Jim Justice, a liar and long-time grifter like the President, has at least expressed an interest in keeping people healthy, and not rushing to "reopen" the economy, unlike protestors in Ohio who look like zombies, and in Michigan, who were apparently paid for by someone who works for Betsy DeVos. And don't get me started on the talking heads who say we would only lose one to two percent of the school kids if we opened schools now, or that killing off old people to save the economy is a fair bargain. I plan to stay in until everyone can be tested and there is a vaccine.

I miss my trips to counties within three hundred miles of here, and I miss the library and sitting in a restaurant or walking around the mall. I'd like my class to be live. I've said before that we are privileged because our income and health insurance are stable, and we have enough space to not be tripping over each other at home. I've come to appreciate Joe more, because I see more of his work, and he has gone out of his way to be considerate and helpful. I can't imagine being without him. And I have to give shout-out to Tappuz Katom, our cat, who seems to alway show up when one of us is looking for company.

When this is over, I hope to do less, drive less, buy less, be more environmentally aware. Shutting things down has created cleaner air, given a break to wildlife in the oceans and on land. Maybe our whole economy needs to take a breath and wind down. I'll take my twelve hundred dollars and give it to local people running for office to make West Virginia a place I would be proud to call home.

The Haymaker Forest

Our City Council, where I represent our Seventh Ward,  agreed, 6-1 on first reading,  to buy a piece of forest in and adjacent to the city for park land that was about to be developed. A second reading was to be held on June 19, allowing us time to reconsider and get input from the public. Our local Fox News radio outlet asked all of the Councilors to come on the radio, and I agreed to come on the Friday before our meeting, June 15. The hosts, Dave and Sarah, were easier on me than they had been with the last two Councilors they interviewed, but they couldn't get me to say I would vote against this purchase. The big problem was the cost, at 5.2 million dollars. People were out all week on Facebook demonizing the Council generally, and me and Mark Brazaitis particularly about this purchase. I told Dave and Sarah I didn't think opponents would show up for a meeting, because they typically don't. They begged people to come out and oppose us on Tuesday and took my statement as a challenge.

After Friday's radio program, more ugly personal stuff was posted against me and Brazaitis, who has been the real force behind our plans for Haymaker, including someone who posted several times how much Brazaitis' family paid for their house. Our addresses are already public information. I kept track of the people who called us names or impugned our character in the days leading up to the meeting, twenty-nine in all. People who sent thoughtful e-mails and messages to me in particular, got thoughtful and polite answers back. If they wrote to all of the Councilors, I answered if they were from my ward.

I counted forty-eight speakers on the topic of Haymaker Forest on Tuesday, thirty-seven opposed, and eleven in favor. I had my list of the name-callers and character assassins, but only four showed up and one of them apologized for his online rudeness. The others were more rational than they had been online. Ultimately, we voted to postpone action. This means we could try to negotiate a lower price, or we could lose this land to development, which would be a shame.

Meanwhile, there is a court suit against the six of us Councilors who voted in favor of this purchase on first reading, and the online people are worried that I have a Nixon-like enemies list.

I handled all of this as well as I could. I beefed up my privacy settings on my personal Facebook page, although the page I manage, Barry Wendell, Morgantown Councilor, Ward 7, is open.

The issues, the real ones that people brought up, are the price we agreed to pay without a current assessment and that this was all brought up in a hurry at the end of May to be voted on June 5 and 19, and the deal closed by June 29. People complained that there was no plan for the park, and that it would not benefit most people in the city, only those in the area immediately adjacent to it (including Councilor Brazaitis.)

The argument for doing this was that there was already a bulldozer, and even if we felt it was a rip, the developers held all the cards. In our long-range plan for the city and county, Haymaker was supposed to be open space. Much of the property is outside city limits, where the deck is stacked in favor of developers, there is no zoning, and no need to put in curbs and gutters, sidewalks or even reasonably navigable streets.

