Columbia Hopes To Land Downsized State Call Center, With 129 Jobs

A year after tabling a plan for a call center here, the state Department of Human Services now says it wants to put a smaller version of the call center somewhere in Lancaster County.

And even though the proposed call center has been shrunk by more than half, Columbia Borough is in hot pursuit of the venture, which would create 129 jobs.

Its Borough Council voted this week to spend $835,000 to support the effort of developer Bill Roberts to put the call center in a fire station at 137 S. Front St.

“Every now and then, when a municipality embarks on an economic development project, they need to be willing to put some skin in game,” said Mayor Leo Lutz.

Read more:

http://lancasteronline.com/columbia/news/columbia-hopes-to-land-downsized-state-call-center-with-jobs/article_cf7669f8-ffdf-11e4-ac60-370a1a706522.html

Special Project: East Coventry Farm Exemplifies Sustainability Movement

East Coventry Township, PA – From the front, the white house at 253 Harley Road looks like any other home in the neighborhood. A short walk back reveals that appearances can be deceiving. For behind this particular house, there’s a chicken coop, greenhouses and a small farm where sustainable, organic growing is taking place.

Jubilee Hill Farm was started about three years ago by owners David and Wendy Ryle. The married couple grows produce on 1.5 acres of a 10-acre property left to Wendy by her grandparents. She said they plant food for humans but they want the land to also be a safe space for other living creatures.

“The idea was that this would be a wildlife refuge and it still is…it’s not a battle of the wildlife, it’s just sort of living in harmony with them,” she said.

Sustainability practices are those that keep in mind that the future survival of humans and other organisms are dependent on preserving the natural environment, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency .

Read more:

http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20150406/special-project-east-coventry-farm-exemplifies-sustainability-movement

Grocery Prices Keeping Climbing; Up 7 Percent In Last Year

Mary Bouras never expected to get sticker shock from a pound of butter.

But when the grocery staple reached more than $5 a pound at most stores, the 66-year-old Dover resident said it was hard not to.

Last week, she paid $5.79 for butter at Weis, and three other grocery chains in the area had similar prices.

“I know it’s just life and prices go up, but $6 for butter is a lot for me,” Bouras said.

Six months ago, she would have paid $1 less for the same item at the same store. A year ago, it would have been $1.20 cheaper, and five years ago it would have been $1.80 less.

Read more: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_26672787/grocery-prices-keeping-climbing-up-7-percent-last

‘Devastating For Our Industry’: Pig Virus Affects Local Farmers, Market Prices, Grange Fair

Counties constituting the Happy Valley Region of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When Charlie Hall sells pigs, customers never set foot on his Unionville-area farm.

“We actually meet them half a mile away and transfer the pigs directly from one trailer to another,” Hall said.

The threat of a growing pig disease has local farmers embracing biosecurity measures to protect their farms and livelihoods.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, or PEDv, is pushing up pork prices and prompting action on the national level.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/06/15/4225628/devastating-for-our-industry-pig.html#storylink=cpy

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Metro Area Food Stamp Use Up 75 Percent In 5 Years

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Food stamp distribution in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metro area exploded by 75 percent between 2007 and 2012.

The number of households receiving federal assistance under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program ballooned to 35,256 in 2012 from 20,195 in 2007, Census Bureau data reveal.

SNAP stamp benefits in 2012 went to 14 percent of the residences in Lackawanna County, 17 percent in Luzerne County and 20 percent in Wyoming County. More than 90,300 people in the metro area participate in the food-stamp program, according to federal data cited by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s office.

“Those numbers are staggering,” said Teri Ooms, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development, a regional research and analysis organization. “This is the eroding of the middle class.”

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/food-stamp-use-up-75-percent-in-5-years-1.1583475

Stink Bugs Invading Lancaster County Again

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

“This is like being in an Alfred Hitchcock movie, only it’s stink bugs instead of birds. When you step outside they jump on you. This is like a plague or something!”

That’s an exasperated Drema Brubaker, when the Asian invaders began swarming her family’s home in the woods near Mount Nebo in the southern end earlier this week.

“I’ve lived here since 1976 but I was so mad I was throwing a fit, saying I didn’t want to live here anymore,” she said. “I’m like a wild woman swatting them.”

Unfortunately, the Brubaker family’s new reality may play out in many other Lancaster County homes over the next several weeks.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/901490_Stink-bugs-invading-Lancaster-County-again.html#ixzz2glmsOhc1

Invasive Bug To Cause A Stink This Spring, Summer

The brown marmorated stink bug is expected to cause, well, a stink this year when large numbers of them begin nibbling on crops and infiltrating homes.

Entomologists are predicting an onslaught of the invasive species based on the amount of overwintering bugs counted in the autumn.

“Most entomologists indicated that the population of brown marmorated stink bugs that were seeking shelter in the fall of 2012 was significantly higher than the population seeking shelter in 2011,” said Tom Ford, a commercial horticulture educator from the Penn State Extension office in Cambria County.  “As a rule, unless you have some significant event that impacts the over-wintering adults you should have a very robust number of mature brown marmorated stink bugs that will be laying eggs this spring and summer.”

The insects are emerging from their winter hiding places, and if you’ve spotted one recently, chances are it was on its way to find a mate.

Read more:  http://standardspeaker.com/news/invasive-bug-to-cause-a-stink-this-spring-summer-1.1473181

Owners Of Small South Hills Grocers Accused Of Food-Stamp Fraud

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

Editor’s note:  This same thing just happened in Pottstown.  Wondering if this is a more than a coincidence.  Looks like this could be a big problem.

Two Brentwood men who ran separate small grocery stores in the South Hills were indicted Wednesday for wire fraud and food stamp fraud, documents filed today in U.S. District Court show.

Samson Dweh, 30, ran Mariama African Store in Carrick, according to the indictment naming him.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture authorized him to begin accepting food stamps in February 2009.

Starting in August 2010, according to the indictment, Mr. Dweh started paying cash for food stamp benefits, paying around 50 cents on each dollar of benefit the customer sought to cash in.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/owners-of-small-south-hills-grocers-accused-of-food-stamp-fraud-681230/#ixzz2OqWtDubA