Former Pennsylvania Governor George Leader Honored At Funeral Service

Standard of the Governor of Pennsylvania http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-pa.html#gov (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HERSHEY, PA – Douglas Yeboah first met George Leader about eight years ago while working as a chaplain at the state prison in Chester.

Leader had sponsored a program at the prison to provide guidance and mentors to inmates, giving them a second chance. He believed in second chances and he believed in helping people in prison, people others had discarded or forgotten.

Not long after that, Yeboah retired from the prison system and moved back to his native Ghana.  He kept in touch with Leader and the former governor would often ask about Yeboah’s work.  The work, he always told him, was hard.  There was so much need in Ghana, so much pain and suffering.  Yeboah told him that children lacked medical care and that many of their maladies were preventable, if only they had access to clean drinking water.

Leader asked what he could do and in a short time, a drilling rig to dig wells for clean water was on its way to Ghana.  Yeboah mentioned to Leader that he hoped one day to build a children’s hospital, but it was out of his reach.  Leader told him he could do it, he could make it happen.

Read more:  http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_23259461/gov-george-leader-laid-rest

Gas Prices Likely To Continue To Increase Then Calm Down After Memorial Day

Locator map of the Harrisburg metro area in the south central part of the of . Red denotes the Harrisburg-Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area, and yellow denotes the Lebanon Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Harrisburg-Carlisle-Lebanon CSA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The lowest price for gas in the area continues to be $3.29 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com.

That price is available at Kwik Fill, Sheetz and Giant in the Mechanicsburg area; Hess stations in the Carlisle area; Costco in Lower Paxton Township; B.J.’s in Camp Hill and Sunoco and Kwik Way in the Carlisle area.

The Harrisburg area average price today is $3.40 a gallon, 1 cent higher than yesterday, 7 cents lower than a month ago and 23 cents lower than a year ago.

The state average price is $3.46 and the national average is $3.59.

Read more:  http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/05/gas_prices_likely_to_continue.html#incart_river_default

4 Kids, 2 Adults Die In Pottsville House Fire

View of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Six people are dead after flames tore through a single home in Pottsville around midnight Sunday.

Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner Joseph Pothering identified those killed as Eric Brown, 30, and his children Joy Brown, 8; Jeremiah Brown, 7; Emily Brown, 3; and, Elijah Brown, 2.

Also killed was Christina Thomas, 26, the children’s aunt and sister-in-law of Eric Brown.

Read more:  http://citizensvoice.com/news/4-kids-2-adults-die-in-pottsville-house-fire-1.1488375

Cold Stretch To Continue Overnight, Record Low Temp Possible In Philly

Philadelphians could wake up to a new record-low temperature on Tuesday.

The cold-for-May snap hitting the region today — temperatures are about 15 degrees below normal — should continue overnight, with a low temperature of around 41 degrees expected, the National Weather Service says.

If the mercury drops any lower than that, Philadelphia would have a new record: The coldest temperature ever recorded on May 14 is 40 degrees, according to the weather service.

The weather service is calling that mark a “possible vulnerable record low.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Cold_stretch_to_continue_overnight_record_low_temp_possible_in_Philly.html#3eUFqHvhv5DTxxW8.99

Borough To Appeal Jim Thorpe Ruling

English: Postcard picture from 1915 of a “bird’s eye view” of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, then known as “Mauch Chunk”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jim Thorpe Borough Council has voted to appeal a federal judge’s order to relinquish the famed athlete’s remains so they can be reinterred on American Indian land in Oklahoma.

Thorpe’s sons sued the borough claiming the town amounts to a museum under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

Jim Thorpe council met on Thursday and voted 6-0, with Councilman Jay Miller absent for a medical reason, to appeal a federal judge’s decision to comply with NAGPRA.

“I feel council made the right decision,” Jim Thorpe Mayor Michael J. Sofranko said on Friday.

Read more:  http://standardspeaker.com/news/borough-to-appeal-thorpe-ruling-1.1487343

Financing For Pennsylvania Turnpike/I-95 Connector Concerns Auditor General

Map of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Friday that an unusual plan to finance construction of the I-95/Pennsylvania Turnpike connection “raises alarms” and may prompt an investigation by his office.

