Mosaic Community Gardens Are THRIVING!‏

POTTSTOWN, PA – This Saturday (August 22), Mosaic will roll out its produce stand…offering up some of the season’s best vegetables!  Tomatoes, potatoes, squash, pepper (sweet and hot), eggplant and sweet potatoes will be offered from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.  We will have other surprise offerings for sale on the stand that afternoon.  Please plan to pay us a visit before running your errands or buying from a big chain superstore!

That said, we need donations from gardeners…if you have more produce than you can pick (or eat) please let us know.  We will gladly accept your donations to sell on our produce cart this Saturday!  We will be at the gardens throughout Friday afternoon harvesting for weekend sales.  Please email me if you would like to donate vegetables (grown at your home or the community gardens) to a worthy cause!

In partnership with National Penn Bank and Genesis Housing, Mosaic is set to host another Movie Night at the Chestnut Street Park! KOOKOO the Cartoon Magician will begin the event with a magic show at 7:30 PM that day!  We have a great night planned and EVERYONE is invited!

Mosaic’s Summer Enrichment Program ended with a bang!

80 students ranging from 5-17 years old attended camp and learned more about gardening, nutrition, arts/culture, music and physical activity as each relates to different regions of the world.  In each weekly program, we chose age-appropriate instruction in African-American, Latin, Native American and Caribbean cultures.  The children retained more information from week to week using this well-rounded approach to learning.  They formed “families” and made delicious meals together, played musical instruments some had never seen or played before, harvested items from the gardens that related to the week’s teaching and made instruments specific to each culture using recycled materials.

The summer program ended with an appreciation ice cream social at the high school to celebrate their volunteer efforts at each of the gardens and the local park, and a field trip to the Althouse Arboretum for the younger students was provided…the campers went on an hour-long trail walk/scavenger hunt while learning the reason why arboretums exist.  Some of the students said that having an arboretum in our own back yards is super-cool!

It was a great summer, thanks to all those who volunteered during the program!  A special thanks to our partners and supporters, ArtFusion, Olivet’s Boys and Girls Club, STRIVE Initiative, the Pottstown Athletic Club, Genesis Housing and Penn National Bank!

Mosaic is looking to celebrate the fall season by hosting a fall cleanup potluck social at the gardens!  We will be looking for families to come out, clean up and prepare our gardens for the winter season.  Create your best potluck recipe for this special event! “Bee” on the look-out for more information in an upcoming email…coming in September!

National Night Out In Pottstown

See ‘Frozen’ For Free In Pottstown This Saturday

National Night Out In Pottstown

A Tale Of Two Improvement Zones

ALLENTOWN, PA — In the center of this city’s downtown is a Civil War monument complete with a sailor, artilleryman, infantryman and a cavalry soldier.

It is very similar to the one in Lancaster’s Penn Square, but larger.

That’s fitting for a city with twice the population and twice the land area as Lancaster.

And for a city that has experienced proportionally larger swings of fortune.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/a-tale-of-two-improvement-zones/article_f8de6fa0-f277-11e3-8f19-0017a43b2370.html

Pottstown Police Changing Tactics To Solve Recent Robberies

Editor’s note:  This picture is the reason Pottstown has such a high crime rate.  Get rid of the drug baggies and you’ll see a big drop in burglary and robbery.  The guy that was arrested for the National Penn Bank robberies was reported to be high on heroin.  Drug addicts have to resort to stealing to support their habits.  And “feverishly” should be the modus operandi until Pottstown is cleaned up.

POTTSTOWN, PA — After six robberies in 20 days, the Pottstown Police Department is working “feverishly” to solve the crimes and work to prevent more, Police Chief Richard Drumheller said.

“I can tell you that we are working on it. I would say feverishly,” Drumheller said Monday. “Obviously we have someone out there right now that is robbing our community and that is extremely unnerving for the residents and we understand that. We are doing a rash of things to try and solve the problem.”

Drumheller did not disclose exact details related to the investigations.

“I can tell you it is a lot of directed patrols at certain areas, at certain time frames. We’ve done a lot of homework on that and we have plotted out some things and we are trying to use the data available to us to our advantage to try and capture (the suspects),” Drumheller said.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20130924/pottstown-police-changing-tactics-to-solve-recent-robberies

Pottstown Man Charged With Robbing High Street Bank Twice In One Month

LOWER POTTSGROVE TOWNSHIP, PA — The man accused of robbing the National Penn Bank on East High Street in Pottstown made his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon.

Christopher Lee Blount, 37, of Pottstown, was charged with two counts of felony robbery, two counts of felony conspiracy to commit robbery and multiple misdemeanors, according to court paperwork.

Blount, who was arrested Tuesday night, appeared in court wearing a light blue paper jumpsuit and black flip-flops.

