Joint Fundraiser Benefits Two Pottstown Organizations

The second annual Books and Brushes Beef and Beer will be held on Saturday, August 11 from 6-9pm at the Ballroom on High. Named for the two organizations who founded the The Gallery School of Pottstown and the Pottstown Regional Public Library — this community fundraiser is a fun evening of great food and music. All proceeds will benefit the programs and ongoing operations of both organizations.

Popular Pottstown restaurant Grumpy’s will be catering, and the fundraiser will be held at the Ballroom on High, a great downtown venue. The Ballroom, at 310 E. High St. next to the Farmer’s Market, is also the home to SwingKats. Local DJ and MC extraordinaire Pete LaRosa is donating his time and talents to the fundraiser, so be ready to get out on the dance floor.

Tickets are only $20 and include hot roast beef sandwiches, pasta and veggie salads, beer and soft drinks, and homemade desserts. There will also be vegetarian wrap sandwiches available. Guests can purchase their tickets online at www.galleryonhigh.org or in person at the School at 254 E. High St. or the Library at 500 E. High St. The ticket deadline is Tuesday, August 7. No tickets will be available at the door.

The Gallery School of Pottstown is a 501c3 non-profit community art school and gallery. The School offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages. The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence. The Gallery on High hosts rotating shows featuring local artists. The Gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items. 

State Extends Deadline For Scranton Recovery Plan After PEL Raises Concerns

Hours after receiving a “rejection” of its revised recovery plan by a state-appointed recovery coordinator, Scranton City Council on Thursday forged ahead with introducing the plan anyway.

The council voted 3-1 to introduce an ordinance to implement the revised plan that was agreed upon last Friday by Mayor Chris Doherty, council President Janet Evans and council finance chairman Frank Joyce.

The plan then was sent for review to the city’s Act 47 recovery coordinator, Pennsylvania Economy League, which also would have to OK the plan before it would take effect.

On Thursday, shortly before the council’s meeting, PEL issued a letter to the city detailing numerous concerns about the recovery plan, chiefly that much of its revenue sources that are alternatives to real estate taxes – such as a commuter tax and sales taxes and significantly increased voluntary donations from nonprofits – are not guaranteed to occur. PEL wants to the city to identify backup revenues sources should speculative revenue sources never materialize.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/state-extends-deadline-for-scranton-recovery-plan-after-pel-raises-concerns-1.1353735

Pottstown School Board Rejects Second Look At School Project Plans

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

POTTSTOWN — With a 7-3 vote Thursday night, the school board rejected a proposal to suspend work on designing additions to three elementary schools to allow the potential to save as much as $6.5 million to be explored.

The proposal, made by school board member Thomas Hylton, sought to take advantage of a recent change in long-standing state policy that was made with the passage of the most recent budget in Harrisburg.

Throughout the many years of discussion on the elementary school project, it has been state policy that it will not provide reimbursement to any school construction project that does not eliminate the use of modular classrooms.

The need to meet this requirement is among those driving the decision to add between 12 to 14 classrooms in additions to Rupert, Lincoln and Franklin elementary schools, which is where the $24 million project now stands.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20120803/NEWS01/120809803/pottstown-school-board-rejects-second-look-at-school-project-plans&pager=full_story

Musikfest Braces For Better Year After Record Loss

Musikfest was preparing to hit a high note last year, introducing the 10-day party of music and food to south Bethlehem at its ambitious new SteelStacks campus.

But rain doused the festival for six days, flooding the Monocacy Creek and closing down nearby venues on the north side. The festival lost $750,000 — triple the amount of its worst year since it began 28 years ago.

The deficit came in the very year its nonprofit organizer, ArtsQuest, could least afford it because of the uncertainty that came with launching its performing arts center at SteelStacks. The loss from Musikfest, which provides half the nonprofit’s revenue, pushed ArtsQuest into a $1 million operating loss, more than 5 percent of its budget.

So, as Musikfest opens Friday evening, its financial performance is stealing some of the spotlight.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/local/musikfest/mc-bethlehem-musikfest-preview-20120802,0,7463125.story

Economy Adds 163,000 Jobs; Rate Ticks Up

WASHINGTON – U.S. employers added 163,000 jobs in July, a hopeful sign after three months of sluggish hiring.

The Labor Department said today that the unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent in June.

July’s hiring was the best since February.  Still, the economy has added an average of 151,000 jobs a month this year, roughly the same as last year’s pace.  That’s not enough to satisfy the 12.8 million Americans who are unemployed.

The government uses two surveys to measure employment.  A survey of businesses showed job gains.  The unemployment rate comes from a survey of households, which showed fewer people had jobs.  Economists say the business survey is more reliable.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=405824