Kaleidoscope Angels Wellness Center To Hold Open House In Douglassville

Kaleidoscope Angels, a center of well-being, located in Douglassville, PA is holding an open house on Saturday, December 8, 2013 from 10:00am until 4:00pm.

Come see their new expanded location and meet all the practitioners.  There will be live music, door prizes, refreshments and so much more.

Punch cards will be available to enjoy a mini-session with each one of their practitioners.  Get your punch card early as supplies are limited.

The center is located at 1056 Old Swede Road, Douglassville, PA  19518

Phone:  (610) 689-3999

Website:  http://www.ACenterofWell-Being.com

Make sure to LIKE them on Facebook 🙂

Church & Dwight To Manufacture Gummy Vitamins In York County, Hire 180 People

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

Church & Dwight plans to construct a new production line for gummy vitamins at its facility in Jackson Township.

A $55 million investment, the new production line will lead to the hiring of approximately 180 people, according to the company.

Construction will begin in January and the line is scheduled to be operational in the first quarter of 2015, according to a news release.

The company will also receive some state funds for the project via the Governor’s Action Team, which works with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania.

Read more: http://www.ydr.com/business/ci_24655737/church-dwight-hire-180-people-manufacture-gummy-vitamins

Kickstarting A Braddock Restaurant: Kevin Sousa’s Superior Motors

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

When chef Kevin Sousa last year announced plans to open a fourth restaurant in Braddock, one of the Pittsburgh area’s poorest boroughs, it was big news. Not only would the high-end destination eatery in the 1929 Couda Building give Pittsburghers one more place to enjoy Mr. Sousa’s award-winning modern cuisine, but it also would bring much-needed life to a town all but left for dead.

Then reality set in.

While various grants from the county and Heritage Community Initiatives were to raise upwards of $300,000 for renovations, the dilapidated structure at the corner of Eighth and Braddock avenues would end up needing way more resources. Too many dollars, in fact, to make the ambitious project feasible. Magarac — as the restaurant was to be named after the imaginary Croatian steelmaking folk hero — was about to be history before it even got started.

Without rich investors or bankers willing to take a chance, Mr. Sousa had to change direction this fall to keep his dream alive. First up was finding a new building that would prove cheaper, quicker and easier to build out. Second was coming up with a creative source of financing to pay for it.

With Mayor John Fetterman’s help, he’s hoping to hit on both cylinders.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/life/dining/2013/12/05/Kickstarting-the-Braddock-restaurant/stories/201312050096#ixzz2md7YTAqp

Air Quality Alerts Issued Across Broad Swath Of Pennsylvania

Stagnant weather patterns in recent days have caused high air pollution levels in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania and nearly all of the eastern half of the state, prompting health concerns and the issuance of air quality alerts that more commonly occur in the summer.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has declared Air Quality Action Day alerts due to high concentrations of airborne particles over a broad swath of the eastern half of Pennsylvania this week, and predicted lesser but still elevated air pollution levels for Pittsburgh and the southwestern corner of the state.

Eric Shirk, a DEP spokesman, said the high pollution readings have been caused by a stationary front that has controlled the state’s weather for most of the week.

“The winter tends to have much more wind, which prevents the stagnation of the often damp air,” he said. “When there is less or no wind, as has been the case in the past several days, it allows the moisture and particulate matter to build to a level that warrants an Air Quality Action Day.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2013/12/05/Air-quality-alerts-issued-across-broad-swath-of-Pa/stories/201312050220#ixzz2md5redaD

Maximus To Hire Hundreds In Jenkins Twp.

English: Map of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania higlighting Jenkins Township (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

JENKINS TWP. — A Virginia government contractor is expanding its operations in Northeastern Pennsylvania with a new service center in CenterPoint Trade Park East promising between 500 and 700 new jobs for the area.

Maximus, a company that provides support for health and human services at all levels of government, expects to occupy its new location sometime in January and will be accepting job applications for the next several months.

The company is filling seats to support its Medicare and Medicaid appeal review operations, which first appeared in the region last April at a smaller center in Moosic with about 100 employees. When Medicare and Medicaid determinations are appealed, Maximus provides an independent review service for those disputed claims. The new building represents Moosic’s expansion.

Modifications to a new building in CenterPoint, which is owned by Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services, are likely to be finished by the end of the week. The company plans to set up shop next month, according to Lisa Miles, Maximus’ vice president of investor relations and corporate communications.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/1030582/Maximus-to-hire-hundreds-in-Jenkins-Twp.

