Judge Gives South Hills Landlord 30 Days For Tenant Relocation Proposal

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

A landlord facing an avalanche of building and health code violations for a row of town houses and a neighboring apartment complex in Carrick will have until the end of the month to clear out the remaining tenants before his next appearance in front of a local judge.

Davin Gartley of Mt. Lebanon has been cited repeatedly since October for problems related to lead paint, sewage, trash, lack of running water and more.

The continuance Magisterial District Judge Richard G. King granted June 26 required Mr. Gartley to come up with a “good faith” relocation plan for the tenants living in three apartment buildings at 2531-2539 Brownsville Road in exchange for the possibility of reduced fines, said Jim Thompson, deputy director of environmental health for the Allegheny County Health Department.

“We were surprised. This has been a long, ongoing case,” Mr. Thompson said. “Granting another 30 days, with this landlord being so difficult, we’re not sure exactly what that will accomplish.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2014/07/14/Judge-gives-South-Hills-landlord-30-days-for-tenant-relocation-proposal/stories/201407140044#ixzz37SYJI2Nh

Parts Of Atlantic City Boardwalk Collapse, Water Rushes In

Atlantic City (NJ) – The boardwalk in a rainy day (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hours before a strenthening Hurricane Sandy was set to strike, Atlantic City was already getting battered so badly that chunks of the boardwalk were being ripped away by the strong surge.

Some residents who had not evacuated or sought out a shelter were beginning to panic.  Major streets were flooded.  Early on, a section of boardwalk already in disrepair gave way.  But other sections followed.

An 80 foot section of the Boardwalk at Atlantic Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue in Atlantic City was destroyed by the pounding surf.  All that remained was a pile of wood and rubble, according to an Atlantic City Public Works employee.

Most of the damage early on was toward the inlet. By 11 a.m., waves were seen crashing over the boardwalk, with big sections gone missing.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20121029_Part_of_famed_A_C__Boardwalk_on_verge_of_collapse.html

Kane, Pennsylvania Being Evacuated After Butane Truck Overturns On Route 6

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

An overturned tanker truck hauling butane has overturned in a northwestern Pennsylvania community where residents within a half-mile radius of the accident are being evacuated Wednesday morning.

A civil emergency message sent out at 5:42 a.m. through the National Weather Service‘s State College Bureau says the truck overturned on Route 6 in the borough of Kane in McKean County. The exact location of the spill is at Greeves Street and Fraley Street, which is Route 6 and near the junctions with Routes 321 and 66.

About half of the 1.6-square-mile borough of about 3,700 residents was being evacuated. Kane is located about 100 miles southeast of Erie and 100 miles northwest of State College.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-pennsylvania-evacuation-butane-truck-birds-dead-20120829,0,3425805.story

Underground Centralia Fire Still Burning After 50 Years

Higher resolution photograph of the Route 61 crack, in Centralia PA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CENTRALIA, Pa.  – Fifty years ago on Sunday, a fire at the town dump ignited an exposed coal seam, setting off a chain of events that eventually led to the demolition of nearly every building in Centralia – a whole community of 1,400 simply gone.

All these decades later, the Centralia fire still burns in Columbia County. It also maintains its grip on the popular imagination, drawing visitors from around the world who gawk at twisted, buckled Route 61, at the sulfurous steam rising intermittently from ground that’s warm to the touch, at the empty, lonely streets where nature has reclaimed what coal-industry money once built.

It’s a macabre story that has long provided fodder for books, movies and plays – the latest one debuting in March at a theater in New York.

Yet to the handful of residents who still occupy Centralia, who keep their houses tidy and their lawns mowed, this borough in the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania is no sideshow attraction. It’s home, and they’d like to keep it that way.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=389185

Susquehanna River At Wilkes-Barre To Approach Agnes Levels

If the projection for the Susquehanna River at Wilkes-Barre to crest at 38.5 feet comes to pass, it will be the highest river level since Hurricane Agnes which crested at 40.91 feet in 1972.

Fortunately, since Hurricane Agnes, most the area is protected by a dike system that keeps water out of a significant portion of the flood plain.  The dike is good up to 41 feet for most of the Wyoming Valley.  However, a number of low-lying areas are already being evacuated.  The flood gates on the Market Street bridge are being installed tonight.

The Jersey Shore Under Mandatory Evacuation

Image via Wikipedia

New Jersey’s popular seaside destinations are normally full of tourists this time of year.  Hundreds of thousands of people swell the population along the New Jersey coastline in the summer.  Right now residents and tourists are being told they must leave because Hurricane Irene is expected to cause major damage and flooding along the coast.

Tolls were suspended on the Atlantic City Expressway to move people away from the shore points as quickly as possible.  The Atlantic City Expressway is the fastest way north and west toward Philadelphia from many beach resorts.  Some state roads are closed to southbound traffic so all lanes can be used by northbound traffic.  Eastbound Route 72 will be shut down tonight so that all lanes can be used to move people off Long Beach Island.

Cape May, the Wildwoods, Ocean City, Atlantic City hotels and casinos, Long Beach Island and everything in between is emptying out.  Governor Christie declared a state of emergency yesterday.