Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department Announces Schuylkill River Trail Patrols

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

COURTHOUSE — The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department will be randomly sending up to three motorcycle-riding deputies to different parts of the Schuylkill River Trail to provide an extra level of security to trail users.

“We just want the people to know that those trails are a jewel to Montgomery County. They are used by thousands and thousands of people every year. Fortunately there are very little problems up there, but I’m all about preventing problems rather than trying to figure them out afterwards,” Montgomery County Sheriff Russell Bono said on Friday.

Bono said when he was the Norristown chief of police he did the same thing to protect trail users in the Norristown section of the trail.

“Now that I have a countywide position, our cycles are able to ride the entire trail,” he said.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20140808/montgomery-county-sheriffs-department-announces-schuylkill-river-trail-patrols

Greater Norristown PAL To Hold First Job Fair June 24

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

NORRISTOWN, PA — It’s not every job fair organizer that offers to hook up applicants with a necktie if he needs one, but Ken Fennal is passionate about making Greater Norristown PAL’s first open job fair a success for all concerned.

And that extends to making sure every male applicant who shows up is dressed to impress.

“If someone needs a tie they should contact me and I’ll provide them with a tie myself,” said Fennal, PAL’s program director. “Men should at least wear a tie, if not a suit or sport jacket. First impressions can make the difference in getting a second interview or being hired on the spot, versus another candidate who may have the same level of skills but may not be dressed appropriately. We know the difference in going to an interview dressed well or wearing something casual, but a young person may not know that. We want to emphasize that they should be prepared properly when they come in the door, so I think not only is it appropriate to have a dress code, social standards dictate that you should be dressed a certain way for certain professions.”

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/business/20140623/greater-norristown-pal-to-hold-first-job-fair-june-24

Former Norristown Cop Sentenced To 17 Years In Drug Case

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

MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURTHOUSE — A Montgomery County judge sentenced a retired Norristown police officer to 17 to 50 years behind bars Friday for selling methamphetamine and prescription pills and using his old police badge and license plate as clout to do it.

In July, a jury found Jack Pennington, 68, of Upper Merion, guilty of 16 out of 21 drug-related felonies stemming from a wiretap investigation spearheaded by Montgomery County Detectives and their Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET).

In June 2012, undercover operatives arrested Pennington at the Plymouth Meeting Mall as he was about to meet his supplier.

“His criminal conduct has had a significant negative impact on the community, and this type of criminal activity merits a significant sentence,” said Common Pleas Judge William R. Carpenter. “A lesser sentence would depreciate the seriousness of this kind of crime.”

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20131011/former-norristown-cop-sentenced-to-17-years-in-drug-case

ACLU Sues Norristown Over Landlord Ordinance

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

NORRISTOWN — A federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a Norristown ordinance that penalizes landlords for the alleged behavior of their tenants was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The Norristown ordinance penalized landlords and encouraged them to evict their tenants when the police are called to a property three times in four months for “disorderly behavior,” including responding to incidents of domestic violence.

The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Pennsylvania, and the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP against the municipality, former Municipal Administrator David Forrest, Interim Municipal Administrator Robert Glisson, former Police Chief Russell Bono, Interim Police Chief Willie Richet and Code Enforcement Manager Joseph Januzelli.

“We are planning to file a motion for preliminary injunction to prevent Norristown from enforcing the December 2012 ordinance while the case is pending,” said Sara Rose, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania.  “We hope we will have a hearing soon.  We hope this will be resolved quickly.”

Read more:  http://www.timesherald.com/article/20130424/NEWS01/130429765/aclu-sues-norristown-over-landlord-ordinance#full_story

Einstein Medical Center Montgomery Ready For Sept. 29 Debut

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

EAST NORRITON — The clock is ticking down with last-minute installation work, a required state Department of Health inspection and final cleaning before the doors open Sept. 29 on the $350 million, 146-bed Einstein Medical Center Montgomery (EMCM) hospital on Germantown Pike.

A recent press tour of the five-story facility included working journalists and four aspiring journalists from Gotwals Elementary School. Third-fourth grade teacher Katie Sortino accompanied Yazzmin Hernandez, Amayrami Lopez, Derrick Honeycutt and Zavier Wedderburn as they took notes for a late October edition of the “Healthy Press.”

A crowd of 5,000 to 10,000 local residents are expected at a Sept. 22 “Community Day and Open House,” from noon to 6 p.m., to tour the facility before an official 6 a.m., Sept. 29, hospital opening. Forty to 50 patients at Montgomery Hospital in Norristown will be transferred with six ambulances to EMCM on Sept. 29, starting at 7 a.m., said Beth Duffy, the chief operating officer of EMCM.

Montgomery Hospital had 87 patients on Sept. 5. Hospital administrators will not accept elective procedure patients at Montgomery Hospital close to the closing date to reduce the number of patients requiring transfers.