Six People Arrested On Drug Trafficking Charges

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

HANOVER TWP. — Two people were arrested after authorities allege they sold crack cocaine near a school and four others were picked up on heroin trafficking charges.

Egerton “Repo” Wood, 37, of Boland Avenue, Hanover Township, and Geovanni Henry Johnson, 32, of Horton Street, Wilkes-Barre, were arrested earlier this week on charges they sold crack cocaine within 1000 feet of the Hanover Area Memorial School on West Saint Marys Road.

Authorities allege they seized crack cocaine, marijuana, a scale and cash during the arrest and execution of a search warrant.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/1032802/Six-people-arrested-on-drug-trafficking-charges

Forget Obamacare: One In Four Americans Say They’ll Pay The Fine

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — The law of the land now goes as follows: either have healthcare insurance or pay a fine. Yet more than one in four Americans say they would rather pony up the penalty. A new Gallup poll reveals that 28% of those surveyed have no intention of signing up for health insurance, as required by the Affordable Care Act and will pay the fine instead.

The penalty in 2014 for remaining uninsured is $95 per adult and $47.50 per child or 1% of taxable income (up to $285 for a family), whichever is greater.

Fully 17% of U.S. adults currently do not have health insurance, according to Gallup. With the self-proclaimed holdouts who say they will refuse coverage, at least 5% of all U.S. adults will remain uninsured.

According to the nearly 4,000 interviews conducted with uninsured Americans since September, more than one quarter (26%) under the age of 30 say they are more likely to pay the fine, compared with 30% of those aged 30 and older.

Read more: http://business-news.thestreet.com/philly/story/forget-obamacare-one-four-americans-say-theyll-pay-the-fine/1

Stolen HVAC Units Could Stall Move-In For Pottstown Senior Center

POTTSTOWN, PA — After three HVAC units were stolen from the new Pottstown Area Senior Center, the proposed move-in date is now in doubt.

Brad Fuller, the executive director at the center, said the units were stolen some time between Sunday afternoon and early Monday morning from 288 Moser Road.

“The contractors discovered they were missing,” Fuller said.

As of right now, the center hopes to move its offices into the building on Dec. 20, but the stolen units were used to heat that portion of the building, Fuller said.

The center is currently using the Berean Bible Church as a temporary space during the transition from its old space at the YMCA at 724 N. Adams St.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/20131204/stolen-hvac-units-could-stall-move-in-for-senior-center

Pension Crisis About To Explode For Pennsylvania School Districts

School districts across Pennsylvania are getting news that’s unpleasant yet not unexpected.

The Public School Employees Retirement System, or PSERS, last week began sending notices to school districts that their pension costs will climb to 21.4 percent of payroll in the 2014-15 school year.

Even though that total could change a bit before it becomes official at an end-of-year meeting of the PSERS board, it gives a pretty good indication of what school districts are facing.

For historical context, the 21.4 percent figure is the highest rate since at least the 1950s — and it’s quite a jump from the 16.9 percent districts paid this year.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131204/pension-crisis-about-to-explode-for-pa-school-districts

Centre Park Rolls Out Welcome Mats For Christmas House Tour

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

Reading, PA – Doug and Dia Fell were decorating their home for the holidays last week. Some lights and garlands to highlight the staircase, a few of the long-used holiday ornaments from years past here and there and, of course, the festooned tree in the living room.

“It’s the usual stuff, nothing special,” Dia said, sounding calm and collected even though she’s expecting a throng of visitors this weekend.
She’s going to let the house speak for itself.

The Fell’s home in the 300 block of Douglass Street is one of the many scheduled stops on the self-guided tour of private residences and other buildings in the Centre Park Historic District.

The 29th Christmas House Tour and Champagne Brunch, to be held Sunday, is a major annual fundraiser for the preservation group in the city neighborhood of homes, many of which are more than a century old, surrounding the park in the 700 block of Centre Avenue.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article/20131205/WEEKEND/312059991#.UqC1w7B3uM8

18 From Berks Arrested, 8 More Sought On Drug Trafficking Charges

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

Eighteen mid- to low-level drug dealers were arrested Wednesday during a roundup by detectives from the district attorney’s drug task force, Reading police and the sheriff’s department.  In addition to those arrested, detectives have arrest warrants for eight others.

The arrests culminated a nearly yearlong investigation that began with complaints from residents and tips from informants, authorities said.

The suspects sold small amounts of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana to undercover detectives, authorities said.

Undercover detectives arranged transactions with the dealers for amounts ranging from $50 to $2,870 between January and this week, County Chief Detective Michael J. Gombar said.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article/20131205/NEWS/312059917#.UqCzmLB3uM8