Pentagon Ordered To Expand Syria Target List

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has directed the Pentagon to develop an expanded list of potential targets in Syria in response to intelligence suggesting that President Bashar Assad’s government has been moving troops and equipment used to employ chemical weapons while Congress debates whether to authorize military action.

Mr. Obama, officials said, is determined to put more emphasis on the “degrade” part of what the administration has said is the goal of a military strike against Syria — to “deter and degrade” Mr. Assad’s ability to use chemical weapons.  That means expanding beyond the 50 or so major sites that were part of the target list developed with French forces before Mr. Obama delayed action Saturday to seek congressional approval.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/pentagon-ordered-to-expand-syria-target-list-702239/#ixzz2e93qQvkl

Suspects In Mon Valley Gambling Ring

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

• Kirk A. Mollica, 46, 506 Princess Drive, Elizabeth, is charged with two counts of corrupt organization, one count of dealing in proceeds of illegal activity, one count of lotteries, one count of gambling devices and two counts of conspiracy.

• Ronald Melocchi Sr., 54, 324 Vernon Drive, West Newton, is charged with two counts of corrupt organization, one count of dealing in proceeds of illegal activity, one count in criminal use of a communication facility, one count of lotteries, one count of pool selling and bookmaking and two counts of conspiracy.

• Ronald D. Prest, 65, 109 Midway Drive, White Oak, is charged with two counts of corrupt organization, one count of dealing in proceeds of illegal activity, one count of criminal use of a communication facility, one count of gambling devices and one count of conspiracy.

• Terence P. McNelis, 52, 4812 McAnulty Drive, Whitehall, is charged with one count of corrupt organization, one count of dealing in proceeds of illegal activity, one count of lotteries, one count of pool selling and bookmaking and one count of conspiracy.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/suspects-in-mon-valley-gambling-ring-702172/#ixzz2e8zjhwAp

Pittsburgh’s ‘Knit The Bridge’ Project Declared A Success

It was covered by the BBC and NPR, Time.com and the Huffington Post and by media in Europe and Israel.

The vast, improbable, record-breaking Knit the Bridge project — in which the 1,061-foot-long Andy Warhol Bridge was covered with 580 knitted and crocheted blankets during the second weekend of August — is officially a success, according to organizers, public officials, knitting enthusiasts, yarn bombers and people on the streets of Downtown.

Today is the last day to see the largest such “yarn bombing” of a structure in the United States and possibly in the world, before a team of volunteers arrives at 5 a.m. Saturday to start dismantling the project. The bridge will be closed until 7 p.m. Sunday as volunteers undo the thousands of plastic ties fastening the acrylic yarn panels to the structure, said Amanda Gross, a local fiber artist who came up with the idea for the Knit the Bridge project.

As the city basked in warm September sunshine Thursday, those strolling near the 87-year-old steel suspension bridge gave the project rave reviews.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/lifestyle/knit-the-bridge-project-declared-a-success-702219/#ixzz2e8uj3g5u

Pottstown’s Mosaic Community Garden To Open Produce And Information Stand

We are happy to announce the opening day of our Produce and Information Stand!

The children of our youth program and several volunteers had a hand in tending the earth and growing veggies.  Earlier this summer, they diligently worked to build the stand to bring the “fruits of their labor” to your table!!

On September 7th the kids and volunteers will staff the Produce Stand to sell fresh produce, herbs, local peaches and other healthy goodies, each Saturday morning from 9:30 AM – 12 noon, through September 28th, 2013.

In addition, we will have information regarding organic gardening and other resources to find out more about our local CSAs and organic grocery stores.  Lastly, the public can learn more about what they can do to ensure every family has access to healthier food options in our area.

Look for the Produce and Information Stand in front of the gardens at 423 Chestnut Street in Pottstown, (you canʼt miss us)!!

Priced right for you, all of the proceeds from the produce stand will enable MOSAIC to continue to develop workshops and other fun, educational activities for young and old alike; while educating individuals in food justice and security.  All the while, the young farmers will be learning sales skills, marketing and public relations.

Now, for a special thanks to our sponsor: Global Advanced Metals of Boyertown, for their generous donation and support.  Global Advanced Metals processes a metal called “tantalum,” found in Australia.  Their core values of safety, health and environmental excellence guide the work that they do and dovetails nicely with our healthy outlook too!!

Local honey will be available for purchase as well.  The garden has its own bee hive for pollination, tended by Lee Mauger.

Laura Washington, Gardens Manager

New Rules Put In Place At Sherman Hills?

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

WILKES-BARRE, PA— New security measures are reportedly set to go into place at the Sherman Hills where two young girls were shot in the latest case of violent crime at the apartment complex.

An e-mail outlining some of the rules to go into effect on Oct. 1 was sent to The Times Leader Wednesday, but they were not able to be confirmed.

