TV Program On Reading’s Future Takes First Place

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

A program produced by WFMZ-TV and Reading Eagle Company took first place in the public affairs category over the weekend at the Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Association awards banquet for 2012 in Harrisburg.

It was previously announced that “From Poverty to Prosperity: Reading Looks to the Future” finished in the top three in the category for medium-market TV stations, but its exact finish was not announced until the banquet.

The program was a joint effort between print and television media, sponsored by M&T Bank in collaboration with United Way of Berks County and hosted by Reading Area Community College.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=479294

Reading Teen Lied About Fight Details, Police Say

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A 17-year-old Reading boy who told police he was attacked by a crowd of youths and nearly hit with a hammer during an after-school melee last week lied about the incident, according to city detectives.

The youth was at least truthful about one part of his story: He was surrounded in City Park by a large group of youths, some of whom carried wooden boards. A video that someone posted to YouTube, however, clearly showed that the crowd was actually cheering on him and another youth as they squared off and then fought, said Sgt. John M. Solecki of the criminal investigations division.

The boy had told officers who arrived and found him bloodied on the ground with an injured left shoulder that he entered the crowd to find his cousin, only to be pulled down, punched and kicked.

“As city police investigated, video footage was found that showed he and another youth were the initial combatants in a mutually agreed-upon fistfight, and during the fistfight he injured his shoulder,” Solecki said.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=465325

Nonprofit Group Forming To Reduce Crime In Reading Area

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

Editor’s note:  Two Roy’s Rants thumbs up to Berks County and the City of Reading for tackling crime head on!

A Reading law firm has begun paperwork to form a new nonprofit group to focus on crime initiatives in much the same way that a private group did in the Altoona area.

The move comes after a January crime summit in which Gov. Tom Corbett urged local leaders to study a Blair County program called Operation Our Town, which was started by business leaders to help fund law enforcement and community efforts to stop young people from becoming criminals.

Daniel B. Huyett, a partner in the Reading law firm Stevens & Lee, said Wednesday that the group will be incorporated as an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

That decision was made at a meeting this week among Berks County business leaders with Michael A. Fiore, owner of an Altoona construction company who started Operation Our Town in Blair County after a series of shootings there.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=465771

Reading Eagle Named Top Newspaper In State For Its Size

The Reading Eagle was named the top newspaper of its size in the state, and the newsroom won 20 awards in the Pennsylvania News Media Association’s annual Keystone Press Awards for work published in 2012.

The Eagle was the sweepstakes winner in Division 2, which is for daily newspapers with circulation between 40,000 and 74,999. Each newspaper is awarded sweepstakes points based on the number of awards its staffers won in the contest.

The awards will be presented during a program May 18 in Harrisburg.

Ten of the Eagle’s awards were for first place. Winners were reporters Dave Mekeel, Jamie Klein and Bruce Posten; sportswriter Mike Drago, Assistant Photo Editor Ben Hasty; graphic designers Tad Ronnie and Craig Schaffer, Assistant Metro Editor Bill Reber and the staff of Voices, which is edited by Stacie Jones.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=463196

Fired West Reading Police Chief Seeks To Return To Work

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

West Reading‘s fired police chief could be returning to the streets as a patrolman under terms being negotiated, borough officials have confirmed.

Ex-Chief Edward C. Fabriziani was slated to appear before the borough’s Civil Service Commission tonight for a hearing seeking reinstatement and back pay.

That hearing, however, has been postponed to allow for further negotiations, Fabriziani’s attorney, Kevin A. Moore, has confirmed.

A Jan. 15 letter from Moore to West Reading solicitor Daniel C. Becker, obtained by the Reading Eagle and confirmed by two borough officials, outlines terms being discussed.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=444948

Reading Crime Summit Yields Plan

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

Editor’s note:  Look what happens when people get together to work on a problem!  Reading needs to be the focus.

The cause of curtailing violent crime in Reading and Berks County got a push forward Friday afternoon as more than 100 public and private leaders conducted a long-awaited crime summit.

Gov. Tom Corbett and U.S. Sens. Bob Casey Jr. and Pat Toomey were among the participants in the closed-door session held at the Crowne Plaza Reading in Wyomissing.

Lasting two hours and 15 minutes, the summit produced a five-point set of initiatives that county officials pledged to pursue immediately.  Those ranged from strengthening county-city cooperation to a fact-finding trip to learn about a community program in Altoona.

Berks District Attorney John T. Adams and Christian Y. Leinbach, county commissioners chairman, were at the center of preparations for the summit.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=444689

Reading Crime Summit Set For Jan. 18; Corbett Commits

Editor’s note:  This is great news!  We think Mark Flanders needs to be there too since Pottstown’s problems are a result of drugs and crime moving between Reading and Philadelphia.

Months of talk about scheduling a crime summit in Reading culminated Monday afternoon when staffers of Gov. Tom Corbett said he would be available to attend Jan. 18, and local officials immediately set about planning the summit.

Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer said the inability to pin down a date with Corbett had slowed planning.  The original call for the summit was issued in May in a front-page editorial in the Reading Eagle.

“We finally got a date,” Spencer said.

Invitees will include all federal and state lawmakers who represent Berks, county commissioners, city Police Chief William M. Heim, representatives of federal agencies like the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=434351

Governor Seen As Key To Reading Crime Summit

Editor’s note:  While you are at it, include Pottstown.  The crime rate is just as bad as Reading!

As Berks County residents digest the latest spate of violence in Reading, retailer Albert R. Boscov has taken center stage in the protracted effort to pull together a crime summit.

Boscov said Wednesday that it was crucial for both federal and state officials – preferably Gov. Tom Corbett – to take part in the proposed group discussion of Reading’s crime problems.  He said both U.S. Sens. Bob Casey Jr. and Pat Toomey have agreed to take part and that he was working to secure Corbett’s participation.

“I think he will come,” Boscov said.

A spokeswoman for Corbett said Wednesday night that he had not been invited to a summit but was open to the concept.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=433457

Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer Fined For 5 Illegal Hirings

The city Charter Board has fined Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer $1,000 for illegally hiring five assistants not approved by City Council as the charter requires.

Spencer has appealed the fine to Berks County Court, but at the request of attorneys for both sides, President Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl sealed the ruling and the appeal documents.

The city ordinance governing the Charter Board requires its rulings to be kept confidential until the targets exhaust their appeals.

However, a copy of the board’s ruling was obtained by the Reading Eagle.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=432492

Reading School District Lays Off 87 More Employees

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nearly 90 more furlough notices have been handed out to Reading School District employees.

Karen B. Gokay, director of human resources, Thursday confirmed that 65 teaching assistants and 22 secretaries have been formally told they will not have jobs with the district next school year. It is unclear exactly when the layoffs will take effect.

“It’s such a devastating blow for the people being furloughed,” said Charlene Weiser, president of the teaching assistant union, adding that the cuts will negatively affect students. “That’s 65 less assistants in classrooms.”

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=393224

Reading Schools Budget Fiasco Blamed On Mismanagement

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s easy to see that the Reading School District has some major problems.

A $53 million budget gap. Claims of nepotism and favoritism. Local, state and federal investigations.

But how far does the dysfunction go?

The Reading Eagle has conducted an investigation of the district leadership, looking at issues ranging from finances to contracts to hiring practices. The results show a pattern of behavior that is at best neglectful and wasteful.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=383087

2010 Crime Stats Released For Berks County And Reading

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The 2010 crime statistics for Berks County and the City of Reading have been released.  The stats show a drop in violent crime but a rise in property crimes (probably due in part to the recession).  The city and county also showed a decrease in the overall number of crimes reported.

The report is a mixed bag of news as violent crime is on the rise in Berks county but decreasing in the City of Reading.  To read the article from the Reading Eagle, click here: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=336977

Reading Woman Falls Into Fountain At Berkshire Mall While Walking And Texting

You have to love this stuff folks. 

A Reading woman was strolling through Berkshire Mall and texting on her cell phone at the same time.  You know what they say about walking and chewing gum…so I suppose texting and walking is about the same.  When we are not paying attention to what we are doing, accidents happen.  Consequently, the woman fell into a fountain at Berkshire Mall in Reading. 

Now, she is angry that the security footage was released.  The “victim” has hired a lawyer and is contemplating a lawsuit against Berkshire Mall.  She thinks mall security should have been more concerned about her welfare.  However, she immediately got up and walked away, apparently unharmed.

The reason people know her identity is because she released her own name to the public.  Her face was digitally covered in the video footage.

OH PLEASE!  Does somebody want their 15 minutes here or what?

UPDATE - this just keeps getting better.  Read all about the “faller” in this Reading Eagle article http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=280672

Pennsylvania State Senator Mike O’Pake Dies From Heart Surgery Complications

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PA State Senator, Mike O’Pake, a tireless advocate for Berks County and Reading has died after undergoing heart bypass surgery on November 22, 2010.  Senator O’Pake seemed to be doing better, so his death today took many by surprise.

Read the entire story in the Reading Eagle:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=274929

Pearls Of Driving Wisdom

Good article from the Reading Eagle about basic driving rules and courtesy.  

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=272585

William Penn Memorial Fire Tower In Reading Offers Incredible View – 60 Mile Radius

The William Penn Memorial Fire Tower in Reading offers a 60 mile panoramic view!  From the skyscrapers in Philly to Palmerton‘s bald mountain and more.

If you would like the opportunity to see this gorgeous panorama, the fire tower in Reading will be open to the public on November 20th and December 18th!  You have to be willing to walk the 168 steps to the top, but it is well worth it.

Check out the rest of the Reading Eagle article here:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=258903