Category Bucks County
Heat, Air Quality Alerts For Philly Area Friday
Heat and air quality alerts are in effect in the Philadelphia region Friday, as the area swelters on what’s likely to be the hottest day of the year so far.
Forecasters say high temperatures Friday are expected to reach the mid 90s, potentially flirting with the record for the date of 95 degrees and prompting some schools to announce early closings.
A National Weather Service heat advisory, in effect from noon through 8 p.m., says heat index values could reach 100 due to the warm temperatures and high humidity.
The most intense heat is expected between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20150613_Heat__air_quality_alerts_for_Philly_area_Friday.html#FVZOYskTSZBOl7FC.99
Which Philly-Area Municipalities Are Growing The Fastest?
Municipalities in Chester and Montgomery counties saw the biggest growth last year, while just four places in Camden County – including Camden City – added any residents at all.
That’s according to new Census Bureau data, released Thursday, that shows population gains and losses in communities across the country for the one-year period ending in July 2014.
Population figures for counties – including Philadelphia, which saw its population grow 0.27 percent to 1,560,297 residents during that time – were released earlier this spring.
The new data set lets every town, from the smallest boroughs to the largest cities, see how many residents it gained or lost.
Are These The 10 Best Philly Suburbs?
Editor’s note: No surprise that the future tourism mecca of Western Montgomery County is missing from the list. I guess mini-golf, carousels and train rides aren’t enough to propel a crime infested borough to the top of any great places to live list. Not sure why the cart is always put before the horse.
Real estate website Movoto.com has compiled a list of the 10 best Philly suburbs.
With nine towns in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey, the site ranked these towns based on many factors such as amenities per capita, standard of living, crime rate, and average commute time to Philly.
Coming in at number one is Devon, which the site says has the highest graduation rate, a median income of more than $142,000 per year, and is the “safest place for miles near Philadelphia.”
Six towns in Montgomery County made the list, while the rest were in Chester, Delaware and Camden counties.
Six Montgomery County Townships Ranked As Safest Places In Pennsylvania
Lower Salford Township, Franconia Township, Upper Gwynedd Township and Towamencin Township are among the safest municipalities in Pennsylvania, according to a real estate company that examined recent crime statistics in the state.
The 2015 edition of Movoto Real Estate’s annual “Safest Places in Pennsylvania” list names Lower Salford as the sixth-safest area, with Franconia at #15, Upper Gwynedd at #31, Upper Dublin at #36, Towamencin at #41 and Upper Providence (Montco) at #49.
Those rankings are based on numbers taken from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2013 Uniform Crime Report — the most recent statistics available — indicating the amount of murders, violent crimes and property crimes for places in Pennsylvania with populations over 10,000 that reported data to the FBI that year, according to Movoto.
“Malls Have Been A Dying Thing For Us”: Who’ll Replace RadioShack?
Radio Shack has been trying to close more than 1,000 of its 5,000 stores for the past year; its lenders are resisting; bankruptcy threatens.
Meantime other retailers are weighing whether Radio Shack sites — 29 in Philadelphia and its nearby suburbs, a total of 130 from Wilmington to Princeton, each about 2,000-2,700 sq ft — would make good lunch spots, phone stores, massage salons.
“We have a lease” to take over a Philadelphia-area Radio Shack — he won’t say which, it’s still open — and are negotiating for others in Boston, Atlanta, Miami, and Austin, Tex., Todd Leff, CEO of Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spas, a 200-store franchise chain based in Hamilton Township, N.J., told me. Hand and Stone says it has 35 locations in the Philadelphia area and South Jersey, and plans up to 15 more. Each store employs 30, including therapists and aestheticians for massage and skin care. Hour-long treatments cost $49-99.
Philadelphia Region Braces For More Snow
The Philadelphia area is preparing for another round of snow to hit during the night.
The snowfall would be the second the area has seen this week, an unusual occurrence in a winter that’s been nearly snow-free thus far.
The biggest threat appears to be hazardous driving conditions overnight, from around midnight through around 6 a.m. Saturday, with snow, ice and a wintry mix threatening to hit much of eastern Pennsylvania and non-coastal parts of New Jersey.
Transportation officials were gearing up for plowing and salting operations. PennDot was warning motorists that clearing roads during a storm was a time-consuming operation, and drivers should use caution.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150124_Philadelphia_region_braces_for_more_snow.html#oKKHbQdlhTVGVMZ0.99
Forecasters Warn Of Snow, Sleet In Philadelphia Area
The Philadelphia region could see periods of snow and sleet today, forecasters are warning.