Lower Pottsgrove Underage Drinking Party Lands Pottstown Man In Trouble

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURTHOUSE— A Pottstown man will be under court supervision for four years for his involvement in an underage drinking party in a township hotel room.

Aaron Marcus Andrews, 19, of the 400 block of King Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to four years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of corruption of a minor, specifically a 14-year-old girl, in connection with a May 14, 2011, incident at the Days Inn on Industrial Highway in Lower Pottsgrove.

Other charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor and conspiracy were dismissed against Andrews as part of the plea agreement accepted by Senior Judge S. Gerald Corso.

During the investigation, “it was learned that Andrews had taken a collection of money from persons in the hotel room” and went with others to a Pottstown pizza restaurant to purchase the alcohol that was discovered in the room. One of the teenage girls encountered by police was getting sick from the alcohol, court papers alleged.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/article/20120122/NEWS01/120129876

Bridgeport Landmark Meets The Wrecking Ball

What a sad turn of events this is.  Anyone who lived or worked in the Norristown/King of Prussia area probably has a memory of this place.  Camelot in Bridgeport was “the place” to have a wedding reception or other large event.  I would say it was Bridgeport’s Sunnybrook.

Having worked in that area for 25 years, I knew many people who had their events at Camelot.  Camelot was demolished this week.  The owner, Gary Johnson, declined comment on any plans for development of the property.

Camelot was a casualty of the recession.  Renovations were too costly.  Although there was interest in reopening the property, the economy kept potential buyers at bay.

Interestingly, Joe Torac, the former owner of Lakeside Inn, ran Camelot.  Torac was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1998.

Thankfully, the Lakeside Inn (Copperfield’s) and Sunnybrook are still standing and going strong.  Unfortunately, for Bridgeport, there is no happy ending to this story.

Citizen’s Bank To Abandon Downtown Norristown – Will Leave Huge Empty Building

Citizen’s Bank is not renewing their lease in a large downtown Norristown commercial building, leaving borough and county officials scrambling to find a new tenant!

http://eyescoop.blogspot.com/2010/12/citizens-bank-withdrawing-from.html

Norristown Borough Adopts $25.5 Million Dollar Budget With 12.74% Tax Increase

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Norristown Borough Council unanimously adopted their 2011 budget tonight that features a tax increase of 12.74%.   No layoff’s were announced.

Interestingly enough, Norristown’s budget is approximately $14 million dollars less than Pottstown’s budget.  Wonder why it costs so much less to run a larger borough??????

Lower-Income Rental Complex Proposed For Norristown

“A proposal for 48 rental apartments on Sandy Street subsidized by federal tax credits ran into pointed questions and some opposition when it was recently presented to council”…. read the full story on the Times Herald:

http://www.timesherald.com/articles/2010/12/27/news/doc4d17e877e8982758384678.txt?viewmode=default

Hat Tip to Chris Huff for bringing the story to my attention!

Here is another story from the Philadephia Inquirer with their take on the lower-income rental complex proposed for Norristown and includes Pottstown in their discussion.  Another hat tip to Chris Huff for the link!

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_region/20101230_Norristown_shuns_apartment_dwelling.html?viewAll=y

Why Does Pottstown Need To Be Concerned About Its Housing Stock?

Housing stock is a pivotal issue that will make or break Pottstown’s revitalization efforts.  A key piece regarding housing stock is rental properties.  Specifically, the conversion of single-family homes into multi-unit “house apartments”.  Our fair city has an overabundance of “house apartments”.  I speak from experience having lived in several.

I was told a number of years ago that this phenomena started during the construction of the Limerick Nuclear Generating Station.  The story goes that with the influx of Bechtel workers and the need for housing, many people turned their homes into rental properties.  I can attest that some of these “house apartments” are configured oddly, again having lived in several.

If we are to restore balance (as a Libra, I am all about balance) in the housing stock and reduce the number of “house apartments” in Pottstown, Borough Council must take steps to ensure this practice a. stops and b. provide incentives for homeowners to move into Pottstown and restore “house apartments” back to their original intent as a single-family home. 

Without a middle class, Pottstown will not be able to reverse the situation we find ourselves in.  That would be broke and surrounded by prosperity.  This all goes hand-in-hand.  One way to stop border development is to make the borough more attractive to homeowners and investors.  Attracting taxpayers and investment dollars will solve our financial woes.

Norristown Borough recently made a bold stand to end the practice of “chopping up” perfectly good single-family homes into rental units.  Several organizations in Pottstown have been desperately trying to shed light on this subject.  Code Blue comes to mind with their attendance at Council meetings, their participation in blighted property reviews, their participation at the First Suburbs meetings (here and in Lancaster) and their posts on The Pulse!

I would encourage our elected leadership, along with the Mercury, to make stopping the conversion of single-family homes into multi-unit apartments a high priority along with the new rules for landlords that the borough is working on so diligently.  This combination is important to revitalization efforts.

If Norristown can do it, why can’t we?