Casino Nears Completion At Valley Forge Convention Center

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Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on Pennsylvania’s 11th slot-machine casino, set to open next month at a convention center just outside Valley Forge National Historical Park.

The sounds of drills, power lifts and hammers filled the air at the still-under-construction casino Tuesday, when the casino’s operators gave tours of the new facility. That cacophony, however, will soon give way to the cha-ching of coins and the whirr of slot machines when the casino fully opens for business on March 31 with 600 slots and 50 table games.

The scheduled opening comes as competition for gamblers is growing in the suburban Philadelphia market, which already has the Parx Casino in Bensalem, SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia and Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack in Chester. By law, Pennsylvania could one day be home to 14 casinos.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-valley-forge-casino-20120228,0,6627210.story

PPL Buys Natural Gas Power Plant

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PPL Corp. is buying a natural gas-fired power plant in Lebanon, the company announced on Monday

AES Corp. of Arlington, Va., is selling its Ironwood plant for $304 million, PPL said.

The plant, which began operation in 2001, has a 705-megawatt capacity, or roughly enough to power 564,000 homes.

For the past four years, PPL EnergyPlus, the marketing and trading subsidiary of Allentown-based PPL, has supplied natural gas for the operation of the Ironwood plant in return for rights to its full output.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc–ppl-power-plant-20120228,0,7169860.story

Talks Continue On Police Force Merger In Northwest Berks

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The Bethel and Tulpehocken township supervisors Monday night continued discussing forming a regional police force.

The townships have been exploring a regional police force since 2010. Each township has its own part-time department and relies on state police coverage when no officers are on duty.

The focus Monday was on details, but the supervisors decided to send out a letter, asking if any other municipalities were interested in regional policing.

The inquiries will go to Upper Tulpehocken, Marion and Jefferson townships and Strausstown.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=367757