The National Weather Service says a mix of rain, snow and sleet is likely for the area through early afternoon. The precipitation should then transition to rain and sleet and eventually just rain by late afternoon, the weather service said.
Any snow is most likely between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and less than an inch is expected. Any accumulation should be limited to grassy areas and non-paved surfaced. Sleet is most likely to hit the region from early to mid-afternoon.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Forecasters_warn_of_snow_sleet_in_Philadelphia_area.html#jEj9TFFifJJzifdS.99
Killings, Shootings, Crashes Mark Violent Weekend In Philadelphia Area
The weekend in the Philadelphia region was marked by a series of violent incidents, including shootings and car crashes that have left at least eight people dead since Friday night.
The deaths include two fatal shootings in Camden and three in Philadelphia, as well as two deadly traffic accidents in South Jersey and one in Bensalem.
Other violent incidents also added to the weekend mayhem, including the shooting of a Temple University student, two double shootings and a robber who threatened to give his victim AIDS.
In Camden, authorities are investigating two deadly shootings that occurred hours apart Sunday morning.
Central Bucks West Cancels Football Season Amid Hazing Allegations
Map of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Central Bucks School District has canceled the remainder of the Central Bucks West football season and both varsity and junior varsity coaches have been suspended due to allegations of hazing.
CBSD posted on its website the announcement and also the letter school district superintendent Dr. David P. Weitzel sent to parents and staff. CB West, which was 2-6 overall (1-4 in the Suburban One League Continental Conference) so far this season, had two games remaining on its schedule – a Homecoming contest Friday at War Memorial Field against Central Bucks East and a road game against William Tennent on Oct. 31.
“I recognize that this news will be disappointing and possibly upsetting, to many. However, based on all available, verified information gathered from an ongoing internal investigation into allegations of improper conduct by numerous Central Bucks West football team members, and the failure of the coaching staff to properly supervise activities, I believe this swift and firm action is absolutely necessary,” said Weitzel in his letter.
Amid Ridership Surge, SEPTA Trains Are Packed
English: personal photo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
SEPTA is shuffling equipment and workers to try to deal with chronic crowding problems on Regional Rail trains, as ridership rises and old cars and locomotives break down more frequently.
Even the 120 new Silverliner V cars that have arrived since 2010 to replace 73 old cars have not solved the overcrowding issue.
About 15 percent of SEPTA’s rail cars are out of service on any given day, while passenger counts are up 4 percent from last year and 50 percent from 15 years ago.
“The trains are so full that it’s even hard to find room to stand,” said Katrina Claghorn, a dietitian who commutes daily from Wayne to 30th Street Station. “It started getting bad over the summer, and now the trains are packed when they pull into 30th Street Station on the Paoli line.”
Why Philly Area Gets Slighted By ‘Best Places’ List
Two of Philadelphia’s bigger burbs got mentions in Money Magazine’s annually perplexing exercise titled “Best Places to Live.”
If that seems disappointing, know this: The fault lies not in ourselves. It’s a very limited list.
Overall, Bensalem, ranked at No. 43, was the only area municipality to make Money’s Top 50, which was led by not-exactly-famous McKinney, Texas; Maple Grove, Minn.; and Carmel, Ind., in that order.
Money lauded Bensalem’s “access to stunning state parks” and such leisure options as concerts at the TD Bank Amphitheater, gambling and racing at the Parx Casino and Racetrack, and shooting at the Philadelphia Gun Club, noting “the local job market benefits from the presence of Fortune 1000 company Charming Shoppes as well as Ibanez Guitars and Tama Drums.”
D.A.: Three To Be Charged In Center City Attack
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The District Attorney’s Office today approved arrest warrants for three suspects in the Sept. 11 attack on a gay couple near Rittenhouse Square.
Philip Williams, 24, Kevin Harrigan, 26, and Katherine Knott, 24, will be charged with two counts of aggravated assault and related offenses in the incident, District Attorney Seth Williams said.
All three reside in Bucks County.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/dncrime/DA-Three-to-be-charged-in-Center-City-attack.html#fE36qMxkaKpdqW1x.99
SEPTA Regional Rail Strike Begins; Corbett To Seek Federal Help
SEPTA logo with text (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
SEPTA railroad engineers and electrical workers went on strike early Saturday, halting commuter rail service in the Philadelphia region, after last-ditch efforts by federal mediators failed to break an impasse in the long-running labor dispute.
The strike shut down 13 Regional Rail lines that provide 60,000 passengers with 126,000 rides on a typical weekday. That promised to snarl already clogged highways with additional cars and to hamper commuters and their employers throughout the region.
Service on SEPTA’s buses, subways, trolleys and the Norristown High-Speed Line – which carry about 85 percent of SEPTA’s riders – were not affected.
