Fight, Shots Fired Lead To Arrest In Pottstown

Editor’s note:  This crap is WAY out of hand and there are two more months of hot weather left. Turn this guy in if you know who he is!  Somebody could have easily been killed.  As for the male in custody…beating up a young girl!  Your mother must be so proud.

POTTSTOWN — Police have charged two men in related incidents, including shots fired at a vehicle.

According to police, a fight planned between two juvenile girls happened near the Ricketts Center at 672 Beech St. at 3:25 p.m. on Tuesday.

When the large group was chased from Beech Street, police said they moved to the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and North Warren Street.

The crowd of 40 to 50 people watching the fight included adults and children, police said.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130627/NEWS01/130629323/fight-shots-fired-lead-to-arrest-in-pottstown#full_story

Pottstown Police Find 932 Bags Of Heroin In Apartment Of Parolee

Editor’s note:  Earth to borough council. You better get a grip on the pervasive drug problem in town!

POTTSTOWN —Police arrested a man on parole after they found a gun and more than 900 bags of heroin in his apartment.

Dashawn Smith, 22, of Pottstown was charged with one count of felony intent to manufacture or deliver and one count of felony possession of a firearm after Pennsylvania State Parole agents searched his Elm Street apartment on June 19.

During the search of Smith’s apartment, officers found a large yellow plastic bag under the kitchen sink that contained “numerous bundles” of red wax bags, and white rice, police said.

Read more:   http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130627/NEWS01/130629368/police-find-932-bags-of-heroin-in-apartment-of-parolee

A Legal Blow To Sustainable Development

Official 2007 portrait of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  This is so bad!

STRAFFORD, Vt. — LOST amid the Supreme Court’s high-profile decisions on affirmative action, voting rights and same-sex marriage was another ruling that may turn out to have a profound impact on American society.  The court handed down a decision on Tuesday that, in the words of Justice Elena Kagan, will “work a revolution in land-use law.”

While that may sound obscure, the decision in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District will result in long-lasting harm to America’s communities.  That’s because the ruling creates a perverse incentive for municipal governments to reject applications from developers rather than attempt to negotiate project designs that might advance both public and private goals — and it makes it hard for communities to get property owners to pay to mitigate any environmental damage they may cause.

The court’s 5-to-4 decision, with Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. writing for the majority, arose from an order issued by a Florida water management district denying an application by Coy A. Koontz Sr. to fill more than three acres of wetlands in order to build a small shopping center.  The district made clear that it was willing to grant the permit if Mr. Koontz agreed to reduce the size of the development or spend money on any of a variety of wetlands-restoration projects designed to offset the project’s environmental effects.  Because Mr. Koontz declined to pursue any of these options, the district denied the permit.

Read more:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/27/opinion/a-legal-blow-to-sustainable-development.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0

POW/MIA Flags To Be Hung In Downtown Pottstown

In preparation for ArtFusion 19464’s fall educational exhibit When We Were Soldiers, downtown Pottstown will soon be flying POW/MIA flags.  The flags will be hung the week of July 4th and be on display through Veterans Day.

This display was made possible through the support of the greater Pottstown community and beyond. Representative Mark Painter’s office donated 2 flags.  Generous donations were also made by the following individuals and organizations: David Garner , Esq., Pottstown Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Positively Pottstown, Federation of Concerned Organizations, POW/MIA Forget Me Nots, American Legion Post 244 and Jack and Cathy Paretti, Theresa Orlosky, Sharon Shulby.  Billy Worrell, member of American Legion Post 244 and a Vietnam Veteran, was very instrumental in getting the donations and arranging the purchase of the flags.

When We Were Soldiers will focus on the personal recollections of veterans of the Vietnam War.  The show will open September 20 with a Welcome Home reception and run through Veterans Day.  As part of the reception, local motorcycle clubs will be participating in a welcome home ride.  The reception will run from 5-8pm. Light refreshments will be served.  While this reception is free, ArtFusion will be collecting donations for a free arts program for veterans as well as to fund maintenance for the Pottstown Vietnam Memorial.

The Pottstown Keystone Chapter 565 of Vietnam Veterans meets the first Tuesday of every month at 7PM at the VFW located on High Street in Pottstown.  Anyone is invited to attend a meeting.