DePasquale said he was especially interested in why an entity was created to broker the deal, in which wealthy foreign investors would lend the turnpike $200 million in exchange for possible permanent residence in the United States.

DePasquale said his office was legally bound to wait until a transaction is completed before launching an audit, so “it may be several months or longer” before he formally investigates the turnpike plan.

“I am going to follow this situation carefully,” DePasquale said.  ”It raises some alarms.  I’m not taking a position that it’s wrong yet. . . . We’ll wait till the issue is ripe for an audit.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/20130511_Financing_for_turnpike_I-95_connector_concerns_auditor_general.html#KbbfJ65OCH8owKzj.99

Pottstown, Phoenixville Split By Court-Approved Re-Districting Plan

Location of Pottstown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Both Pottstown and Phoenixville will be split into two different legislative districts under the legislative re-districting approved Wednesday by the state Supreme Court.

The new districts will take effect in the 2014 election cycle and shift legislative lines for the state House and Senate seats throughout Southeast Pennsylvania and may change who is representing you in Harrisburg.

In Pottstown, the plan unanimously approved by the court, puts the first, second and part of the seventh wards of Pottstown into the 26th District, currently represented by longtime Chester County Republican Tim Hennessey.

The third, fourth, fifth, sixth and other half of the seventh wards will continue to be represented by the 146th District, a seat currently held by freshman Democrat Mark Painter according to the plan.

Read m0re:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130508/NEWS01/130509321/pottstown-phoenixville-split-by-court-approved-redistricting-plan#full_story

Pennsylvania Casinos Rank High In Tax Revenue

English: Pennsylvania county map (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When it comes to gambling meccas, you might want to start counting Pennsylvania among them.

Pennsylvania casinos generated more tax revenue last year than those in any other state and more gross revenue than any state but Nevada, according to a national American Gaming Association report released Monday.

The “State of the States: The AGA Survey of Casino Entertainment” found that the commonwealth’s 11 casinos produced nearly $1.5 billion in tax revenue in 2012, up 2.1 percent from the previous year.  Nevada placed second at $868.6 million and New York third at $822.7 million.

Pennsylvania also was first in 2011.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/pennsylvania-casino-revenues-rank-high-686612/#ixzz2SdTUCkyl

Incumbents Ousted In Penn State Trustees Election

Counties constituting the Happy Valley Region of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In what one newly elected member called a referendum on the Penn State board of trustees, alumni chose three new members and ousted veteran members Paul Suhey and Stephanie Deviney.

Endorsed by the family of former head football coach Joe Paterno and vocal alumni critical of the board’s response to the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal, the election winners emerged from a field of 39 candidates, including the two incumbents.

The election results came during a meeting Friday on the University Park campus, where the board voted to adopt sweeping changes as Penn State University continues its effort to revamp procedures following Sandusky’s conviction last summer for molesting 10 boys.  Sandusky is serving 30 to 60 years in state prison.

The winners in the monthlong election, which saw nearly 34,000 alumni cast ballots, are Edward “Ted” Brown III of State College, Barbara Doran of New York and William F. Oldsey of Basking Ridge, N.J.

Read more:

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-penn-state-trustees-election-20130503,0,1472995.story

Philly-Area Gas Prices Dropping, Could Fall Below $3.00

Gas prices in the Philadelphia region are falling — and if that trend continues, the price could soon dip below $3 a gallon at some stations.

GasBuddy is reporting prices as low as $3.05 this morning in Woodbury, Gloucester County.  Gas can be found for $3.11 at other stations in South Jersey, and as low as $3.28 in the Pennsylvania suburbs and $3.29 in Northeast Philadelphia.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the Philadelphia area is $3.46 in Pennsylvania and $3.24 in New Jersey, according to AAA.

Read more:  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Philly-area_gas_prices_dropping_could_fall_below_3.html

Why The School District Of Lancaster Is Financially Thriving When Similar Districts In Pennsylvania Are Failing

Times are tough for urban school districts in central Pennsylvania.

