Facts The Morning Call "newspaper" refused to cover: "Broadway Jim" Missing in Action

Readers, please read Morning Call "newspaper" "reporter" Darryl Isherwood's skillfully edited article on the April 9, 2008 Lehigh County Commissioners meeting that ran in the "newspaper's" April 10, 2008 edition the next day ...

County backs crime program, balks at "Safe Streets"

Please pay special attention to skillfully edited paragraph #7 that states ...

The crime package presented by Cunningham and District Attorney Jim Martin included funding to update records management systems in local police departments, for emergency training centers and for some of the cost of a regional crime data center in partnership with Northampton County.

After reading this article, and especially paragraph 7, you get the distinct impression that DA Jim Martin was in attendance at this meeting, right? That DA Jim Martin "presented" a crime fighting package to the Lehigh County Commissioners alongside County Executive Don Cunningham at the meeting the night before, right?

Wrong. Lehigh County's "Top Cop" DA Jim Martin was not in attendance at this very important meeting, which, in terms of crime fighting in Lehigh County was arguably the most important meeting of 2008.

DA Jim Martin had given this excuse to the Lehigh County Commissioners in a letter prior ...

"But for a very long-standing commitment to be in New York City that evening, I would be in attendance." [Source: Lehigh Valley Area News Bloggers]

So w/ Republican DA Jim Martin away in New York City, and Democrat Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham in reality presenting solo in front of the Republican-majority (5-4) Lehigh County Commissioners, the 5 Republican commissioners voted along party lines and successfully voted down the $1 Million part of the "Safe Streets" program that would have provided funding for adding as many as ten (10) new police officers to the streets of Lehigh County and Allentown right away. Yep. Republicans voted down a crime fighting package.

Afterwards, Lehigh Valley Area News Bloggers commented, "Martin should have attended," and "I think Martin might have made a difference."

I had two excellent questions on this that I tried to take up w/ The Morning Call "newspaper."

#1. What was DA Jim Martin doing in New York City on the evening of April 9, 2008 that took priority over fighting crime in Lehigh County?

#2. Why was The Morning Call "newspaper" being proactively dishonest and not telling its readers (and the voters) the truth that Jim Martin was not in attendance at this important meeting on fighting crime?

No correction or clarification on this ever ran in the "newspaper."

I wrote a Letter to the Editor about it but then editorial agenda framer and gatekeeper Glenn Kranzley refused to publish it.

April 9, 2008 was a Wednesday.

Wednesdays are the most popular day of the week for "Dinner and a Broadway Show" promotions.

At the time, I theorized publicly that DA Jim Martin's "very long-standing commitment to be in New York City that evening" was to attend a Broadway Show.

Shortly thereafter, one of Glenn Kranzley's hand-picked Lehigh Valley Area News Bloggers told me off the record that he had an email from DA Jim Martin admitting to being at a Broadway Show on April 9, 2008.

He dutifully never published it.

Readers, this is the third post in an ongoing series of LVS blog posts on "Facts The Morning Call "newspaper" refused to cover." See our right sidebar for more revelations.

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