About this column:
Mark Albright is a lawyer currently residing in Hellertown. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science, summa cum laude, from Albright College in 1979, and a J.D. degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1982. Over the past three decades, he has practiced law in small, medium and large firm settings, and held both government and corporate positions. His areas of practice experience include civil litigation in the state and federal courts, employment, real estate, regulatory and Orphans Court matters. His community involvement includes the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Mark believes the interface among the law, citizens and their society involves a dynamic and shifting relationship, sometimes weighted toward rights, sometimes toward responsibilities. The role and extent of governmental involvement in the lives of citizens--and vice versa--is equally subject to change over time, as history clearly shows. Commenting on this "balancing act" on a periodic basis will be Mark's beat.Allow me to begin this piece with a quick disclaimer. As a Northampton County resident, a lawyer, and a former director of the Lehigh County Office of Aging and Adult Services, I’ve closely followed the heated public debate over the disposition of the county’s skilled nursing facility in Upper Nazareth Township. My background gives me a little insight into some aspects of the discussion, and I’ve tried--without much success--to bring my knowledge to bear to get a better sense of the nub of the controversy. I suspect many of you, regardless of your backgrounds, have also wondered just what to …