We had a "process error." People in the City and County  felt we were not transparent about this purchase. Many, including Mark Caravazos, the city Fire Chief, felt that if we had that much money to spend, we could spend on existing parks, buy a fire truck and replace two fire stations that are obsolete.

The money wasn't going to be from the regular budget and we were going to have to raise it somehow, maybe with a levy on the ballot in April. Since the meeting, the radio broadcasts and the newspaper articles ( the newspaper and talk radio are owned by the same company), I've started getting letters praising Council for looking into the deep future and preserving a beautiful forest for trails. For me, I wanted future generations to marvel at the beauty of the forest and thank our present Council for being far-sighted. Maybe that's just a pipe dream, and we will be forgotten.

We did have a financial plan to buy the forest without going into the city budget; maybe it was too complex for people to get it. And we didn't make it clear enough that we were going to have a commission to decide how to use the park, where to put in trails, provide parking, and other amenities. The commission would also look for other parcels of land that could be repurposed as parks. There were already people from The West Virginia Land Trust and other organizations who offered to volunteer their services.

The budget problems in Morgantown go back decades. Part of the problem is that West Virginia University buys up business property in Morgantown and takes it off the tax rolls. The Monongalia County Commission has a huge tax increment financing district off I-79 just south of the Pennsylvania line that draws businesses. So far, there is only student housing and no schools or public parks, so expenses are kept low. There are many built-up areas just outside city limits that should be annexed, but developers don' t want to be subject to zoning and stricter building code enforcement. Some homeowners don't want to pay for the better police and fire protection, snow removal, and curbside recycling that Morgantown provides.

Taxes are not high here, but many elderly people live comfortably in homes they bought for $30,000 forty years ago that are now worth $300,000 and are taxed accordingly. People over sixty-five (me included) do get a tax break, but for many, that's not enough for them to be able to stay in their homes. I understand living on a fixed income. I was criticized for saying I would raise taxes when so many low-wage people depend on food pantries to get enough to eat. I suggested that strikes be organized against minimum wage employers like Target, Wal Mart and Kroger, and then I was blamed for "shaming poor people."

Those who live outside Morgantown but work inside the city limits pay a "user fee" that has been used to hire more police and to pave the city's streets. They believe that gives them a right to decide what the city does. It does not. Only those living in the city limits have a say. I suggested that people in the County areas concerned about what the City of Morgantown does ask to be annexed into the city.

We have our work cut out for us. We have to make it clear to the residents of Morgantown and Monongalia County exactly what we are up to and how we can pay for it. At the same time, we need to fully fund all the city's services that are perpetually starved, even if it means raising taxes, pushing to annex businesses outside city limits, and confronting West Virginia University, The Monongalia County Commission, and media outlets in town who feel free to demonize us as individuals.

My hope is that we can work out a deal, at the much lower assessed value of the property, to create a beautiful public open space for Morgantown. Meanwhile, plans are afoot to confront our inadequate budget, and figure a way to make Morgantown, more than it is already, the best place to live in West Virginia.

Twenty-Five Hours in Centre County

Centre County is the home of Penn State University, once an arch-rival of West Virginia University in athletics, but no longer in the same league. Penn is in the town of State College, which, like Morgantown, is a small part of a larger county. Bellefonte, about ten miles up the road, is the county seat. Since it is less than two hundred miles from Morgantown to Bellefonte, I figured one night away would give me time for a visit. I arrived at the county line at 12:40 Sunday and left the county at 1:20 Monday, so I ran over a little. I make the rules, so I can modify them.

I booked a motel on the edge of State College. Coming in on U.S. 322 Business, a heavily trafficked four-lane road, there is the typical jumble of shopping centers and fast food restaurants, before one hits the city limits.

It was late and I was hungry, but I was determined to get to the main part of town. College and Beaver Avenues are the one-way pair through town, marked as East and West although they seem to travel more North and South. Meters being free on Sunday (hint to Morgantown Parking Authority) I was able to find a spot to park on Beaver. I found a Turkish restaurant called "Penn Pide" and thought I would go for exotic. "Pide,", probably similar to "pita," is a kind of flatbread, in this case with cheese and chicken. They made it on the spot, which took some time, and it was enough for three people to eat. I finished it off.