Gov. Corbett was prepared to ask President Obama to quickly appoint a presidential emergency board to mediate the rail labor dispute. Under federal railroad law, the creation of such a board would compel the workers to return to the job for 240 days.
Gains And Losses In Philadelphia Region’s Population
A number of communities in the region’s Pennsylvania suburbs, notably in Chester and Montgomery Counties, grew substantially between April 2010 and July 2013, Census Bureau population estimates released Thursday show.
In Chester County, there were noteworthy upticks in municipalities such as Malvern, West Chester, East Brandywine, and West Goshen, and the same was true in Chester/Delaware County border towns such as Bethel and Chadds Ford. In central Montgomery County, Upper Hanover, Towamencin, and Salford were among the burgeoning towns.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia remained the fifth-largest U.S. city, with a population estimated at 1.553 million through July 2013, an increase of just over 27,000 from April 2010. It was the seventh year in a row of population growth, the census data showed.
(Population estimates for neighborhoods within the city limits will not be available until December.)
Philadelphia-Area Municipalities Gaining, Losing Residents Fastest
The U.S. Census Bureau released new data today, showing the “subcounty” population figures for the year that ended July 1, 2013. That means every municipality in the country, no matter how small, can see how many residents it gained or lost in that period.
Census figures for counties and metro areas were released earlier this spring, with Philadelphia’s population standing at 1,553,165 residents, a 0.29-percent increase from the previous year.
The new numbers show which municipalities in the area gained or lost residents at the fastest rates between July 2012 and July 2013, and since the 2010 Census.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillylists/Philadelphia-area-municipalities-gaining-losing-residents-fastest.html
Widespread Flooding Submerges Cars, Causes Major Commute Problems
The logo of the United States National Weather Service. The source page states that is not an “official” version but it looks very close to the version used on NWS’s website. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Rain that pounded the Philadelphia region last night and into this morning left widespread flooding that stranded motorists and caused the shutdown of major routes from the western suburbs to South Jersey.
The National Weather Service said around 5 inches fell in most parts of the area, with some places seeing a bit more, such as the 6.56 inches recorded in Spring City, Chester County.
A weather service flood warning is in effect until 12:45 p.m. Authorities are warning that the flood situation is dangerous in many areas as motorists continued to underestimate the severity. Rescue crews were busy throughout the night rescuing stranded drivers.
Even though the flooding had started to recede, crews were still busy rescuing people this morning.
April Showers Swamp Region, Trigger Flooding
The rains came heavy Tuesday into Wednesday as if all those metaphorical April showers waited until the last day of the month to show up.
It all started when a low-pressure front slinked into the region Tuesday and started dumping rain into the area to the point that by 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, a United States Geological Survey rain gauge along the Schuylkill River had recorded nearly 5 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.
And, as you might expect, the result was creeks bursting their banks — along with the Schuylkill River they ultimately feed — and flooded roads, and then trapping some motorists on those roads after they tried to drive through the water.
One of at least four “water rescues” in the area occurred on Bethel Church Road in East Coventry when a small blue sedan stalled in a deep swell of water on the road.
Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140430/april-showers-swamp-region-trigger-flooding
Bucks Entrepreneur’s Raw Foods Flying Off The Shelves
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Bucks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
With annual sales of his raw-foods snacks closing in on $20 million and investment experts suggesting that could rise to at least $100 million in the not-too-distant future, Doylestown-based organi-preneur Brad Gruno’s lesson is indisputable:
Mothers have been on to something all along with their “Eat your vegetables!” harping.
Gruno was smart enough to build a business off it – one that started in 2009 with a sales table at a Bucks County farmers’ market and now has shelf space in major markets such as Whole Foods and Wegmans and many specialty grocers.
His Brad’s Raw Foods product line has expanded from raw tortilla chips made of a dehydrated mixture of fresh vegetables, flaxseed, and buckwheat groats to include seasoned sprouted seeds, dried onion rings, and what is now responsible for 70 percent of sales: six flavors of crunchy kale.
Ex-Dublin Bank Manager Admits Ripping Seniors Off For $547K
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Bucks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A former bank manager’s claim that he couldn’t remember how he spent more than $547,000 that he’d stolen from elderly customers didn’t sit well with a Bucks County judge in Doylestown Monday.
Joseph G. Policare, 58, of Quakertown told Judge Jeffrey Finley he didn’t buy anything expensive or memorable with the cash, which he stole over 10 years.
“I was living a dream, what I thought to be a modest life,” Policare said. “Just not being the person I should be.”
Finley wasn’t satisfied. He pressed Policare, saying he couldn’t accept his explanation.
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