Mar 12 2016

Strive Initiative Brings Youth Development Program To Pottstown

The STRIVE Initiative & The JT Dorsey Foundation present “Go For The Goal” an inspirational song and video created by mentors and students to highlight the importance of setting goals and achieving them! Along the process we documented not only the video but also the journey and how the students along with the mentors collaborated to create a masterpiece of expression! Please Share & Donate @http://fundly.com/go-for-the-goalto help us continue youth development! ‪#‎goforthegoalpa‬

To learn more click on their website: http://striveinitiative.org/

Jun 8 2015

Lancaster City Alliance Economic Development Plan Looks At Whole City

The Lancaster City Alliance wants to see $1 billion in private investment in the city over the next 15 years.

It’s one of the many goals — both specific and broad — of the economic development strategic plan the alliance put together to foster the city’s growth over the next 10-15 years.

The plan will be released to the public Thursday evening at the Ware Center.

Bob Shoemaker, Alliance president, and Marshall Snively, its executive vice president, talked with LNP’s editorial board about the year-long process on Thursday.

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lancaster-city-alliance-economic-development-plan-looks-at-whole-city/article_6698547a-0bc7-11e5-b611-8b51c7e97c34.html

Jun 8 2015

Comparing Towns: Norristown Police Tactics Focus On Community

Editor’s note: The difference is that when Norristown searches for new employees, they actually hire the best qualified people instead of just moving people up and perpetuating the same bad policies like Pottstown (under the guise that Pottstown is so complicated nobody could come in and “figure it out” in less than a couple years). Sorry, new ideas are needed. Congrats to Norristown for being proactive and embracing change. Apparently, it’s working!

Pottstown and Norristown are the two largest urban areas in Montgomery County and share many of the same challenges, particularly when it comes to crime.

In the wake of the wave of violence in Pottstown which culminated in last month’s arrests of more than 30 people involved in an apparent gang war, a community meeting about crime was held recently in Norristown that focused on what police and authorities are doing now, and how citizens can help.

Norristown Police Chief Mark Talbot Sr. has been asking that question since he took over leadership of that department two years ago, and he’s starting to see answers get results.

In the last two years, major crimes in Norristown have dropped by 20 percent.

http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20150608/comparing-towns-norristown-police-tactics-focus-on-community

Jun 1 2015

Best Towns in Pennsylvania

Explore the best towns to live in the US. Niche ranks towns based on livability using grades for weather, safety, schools, and access to activities, jobs, housing, and transportation. A high ranking indicates that a town offers a high quality of life to its residents.

See the list:

https://local.niche.com/rankings/towns/best-towns/s/pennsylvania/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=RankingsList&utm_term=RLP

Apr 24 2015

Wilkes University Breaks Ground On $1 Million Campus Gateway Project

WILKES-BARRE, PA — Wilkes University is on a mission.

The product of a 20-member committee, the university’s Gateway to the Future Strategic Plan was launched two years ago to stake out pathways for meeting future challenges.

That proposal took a literal spin Thursday, as university and elected officials broke ground on a $1 million walkway project to connect the campus with the heart of downtown Wilkes-Barre, the latest endeavor in the six-year plan to chisel a traditional residential campus out of the Diamond City’s urban landscape.

Within the last year, the university has pledged more than $30 million in upgrades to the campus, including a $33 million science center and an additional $3 million in renovations to the University Center at 169 S. Main St., the future site of the of the Jay S. Sidhu School of Business and Leadership.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/home_top-local-news-news/153093061/Wilkes-launches-$1M-gateway

Oct 18 2014

Pittsburgh Study Shows City’s Vibrancy Has Returned

Editor’s note: We found this to be true during our visit there this summer. Pittsburgh has drastically changed over the last 10 years and the improvement is palpable.

Pittsburgh has transformed from an economically stagnant, transient city to “somewhere people want to come to and stay for a long time,” according to Doug Heuck, director of Pittsburgh Today.

A new report from the statistics-based project reflects this trend in increased home ownership, showing more residents are making the city their home.

The report shows the Pittsburgh region has the highest percentage of owner-occupied housing compared to 14 other metropolitan areas with comparable size and demographics, according to U.S. Census figures.

