Nominations Sought For 2015 Teaching Excellence Award

Blue Bell/Pottstown/Lansdale, Pa.—To recognize and honor exceptional teaching, Montgomery County Community College’s (MCCC) Office of Academic Affairs invites students, faculty, alumni and interested community members to submit nominations for its 2015 Teaching Excellence Award.

The Teaching Excellence Award annually recognizes an MCCC faculty member whose teaching is intellectually stimulating and accessible for all students and who demonstrates a commitment to the well-being of students both inside and outside of the classroom. Nominees must be current, full-time faculty members in good standing to be eligible.

Nominations may be submitted online at surveymonkey.com/s/MCCCTeachingAward. Nominations are vetted by a faculty committee comprised primarily of past award recipients. The committee then forwards its recommendation to the vice president of academic affairs and provost, and then to the president. The winner will be announced during MCCC’s 2015 Commencement ceremony on May 21.

This year’s award is sponsored by the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation, which annually recognizes outstanding faculty from 52 Pennsylvania and New Jersey colleges and universities with its Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.

At MCCC, the Lindback Award is given on alternating years with the Pearlstine Award for Teaching Excellence, named in honor of founding MCCC Trustee Gladys Pearlstine. Seventeen total awards have been presented to outstanding faculty since 1998. To view a full list of past recipients, visit mc3.edu/academics/faculty/teach-award.

Pittsburgh To Participate In Federal Program To Improve Police-Community Relations

The Justice Department picked Pittsburgh and five other cities as sites for a pilot program intended to test police-community relations strategies and policies, the agency said Thursday.

The agency chose the sites based on factors that include the applicants’ willingness to try ideas and their ability to collect data that would provide a scientific evaluation of methods.

U.S. Attorney David Hickton and Mayor Bill Peduto scheduled a news conference for Friday to discuss Pittsburgh’s role in the initiative.

Pittsburgh applied to become a pilot site, and police Chief Cameron McLay is excited about the opportunity, said Public Safety Department spokeswoman Sonya Toler.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/7958736-74/justice-community-pittsburgh#ixzz3UHoI1PeH
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Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Kicks Off At 10 a.m. On Saturday

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Pittsburgh has its good days, like the 70-degree beauty in 2012, and it’s bad ones, the blizzard of 1993, but one thing is certain: It’s going to happen either way.

The parade, which started in 1864 and has run consecutively since 1950, will step off near the Greyhound station on Liberty Avenue and make its way to the Post-Gazette building on Saturday with nearly 200 marching units, including bands, floats, politicians and groups from Irish and other ethnic communities.

After all, everyone is Irish at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

This year’s grand marshal is Martin Madigan of Hampton, a founding member of the Irish Society for Education and Charities, former Pennsylvania State president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and retiree from the Allegheny County Register of Wills Office.

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/life/holidays/2015/03/12/St-Patrick-s-Day-Parade-kicks-off-at-10-a-m-on-Saturday/stories/201503120040

Irish Music, Dancing, Oysters Highlight York St. Patrick’s Day Parade

The oversized oyster that rang in 2015 for West York is making a re-appearance at the York St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

York Fish & Oyster Co.’s first-ever entry is designed as an oyster bar, and leprechauns will shuck raw oysters on the float, said Jenn Emig, who co-owns the West York business with her husband, Steve.

After the parade, the company will head to Waterway Bar & Grill and sell about five different oyster dishes — complete with green horseradish, she said.

“St. Patrick’s Day is the day to have fun,” Emig said.

Read more:

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_27705319/irish-music-dancing-oysters-highlight-york-st-patricks

John Legend Coming To County For Lancaster Chamber’s Annual Dinner

International singing and songwriting star John Legend will be the keynote speaker at The Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s 143rd annual dinner, the chamber said Friday.

The event will be held Wednesday, May 27 at the Lancaster County Convention Center from 5 to 9 p.m.

Legend will talk about the importance of giving back to the community, including his own effort to support quality education, the Show Me Campaign, which focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Read more:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/john-legend-coming-to-county-for-lancaster-chamber-s-annual/article_597dd510-c970-11e4-b34f-bf4cb1108a76.html

NEPA’s St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Means Fun For Residents, More Work For Police

WILKES-BARRE, PA — St. Patrick’s Day is upon Northeastern Pennsylvania, which will include a weekend of parades and other festivities.

For law enforcement, it will mean more work than usual.

Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano was among the officials at a news conference held at the Lackawanna County Courthouse this week. Officials encouraged residents to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day safely and responsibly.

“As everybody knows, it’s no secret that that’s the biggest alcohol consumption day — at least in the city — is St. Patrick’s Day Parade day,” Graziano said.

Read more:

http://www.timesleader.com/news/home_top-local-news/152319939/

Bethlehem In Line For 300 New Manufacturing Jobs At Newly Approved Facilities

Two new manufacturing facilities with a likely 300 total jobs will soon be opening in Bethlehem.

The Bethlehem Planning Commission on Thursday approved two new mixed-use manufacturing and office buildings on former Bethlehem Steel Corp. land within Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII.

Fountain Hill-based Reeb Millwork will occupy one of the facilities, a 175,000-square-foot building on Gilchrist Drive, a new road off Commerce Center Boulevard. Reeb’s new Bethlehem facility will be in addition to its current Brighton Street building, but the company plans to consolidate all operations there in the future when an expansion is built, said Ed Detmer, Reeb’s vice president of corporate development.

Read more:

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2015/03/bethlehem_in_line_for_300_new.html

Solar Looks For A Sunny Outlook In Pennsylvania

SolarCity Corp., the nation’s largest rooftop photovoltaic developer, is hoping a new day is dawning for solar in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

The San Mateo, Calif., company announced Thursday a bundle of new financing options aimed at customers in the Peco Energy Co. service territory. SolarCity and its competitors typically install their systems on customers’ roofs for no money down.

The campaign is aimed at reversing the shrinkage in the Pennsylvania solar market, which went into hibernation after 2011, when federal and state incentives dwindled.

“We have a few hundred customers in Pennsylvania, but it’s been slow to develop over time,” said Leon Keshishian, SolarCity’s regional vice president.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150313_Solar_looks_for_a_sunny_outlook_in_Pa_.html#lSQXTxsBwMKzL3DW.99

Phoenixville Borough Council Targets Crime On Bridge Street

PHOENIXVILLE, PA – After a recent increase in crime along Bridge Street, borough officials, residents and business owners say they’ve had enough and are searching for solutions.

During Tuesday night’s borough council meeting, Councilman Michael Kuznar added his voice to the growing number of people concerned about the borough’s safety. A recent armed robbery at the Save More Discount Center on Bridge Street and bricks thrown at two businesses were examples he used that something needs to be done.

“Since Jan. 1, Bridge Street has had over 900 calls to dispatch,” Kuznar said. “That’s a lot for just one street.”

Residents complained about “shady activity” at the Children’s Plaza at Bridge and Banks streets, too.

Read more:

http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20150313/phoenixville-borough-council-targets-crime-on-bridge-street