Judge OKs Sale Of Wilson Center; Hotel Feasibility Study To Begin

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

An Allegheny County judge on Tuesday approved the sale of the debt-ridden August Wilson Center for African American Culture to a New York-based company.

Common Pleas Judge Lawrence J. O’Toole agreed that 980 Liberty Partners will have 60 days to perform an engineering study to determine the feasibility of building a hotel atop the center and 10 days to show proof that it has the money to close on the sale.

The judge scheduled a status conference for June 9 and did not rule on pending objections.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/6182390-74/center-980-judge#ixzz32xdSjjBn
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Hot Rod Stamps To Be Unveiled In York During Street Rods Event

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

The street rods are returning to York in June, and this year’s event will include two new car-themed stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and Barry Meguiar, host of the TV show “Car Crazy,” will be in York to unveil the Forever stamps at 11 a.m. June 6 as part of the 41st annual Street Rod Nationals East Plus at the York Expo Center.

The stamps feature two views of the classic 1932 Ford Deuce roadster. The car is notable because it marked the first time Ford used an eight-cylinder engine, the flathead V8, said Jerry Kennedy, special events director for the National Street Rod Association. Previous Ford models used a four-cylinder engine.

Read more:  http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_25843732/u-s-postal-service-unveil-hot-rod-stamps

After Decades, Dirty Indiana County Power Plant To Get Clean

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

(AP) Three years ago, the operators of one of the nation’s dirtiest coal-fired power plants warned of “immediate and devastating” consequences from the Obama administration’s push to clean up pollution from coal.

Faced with cutting sulfur dioxide pollution blowing into downwind states by 80 percent in less than a year, lawyers for EME Homer City Generation L.P. sued the Environmental Protection Agency to block the rule, saying it would cause it grave harm and bring a painful spike in electricity bills.

None of those dire predictions came to pass.

Instead, the massive western Pennsylvania power plant is expected in a few years to turn from one of the worst polluters in the country to a model for how coal-fired power plants can slash pollution.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/appanews/531925697423954165349272/After-decades-dirty-power-plant-to-get-clean

How VA Clinics Falsified Appointment Records

WASHINGTON — Fake appointments, unofficial logs kept on the sly and appointments made without telling the patient are among tricks used to disguise delays in seeing and treating veterans at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics.

They’re not a new phenomenon. VA officials, veteran service organizations and members of Congress have known about them for years.

The “gaming strategies” were used to make it appear veterans were getting appointments within target times set by the department, according to a 2010 department memo to VA facility managers aimed at fighting the practices.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news-news/1424666/How-VA-clinics-falsified-appointment-records

Home Values In Philadelphia Region Tumble, Analysis Shows

Full recovery continued to elude the Philadelphia region’s residential real estate market in the first quarter of this year, as the value of a typical home fell 4.9 percent from the last three months of 2013.

University of Pennsylvania economist Kevin Gillen, who analyzed data from 11 area counties for Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach, said Tuesday that with the latest decline, average house prices in the region are “barely above the post-bubble bottom they hit two years ago.”

While sales of 11,000 houses regionally was 10 percent above the same quarter of 2013, the numbers are 41 percent below what Gillen considers the “normal historic average.”

Suburban price declines were greater than the city’s during the quarter – 5.3 percent versus 4 percent, Gillen said.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/classifieds/real_estate/20140528_Home_values_in_region_tumble__analysis_shows.html#xlQrIJ1HYPRfOJyx.99

Businessman Lewis Katz Buying Philadelphia Newspapers

The Philadelphia Inquirer-Daily News Building in Philadelphia, PA. Taken from North Broad and Callowhill Streets. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Businessman Lewis Katz and philanthropist H.G. “Gerry” Lenfest will take over Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers from their partners with an $88 million auction bid.

Katz and another businessman, George Norcross, had bought The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philly.com news website for $55 million in 2012. But they began feuding and competed to take control at Tuesday’s auction.

Katz made his fortune investing in the Kinney Parking empire and the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network in New York. He supports the investigative reporting favored by current Inquirer editor Bill Marimow.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/business/20140527/businessman-lewis-katz-buying-philadelphia-newspapers

Pottstown Area Industrial Development, Inc. Debuts New E-Zine In Collaboration With Major Borough Stakeholders

 

WELCOME TO MOMENTUM, a quarterly publication from Partners for Success, a collaborative of organizations with the common objective of celebrating the stories that make us proud of Pottstown. We salute the residents, business owners, and other stakeholders making Pottstown better every day. In Momentum, you’ll discover stories about business development; recreation and healthy lifestyles; education; and arts and culture.

Founding Partners

• Borough of Pottstown
• Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation
• Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority
• Pottstown School District
• TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce
• Montgomery County Community College
• Pottstown Area Industrial Development
• Pottstown Memorial Medical Center
• The Hill School

To read the first edition, click here:  http://www.paidinc.org/momentum.php

Scroll down to Latest Edition:  Spring 2014 – Download (PDF file)

 

To visit PAID’s website, click here:  http://www.paidinc.org/

 

We give two Roy’s Rants thumbs up for the collaboration between stakeholders and for getting serious about marketing Pottstown to potential businesses and investors.  This is a welcome step forward!