I have to admit, I have torn feelings on public monitoring by police and other authorities. Although I do believe it can help in containing crime, I also believe every camera is another step at reducing our liberty, privacy, and in some way – our rights as well. I know nobody can expect privacy in public, but I still don’t like the idea of having someone watching over me every time I leave the house. Again, I realize that is NOT what this is… but it is a step closer to being like Britain which is under surveillance just about everywhere.
By this summer, Bethlehem police will use six pole-mounted moveable cameras to record activity at high-crime areas, crowded streets lined with Musikfest revelers and bridges that may be clogged by a vehicle crash.
”It’s the equivalent of a police officer operating for 24 hours a day with a photographic memory,” said Mayor John Callahan, ”. . . a memory that can be brought into court if necessary.”
I’m not sure I would spend $80 for two hours on a Segway, but none the less, they are now offering tours of South Bethlehem on a Segway.
From the Morning Call: “In about two weeks, tourists will be able to skitter nearly noiselessly around the historic parts of Bethlehem, past rusting blast furnaces and carefully preserved Colonial areas, on a bit of 21st century transportation.
Scooting along on a Segway human transporter, tourists will be able to make the 3- to 4-mile loop from Bethlehem Steel’s industrial remnants south of the Lehigh River to the carefully restored Moravian settlement along Main Street.
Historic Bethlehem Partnership, which will provide a tour guide for what officials say will be a different way to see the city, unveiled its plan Wednesday.
The two-hour tours, which will cost $80 a person, will leave from the Segway dealership at 318 E. Third Street, near the former headquarters of Bethlehem Steel. The local Segway dealership and the Historic Bethlehem Partnership co-sponsor the tour.”
From CNN:
Population: 75,448
Pro: Business-friendly environment in a university town
Con: Vegas comes to Bethlehem?
Bethlehem, once the Lehigh Valley’s steel capital, is now bustling with tech and biotech startups, thanks to resources stemming from Lehigh University and health centers in the region.
The city welcomes new businesses with open arms, offering technical assistance, low-interest “gap” financing, a tax abatement program, enterprise zone incentives, and a loan pool providing up to $2 million for new and existing businesses. In addition, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, an internationally recognized, state-funded program based at Lehigh University, links early-stage technology firms and established manufacturers with funding, employees, technology, and universities.
The city has been looking to develop other areas of business. Sparking some controversy is a $600-million development project that is slated to include a large casino on the old Bethlehem Steel factory site. But for now, the city remains low-key. Lehigh Valley is centrally located 50 miles north of Philadelphia and 70 miles west of New York City. Low real estate prices (the median home price hovers around $160,000) make it a popular bedroom community for the larger cities, but also an advantageous spot to launch. Hiking and biking trails wind through several parks, and the Lehigh River provides opportunities for boating and fishing. -Peter MacDougall
