Postal Service: Scranton Distribution Facility To Close Next Year

USPS service delivery truck in a residential area of San Francisco, California (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The U.S. Postal Service on Thursday reaffirmed its intention to close the processing and distribution facility on Stafford Avenue in Scranton.

The nearly bankrupt agency unveiled plans to consolidate 140 mail processing operations over the next year, including the Scranton plant. The facility employs 300 people, and the mail service plans to transfer the work to a center near Allentown.

“The plan is under review to move operations to the other facility beginning after January 2013,” Ray Daiutolo, regional spokesman for the postal service, said in an email.

The revelation came as Congress remains deadlocked over a postal reform bill, assuring more political activity over the agency’s future.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/business/postal-service-scranton-distribution-facility-to-close-next-year-1.1316809

Rep. Tom Quigley To Speak On Local Job Creation

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

TCN Membership Meeting

Rep. Tom Quigley to Speak on Local Job Creation

 Tuesday, May 15, 8am-10am

Montgomery County Community College, West Campus

Community Room, 101 College Drive, Pottstown

Special thanks to our breakfast sponsor
Money Management International

For more information or to register call 610-705-3301, Ext. 2.

 Membership Meeting Agenda

8:00am-8:30am Breakfast & Networking

8:30am-8:40am Introductions

8:40am-8:50am Announcements

8:50am-9:00am Breakfast Sponsor Presentation

9:00am-10:00am Presentation

Lancaster County Jobless Rate Dips To 6%

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

Lancaster County‘s unemployment rate receded again in March, the state said Monday.

The jobless rate slid to 6.0 percent from February’s 6.2 percent, the fifth consecutive monthly decline.

The new rate is the lowest in Lancaster County since January 2009, when the rate stood at 5.9 percent.

“We still might have the occasional blip here or there, but the rate is heading in the right direction,” said Bill Sholly, an analyst with the state Department of Labor & Industry.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/638749_Lancaster-County-jobless-rate-dips-to-6-.html#ixzz1tm1RlTiK

Job Announcements

Pottstown Family Center/Family Services of Montgomery County

Position: Family Involvement Specialist.  Part Time: 12 hours per week @ $10.00 per hour.

Minimum Associate’s Degree in social work, early childhood education, human development/related field OR high school diploma with at least two years of related work experience preferred. Minimum two years working with parents and young children. Valid PA driver’s license and insurance; Child Abuse clearance, PA & FBI criminal background checks. Responsibilities: Assess general welfare needs of families and assist families in goal formulation and completion; collaboration with families and professionals in community agencies and schools; recruitment of families for open programs; provide initial support and follow-up with families; assist with parent group meetings. Qualifications: Knowledge of child development patterns, parent education, family systems and community resources; Bilingual a plus

Contact: Jessica McCartin (610.326.1610), fax resume (610.326.3104) or via email   jmccartin@fsmontco.org by 5/2/12

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Family Services’ Project HOPE is seeking a full time medical case manager to work with clients infected with HIV/AIDS throughout Montgomery County, PA.  The medical case management position will entail linking clients infected with HIV/AIDS to infectious disease doctors and monitoring their progress through treatment adherence and quality of care.  This position will be located in Family Services’ Eagleville Office.  We are looking for a bachelor’s level staff person with experience in case management and working with persons who have a chronic disease.  Fluency in Spanish is a plus but, not necessary to apply for the position.  Candidate must have a car and current car insurance.  All interested candidates should send their resume to Daiquiri Robinson, program director, at DRobinson@fsmontco.org.

TriCounty Community Career Fair

TriCounty Community Career Fair

Wednesday, May 16, 10am – 1pm

Berean Conference Center

2675 East High Street, Pottstown

For more information call 610-705-3301.

Presented by the TCN Exelon Nuclear Workforce Development Program

AFA Foods In King Of Prussia Declares Bankruptcy

Ground beef in industrial grinder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NEW YORK (AP) – Ground beef processor AFA Foods said Monday that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and selling its assets after the public outcry over the beef filler known as “pink slime” derailed its efforts to save its already struggling business.

A spokesman said in an email that the company does not rely on boneless lean beef trimmings and uses it only based on customer specifications. But he said the controversy over the ammonia-treated meat filler has dramatically reduced demand for all ground beef products.

AFA Foods, based in King of Prussia, Pa., processes more than 500 million pounds of ground beef products a year. It distributes to retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Safeway Inc. and BJ’s Wholesale Club. Fast-food chain customers include Burger King, Jack in the Box and Wendy’s.

