| November 8, 1998 The ``Yenta'' Web site
muses over town politics. Little is spared. But nobody seems to know who is behind it.
In New Hope, someone is watching, like it or not
By Jack Brown
Inquirer Suburban Staff
NEW HOPE -- Somewhere in the cyberspace ether of New Hope, a
chatty Jewish grandmother is typing away on her computer keyboard, spreading the latest
tidbits of gossip to her neighbors.
Metaphorically, that is.
New Hope's Yenta, anonymous host of a community discussion forum on the Internet, may not
be Jewish or even a grandmother. The Yenta may not even be a woman.
"The only thing I can say is that it's not me, and it's nobody here at River
Source," said Jeff, a professional Web designer at the company that maintains
the Yenta's New Hope Web home.
All anyone in this fractious little riverside town really knows is that the Yenta --
which, in Yiddish refers to a gossip, usually a woman -- abruptly appeared on the town's
Web site on July 4, 1997, with a salvo about the candidates for Borough Council.
The election was shaping up like "a school yard fight over who gets to pick sides in
kick ball," the Yenta wrote. "By the time they decide who the captains are, and
who's on whose team, recess is over."
Since then, the Yenta has publicly mused over everything from well-water problems related
to the Riverwoods subdivision to the job qualifications of the borough manager. The
column's style is conversational, like somebody leaning over a backyard fence and chatting
with a neighbor.
"More wells on Mechanic Street are complaining of problems -- mud and low pressure.
My, my, the ring around Riverwoods is growing larger. Any connection? The Yenta is
guessing -- good chance! The engineers are studying the problem." -- Aug. 8, 1998
The Yenta is particularly suspicious of council member Sid Ginsburg, and often claims he
is an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Surprisingly, it turns out that this is almost right. Ginsburg said he used to work for
the spy agency, but called the Yenta's bringing up the issue "stupid."
Like many members of the borough government, Ginsburg said he did not read the column,
despite the fact that his name appears in it frequently.
Another council member, Robert Gerenser, said he does read the column but he doesn't like
what he sees. "You know what they say about blind justice. Well, this thing looks
like blind journalism to me," Gerenser said.
The Yenta's sporadic columns are frequently exchanges with local residents.
Dear Frustrated Fan,
Oh, dahling, how the Yenta loves a fan! You asked if retail would hurt New Hope or not?
Has jeweler's row been hurt by more jewelry shops?
. . . Something more aesthetic than a warehouse would be a welcome addition to the town.
As far as downtown being destroyed -- that is up to each individual property owner and
shopkeeper. If they put out ticky tacky, they'll destroy themselves, if they put out first
class they will always draw a crowd." -- April 13, 1998
Like any neighborhood gossip, there is a little bit of a dark side to the Yenta's
preoccupation with rumor and innuendo. The column's frequent broadsides at public
officials are irritating at best, according to council members Ginsburg and Gerenser.
But some may verge on the libelous.
Borough Manager Victoria Keller, who is involved in a legal dispute with the local
government, has been attacked several times by the Yenta. She would not discuss the matter
directly, but her lawyer, Richard Patton, called the Yenta's column "acrimonious,
debasing trash." "She is operating in an almost lawless area of media where she
can basically write whatever she wants," Patton said.
Mayor Larry Keller, who has taken a few punches from the Yenta column as well, criticized
the site's anonymity.
"You can write into this Yenta column and you don't have to sign it," said
Keller, who is of no relation to Borough Manager Victoria Keller. "It can be just
atrocious and totally untrue. If you are going to write something you should sign it and
stand behind it."
But Keller admitted that he did enjoy speculating about the identity of the site's author.
"I have to assume they show up regularly at borough meetings, since they are so
well-informed," he said. "The fact that this person has remained anonymous for
so long means almost nobody knows. If four other people know who the Yenta was it would
have hit the street all over town."
An e-mail seeking an interview was not returned.
The town's residents, many of whom read the column regularly
(www.newhopepa.com/yenta.htm), say it provides a forum to talk about the good things in
town, and occasionally a place to vent their frustrations.
"I think the Yenta is a wonderful way for people to talk around the intimidation and
stonewalling of this Borough Council," said Carole Reynolds, a vocal critic of
borough government who owns a bed and breakfast inn off Main Street.
Reynolds, by the way, said she is not the Yenta.
Lately, the Yenta's tone has begun to shift toward the overtly political. Residents wonder
-- could she (he?) be considering emerging from hiding in time for next year's elections?
"Alas, until the town Democratic and Republican committee people can see that
visionaries, not small minded politicians are what is needed, the Yenta is afraid we are
in for more of the same. People who prefer pontification to homework are a dime a
dozen." -- April 13, 1998
©1998 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
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