Factors like employment opportunities, education and housing have turned the city into “somewhere people want to come to and stay for a long time,” Mr. Heuck said.

Aug 16 2014

York Named One Of “Most Livable” Cities In The Country

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

York City has been named one of the “most livable” cities in the country, one of 12 cities out of 200 applicants to win the honor.

The award recognizes mayoral leadership in developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America’s cities, focusing on the leadership, creativity and innovation demonstrated by the mayors.

The city received the award because of the “Teen’s Fourth Friday” program York City Mayor Kim Bracey began in September 2013.

Aug 9 2014

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.

Feb 22 2014

SW Germantown ‘Rising’ Thanks To Program

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

ANYONE INTERESTED in learning the true meaning of perseverance should spend some time in southwest Germantown.

After years of attending meetings, making phone calls and lobbying the city, community organizers have succeeded in bringing the neighborhood under the fold of the PhillyRising Collaborative.

The collaborative, an idea from the Managing Director’s Office, seeks to combat quality-of-life issues in crime-ridden neighborhoods by working closely with area organizations.

Organizations like the Southwest Central Lower Germantown Civic Association, run by Allison Weiss.

Nov 4 2013

Time To Top 20 Percent Turnout In Tuesday’s Election

Map of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Something perplexing happens in municipal elections like the one coming up Tuesday.

The public officials being elected have the most direct impact on people’s lives.

Yet turnout of registered voters – usually less than 20 percent – is the lowest in the four-year election cycle.

These officials make sure roads are plowed in winter and grass in parks is mowed in summer. They hire contractors for road repairs. They oversee police. They pass zoning laws that dictate where housing developments should go and where businesses should be built, which can impact land values.

Aug 15 2013

Mt. Airy, 3 Local Towns On ‘Best Places’ Lists

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

Several local towns and a Philadelphia neighborhood got kudos in the Money magazine’s annual round-up of “Best Places to Live.”

Chester County‘s West Goshen is No. 10 on the main list, which this year focuses on “small towns,” with 10,000 to 50,000 people. No surprise there, since West Goshen made the Top 25 on the last two “small towns” lists, in 2011 and 2009.

“West Goshen Township has a lush, suburban feel, with quiet, tree-shaded residential areas, lovely parks, and a full slate of community activities,” Money summed up.

Horsham was No. 34 this year, off a little from No. 31 in 2011, while Ardmore, No. 45 in 2011, failed to made this year’s Top 50.

No. 1 was “one-time summer resort” Sharon, Mass.

Jul 29 2013

Survey: Chester County Residents Upbeat But Hate Traffic, High Taxes

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

Chester County residents like the county’s open space and scenery, but also value highly its proximity to metropolitan areas. They use its libraries and parks like gangbusters, and are confident its 911 and emergency response systems.

They do not, however, like the traffic and road conditions they encounter or the taxes they pay. They wish the county government would do more to help create job and business opportunities and manage the suburban sprawl that continues to plague the countryside.

In general, county residents see they place they live as an excellent place to raise a family, get a good education, and buy a home — even if they have a sense that it might not live up to the same expectations when looking to retire, open a business, or find a job.

Those, in part, are the results of a unique survey done to assess the quality of life in Chester County, completed earlier this summer by the Center for Social & Economic Policy Research at West Chester University. The survey results follow up on a similar project completed in 2009 by Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.

Jul 22 2013

New Facebook Page, Crime In Pottstown, Is Valuable Tool For Residents

There’s a new Facebook page dedicated to crime in Pottstown. Unfortunately, there is a need for such a thing to exist. The delusional leadership doesn’t seem to think there are any problems in town but if you read this page you will see ordinary citizens telling their stories about being victims of crime. Burglary is a big problem in Pottstown along with drugs. Probably because they go hand in hand. This is an eye-opening read which helps keep residents and those who work in town up to date. We urge you to share information and keep informed.

