More Expensive Gas Pushes US Consumer Prices Up

WASHINGTON (AP) – Higher gas costs drove up U.S. consumer prices in September for the second straight month.  Outside energy, there was little sign of inflation.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that the consumer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent last month, matching the August increase.  In the past 12 months, prices have increased 2 percent.  That’s in line with the Federal Reserve’s inflation target.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, prices rose just 0.1 percent.  In the past year, so-called core prices have increased 2 percent.

Read more: http://business-news.thestreet.com/the-times-herald/story/more-expensive-gas-pushes-us-consumer-prices/1

Owner Plans $7 Million Expansion Project At Intercourse Village Inn

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

Kurt Thomas knows the situation.

He sees that interest rates and construction costs are unusually low.

He hears industry experts predict an upturn for the tourism industry.

So Thomas realizes that, if he was ever going to renovate and expand his Intercourse Village Inn, the ideal opportunity is now.

“We just feel like the timing is perfect,” Thomas said.

For all those reasons, the inn this month launched a far-reaching project that will roughly double its size, at a cost exceeding $7 million.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/763980_Owner-plans–7M-expansion-project-at-Intercourse-Village-Inn.html#ixzz2ALznNcof

West Reading Program ‘Got It Right,’ State Official Says

Editor’s note:  We heartily agree! West Reading is a happening town!  Maybe the leadership from Pottstown should rent a bus and take a field trip to see what revitalization actually looks like!  It sure as heck isn’t found on High Street!

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

A state official praised West Reading on Wednesday for being ahead of the curve in its efforts to revitalize the community.

“For a borough of 4,000 people, they’re doing an awful lot of good things,” said Secretary C. Alan Walker of the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

During a tour of West Reading led by Elm Street Program Manager Dean Rohrbach, Walker said borough officials have a good vision.

“They know what they want to do and they’re carrying it out,” he said, referring to streetscape and building-facade improvements throughout West Reading.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=423186

City Of Reading: A Study In Contrasts

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

The Reading Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday unveiled a thick sheaf of brightly colored graphics and numerous data tables that all point to one map in the middle – a map the authority and the city say will guide future city economic development efforts.

That map shows where the high-value housing markets are in the Reading area and the location of steady markets, transitional neighborhoods and distressed areas, all in specific detail.

It’s part of the market value analysis that The Reinvestment Fund, Philadelphia, completed for the authority and released at a Pennsylvania Economy League breakfast at the Berkshire Country Club, Bern Township.

“What the MVA (market value analysis) basically does is help you focus your meager resources and channel your efforts on nodes of strength,” said Adam Mukerji, authority executive director.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=423215

‘Frankenstorm’ Threatens East Coast

WASHINGTON — An unusual nasty mix of a hurricane and a winter storm that forecasters are now calling “Frankenstorm” is likely to blast most of the East Coast next week, focusing the worst of its weather mayhem around New York City and New Jersey.

Government forecasters today upped the odds of a major weather mess, now saying there’s a 90 percent chance that the East will get steady gale-force winds, heavy rain, flooding and maybe snow starting Sunday and stretching past Halloween on Wednesday.

Meteorologists say it is likely to cause $1 billion in damages.

The storm is a combination of Hurricane Sandy, now in the Caribbean, an early winter storm in the West, and a blast of arctic air from the North. They’re predicted to collide and park over the country’s most populous coastal corridor and reach as far inland as Ohio.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=423263

Women’s History Lecture At Pottsgrove Manor

Pottstown, Pennsylvania — On Saturday, November 3rd at 1:00 p.m., Pottsgrove Manor will host a talk by historian Nancy Webster, titled “Women’s Woes: Childbirth, Life Stages, and Challenges to Female Health in Colonial America.”

Ruth Potts, the lady of the house at colonial Pottsgrove Manor, managed to birth thirteen children and outlive her husband by almost two decades, but not all colonial women were so fortunate.  In the lecture, Webster will speak about the difficulties faced by women in 18th-century America.  A donation of $2 per person is suggested for this program.

This lecture is being held in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibit, “Matters Personal, Details Private: Cleanliness, Hygiene, and Personal Pursuits in the Colonial Home.”  After the presentation, a guided tour of the manor house and the exhibit will be offered.  This will be one of the last opportunities for the public to tour the “Matters Personal, Details Private” exhibit before it ends on November 4th.

Pottsgrove Manor, home of John Potts, colonial ironmaster and founder of Pottstown, is located at 100 West King Street near the intersection of King Street and Route 100, just off Route 422, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Pottsgrove Manor is operated by MontgomeryCounty under the direction of the  of the Assets & Infrastructure Department.

Regular museum hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. & Sunday, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.  Tours are given on the hour; last tour of the day begins as 3:00 p.m.  Groups of 10 or more should pre-register by calling 610.326.4014.  For more information and a full calendar of events, visit us on the web at http://historicsites.montcopa.org/pottsgrovemanor or http://www.facebook.com/PottsgroveManor.