ArtFusion 19464 is a 501(c)3 non-profit community art center located at 254 E. High St. in downtown Pottstown.  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.  ArtFusion’s gallery hosts rotating shows featuring local artists.  The gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items.  The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10am-5pm and Saturday 10am-3pm.  The gallery is closed Sunday and Monday.

Attached:  POWMIA flags.jpg: presentation of flags at Borough Hall; Frank Strunk, President of Pottstown Keystone Chapter 565 of Vietnam Veterans of America; Billy Worrell, of American Legion Post 244; and Mark Flanders, Pottstown Borough Manager.

UPDATE: Undercover Agents Raid 2 Wilkes-Barre Businesses

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

WILKES-BARRE — Undercover drug agents with the state Office of the Attorney General, city police and Luzerne County detectives searched Idley’s Furniture and the Master Barber Shop on Hazle Avenue just after 8 a.m. today.

The two businesses are located across the street from each other.  About 15 undercover drug agents and 10 officers and detectives are at the scene, including the Kingston Police Department’s Canine Unit that is trained in drug detection.

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/633462/UPDATE:-Undercover-agents-raid-2-city-businesses

Lehigh County Commissioners Kill Costco TIF

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

The Lehigh County commissioners on Wednesday night rejected tax financing for Hamilton Crossings, possibly closing the door to popular retailers Costco and Whole Foods in the Lehigh Valley.

Developers of the proposed $140 million Costco-anchored shopping center in Lower Macungie Township have said they will walk away without tax increment financing, which required support from the county, township and the East Penn School District.

County commissioners were considered the most significant hurdle to the TIF proposal, which would allow up to $7 million in tax dollars generated by the shopping center to be used to finance the work.

Commissioners shot down the TIF in a 6-3 vote that broke from their usual voting blocs and surprised many. Commissioners Tom Creighton, Percy Dougherty and David Jones voted in favor of the proposal; Commissioners Scott Ott, Lisa Scheller, Mike Schware, Brad Osborne, Vic Mazziotti and Dan McCarthy voted against it.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-lehigh-county-costco-tif-20130626,0,2078873.story#ixzz2XQao9y4y 
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Closing Of Newark Star-Ledger Possible

The Star-Ledger (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NEWARK – Owners of the Star-Ledger plan to close New Jersey’s largest newspaper by year’s end if production unions don’t make concessions in contract negotiations, the publisher said Wednesday.

In a letter to staff, publisher Richard Vezza said the company felt “pushed into a corner” by the unions, whose contracts expire in July.  Vezza said they have until Sept. 27 to make compromises or else the paper will shut down.

“This is not a threat.  This is reality,” Vezza said in an interview.

The paper’s website, www.nj.com, is owned by a separate company and will continue to publish “no matter what happens with the Ledger,” Vezza said.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20130627_Closing_of_Star-_Ledger_possible.html#bdzrJUzhQ0AOWDGl.99

Pottstown Area Sports Icon Don Seeley Dies At 62

Editor’s note:  Our thoughts and prayers are with Don’s family.

Longtime Mercury Sports Editor Don Seeley died Wednesday morning while doing what he loved — playing golf.

He was 62 years old.

According to friends who were with him, Seeley took ill at Lederach Golf Club and was taken by ambulance to Grand View Hospital in Sellersville.

Seeley retired as The Mercury’s sports editor in February, a post he held for 15 years.  He continued to write for The Mercury, his byline appearing in Wednesday’s edition after covering the inaugural PAC-10 Senior Bowl boys lacrosse game Tuesday night.

For more than 32 years, Seeley’s coverage and perspectives on everything from wrestling to football to baseball (American Legion and otherwise) filled the pages of The Mercury.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130627/NEWS01/130629410/local-sports-icon-don-seeley-dies-at-62#full_story

Reading School Board Makes Budget Progress

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

Slowly toiling away, looking at proposed cuts from every angle imaginable, the Reading School Board inched closer and closer to its members’ goal: a balanced budget they can live with.

Following the board’s voting meeting Wednesday night, members stuck around to pick through the administration’s latest proposed 2013-14 spending plan.

They reviewed a list of 18 cuts one by one, taking straw polls to find out which ones have support and which ones don’t.

And, with two days before they plan to vote on a final budget, they appeared to have finally made some big decisions.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=487596