it is with great pride that I promote this article on Scott Mahan's and Ken Haskin's participation in the dedication of the Kelo House with Susette, IJ, and others.... many thanks to Main Line Times for the article:

Posted on Wed, Jun 25, 2008
SAC marks milestone with Kelo
By Richard Ilgenfritz

This weekend, some area residents traveled to Connecticut to remember that "little pink house."It wasn't one of the little pink houses made famous in a John Mellencamp song, but one that became a symbol in the fight over eminent domain for private gain. The property became a national centerpiece in the eminent domain battle when the house's owner, Susette Kelo, lost a 2005 United States Supreme Court decision that gave the City of New London the ability to use eminent domain to take her house and several others in the Fort Trumbull section of New London and turn it over for private development. Essentially, the court said it was up to the individual states to determine eminent domain.

Check out my editorial in today's Main Line Life:

Posted on Tue, Jun 24, 2008
It may be summer, but that doesn't mean that it's quiet
By Carla J. Zambelli for As I See It

Greetings from the sidelines. There are so many things to follow, even in the dead of the summer, that I am worried about whiplash.

Jill Porter: Channel your fury over Lavin case to change assisted-living regulations
By Jill Porter
Philadelphia Daily News

YOU'RE NOT alone if you're still haunted by the fact that Rosalind Lavin got off so easy.

You're not alone if you think she should have been criminally prosecuted for the horrific conditions endured by the residents of her personal-care homes.

I continue to be contacted by readers appalled that Lavin, who lives lavishly on the Main Line, was able to get away with paying $700,000 and avoid acknowledging wrongdoing to resolve a federal investigation.

Wow. Got a call from someone about this who asked me what I thought about someone named Rosalind Lavin.

"Who?" I said.

"Just Google" said the other person...."it's horrifying"

So I Googled...and am appalled. Appalled that this Villanova resident could do these things she is charged with, and somewhat appalled that her sentance in the end wasn't 100% a punishment to fit the crime, and was more like a pricey slap on the wrist?

As a matter of fact, can one disagree with what Jill Porter says on June 11th?

If you are hypersensitive, please skip this post. Otherwise understand that I am entitled like everyone else in this country to an opinion. It's called the First Amendment

I am sick to death of dancing around the topic of development in our communities. I am tired of being politically correct.

I do not think that all this development has ever been solely about community betterment, I think it is often about bottom lines and personal legacies at the expense of ordinary people, o.k.?

Do I think all developers are bad or we should have NO development in our communities? No, of course not. Do I feel the need to vent? Yes. Does that make me anti-development? NO, it does not.

Rolling in His Grave: Albert C. Barnes

I believe in exercising my First Amendment Rights and am going to do so now and quite liberally.

Let's discuss blogging.

Blogging is like an ever changing "Letter to the Editor" for the Internet age. Blogs give people a chance to voice their opinions however they see fit. Basically, you go to the web and you will find blogs on all sorts of topics.

Political blogging is now as common as opening that newspaper or turning on the T.V. or radio. This website didn't invent the wheel on that, only added to the conversation.

Grassroots activists all over use blogs to get the word out. This website didn't invent the wheel on that, only added to the conversation.

Does the conversation get salty sometimes? Yes. Does it get too salty? No, that is why we have a webmaster.

Do we welcome anyone including politicians to blog? Yes.

On Thursday, March 13th, 2008, I made a pilgrimage of sorts. I traveled from the Lower Merion Township side of Ardmore, past the “Montgomery County/Lower Merion Township/Village of Ardmore” sign, past many familiar streets, into the Delaware County Side of Ardmore.

I had received an invitation from my State Representative Daylin Leach to have the opportunity to see Michelle Obama in a relatively intimate setting, and perhaps even have the opportunity to meet her.

Ok, let’s get the questions out of the way right up front: No, I have not chosen my candidate for the office of President of The United States. Truth be told, I am somewhat ambivalent, lost is a sea of spin, buzz words, and rhetoric coming at me from all sides.

Am I searching for the candidate who will best meet my needs, answer my questions? You betcha’.

I have poured my passion for old and historic homes into a self published book. Why not?

People may or may not understand where I am going with my editorial in Main Line Life, but honestly I just have concerns with how much of a new good thing do we need? Is it so wrong to say that in uncertain economic climates, maybe less may be more and moderation is the key to happiness? That is NOT to say, wait, stop, do nothing, it is simply: think before you jump and is that so bad? And why pray tell is it so bad to inquire about REAL affordable and moderate housing? Why doesn't historic preservation mean as much as it should? Why is the new buzz word in politics "change", yet no one can seem to say what those changes are, only what the word means and isn't THAT frustrating?

Before I post my editorial which comes to all of you in cyberspace courtesy of Main Line Life (on the web at www.mainlinelife.com), here are links to other things that some may find of interest:
Homebuilding: Sharpest drop in 27 years
As "severe" U.S. recession looms, who can weather the storm?
Housing Bubble Blog

With the crucial public meeting scheduled for January 10th, I thought I would take the time to point out that the additional questions the developers were asked have all be responded to, and the Township of Lower Merion has posted the responses:

Lower Merion's Website/Left Side Column see "What's New"/Click on Ardmore Transit Center Project

BET
Dranoff
EBL&S
Strategic Realty Investments
Mariner

So what do all of you out there think about Ardmore? Especially those of you adjacent to the Lancaster Avenue business districts in the residential neighborhoods and those of you who are in the business district already along Lancaster Avenue and on side streets like Greenfield, Rittenhouse Place, and so on? Because the Township needs to hear your voices now. Not just mine. Not just Save Ardmore Coalition's or even the collective voice of your civic association. And yes, that probably means standing up at a public meeting, or sending a letter to the editor of a local paper, or something like that. But you know what? It's not so much time out of your life in the overall scale of things so why not just do it?

Am I excited about Ardmore's future? If things go along smoothly, realistically, with respect for the past while moving towards the future, I should be ok. But I have to be bluntly honest: if all of us as "Ardmore's Architects" allow it to become too much of what it is not, that might not be a solution, merely another problem. I think the RFP plans need to be more in keeping with what the ULI suggested long ago, but it doesn't have to be all that....as long as the entire focus is not solely targeting upscale and luxury because Ardmore is Lower Merion's melting pot and should be darn proud to retain that part of it's history.

The Ardmore I envision accomodates people from all walks of life, not just some targeted demographic that some outside overpriced consultant decreed is a "must have". The Ardmore I envision melds the past, present, and future with fun and vivaciousness (kind of like my friend Sherry's store). The Ardmore I envision doesn't take itself so seriously it ceases to be fun. The Ardmore I envision isn't afraid to pay homage to the past while envisioning the future. The Ardmore I envision is still a happy place where people will continue to greet you by first name on the street. (and when I am not dreaming of visions of Ardmore dancing in my head I am looking forward to Joe Rufo's proposed new restaurant that will go in that decrepit All Natural site - God Bless you Joe for having the vision to make a sow's ear into a silk purse and for believing in Ardmore no matter what happens.)

Where do all of you stand on other Ardmore issues like 130 Cricket Avenue, for example? What does the Ardmore in your mind look like? What businesses will be there in your Ardmore of tomorrow? If you live in Ardmore now, will you stay in Ardmore?