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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Monday, December 17, 2012

Apology For Long-Form Journalism(?)

I envy Allentown blogger Michael Molovinsky. He has a way of saying a lot in a few sentences. Even newspaper reporters, who are trained to write short pieces, must be jealous. I'm too verbose. Long-form journalism, if a bottom-feeding blogger can call it that, is disappearing in favor of 200-word stories. If something takes longer than 30 seconds to read, most people won't bother. Especially on an iPhone.

The story below concerns a Northampton County Court Administrator, who is enriching himself as a result of his public position. I spent most of the weekend trying to keep it as brief as possible.

I failed.

If you don't have time for the whole story, here's a synopsis: NorCo Court Administrator James Onembo  has a 50% interest in a cab company that has soaked the County for $15,000 to drive DUI offenders home. His business partner is a convicted felon who has concealed, intentionally or unintentionally, Onembo's involvement. Onembo tells me this is none of our business, but he has made a career of lining his pockets via insider knowledge, cronyism and nepotism. A state employee, he is not subject to the County's Home Rule Charter. A judicial employee, he is not subject to the state Ethics Act. He is, however, subject to a Code of Conduct for judicial employees.

The long version is below.

(You can comment there).

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