Pontoon Rentals Catching On With Recreational Boaters In Pittsburgh

In a city of stunning views, Jim Malanos might have found the best one yet.

“I go near The Point, drop an anchor, and read a newspaper or a book,” said Malanos, 61, of Brighton Heights. “Sitting there on the water, looking back at the town and the North Shore — it’s beautiful. There’s no traffic, it’s quiet; it’s just very relaxing. Best view in town.”

Malanos is a repeat customer at Boat Pittsburgh LLC, a pontoon rental startup at the James Sharp Landing boat launch in Sharpsburg.

Owner Nicole Moga started the business at the end of May. Though other rentals offer kayaks and canoes, Boat Pittsburgh fills a regional void by offering the larger pontoons, which seat 10.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/6373132-74/boat-pittsburgh-moga#ixzz36Vph7jut
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Richard Scaife, Conservative Champion, Newsman & Philanthropist, Dies

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

Tribune-Review owner and philanthropist Richard Mellon Scaife, whose vision and funding reinvigorated conservative politics in America, died Friday, July 4, in his home.

His death came just one day after his 82nd birthday.

Many of the nation’s leading conservatives considered him to be the man who sustained the Republican Party after its crushing defeat in the 1964 presidential election and the Watergate scandal in 1972.

His support for and promotion of a conservative agenda led to Ronald Reagan’s election as president in 1980 and the nation’s turn toward the principles those two men shared.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/6338603-74/scaife-dick-pittsburgh#ixzz36VmqdDyi
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Mountville Man, 21, Shot Outside Lancaster City McDonald’s

English: The mdonalds logo from the late 90s (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A man was wounded in a shooting Thursday night outside a Lancaster city McDonald’s.

The victim, a 21-year-old Mountville man, was shot in the lower torso about 6:45 p.m. outside McDonald’s at 575 N. Franklin St. by McCaskey High School, police reported.

A “verbal dispute” led to gunshots, according to city police.

The victim underwent surgery and is expected to be released from a local hospital sometime Friday, according to city police Det. Lt. Michael Winters.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/mountville-man-shot-outside-lancaster-city-mcdonald-s/article_681adb82-0304-11e4-b68a-001a4bcf6878.html

Man Shot After Asking Group Of People To Leave Wilkes-Barre Shopping Plaza

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

WILKES-BARRE, PA — A man hired to keep the parking lot clean at South Main Plaza was shot in the leg Thursday after he reportedly told people to leave the property

Jason Girton, who only knows the victim by his first name, Fletcher, said he spoke to the victim after he was shot.

Girton, of Mountain Top, said Fletcher was shot in the lower leg and was taken away by ambulance.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news-news/1510963/Man-shot-after-asking-group-to-leave-shopping-plaza

Northeastern Pa. Jobless Rate Falls

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WILKES-BARRE, PA – Following a recent pattern, the unemployment rate in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre market fell in May, but so did the number of people with jobs.

The 7.2 percent rate was down one-tenth of 1 percent from April and 1.9 percentage points from the May 2013 rate of 9.1 percent, the state Department of Labor and Industry said. But the region that includes Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming counties maintained the unenviable distinction of having the highest jobless rate in Pennsylvania.

Both the size of the labor force – people working or looking for work – and the number of people with jobs fell compared to April and over the year. So, while 6,100 fewer people were reported as unemployed than last May, some of them may have given up looking for work.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/business/1509561/Northeastern-Pa.-jobless-rate-falls

‘Pottstown Mercury’ Off the Presses July 3, 2014