Grand Jury Recommends Criminal Charges Against Attorney General Kathleen Kane

The special prosecutor and grand jury investigating allegations that Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane leaked secret information to a newspaper have found evidence of wrongdoing and recommended that she be criminally charged, according to numerous people familiar with the decision.

The panel concluded that Kane violated grand-jury secrecy rules by leaking investigative material in a bid to embarrass political enemies, sources said.

Some of those familiar with the grand jury presentment say it recommended charges that included perjury and contempt of court.

The statewide grand jury sitting in Norristown has turned over its findings to Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, who must decide whether to affirm its findings and arrest Kane, the state’s top law enforcement official.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20150109_Grand_jury_recommends_criminal_charges_against_Attorney_General_Kathleen_Kane.html#IiJzqeSMBdfmvy1f.99

Town By Town: In Pottstown, Plenty Of Sellers, Few Buyers

Pottstown Borough Hall

Editor’s note:  It’s pretty freakin’ sad when the Philadelphia Inquirer has to write up something like this about Pottstown.  Everybody knows why this situation exists, except for the do nothing Borough Council who are off in Lala Land taking a group cruise down the river Denial! What an embarrassing write up and very damning because of the enormous readership of this MAJOR MARKET publication!!!!!  Now that a big city newspaper has pointed out the same issues we bloggers have been harping on for years, maybe you all will be shamed into doing something. 

Trends in local housing supply and demand aren’t working in Pottstown’s favor right now. In a word, the market is troubled.

Andrew Himes, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach Realtors in Collegeville, said the borough “is one of the few places that hasn’t made any kind of a comeback.”

Though just about every market in the eight-county Philadelphia region has a shortage of supply, Pottstown’s problem is it has 300 houses for sale and very little demand, Himes says.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/classifieds/real_estate/town-by-town/20140831_Town_By_Town_.html#0CJjWTr05jzmHLlJ.99

The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival Presents: ‘The Great Divorce’

Monday, June 23, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
DeSales University
Labuda Center for the Performing Arts
2755 Station Avenue
Center Valley, Pa. 18034

“Unmissable! From the quiet, seemingly casual beginning to the unforgettable final moments, Lawton has us in the palm of his hand.” –  Philadelphia City Paper

 “Brilliantly conceived and performed…as intelligent and provoking an evening as I’ve spent at the theater in a long time.”  – Broad Street Review 

“Passionate acting combined with riveting storytelling.”  – Philadelphia Inquirer

ONE NIGHT ONLY!
The Great Divorce
Based on the novel by C.S. Lewis The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival presents
The Great Divorce – back by popular demand for one night only! Lauded by The Philadelphia Inquirer in this “masterful solo show,” actor Anthony Lawton “delivers a wondrous ride filled with dazzling insight and language.”

An allegorical journey, The Great Divorce weaves philosophical imaginings with theatrical magic!

Click Here to Buy
Last Minute Discount
RUSH Tickets
for ONLY $14.99!

Century 21 Store Owner Pledges To ‘Alter The Retail Landscape’ In Center City

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

Eddie Gindi met the family Tuesday. No one who ever pledged to a loved one could have been more solicitous.

Executive vice president and co-owner of Century 21, the latest and, arguably, most exotic retailer to commit to Philadelphia, Gindi promised success, devotion and a boundless future.

“We are honored to be part of Philadelphia,” he told an enthusiastic crowd at the Union League. “We want to alter the retail landscape here.”

And more.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20140611_Store_owner_pledges_to__alter_the_retail_landscape__in_Center_City.html#8bM5ZjttKxmE5Gsc.99

Lewis Katz, ‘The Most Unique Man I Ever Met’

Lewis Katz would tell you he was just a kid from Camden who grew up to walk with presidents.

He was consistent in his passions, blunt in his opinions, a man who adored his family, detested dishonesty, and was as comfortable in $1,100 hand-made Italian shirts as he was in loud green sneakers.

He made his own fortune, owned magnificent homes in New York, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and never lost his affection for the gravelly streets of the city where he was raised.

Mr. Katz, 72, whose enormous wealth never obscured his devotion to the less fortunate or his love of the underdog, was killed on Saturday in a plane crash in Massachusetts.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20140602_Lewis_Katz___The_most_unique_man_I_ever_met_.html#4qfCARKdFtudIIFL.99

Businessman Lewis Katz Buying Philadelphia Newspapers

The Philadelphia Inquirer-Daily News Building in Philadelphia, PA. Taken from North Broad and Callowhill Streets. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Businessman Lewis Katz and philanthropist H.G. “Gerry” Lenfest will take over Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers from their partners with an $88 million auction bid.

Katz and another businessman, George Norcross, had bought The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philly.com news website for $55 million in 2012. But they began feuding and competed to take control at Tuesday’s auction.

Katz made his fortune investing in the Kinney Parking empire and the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network in New York. He supports the investigative reporting favored by current Inquirer editor Bill Marimow.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/business/20140527/businessman-lewis-katz-buying-philadelphia-newspapers

Rival Owners Of Philly Newspapers Pledge $77M Bids

The Philadelphia Inquirer-Daily News Building in Philadelphia, PA. Taken from North Broad and Callowhill Streets. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Rival owners fighting for control of Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers have each pledged $77 million to take control of the company.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News are being sold as investors who bought them in 2012 argue over newsroom management and corporate strategy.

Wealthy businessmen George Norcross and Lewis Katz lead the rival factions, and testified at a hearing underway in Delaware this week to determine who can bid at the planned auction.

“There are people interested in this newspaper,” Katz testified Tuesday. “Whether or not they will come forward to bid is, in my mind, still problematic.”

