Northeastern Pennsylvania Population Drops Slightly As South Population Rises

A lot of people in this part of the nation swore they’d move south during this year’s harsh winter. It appears many of them already have.

According to estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau, warm regions regained population growth momentum last year that was lost during the recession. But population fell in the area comprised of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming counties.

Fourteen of the 20 fastest-growing metropolitan areas were in Florida, Texas or the Carolinas, led by The Villages near Orlando, which grew by 5.4 percent between July 1, 2013 and July 1, 2014. In contrast, the fastest-growing metro areas in Pennsylvania grew by 0.6 percent.

The bureau estimated that the population in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area fell by 2,159, or 0.4 percent over the year. Within the three-county region, Lackawanna County lost the most, 1,115, or 0.5 percent. Luzerne County’s population declined 1,033, or 0.3 percent, and Wyoming County’s was relatively unchanged.

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/152599118/

5 Important Questions About BB&T’s Purchase Of Susquehanna Bancshares

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

As LancasterOnline reported Wednesday, Lititz-based Susquehanna Bancshares is being bought by North Carolina banking company BB&T.

So what does that mean if you’re a Susquehanna customer?

Here are five important questions and answers about the $2.5 billion deal.

Q: What happens to Susquehanna’s 245 banking offices in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia, including the 30 offices in Lancaster County?

A: All Susquehanna branches will be retained, although they will be renamed BB&T. No branches are being closed because the Susquehanna and BB&T branch networks do not overlap.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/important-questions-about-bb-t-s-purchase-of-susquehanna-bancshares/article_cb08e0b2-6b3d-11e4-9d29-bff9821ae372.html

Pennsylvania Woman Admits Craigslist Killing In Interview

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

SUNBURY, PA (AP) – A Pennsylvania woman charged along with her newlywed husband in the murder of a man they met through Craigslist admitted to the slaying in a jailhouse interview with a newspaper and said she has killed more than 20 others across the country, claims police said they are investigating.

In an interview with the Daily Item in Sunbury, Pa., 19-year-old Miranda Barbour said she wants to plead guilty to killing Troy LaFerrara in November. She also said in the interview that she has killed at least 22 other people from Alaska to North Carolina in the last six years as part of her involvement in a satanic cult.

“I feel it is time to get all of this out. I don’t care if people believe me. I just want to get it out,” Barbour told the newspaper for a story published Saturday night.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140216_ap_c3ff99fc4eb54cb6a30ca4bb31f44c24.html#fGKigjOtU384Zp0E.99

Viral Outbreak On Appalachian Trail Hikes Toward Pennsylvania

Appalachian Trail building in . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While the worst viral outbreak to strike hikers in Appalachian Trail history is traveling north from Georgia into Pennsylvania, health officials say there is really no reason for area residents to be concerned.

Bob Proudman, director of conservation operations for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, said an outbreak of norovirus among trail hikers began somewhere around the Tennessee-North Carolina border about four weeks ago and is moving north with the hikers.

Norovirus has a 12- to 48-hour incubation period, lasts 24 to 60 hours and may cause severe diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration.

“You could say it’s the most serious outbreak in AT history.  There was one case of hanatavirus which is very serious, in 1990.  It struck an Australian hiker and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) got involved,” he said.  Hantavirus is a contagious disease spread by rodents.

Read more:  http://www.publicopiniononline.com/news/ci_23348379/viral-outbreak-appalachian-trail-hikes-toward-pennsylvania

North Carolina Woman Sets Vending Machine On Fire For Taking Her Money

A Piggly Wiggly store in Owasso, Oklahoma (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Oh snap!  You don’t see this every day!

We’ve all probably experienced a vending machine taking our money, and failing to provide our tasty treat selection.  One woman in North Carolina didn’t take the mishap lightly, and decided to retaliate against the machine by setting it on fire.

Debra Jonhnson went H.A.M. on a 7-Up soda machine at a Piggly Wiggly store in New Bern, N.C. last weekend, causing fire fighters to be dispatched to the location.

Read more at http://hiphopwired.com/2012/10/15/north-carolina-woman-sets-vending-machine-on-fire-for-taking-her-money/#dmudyj1VA1Aew5U8.99

North Carolina Businesses Along I-95 Tally Tolling Impact

Image via Wikipedia

Editor’s note:  $19.20 to drive across North Carolina and gas is more than $3.50 a gallon!  This will push more people to trains, buses and airplanes OR onto alternate routes.

Plans to charge a toll on Interstate 95 in North Carolina will make it more difficult for businesses to quickly and cheaply ship goods up and down the East Coast’s chief thoroughfare, critics say.

North Carolina, Virginia and Missouri all are considering tolls as a way to pay for expanding and upgrading interstates. Supporters say drivers from other states will pay much of the costs.

But like most highways, I-95 is itself a hub of businesses drawn to the asphalt link to markets from Maine to Florida.

Food Lion, Wal-Mart, and Lowe’s are some of the companies with North Carolina distribution centers, each employing hundreds of workers, near the highway. The world’s largest hog slaughterhouse operated by Smithfield Foods and one of the nation’s largest food-service distributors for restaurant chains built near the interstate.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/ap/602081_NC-businesses-along-I-95-tally-tolling-impact.html#ixzz1ojH6dDfe