Saddled with stagnant tax bases and serving large numbers of low-income and special-needs students, they’re struggling to stay afloat in the face of steep cuts in state and federal education funding.

But School District of Lancaster isn’t experiencing the economic woes of its neighbors.

The school districts in York city and Harrisburg have been declared “financially distressed” by the state, which appointed financial recovery committees to develop radical plans to keep them solvent.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/842996_Why-the-School-District-of-Lancaster-is-financially-thriving-when-similar-districts-in-Pennsylvania-are-failing.html#ixzz2RoBpQLeT

Gas Industry Gives Pennsylvania Stores Taste For The South

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lycoming County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PENNSDALE, Pa. — The land of scrapple and chipped ham is starting to get a taste for jambalaya and boudin.

Thanks to an influx of Southerners filling jobs in north-central Pennsylvania’s booming natural gas industry, a region not often placed on many culinary maps is finding itself flush with the foodways found below the Mason-Dixon line, arguably the source of some of the nation’s richest culinary traditions.

Suddenly, convenience stores stock sweet tea, barbecue is a hot seller, and the almost Norman Rockwell-quaint Country Store in Pennsdale even makes its own boudin, a pork sausage popular in Louisiana.

Store owner and Pennsylvania native Tom Springman had never heard of boudin until a few months ago, when a customer — a relocated Southerner — came in looking for a local source.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/article/20130424/NEWS03/130429757/gas-industry-gives-pa-stores-taste-for-the-south#full_story

Jim Thorpe Faces Losing Its Namesake

English: Postcard picture from 1915 of a “bird’s eye view” of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, then known as “Mauch Chunk”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

JIM THORPE, PA – Stewart Counterman stopped by Jim Thorpe’s tomb Monday afternoon after hearing the legendary athlete’s body might soon be moved.

Despite never having set foot in the town that now bears his name, the pro football pioneer and double-Olympic gold medalist provided the community a sense of purpose when it seemed to have none.

“It’s something that is really important,” said Counterman, of Lehighton, standing in the shadow of Thorpe’s red granite mausoleum.  “It’s something that we’re going to miss if it’s not here.”

In 1954, the struggling mining towns of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk were looking for a way to put themselves back on the map.  They made a deal with Thorpe’s widow Patricia, united under Thorpe’s name, and gave him the fitting tribute and final resting place his native Oklahoma would not.

Read more:   http://www.timesleader.com/news/news/456773/Jim-Thorpe-faces-losing-its-namesake

Pennsylvania State Association Of County Fairs Guide For 2013

Click here for a link to the 2013 Pennsylvania State Fair Guide.  Fairs are listed in date order - http://honeymoons.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=honeymoons&cdn=travel&tm=10&f=00&su=p284.13.342.ip_p531.60.342.ip_&tt=2&bt=3&bts=3&zu=http%3A//www.pafairs.org/fairsmain.asp

For an alphabetical listing, click here: http://honeymoons.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=honeymoons&cdn=travel&tm=10&f=00&su=p284.13.342.ip_p531.60.342.ip_&tt=2&bt=3&bts=3&zu=http%3A//www.pafairs.org/fairsmain.asp

GOP Signals Cost Cuts Before Pennsylvania Driver Tax Boost

Map of Pennsylvania, showing major cities and roads (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  I bet there are all kinds of cost cutting measures that could be utilized before screwing over the taxpayers!

HARRISBURG – Conservative state lawmakers who are wary about plans to raise taxes or fees to boost transportation spending raised the prospect Wednesday that they will insist first on major changes, such as abolishing the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, to make public money go further.

The House Republican majority will be under pressure in the 10 weeks before the Legislature departs Harrisburg for the summer to make the case against a massive transportation funding plan.  Supporting such plans are leading senators from both political parties, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett and a slew of groups from the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry to the AARP.

Even one member of the House Republican leadership acknowledged that there is tremendous pressure on the issue.