According to the e-mail, among the steps to be taken are: tenants must provide a driver’s license and paperwork to receive a parking sticker; vehicles must be registered to tenants; visitors must receive a pass issued by the office in order to park in the visitors’ lot; visitors must present photo identification to obtain a pass; businesses delivering groceries, food or prescriptions must have two people in the delivery vehicle so one can stay in it to prevent it from being towed.

Residents say they received flyers on their doors informing them of their new rules, TV reports state.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news//809848/New-rules-put-in-place-at-Sherman-Hills

Men Wanted For Questioning In Brooklyn Homicide Arrested At Sherman Hills

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

WILKES-BARRE, PA – Two men wanted for questioning in the fatal shooting of a 1-year-old Brooklyn boy were apprehended this morning in an apartment in Sherman Hills, authorities said.

Daquan Breland, 23, and Daquan Wright, 19, were taken into custody in the apartment in the same building where two young girls were injured in a shooting on Aug. 24.

Authorities in New York say Antiq Hennis was being pushed in a stroller by his mother and father while crossing a street in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn about 7:20 p.m. Sunday when multiple shots were fired.  They say the child was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital with a gunshot wound to the left side of his face and was later pronounced dead.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news//811816/Men-wanted-for-questioning-in-Brooklyn-homicide-arrested-at-Sherman-Hills

Allentown Officials Name Interim Police Chief; Announce Other Promotions

The PPL Building (seen here in the distance) is the tallest building in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Allentown officials announced an interim police chief and other promotions at a ceremony Friday.

Allentown police Assistant Chief Joseph Hanna has been named interim chief. Hanna and most of the top brass will be retiring this year under terms of a pension deal they signed almost five years ago.

Allentown police Capt. George Medero was also promoted to the department’s assistant chief, the first Latino to be named to the position.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-police-retirement-promotion-ceremony-20130906,0,697661.story#ixzz2e8d1HBaZ
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Lehigh Valley Man Protests School Taxes By Paying With 7,143 $1 Bills

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

Bet tax collector Anne Bennett-Morse is glad didn’t pay his school taxes in pennies.

The Forks Township father, whose three children are homeschooled, last week staged a personal protest against funding public education by lugging in a satchel filled with 7,143 one-dollar bills.

He had everything recorded on a YouTube video for the world to see — and hear his reasons.

Sporting a clean, pinstriped dress shirt, untucked over jeans, the crew-cutted IT manager neatly piled 71 stacks worth $100 each on the counter, along with 54 cents, at the municipal building of the Northampton County town, a few miles north of Easton.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/E_Pa_man_pays_tax_in_7143_1_bills.html#ZFq54ZXrlHRqD2IP.99

Pottstown Merchant’s Fate For Selling K2 Hinges On High Court Ruling

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

NORRISTOWN — The severity of a Pottstown merchant’s punishment for distributing synthetic marijuana from his store will hinge on an interpretation of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding mandatory sentences.

Rafie L. Ali, 35, who previously lived in an apartment above the Achi Store he operated at 315 E. High Street, saw his sentencing hearing postponed in Montgomery County Court on Thursday so prosecutors and defense lawyers in the case could weigh the ramifications of the high court ruling, handed down a few days after Ali’s June conviction, which affects how prosecutors seek mandatory prison terms for certain crimes.

First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and co-prosecutor Nicholas Reifsnyder are seeking mandatory prison terms against Ali, between 10 and 15 years, based on state laws that allow mandatory terms for drug sales carried out in school zones or with a firearm.

“He was a drug dealer masquerading as a businessman and that made him all the more dangerous,” Steele and Reifsnyder argued in a sentencing memorandum. “By keeping a firearm in close proximity to the potentially fatal drugs he was dealing, defendant contributed to the culture of violence that inevitably surrounds drug use and drug dealing.”

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130906/NEWS01/130909683/pottstown-merchant-s-fate-for-selling-k2-hinges-on-high-court-ruling#full_story

US Employers Add 169K Jobs; Rate Falls To 7.3 Percent

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers have yet to start hiring aggressively — a trend the Federal Reserve will weigh in deciding this month whether to slow its bond buying and, if so, by how much.

Employers added 169,000 jobs in August but many fewer in June and July than previously thought, the Labor Department said Friday. Combined, June, July and August amounted to the weakest three-month stretch of job growth in a year.

The unemployment rate dropped to 7.3 percent, the lowest in nearly five years. But it fell because more Americans stopped looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed. The proportion of Americans working or looking for work reached its lowest point in 35 years.

All told, the report adds up to a mixed picture of the U.S. job market: Hiring is steady but subpar. Much of the hiring is in lower-paying occupations. And many people are giving up on the job market in frustration.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-employers-add-169k-jobs-rate-falls-73-pct