Dec 15 2014

Wolf Brings Urban Policy Expertise

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s next governor knows all about distressed cities.

Gov.-elect Tom Wolf spent 12 years as president of Better York, a nonprofit bent on revitalizing the city of York. In that role, he worked closely with a nationally prominent urban expert who promotes regional solutions for urban woes.

As he prepares to take office Jan. 20, Wolf said he wants to lead a statewide discussion about how the future of older cities such as Scranton, inner ring suburbs and the surrounding townships are interrelated.

“What I bring to this is a real appreciation for what cities do,” he said in an interview.

Dec 23 2013

Plan Maps Future For Murrysville

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

Murrysville is home to an aging population along with younger families who can’t afford to buy the empty-nesters’ larger lots, according to an architect who is developing the municipality’s comprehensive plan.

The plan provides a glimpse into Murrysville’s future, including some trends that are beginning to emerge, Andrew Schwartz, of Pittsburgh-based Environmental Planning and Design, told officials this week.

“You need to start thinking about that (55- to 65-year-old demographic) now,” Schwartz said. “Are there some places that maybe there should be higher densities encouraged?”

Oct 8 2013

Campbell’s CEO Vows Commitment To Camden

Logo of Campbell’s Soup Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When it comes to keynote speakers, the International Economic Development Council’s choice of Denise Morrison Tuesday was inspired.

There are few Fortune 500 CEOs as uniquely qualified to speak about bolstering a ‘ backyard as Morrison, who is now two years into a tour of duty as head of Campbell Soup Co.

As Campbell’s CEO, she has remained committed to keeping the retail food giant squarely in the corner of its struggling hometown.

“I believe in the future of Camden,” she told a packed IEDC conference at the Philadelphia Marriott, “and so does Campbell.”

Oct 6 2013

I-LEAD School Rocks Downtown Reading’s Redevelopment Plans

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

When CNA Insurance announced Monday that it was donating its downtown Reading office building to I-LEAD Charter School, it was done with quite a bit of fanfare.

The sidewalk outside the five-story building at Fourth and Penn streets was filled with people. Speakers praised CNA’s generosity and the work I-LEAD does.

Applause erupted as a ceremonial key exchanged hands.

But as the celebratory din diminished, some questions were raised.

Aug 19 2013

Coatesville Hopes To Boost Downtown Revitalization

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

COATESVILLE, PA — City Council is updating the city’s revitalization plans.

Council members unanimously voted to establish the Coatesville Downtown Revitalization District during an Aug. 12 meeting, with Councilman Ed Simpson and Vice President Joseph Hamrick absent.

Council President David Collins said the purpose was to target a specific area around expansion and redevelopment projects currently planned for the city.

Collins said this area will be essential to attracting new business enterprises, encouraging commercial development and expansion, improving the aesthetic appearance of the existing architecture, and building a stronger sense of community pride.

Aug 10 2013

Police Cuts Talk Of 2 Luzerne County Towns

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

Two municipalities facing budget shortfalls are exploring options to ease their finances by cutting police services.

Edwardsville Mayor Bernard “Ace” Dubaskas said council members are talking about reducing the number of full-time officers, while Laflin council members are considering contracting with a neighboring municipality for police protection.

Cutting police services is not a new concept for cash-strapped municipalities.

Warrior Run disbanded its police force in favor of contracting police services from Nanticoke two years ago.

Jun 10 2013

For At Least 20 Years, Interlocking Problems Have Plagued Wilkinsburg Schools

Map of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the Wilkinsburg School District, almost half of students don’t graduate.

A third of students have been involved in incidents that threatened school safety. On state tests, 86.4 percent of 11th graders aren’t proficient in math and 68.3 percent aren’t proficient in reading.

The district is hemorrhaging students to charter schools. It borrowed $3 million for general operating expenses and has furloughed about 80 teachers in the past three years.

Some residents are taken aback when asked for their assessment of the district, seeing it as self-evident that the district has already fallen off the cliff.

“Honestly, it’s too far gone,” said Wilkinsburg resident Stephanie Shea. “Code blue happened a while ago. At this point, it needs to be totally dismantled.”

