Detriot Files For Bankruptcy

Map of downtown Detroit with I-375 and BS-375 highlighted (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

DETROIT — Detroit on Thursday became the largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy, as the state-appointed emergency manager filed for Chapter 9 protection.

Kevyn Orr, a bankruptcy expert, was hired by the state in March to lead Detroit out of a fiscal free-fall and made the filing Thursday in federal bankruptcy court.

A number of factors — most notably steep population and tax base falls — have been blamed on Detroit’s tumble toward insolvency.  Detroit lost a quarter-million residents between 2000 and 2010.  A population that in the 1950s reached 1.8 million is struggling to stay above 700,000.  Much of the middle-class and scores of businesses also have fled Detroit, taking their tax dollars with them.

In recent months, the city has relied on state-backed bond money to meet payroll for its approximately 10,000 employees.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130718/NEWS04/130719263/once-mighty-motor-city-files-for-bankruptcy

Westmoreland County Community College Breaks Ground On Tech Center In Former Sony Plant

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

Last week, Westmoreland County Community College broke ground on its new $9.4 million Advanced Technology Center in the former Sony plant near New Stanton.  The college’s workforce development program will move to the expanded classrooms and labs by fall 2014.

But county and college officials also hope the new center will be an incubator to help grow manufacturing businesses throughout the region.

“We are building on Western Pennsylvania’s manufacturing roots,” said Doug Jensen, WCCC assistant vice president for workforce education.  “The entire manufacturing sector is growing in so many ways we need a different workforce and skill sets.

“Just as Pittsburgh has been an incubator for businesses in the biotech field with its universities, we want Westmoreland County to be an incubator for the manufacturing sector; we want entrepreneurs to come here. We want to serve the entire region in these emerging sectors, including energy.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-east/wccc-breaks-ground-on-tech-center-in-former-sony-plant-695932/#ixzz2ZQYib94b

$3.8 Million Heroin Ring Busted After Operating In Dauphin, Cumberland, Franklin Counties; 12 People Arrested

Locator map of the Harrisburg metro area in the south central part of the of . Red denotes the Harrisburg-Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area, and yellow denotes the Lebanon Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Harrisburg-Carlisle-Lebanon CSA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HARRISBURG – Twelve people, including nine from the midstate, were charged this morning in the distribution of more than $3.8 million worth of heroin in Cumberland, Dauphin and Franklin counties, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General‘s office.

Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane said the investigation focused on the alleged heroin trafficking activities of Sabriel “Pony” Rivera, 29, of Chambersburg.

According to the grand jury report, Rivera was a major source of heroin sold in the Harrisburg area; he allegedly purchased in Philadelphia and distributed through dealers in Dauphin, Cumberland and Franklin counties.

The investigation took place from December 2011 through January 2013, according to court records.

Read more:  http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/07/state_agents_bust_38_million_h.html#incart_m-rpt-2

NFC East Is A Money Machine, Forbes Says

The NFC East is raking in the money, according to Forbes Magazine.

The magazine ranked the world’s 50 most valuable sports franchises and the home of the Philadelphia Eagles totaled a combined net worth of $6.428 billion.

Three of the NFC East teams are ranked among the top 10 in the world, led by the Dallas Cowboys ($2.1 billion) at No. 5. Dallas is the most valuable NFL franchise, according to the magazine.

The Washington Redskins ($1.6 billion) are eighth, followed by the New York Giants ($1.468 billion) at No. 9.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-forbes-sports-franchises-value-20130718,0,2943534.story#ixzz2ZQSAWfnK
Follow us: @mcall on Twitter | mcall.lv on Facebook

PA Turnpike To Be Widened From Valley Forge To Downingtown

Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has picked a construction manager for a $480 million road-widening project between the Valley Forge and Downingtown interchanges.

Hill International of Marlton, N.J., will be paid $17.1 million to manage the project. Roadwork is expected to begin in the summer of 2014 and will continue into 2020, Pennsylvania Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said Wednesday.

The roadwork will be done in two phases, DeFebo said, beginning next summer at the Valley Forge interchange and going west for about six miles.  That work is expected to last about three years, the spokesman said.

Read more:   http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130718/NEWS03/130719320/turnpike-to-be-widened-from-valley-forge-to-downingtown-#full_story

‘Code Orange’ Issued As Air Quality Expected To Be Poor Today

The Department of Environmental Protection and its regional air quality partnerships have forecast an orange air quality action day for ozone on Thursday, July 18, for Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

On air quality action days, young children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130718/NEWS01/130719364/-code-orange-issued-as-air-quality-expected-to-be-poor-today#full_story

Amity Officials Defend Handling Of Cop’s Suspension

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

The Amity Township Police Department became the main topic of conversation Wednesday.

Township officials defended the way they handled the recent suspension of one corporal and, in an unrelated move, approved a temporary replacement for another corporal who is on active duty in the military.

Supervisors Terry L. Jones and Paul R. Weller said that the board did nothing wrong during an executive session July 3 where it approved Police Chief Kent A. Shuebrook’s decision to suspend Cpl. Glenn J. Oesterling.

The suspension, following Oesterling’s arrest for shoplifting, was not mentioned during the public portion of the meeting, which supervisors Chairwoman Kim J. McGrath did not attend.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=493759

Last-Minute Budget Proposal Includes 2 Cuts

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

Dr. Carlinda Purcell waited until the very last minute – literally.

At 4:59 p.m., just moments before a 5 p.m. deadline, the Reading School District superintendent sent an email to school board members with a proposal to close a gap in the district’s 2013-14 budget.

The deadline was set at a meeting Tuesday night after Purcell told the board the $213.6 million budget that was passed June 28 had a $180,000 hole.  The announcement drew criticism from board members frustrated by the budget process and a demand that the administration fix the problem by the end of the business day Wednesday.

James Washington II, board vice president, confirmed he received an email from Purcell at 4:59 p.m.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=493735

Panel Upholds Firing Of Ex-West Reading Police Officer

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

It was quick, to the point, and for many in attendance at the West Reading Fire Department, it didn’t come as much of a surprise.

Following a hearing that began in February and concluded in May, a three-member Civil Service Commission ruled Wednesday night to uphold the borough’s November firing of former police Officer Ronald E. Ladd.

“I think the evidence in its totality convinced us,” commission member Stephen F. DeLucas said afterward of the decision.

DeLucas was referring to testimony and other accounts of the Aug. 31 altercation between Ladd and former police Chief Edward C. Fabriziani, whom Ladd is accused of assaulting in the chief’s office that summer day.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=493750