We have listed Crime in Pottstown under our Important Pottstown Sites on the right hand side of the page. Here is a link to click on which will take you directly there.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crime-in-Pottstown/149360611925992

Jun 23 2013

James Street Improvement District, Lancaster Alliance Join Forces

James Pirrung 03:48, 12 April 2007 . . JaMikePA . . 2,304×1,728 (5.97 MB) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Good organizations evolve to meet changing times.

Three years ago, the Lancaster Alliance scaled back the broad reach that had established the city’s security camera network and helped find a home for the Lancaster Barnstormers.

In an era of diminishing resources, it would not duplicate efforts being done by other groups. The alliance board chose to work behind the scenes with a focus on city public safety, finances and forging partnerships with other organizations.

Six years ago, it was the James Street Improvement District that changed. The northwest city group expanded its reach to take in the duties of the Downtown Investment District under a contractual arrangement.

Jun 21 2013

BOSS 2020 Seeks Boost For Sinking Spring

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sinking Spring‘s BOSS 2020 organization is getting ready to ask the state Department of Community and Economic Development for a $300,000 grant for its bold plan to remake the 100-year-old borough.

According to officials, $250,000 would supplement a $346,860 PennDOT grant for sidewalk improvement on the downtown’s west side.

The two-part project would consist of putting a sidewalk on Penn Avenue between Park and Wynnewood avenues, and widening the sidewalk on Penn Avenue from Columbia Avenue to Hull Street to six feet.

Right now, according to Sam Loth, consulting coordinator for BOSS 2020, the sidewalk is only 21/2 to 3 feet wide in some portions, which sometimes forces pedestrians to walk on the road.

Jun 18 2013

Economic Development Coalition Begins Long Journey To Revive Greater Reading

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

What should Berks County’s economy look like in 10 or 20 years?

That’s what eight economic-development and workforce groups explored when they collaborated on the Ride to Prosperity report three years ago. The group wanted to create a greater Reading where residents are more prosperous and happy to live here, where businesses are more innovative and there’s more opportunities.

To start the work, the group filled the report with specific action items that could be done in three to five years.

Three years later, the group has checked some big items off the weighty to-do list. Berks Park 78 became shovel-ready and attracted three tenants. A fast-track development program has moved several projects through an express-lane approval process. Key players stress the importance of eight economic and municipal groups working together for a common goal: a stronger and prosperous economy.

May 11 2013

Penn Cinema Partner Plans York Theater

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

Cinema entrepreneur Penn Ketchum is heeding the advice of 19th century American newspaper editor Horace Greeley.

“Go west, young man.”

Ketchum, managing partner of Penn Cinema, intends to develop a small, luxury two-screen movie theater in York city.

But he said Friday that he has no intention of going south into Lancaster city and doing the same kind of project there.

Ketchum’s $750,000 venture in York was disclosed Thursday by York Mayor Kim Bracey in her State of the City address.

Apr 26 2013

Norristown Municipal Administrator Responds To ACLU Lawsuit

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

NORRISTOWN — Norristown is standing by its rental license ordinance as it is written and declared in a statement that in no way does it “discriminate against any persons, nor does it punish victims of domestic violence.”

The Norristown ordinance penalizes landlords and encourages 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, according to the federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Wednesday.

“The ordinance provision currently in effect contains all of the constitutional due process provisions required to protect the residents of Norristown,” said Norristown Municipal Adminstrator

in the statement released Thursday, “explicitly stating that no property shall be condemned for any reason under Norristown’s property maintenance code based on occurrences of disorderly behavior, and stating that no tenant shall be evicted or forced to vacate a rental dwelling for violation of the ordinance provision.”

Apr 24 2013

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.”

Apr 2 2013

Quality-Of-Life Amnesty Programs Pay Off For Reading

A 1947 topographic map of the Reading, Pennsylvania area. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With finally final figures, the city announced Monday that it will gain $628,563 from Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer’s amnesty program for long-overdue quality-of-life tickets and rental-housing fees.

That’s after quietly keeping the program open for an extra month, which gained the city more than another $17,000.

Spencer had announced last fall that the amnesty would run two months, from Dec. 17 to Feb. 15.

The sweetener was that late fees would be waived; the threat was that those who ignored the offer would be turned over to a bill collector, who would add a 15 percent penalty.

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