Read more: http://business-news.thestreet.com/the-times-herald/story/afa-foods-king-prussia-declares-bankruptcy/1

Easton-Based Crayola Launches New Exhibits

The sixteen Crayola "Metallic FX" special effect crayons (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Crayola Experience celebrated the opening of an 18,000 square-foot expansion with build-your-own space suits, a glow-in-the-dark doodle room, and a special green, odoriferous crayon called Alien Armpit.

Though their crayons might have been spiked with galactic body odor, dozens of kids rushed the new tables and activity areas in the Activity Studio, one of several new exhibits in the space Crayola moved into earlier this year as the National Canal Museum moved out.

Children grabbed glue sticks, tissue paper, a rainbow of crayons, fat markers, stencils, colored sand and brown paper bags – everything you need to make a spacesuit.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-crayola-experience-grand-opening-20120405,0,4160945.story

More Than 100 Positions On Chopping Block At Easton Area School District

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

The Easton Area School District could cut more than 100 positions if it chooses not to raise taxes for the 2012-13 school year.

Facing a deficit of more than $8 million without a tax increase, the administration Wednesday unveiled the details of cuts associated with tax increases of 2.2 percent, 1.7 percent and zero percent. All of the budget plans include using $1.5 million from the district’s assigned reserves.

Even with a 2.2 percent tax hike, the maximum allowed by the state, the district would cut more than 40 teaching positions, 27 paraprofessionals and 10 maintenance positions in order to balance its 2012-13 budget.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-school-budget-options-20120404,0,2495016.story

Jobless Rates Fall In Reading, Berks

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

February unemployment rates fell in both Reading and Berks County. Reading’s rate fell 0.8 percentage points from a revised 11.7 percent in January, and Berks County’s rate fell 0.3 percentage points from a revised 7.8 percent in January, according to statistics provided today by the state Department of Labor and Industry.

The seasonally adjusted county rate decreased 0.7 percentage points from February 2011.

In the city, the unemployment rate was down from 12 percent a year earlier, or 1.1 percentage points. That rate is not seasonally adjusted.

The decreases to jobless rates are significant for both the county and the city, said Steven Zellers, department industry and business analyst

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=377464

Tourism In Berks Bouncing Back

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

Whether they soaked up sounds at Berks Jazz Fest, watched cars tear up the track at Maple Grove Raceway or savored roasted ox at the Kutztown Folk Festival, tourists have increased their spending in Berks County.

A state report on tourism in calendar year 2010, the latest year for which numbers are available, showed Berks tourism spending increased by 10.3 percent from 2009 to $687.7 million.

It was, for Greater Reading Convention & Visitors Bureau President Crystal A. Seitz, a healthy dose of good news after a difficult recession.

Seitz said, “I am in love with those numbers.”

Read more: http://businessweekly.readingeagle.com/?p=3003

Lancaster County Convention Center, Local Tourism Looks Stronger

In recent weeks, the Lancaster County Convention Center has played host to gun enthusiasts, fly fishermen and winemakers for the first time.

For the third straight year, it hosted thousands of quilters.

And, this spring, the downtown Lancaster center will be the backdrop for conservative commentator Glenn Beck, Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in three separate events.

Life is good at the convention center right now, Marketing Director Josh Nowak told Lancaster Convention Center Authority board members Thursday.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/615174_Convention-center–local-tourism-looks-stronger.html#ixzz1qqQe74o3

T-Mobile Closing Lehigh Valley Call Center

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

Editor’s note:  This news sucks!

More than 600 people will lose their jobs at the end of June — unless they relocate to other states — when wireless communications company T-Mobile closes its Lehigh Valley call center as part of a company-wide cost-cutting maneuver.

The Bellevue, Wash., company announced Thursday it is closing seven of its 24 call centers in the country, including one on Roble Road in Hanover Township, Lehigh County. T-Mobile also is closing call centers in Florida, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Oregon.

“Concentrating call centers is an important step to achieve competitive cost structures to successfully compete … in the wireless market,” Philipp Humm, CEO and president of T-Mobile, said in a news release. “These are not easy steps to take, but they are necessary to realize efficiency in order to invest for growth.”

The fate of T-Mobile’s Valley call center came in question last year when the company’s bigger competitor AT&T proposed buying T-Mobile for $39 billion. AT&T dropped its T-Mobile bid in December, citing objections from federal regulators who were concerned the deal would limit competition in the wireless industry and potentially increase prices for consumers.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-t-mobile-call-center-closing-20120322,0,5402783.story

Lancaster County Jobless Rate Drops To 6.3 Percent

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

The Lancaster County unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent in January, a three-year low, the state said Thursday.

The drop from December’s 6.7 percent marked the fourth time in the past five months that the jobless rate here has dipped.

January’s figure is the best here since January 2009′s rate of 6 percent, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry.