I found a free weekly newspaper, and was delighted to find that last week, three liberal Democrats were elected to the borough (Pennsylvanian for "town") council. Their interests include diversity and inclusion, competing with the nearby suburbs for commercial growth and the difficulty of annexing more land to the borough. In Pennsylvania, there is no unincorporated, everything is part of a borough or township.

The weather was cooler than in Morgantown by a few degrees. I had a sweater and a coat, and I put the coat on to walk around Penn State's campus. It's big, but contiguous, lots of trees, all labeled by species, and some when they were planted. They have a dairy farm, and a building called The Creamery, where they sell their own ice cream.

I avoided going Saturday to Sunday because there was a football game, and they have a larger stadium than WVU. It was also cold Saturday; Sunday was warmer. There were still crowds of people. I didn't figure that it would homecoming weekend, but it was. At the Creamery, people were lined up in 38 F. weather to get ice cream, and although it was close to three and sunset was 4:59 (eight minutes earlier than Morgantown) and I was stuffed with Turkish food, I waited to get a cup of Alumni Swirl, vanilla ice cream with blueberry swirl and mocha chips, a huge portion for $3.95, and delicious.

I walked around campus and through College Heights, a pretty historic neighborhood. People were out raking and bagging leaves. In my youth in suburban Baltimore, people burned piles of leaves, but that has been stopped in most places for air quality reasons. I used to like the smell of burning leaves.

I didn't find all six National Register places in State College, but I found four, plus a Reform synagogue and a pretty mid-century modern house. I was back at the motel before five, and crashed for over an hour.

I wasn't hungry- I'd had two days of calories, salt, sugar and fat for lunch, but I thought I should eat something. I looked online for a place to eat and found there is a Wegman's just outside of town, not far from my hotel. I went there and ate some greens, tomatoes, a bit of salmon, a garlic roll and some cut-up fruit, mostly pineapple. It didn't seem like much, but it was enough. I noted that most of the big stores are outside the borough limits, surrounded by acres of parking and impossible to walk to. Wegman's was in a development called "Colonnade" which had office buildings that looked like oversized Renaissance Italian palazzos with columns. My heart sank. This was the real commercial hub of Centre County.

For Monday morning, I planned to go to Bellefonte, a smaller borough than State College and the county seat.I found Philipsburg on a map, an even  smaller, isolated town on a river, with a historic district. I started the morning there. It has  a real downtown, but like so many places in this part of the world, not much is going on there. There is a movie theater, which has one showing in the evenings. I drove from Philipsburg through Black Moshannon State Park and State Forest, finding the town of Unionville on my way to Bellefonte.  There is a park on a river in the center of Bellefonte, and the main street rises to a war monument and the classical-style county courthouse. I walked around, snapped a few photos and visited the library, in a little mid-century building off the main square downtown. The librarian told me it had been a grocery store at one time, and they wanted more space. I bought a Hanif Kureishi novel for Joe for $1.00 at the library book sale. It was already after noon, so I looked for a place to eat, finding a Chinese buffet place a half-block from the courthouse. I tried not to overeat. By 1 P.M. I was back at the car ready to drive home.

According to Google Maps, it is 180 miles from Morgantown to State College, 189 from Morgantown to Bellefonte, about 10 miles between Bellefonte and State College. Philipsburg is 23 miles from State College and 29 from Bellefonte, the way I went on a back road.

Centre County has one and a half times the population of Mon County, but in three times the area. Morgantown has three-quarters the population of State College in twice the area. Here's the 2010 Census breakout, rounded from Wikipedia:

Centre County: 154,000
Monongalia County: 96,000

State College: 42,000
Morgantown: 31,000
Bellefonte: 6,000
Philipsburg: 3,000

Centre County is certainly scenic, and looks to be more upscale and urban than Monongalia, although much of the county is agricultural, park land or mountains. I was happy to see more retail options, but sorry that they are located out of the main cities and lost in a jumble of signs and parking lots.