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/pennsylvania/rival-owners-of-philly-newspapers-pledge-m-bids/article_7565e20e-ce5a-5bfa-9d30-9b3473304f9a.html

Racine Sets Down Roots In Pottstown

Greg Vassos has traveled a long road from his native Massachusetts to Pottstown – Providence, R.I.,, Barcelona. Grand Cayman, Palm Beach.

Now he’s a first-time solo act, 20 minutes up Route 422 from King of Prussia.

The Johnson & Wales-trained chef has been getting great notices in the early going of the fine-dining Restaurant Racine, a 30-seat BYOB that took over earlier this month for Funky Li’l Kitchen in Pottstown (232 King St., 610-326-7400).

It’s sustainable, locally sourced cuisine prepared with French technique and artful presentation.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/the-insider/Racine-opens-in-Pottstown.html#6iRm0DMv2PJGZEZq.99

Christie: ‘If I Was In The Senate Right Now, I’d Kill Myself’

English: , U.S. Attorney, Governor-elect of New Jersey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gov. Christie today blamed Republicans and Democrats for the government shutdown, saying “it’s irresponsible of both sides to have allowed this to get where it’s gotten.”

Asked during an editorial board meeting with The Philadelphia Inquirer what he would do if he were in the Senate right now, his immediate response was this: “If I was in the Senate right now, I’d kill myself.”

“This is why I’ve never had any interest in being in a legislative body,” he said. (It should be noted: In the 1990s Christie was a county freeholder, which is a legislator.)

He sees the situation in Washington as a failure in leadership, and a failure to achieve compromise.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/christie_chronicles/Christie-If-I-was-in-the-Senate-right-now-Id-kill-myself.html#SCuoK6yZzyy8AhU4.99

Arrest Made In Wissinoming House Collapse

Police say a neighborhood man stole copper piping from a vacant home in the Wissinoming section of Philadelphia, causing a natural gas leak and explosion that leveled the two-story house Saturday afternoon.

Michael Migliaccio, 35, was arrested later that night.

The house on the 4700 block of East Howell Street had been vacant for about a year, and was for sale, according to Philadelphia police.

No major injuries were reported in the collapse.  A fire department dispatcher said crews are still excavating the home to make sure there was no one inside.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130708_Arrest_made_in_Wissinoming_house_collapse.html#Gm5RLYxgOBs1Sdzm.99

Reports: Reid To Be Named Cardinals Coach

Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles’ coach, after the Eagles’ training camp in Lehigh, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Andy Reid is reportedly on his way to becoming the Arizona Cardinals next coach.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday that “it is a done deal” and KTVK-TV in Arizona reported that Reid is “very close” to being named the Cardinals’ coach.  ESPN also reported that there is a “95 percent” chance that Reid will be hired by Arizona.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/sports/football/eagles/mc-andy-reid-cardinals-20130101,0,681906.story

Newspaper Barons Resurface

The Philadelphia Inquirer-Daily News Building in Philadelphia, PA. Taken from North Broad and Callowhill Streets. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note: If you have followed the sale of the Philadelphia newspapers, this article gives some perspective on what that might mean for Philadelphia from an out-of-town perspective.

Is there anything more forlorn than the American metropolitan newspaper? First readers began deserting in droves, then the advertisers followed. Family owners headed for the exits and then hedge funds and other financial players scooped up newspapers thinking they were buying at the bottom of the market. Greater fools came and went, each saying they could cut their way to former glory and renewed profitability. They got a haircut instead.

Many smaller community newspapers remain stable and newspapers with a large national footprint have generally done better. But quite a few of the midsize regional and metropolitan dailies that form the core of the industry have gone off a cliff: over all, the newspaper industry is half as big as it was seven years ago.

So if most newspapers are an uneconomical proposition incapable of sustaining profits, let alone pay off the debt so many buyers have larded on them, who is left to own them?

Rich guys.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/business/media/the-return-of-the-newspaper-barons.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&src=dayp

Related articles

• Political Figure Considers Bid For Philadelphia Newspapers (huffingtonpost.com)

Local Investors Buy Philly Newspapers For $55 Million

The Philadelphia Inquirer-Daily News Building in Philadelphia, PA. Taken from North Broad and Callowhill Streets. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PHILADELPHIA, PA —  A group of powerful local business leaders announced Monday that they have purchased Philadelphia‘s two largest newspapers from hedge funds for approximately $55 million, a fraction of what investors paid for them in 2006.

It is the fifth time in six years the newspapers are being sold.

The buyers, who include influential New Jersey Democrat George Norcross III, former New Jersey Nets owner Lewis Katz and cable TV mogul H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, said they plan to keep the newspapers’ tradition of strong journalism alive in the digital age.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-philadelphia-newspapers-sold-20120402,0,5831712.story

Pottstown’s PEAK Program Featured In Philadelphia Inquirer Article

Image via Wikipedia

The Philadelphia Inquirer, the nation’s eleventh largest newspaper, did a great article about Pottstown School District‘s PEAK program.

To read something very positive about our community and school district, click here: http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20110627_Pottstown_program_aims_for_peak_performance_in_kindergarten.html

Owen J. Roberts “Gang Of Five” Are At It Again

Looks like the situation at Owen J. Roberts is still far from resolved.  There are plots within plots, secret meetings and agendas.  What about the education of the students??  It seems as though education is the last thing on certain people’s minds. 

You people better get your act together before the district’s reputation is ruined!!!

OMG this just in – look what made the Philadelphia Inquirer –

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20090922_Owen_J__Roberts_flap_could_alter_school_elections.html

This is a black eye!