Apr 25 2013

Merger’s Benefits Mulled At Antietam Meeting

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If the Antietam and Exeter school districts were to combine in some form, students from both could take advantage of a minimum of 42 new course offerings.

They’d also have access to 10 different buildings and added athletic facilities.

And have the opportunity to take part in up to 31 new clubs and activities.

“You’d have the capacity to do a lot more,” Kerry Moyer told more than 150 parents and residents at Antietam’s Mount Penn Primary Center Wednesday. “And you’d have the capacity to accommodate a large enrollment (increase) if it does happen.”

Apr 6 2013

Montgomery County Issues $55M In Bonds For Infrastructure Projects

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

NORRISTOWN — The Montgomery County Commissioners issued $55 million in bonds this week to address some county infrastructure projects.

While it does not address every item on a long laundry list of infrastructure needs throughout the county, the issuance of the bond addresses a good part of those needs without increasing the county’s current debt service over the next decade, according to the county’s top money manager.

“The bond sale received strong interest from underwriting firms with 10 banks submitting aggressive bids,” said Uri Monson, the county’s chief financial officer.

The commissioners approved the bond ordinance last month. Monson said the bonds were sold through a competitive sale process via an online bid service. The winning bidder was PNC Capital Markets, with a True Interest Cost (TIC) of 2.39 percent. The reported difference between the lowest bid and the next lowest bid was .017 percent.

Mar 29 2013

Stalled Owen J Roberts Contract Talks Lead To Teacher Slowdown

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

SOUTH COVENTRY — The stalled contract negotiations between the Owen J. Roberts School District and its teachers union has gone public.

The teachers have been working without a contract since June 30 and the two sides have been negotiating, quietly for the most part, for 15 months.

However the failure to reach an agreement about wages has raised the stakes and the rhetoric in the matter and the teachers union have instructed their members to work only to the specific language of the expired contract and cease all extra and voluntary activities.

School Board President Douglas K. Hughes reacted by issuing a letter to the district Tuesday, which was also posted on the district web site, announcing that the teachers union had decided to “work to contract,” explaining they would “work only to the contractually obligated hours” and informing residents and taxpayers the union had asked their members “not to participate in any unpaid activities.”

Oct 14 2011

Former Bethlehem Church Eyed As Arts Redevelopment Project

The City of Bethlehem has figured out that the arts can bring economic development. Many projects have already sprung up in Bethlehem that are having a major impact on the city. This project is another example of adaptive re-use and the benefits of involving the arts.

The former St. Stanislaus Church in south Bethlehem could provide a little divine inspiration for artists attracted to the growing SteelStacks campus.

The rectory would be razed to make room for 36 affordable apartments targeting artists as tenants under a proposal by Housing Development Corp. MidAtlantic of Lancaster. The church, founded in 1906 to mainly serve Polish Catholics in the neighborhood, would be reused as a gallery and space for performances or other events…

Apr 16 2011

Granite Run Mall Management Addresses Middletown Council

Marquette Management, the new operators of Granite Run Mall, paid a visit to a Middletown Council meeting to share their plans for turning the mall around. This news was met with much enthusiasm from council members and residents. Middletown Township and the Rose Tree Media School District rely on the mall for a good portion of their tax base.

Marquette Management stressed Granite Run Mall is here to stay. The company is committed to filling empty stores, making the mall more attractive, more secure and returning Granite Run Mall to its prominent place in the community. When the forty empty stores are filled, it will add four hundred new jobs. Marquette has eighty prospective tenants they are vetting to fill the empty space.

Marquette representatives will return to council in two months to update them on their progress. We give Marquette Management two Roy’s Rants thumbs up for riding to the rescue and having a solid plan of action.

Jul 21 2010

Norristown Takes A Giant Step Forward

Norristown Borough Council took a giant step into the light Tuesday evening. The council unanimously voted to end multi-family apartment conversions for single-family homes! BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The measure does allow for mixed-use meaning commercial use on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors.

Council has wisely decided to stop the madness. By curbing the carving up of single-family homes into high density apartments, Norristown is demonstrating their desire to attract homeowners and shore up their tax base.

This is a big step in the right direction.

We applaud Norristown Borough Council for walking the talk!

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