A former employee at Jake’s Wayback Burger, Blount had the same mode of operation for both bank robberies, police said.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20130919/pottstown-man-charged-with-robbing-high-street-bank-twice-in-one-month

Pottstown National Penn Bank Robbed Again

Location of Pottstown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Just another day in delusional paradise for Pottstown’s leadership who think there isn’t a crime problem.

POTTSTOWN, PA — Police are investigating a bank robbery which allegedly occurred late Tuesday afternoon

The National Penn Bank branch at the intersection of East High and North Franklin streets closed around 4 p.m. after it was reportedly robbed.

An active investigation was ongoing around 5 p.m. and Pottstown Police did not divulge a suspect or a description.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20130917/pottstown-national-penn-bank-robbed-again

UPDATED: Pottstown Police Seek Bank Robbery Suspect

Location of Pottstown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

POTTSTOWN — A man reportedly attempted to rob the National Penn Bank branch at the intersection of High and Franklin streets Friday afternoon.

Approximately 10 police officers responded to the bank around 3:45 p.m. after the suspect fled down South Franklin Street.

Some officers were interviewing bank employees and any witnesses inside the bank, while others walked around the block talking to residents who were standing near the scene.

According to Montgomery County Emergency Dispatch, the suspect was a white male in his 30s wearing a brown, hooded sweatshirt.  The sweatshirt may have had some kind of a logo on its back, police believe.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130830/NEWS01/130839914/updated-pottstown-police-seek-bank-robbery-suspect

Pottstown Community Garden Taking Root In Second Site

POTTSTOWN — Say goodbye to the crumbling eyesore, say hello to Pottstown’s second community garden.

The continuing efforts by the Mosaic Community Land Trust to transform falling-down buildings and lots into productive assets took another step forward this week with the demolition of 615 Chestnut St.; the vacant site of a former neighborhood store will soon become a place where local residents can grow food for their tables and flowers for their enjoyment.

The property was owned for several years “by a fellow down in Philadelphia who eventually gave up on owning the property because he didn’t want to have to pay to demolish it, so he donated it to the land trust,” said David Jackson, chairman of the land trust’s board of directors.

That leverage, he said, was the result of pressure from the borough codes department, which cited the property repeatedly for violations.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130610/NEWS01/130609277/pottstown-community-garden-taking-root-in-second-site

Building Boom Resumes In Towamencin Township

Location of Towamencin Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From the curved pedestrian bridge Towamencin Township built over the crossroads village of Kulpsville, you can see the next suburban boomtown rising.

It’s taken long enough, says Robert Nicoletti, 82, who bought ground there in 1958.

From the bridge, against a backdrop of the behind-schedule Pennsylvania Turnpike widening at the nearby Lansdale exit, you can watch crews build the four-story Bridgeview apartment complex, which will start renting next month; the thick concrete core of a six-story Courtyard by Marriott hotel, due in the fall;, and the Culinary Arts Institute of Montgomery County Community College, which will enroll its first students in the spring.  Farther north stands ball-bearing maker SKF Corp.’s U.S. headquarters, certified “platinum” by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The apartments, hotel, cooking school, and corporate headquarters all are the work of Nicoletti’s Philadelphia Suburban Development Corp., better known in the city as a major landlord of parole and welfare offices and other state agencies, as well as a South Philly site proposed by Penn National Corp. for a casino.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20130311_Building_boom_resumes_in_Towamencin.html#ixzz2NF5kBdso
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National Penn Bank Moving Headquarters To Allentown

English: City of Allentown from east side (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Boyertown, PA – National Penn Bancshares Inc., the holding company that operates National Penn Bank, will move its corporate headquarters from Boyertown to Allentown and will build a new facility on Broadcasting Road in Spring Township, according to a company statement released this morning.

The new headquarters will be at Seventh and Hamilton streets in downtown Allentown, a Neighborhood Improvement Zone, and will house about 275 employees. It is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2014.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/Article.aspx?id=421290

Legal Stalemate Over, Allentown Racing To Build Hockey Arena

The PPL Building (seen here in the distance) is the tallest building in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With suburban communities poised to withdraw the lawsuits that have halted Allentown‘s $220 million arena project, the city appears to be left with one big question: Can it build the arena fast enough?

The project is months behind schedule and city officials are scrambling to find ways to make up lost time, including the option of starting the 2013-14 season with a two-month road trip.

Still, the most important job is getting the suburban townships to officially drop their lawsuits.

“When that is formalized, it will allow us to move forward,” said Rep. Jennifer Mann, D-Lehigh. “The biggest piece is ramping up, getting the construction schedule going full throttle. That is the one that hurts us the most. One commodity you can’t get back is time. We have lost at least 90 days in this process.”

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-allentown-pa-arena-construction-20120702,0,2846794.story