Here are the pics, which came out in a different order than I took them. My error, I guess. Also, some of my pics disappeared from my phone. I have no idea why.

Brockerhoff Hotel, built 1866, remodeled in the 1880s, Bellefonte

Black Moshannon Park

High Street, Bellefonte

Centre County Courthouse, War Memorial, and statue of Andrew Curtin, the governor, from Bellefonte, who served during the Civil War

Bellefonte Historic District

Union Church, 1820, remodeled 1842, now a museum, Philipsburg

rental bike stand at Penn State

College Heights Historic District, mostly early 20th century, State College

An interesting house, next door to Camelot, in State College

One of the buildings in the "Ag Hill" area of Penn State, from the original land grant era in the 19th century

"Camelot," 1922, State College. A window is boarded up, but someone may be living there.

Holmes-Foster-Highlands Historic District, much of the area southeast of Penn State. Highlands ia a more élite area than this

Old Main, 1930, Penn State campus

The Campaign

As with everything I have tried (speaking Spanish fluently, acting, singing, teaching, being a cantor, marriage), politics is more work than I expected it to be. Last Thursday, I attended three meetings: first about the possiblity of a new bridge over the Monongahela River, then a meeting of the Democratic Central Committee for our county, and then Suncrest Neighborhood Association. We live in Suncrest, part of Morgantown. Monday, I attended a kick-off campaign for the reelection of Judge Phillip Gaujot. I've been meeting lots of people, and enjoying that, and getting my name out there, and I have opinions to share in every forum.

I had signed up for an all-day training for new candidates, led by Stephen Stone Smith, a community organizer in Charleston. Training was held in places throughout the state. I attended the one in Wheeling, 74 miles from home. Although it was billed as non-partisan, I don't think many Republicans attended. The work Smith outlined for us is detailed and intense. One should have a committee of ten to help write and execute a written out campaign strategy, should go door-to-door to meet people in the district, and should calll people and ask for a specific amount of money from each person. At first, I didn't think I could do any of this. I now see I will have to bite the bullet and do most of these things.

Still, I have people helping me. I have a treasurer, who also can do tech for me, named Dee Quaranto. A friend from temple, who is active in politics, thought I shouldn't run and wouldn't help, but she has given me good advice about what to do since I seem to be stubborn about running. Another friend from Maryland has offered advice and help.

I'm still working on my 90-second "stump speech" which I gave, in draft form, to the other people at the workshop in Wheeling, who were supportive and gave good feedback. None of us of whatever political leaning, are "establishment" candidates, and I could see myself reflected in them and the struggles they will face to get elected. I've ordered business cards, which will arrive next week.

I met a candidate for the same office, a friend at Judge Gaujot's fundraiser. She complained that she has a full-time job and doesn't have much time to campaign. I thought I had something on her there, but I do our shopping, cooking and bill-paying, and I attend most events at Tree of Life. Joe and I are going to Israel for the CCAR (Reform rabbis) convention in late February, and I'm teaching a class at OLLI from January 25 to February 22, just before we leave for Israel.  My time is not inexhaustible, and the primary is in May, not that far off.

Things are moving. I believe now that there will be at least nine Democrats running for five nominations for Delegate in our district. Candidates have until January 30 to file, so there may be even more. It's easy to criticize Republicans on issues, but the Democrats, most of whom I know, are people I generally agree with on issues. I think of myself as more "upfront" than they are, more "in your face." I want to be the Bernie Sanders of West Virginia.

Meanwhile, thanks to Dee, my website is up. I'm very happy with it, but there may be some changes down the road. Here's the link:

www.barryinthehouse.com

Don't be surprised if you get a call asking for a donation, or an invitation to a fundraiser, or, if you are in Morgantown, a knock on your door.