“I don’t think we thought there was going to be this much momentum for transportation,” said Rep. Mike Vereb, R-Montgomery, the caucus secretary.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=470679

Pennsylvania Senate Highways Plan Would Raise Gas Prices

Editor’s note:  Really!  Because gas prices aren’t high enough already???

HARRISBURG – Spending on Pennsylvania’s highways, bridges and mass transit systems would get a big shot of new funding under a Senate plan unveiled Tuesday that would raise the money by increasing motorist fees and wholesale gas taxes – bumping prices at the pump as much a quarter a gallon.

The $2.5 billion plan by Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, is more ambitious and expensive than the proposal Gov. Tom Corbett advanced in January. The increase is nearly 50 percent of the $5.3 billion that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation currently spends on highways, bridges and transit.

Rafferty warned that the state’s bridges and highways are in dire need of repair, and contended that the plan would simply update taxes and fees to reflect inflation after going unchanged since at least the 1990s while giving the state’s economy a big boost.

“This is a sustainable funding plan,” Rafferty told reporters at a news conference where he was backed by dozens of supportive lawmakers and representatives of transportation-minded groups. “This is not a one-shot deal. This is a significant piece of change that will move Pennsylvania forward.”

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=470435

Driver’s License, Registration Fees, Fines Would Rise Under State Senate Plan

Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, released a transportation funding plan on Tuesday.  Here are some details of how approximately $2.5 billion would be raised from tax, fee and fine increases and spent once the plan is fully phased in:

FEES

— Imposes $50.50 licensing fee for six years, instead of a $29.50 fee for four years

— Imposes $104 registration fee for two years, instead of a $36 fee annually

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/news/439181/Drivers-license-registration-fees-fines-would-rise-under-state-Senate-plan

Reading On Course For $35 Million Cumulative Deficit By 2017

A 1947 topographic map of the Reading, Pennsylvania area. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reading is on course to amass a $35 million cumulative deficit by the end of 2017 even if it raises property taxes by 5 percent a year, controller Christian Zale told City Council on Monday.

The budget likely will be $1 million short this year and $1.4 million short in 2014, but Zale said the city’s own fiscal cliff comes in 2015, when it expects a $10.2 million deficit.

That will be repeated in 2016 with a $10.9 million deficit, and again in 2017 with an $11.4 million deficit, he said.

“Now is the time to address the 2015 cliff, (and) also ensure future decisions do not exacerbate these projected deficits,” he said.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=469810

Invasive Bug To Cause A Stink This Spring, Summer

The brown marmorated stink bug is expected to cause, well, a stink this year when large numbers of them begin nibbling on crops and infiltrating homes.

Entomologists are predicting an onslaught of the invasive species based on the amount of overwintering bugs counted in the autumn.

“Most entomologists indicated that the population of brown marmorated stink bugs that were seeking shelter in the fall of 2012 was significantly higher than the population seeking shelter in 2011,” said Tom Ford, a commercial horticulture educator from the Penn State Extension office in Cambria County.  ”As a rule, unless you have some significant event that impacts the over-wintering adults you should have a very robust number of mature brown marmorated stink bugs that will be laying eggs this spring and summer.”

The insects are emerging from their winter hiding places, and if you’ve spotted one recently, chances are it was on its way to find a mate.

Read more:  http://standardspeaker.com/news/invasive-bug-to-cause-a-stink-this-spring-summer-1.1473181

Schwartz Launches Her 2014 Bid For Governor

English: Official congressional portrait of Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As U.S. REP. Allyson Schwartz gears up for a 2014 gubernatorial campaign, a familiar name is talking about succeeding her in the 13th Congressional District, which covers parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery County.

Marjorie Margolies, a former television reporter who teaches at the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania, held that seat for one term, from 1993 to 1995.

She famously lost re-election after changing her 1993 vote on then-President Bill Clinton’s budget, giving him a one-vote margin of victory that broke her promise not to support an increase in federal taxes.

There are no hard feelings, though, since they are now related by marriage – Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, is married to Margolies’ son.

Read more:  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130409_Schwartz_launches_her_2014_bid_for_governor.html