Bill Sholly, an industry and business analyst with the department, said he was encouraged to see more county residents with jobs.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/605844_Jobless-rate-in-Lancaster-County-drops-to-6-3-.html#ixzz1pmp8SUos

Bethlehem Mayor Announces $56 Million In Development At Former Bethlehem Steel Site

Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan on Wednesday announced $56 million of economic development for two projects at the former Bethlehem Steel plant — two buildings that could be used for warehousing or light assembly.

Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII is negotiating for a 175,000-square-foot facility along Route 412.

Liberty Property Trust has filed plans for an 800,000-square-foot speculative building, one that would be built without a formal commitment from whoever ends up using it.

While Callahan didn’t have any job estimates on that building, he noted that a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse under way is expected to bring as many as 500 jobs once a tenant is signed.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-bethlehem-state-of-city-callahan-20120314,0,5953407.story

Pa. Jobless Rate Falls Again

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Harrisburg, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s employment picture continues to brighten, as the rate fell in January to 7.6 percent.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/article/20120302/NEWS03/120309926/-1/NEWS

New Brew Pub Revitalizing Long-Vacant Five Points Landmark In Easton

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Troy Reynard spoke over the pop of nail guns, buzzing of saws and clunking of shovels as he pointed to bare joists, weak beams and a battered and pocked terrazzo floor.

The Mount Vernon building at 542 Northampton St. in Easton has weathered the ages as a boarding house, hotel, bar, restaurant and, according to legend, a popular prohibition-era brothel. To Reynard, the Mount Vernon is more than the ghosts of past, faded incarnations. He plans to make a living out of the old beauty.

“This is our big thing,” said Reynard, 48, of Forks Township.

He, his wife, Kathy, and partners Brad and Judy Nelson, under the moniker Vagabond Properties, plan to pour much of their savings into the landmark building and create Two Rivers Brewery, the city’s first micro brew pub since Weyerbacher moved into the industrial park on the South Side more than a decade ago.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-landmark-becomes-microbrewery-20120302,0,7123752.story

Chester To Get First Supermarket In A Decade

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CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — A southeastern Pennsylvania city will soon be getting its first supermarket in more than a decade, the project of a nonprofit organization best known for collecting and distributing emergency food aid, officials said.

Philabundance announced Friday that it had purchased a mostly vacant building in Chester that housed the city’s last supermarket before it closed in 2001.

In about a year, the organization says it hopes to open a new 13,000-square-foot “Fare and Square” grocery store. Bill Clark, the group’s president, says it is believed to be the first supermarket in the country operated by a food aid group as a nonprofit venture.

Read more: http://www.dailylocal.com/article/20120301/NEWS01/120309982/se-pa-city-to-get-first-supermarket-in-decade

Lancaster-Based Armstrong World Industries Reports 10-Fold Profit Increase

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Armstrong World Industries today reported a profitable fourth quarter and a ten-fold increase in profits for the full year.

Helping the results were sharply lower restructuring charges, the absence of asset-impairment charges and lower selling, general and administrative expenses.

Lancaster-based Armstrong also announced it will build its first manufacturing plant in Russia, continuing its expansion into what it calls “emerging markets.”

The $100 million mineral-fiber ceiling plant is expected to begin operations in 2015, said Armstrong, although the company did not name the city where the plant will be located.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/594659_Armstrong-reports-profitable-fourth-quarter–sees-10-fold-increase-in-profits-over-last-full-year.html#ixzz1nbRWCT1O

New PAID Director Relishes Challenge Of Urban Economic Development

Editor’s note:  90 days into a new job and he scores!  Color me impressed!

POTTSTOWN, Pa. - When your job is to try to attract businesses to a particular place, having a sense of place is pretty important.

So it´s probably a good thing that Steve Bamford has a boatload of real estate experience to call upon in his role as executive director of the Pottstown Area Industrial Development, also known as PAID Inc.

More than two years ago, the Urban Land Institute recommended, among other things, that economic development be taken out of the hands of the politicians and put into the hands of a professional staff. The result was a re-imagining of the largely moribund PAID organization into an active economic development arm with a responsibility sharing agreement between the borough, the school district and the Montgomery Redevelopment Authority.

Read more: http://business-news.thestreet.com/the-mercury/story/new-paid-director-relishes-challenge-urban-economic-development/1

Carpenter Buys Former Dana Site

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Carpenter Technology Corp. announced Friday that it has purchased the former Dana Corp. industrial site for about $6 million.

The Spring Township-specialty steel and alloy maker bought the 50-acre industrial property where General Motors vehicle frames were once produced from Reading Industrial Investments Corp., Ambler, Montgomery County.

What Carpenter got in the deal is about 40 acres of land and an additional area where four buildings are located, at West Robeson and Weiser streets, adjacent to Carpenter’s East Shore property.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=367183