Lehigh Valley Arts Box Office – Upcoming Performances

Lehigh Valley Arts Council
 Saturday, July 12 / 11:00 am: Behind the Scenes – Arts Alive 2014
 Friday, July 18 & 19 / 10:00 am: Audio Description Training

Moravian College Music Institute
 Saturday, June 28 / 7:30 pm: Rupert Boyd, Classical Guitar 

Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra
 Sunday, June 8 / 7:30 pm: Valley Vivaldi Series, Concert I
 Sunday, June 29 / 7:30 pm: Valley Vivaldi Series, Concert II
 Sunday, July 20 / 7:30 pm:Valley Vivaldi Series, Concert III

For more performances, visit www.LVArtsBoxOffice.org

Pottstown Residents Want Fireworks For Fourth Of July Celebration

POTTSTOWN — Historic re-enactments, a mini balloon festival, cook-offs, a beer tent, local musicians and, of course, fireworks.

Lots and lots of fireworks.
Memorial Day has arrived and thus, the unofficial arrival of the summer season.

Thoughts turn to barbecues, swimming pools and, of course, the Fourth of July.

Last month, we asked people for their thoughts on ways to improve, enhance and better fund Pottstown’s signature summer event and we thought the first unofficial day of summer would be a good day to let everyone know what suggestions we received.

Chief among them was a desire for the return of the fireworks.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130527/NEWS01/130529340/residents-want-fireworks-for-fourth-of-july-celebration#full_story

Lehigh Valley Unemployment Rate Spikes

he Lehigh Valley‘s unemployment rate spiked again in July as the number of people looking for work continues to grow faster than businesses add jobs.

The unemployment rate hit 8.8 percent in July, up from 8.5 percent in June, according to data released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor and Industry.  It is the second straight month the unemployment rate increased even though the number of Valley residents working grew.

A total of 395,300 Valley area residents had jobs in July, the highest that number has been since November 2008, just as the Great Recession was taking hold.  But the workforce is growing at a faster pace.

From May to July, 6,700 new workers entered the labor pool, but fewer than half of them — 3,200 — found jobs.  When the workforce grows faster than businesses add jobs, the unemployment rate goes up.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-lehigh-valley-jobs-july-20120828,0,386387.story

Discounts Back After Summer Restaurant Slump

Bigmac mcdonald’s japan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Restaurant discounts and special offers have returned after a recent sales cool-down at some of the nation’s hottest chains, a trend that threatens to squeeze industry profits at a time when food costs are set to rise.

U.S. consumers ate fewer Big Macs at McDonald’s Corp., skipped some caffeine runs to Starbucks Corp. and passed on the occasional burrito at Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. — sending a shiver through the investment community that has grown used to those chains posting strong growth in the face of the nation’s lackluster economic recovery.

McDonald’s on Wednesday vowed to focus more on value after reporting flat sales at established restaurants around the world in July — its worst showing in more than nine years.

Starbucks and Chipotle’s industry-leading same-restaurant sales growth decelerated last quarter, forcing both chains to make adjustments to reinforce their positions.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/chi-discounts-back-after-summer-restaurant-slump-20120810,0,212577.story

Economy Adds 163,000 Jobs; Rate Ticks Up

WASHINGTON – U.S. employers added 163,000 jobs in July, a hopeful sign after three months of sluggish hiring.

The Labor Department said today that the unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent in June.

July’s hiring was the best since February.  Still, the economy has added an average of 151,000 jobs a month this year, roughly the same as last year’s pace.  That’s not enough to satisfy the 12.8 million Americans who are unemployed.

The government uses two surveys to measure employment.  A survey of businesses showed job gains.  The unemployment rate comes from a survey of households, which showed fewer people had jobs.  Economists say the business survey is more reliable.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=405824

Consumer Sentiment Falls To 2012 Low

(Reuters) – Consumer sentiment fizzled in July, falling to its lowest level of the year, as Americans took a dim view of the employment situation and their income prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan‘s final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment fell to 72.3 from 73.2 in June. It was the second month in a row attitudes have soured and the lowest level since December.

But the level was a touch higher than economists’ expectations for it to be unchanged from July’s preliminary reading of 72.

“While consumers do not anticipate an economy-wide recessionary decline, they do not expect a pace of economic growth that could satisfactorily revive job and income prospects,” survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/27/us-usa-economy-sentiment-idUSBRE86Q0T620120727

Happy 4th Of July!

Summer 2012 Weather: A Variable Outlook

If you like variety, this will be the summer for you.

A few days of hot weather, followed by storm, then a few days of cooler weather. Repeat.

That could be what awaits us from June to August, based on several long-term forecasts.

“Maybe this is a summer where we don’t have long heat waves of a week or 10 days of 90 degrees,” said Millersville University meteorologist Eric Horst. “Instead, they come in smaller clusters, a couple of days in the 90s and then a front goes through and we get relief.”

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/644340_Summer-weather–A-variable-outlook.html