Reading Worries About Crumbling Retaining Wall, Stability Of Pagoda

Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer said he doesn’t want to be remembered as the man who was mayor when the Pagoda tumbled down Mount Penn into City Park.

But among the myriad financial problems the city faces is the fact that a section of the retaining wall supporting the foundation of the city landmark has collapsed, and more of the wall is in danger of crumbling.

If the wall goes, the Pagoda could be next.

“It’s a serious problem because that is the foundation wall and a large piece of it is gone,” Spencer said. “Once you get that kind of erosion going it’s hard to stop.”

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=519038

Reading Teen Lied About Fight Details, Police Say

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

A 17-year-old Reading boy who told police he was attacked by a crowd of youths and nearly hit with a hammer during an after-school melee last week lied about the incident, according to city detectives.

The youth was at least truthful about one part of his story: He was surrounded in City Park by a large group of youths, some of whom carried wooden boards. A video that someone posted to YouTube, however, clearly showed that the crowd was actually cheering on him and another youth as they squared off and then fought, said Sgt. John M. Solecki of the criminal investigations division.

The boy had told officers who arrived and found him bloodied on the ground with an injured left shoulder that he entered the crowd to find his cousin, only to be pulled down, punched and kicked.

“As city police investigated, video footage was found that showed he and another youth were the initial combatants in a mutually agreed-upon fistfight, and during the fistfight he injured his shoulder,” Solecki said.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=465325

Treasure Hunters Take Over Downtown Reading

Downtown Reading, Pennsylvania; with Berks County courthouse on left; July 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fourteen teams with names like The Mad House, Lady Berks and The Lucky Stars did a fast-walking search for treasure up and down Penn Street on Saturday afternoon, looking through stores, talking to total strangers and peering into restaurants.

The organizers, the Downtown Improvement District, hoped the participants would find that Penn Street itself is the treasure.

The is DID’s second year for the Downtown Reading Treasure Hunt, and with 87 people on the teams, including six groups returning from last year, there were double the participants.

“Our goal is to introduce people to downtown Reading who would not normally come down here,” said Charles R. Broad, DID executive director. “People get amazed at the kind of things they find here.”

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=384488