Gallup: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Well-Being Could Be Worse, But Not Much

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton area’s overall well-being could be worse, but not much.

The metropolitan area ranked 94th overall out of 100 communities in the U.S. in Gallup opinion poll “State of American Well-Being: 2014 Community Well-Being Rankings.”

The survey issued Tuesday compares how people feel about and experience their daily lives in five areas:

■ Purpose: Liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goal.

■ Social: Having supportive relationships and love in your life.

Read more:

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/gallup-scranton-wb-well-being-could-be-worse-but-not-much-1.1860711

Ashland Christmas Tree Returns After Two Years

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

ASHLAND, PA — It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in downtown Ashland with the return of the borough tree during the weekend.

The tree was not placed for the past two holidays due to safety concerns after high wind caused two trees to fall — fortunately, without injuries.

The tree placement is sponsored by the Ashland Rotary Club.

The Christmas tree is a major part of the holiday décor of the downtown, joining the many lighted decorations and Christmas banners placed by the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Christmas tree project, along with the annual Santa Claus visit and parade, was a long-standing tradition of the Ashland Kiwanis Club. When the Kiwanis disbanded in 2007, the Rotary club picked up the tree and parade projects.

Read more: http://republicanherald.com/news/ashland-christmas-tree-returns-after-two-years-1.1792596

Coming This Week: A Special Report On Columbia’s Public Schools

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

Editor’s note:  I hope folks from the Pottstown School District follow this story.  It’s a smaller version of Pottstown with many of the same issues!

Columbia’s public schools will reopen in late August, reverberating again with the clamor of children.

But overshadowing the back-to-school routine will be difficult questions.

Columbia is a tiny, high-poverty school district struggling to prepare kids for our fast-changing, technology-driven world.

The single-municipality district has the weakest tax base in Lancaster County and the second-highest proportion of needy children. Its taxes are the county’s highest and salaries the lowest. It has too many dropouts. Test scores are abysmal.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/coming-this-week-a-special-report-on-columbia-s-public/article_a2e62f5a-faf3-11e3-83c4-001a4bcf6878.html