April 15 Rock The Block‏ In Pottstown Event

On Friday April 15, 2016, Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County is hosting Rock the Block Pottstown…an effort to help fix up properties along the 300 and 400 blocks of Beech, Walnut and Chestnut Streets.

Habitat for Humanity is offering 20 tables to area organizations to highlight their initiatives, hand out brochures and connect with area residents.  Tables will be set up from approximately 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM.

To learn more about Habitat for Humanity and Rock the Block: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20160224/video-groundwork-laid-for-pottstowns-rock-the-block-project

Windows Smashed, ‘A Lot Of Damage’ In Shadyside Protest

Pittsburgh police are trying to identify a group of about 30 people who donned masks and ran through Shadyside on Friday night, smashing the windows of more than a half-dozen businesses and an unknown number of automobiles.

There were no injuries in the vandalism spree that began shortly after 8:40 p.m., when police first spotted the group, marching peacefully near Liberty Avenue and Baum Boulevard in Bloomfield, holding candles and telling officers they were holding a funeral procession for a friend, city Public Safety Department spokeswoman Sonya Toler said.

A few minutes later, there was chaos a few blocks away as the group turned onto Walnut Street and marched past the shops and restaurants filled with patrons.

“I saw a group of nine or 10 guys. I couldn’t see their faces because they all were wearing hoodies,” said Miranda Leanos, 18, a waitress at the Thai Place Restaurant.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/8149253-74/group-windows-police#ixzz3X0VEOheR
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Montgomery Elks Liquor License Renewal Denied By State

POTTSTOWN — The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board denied the Montgomery Elks Lodge’s liquor license renewal on Wednesday.

While the renewal process was halted and hearings were held in June and July, the Montgomery Elks was able to operate under its license that expired officially in the spring.

As of midnight Friday, the Montgomery Elks, located on the 600 block of Walnut Street, may no longer serve alcohol, according to a letter from the Liquor Control Board obtained by The Mercury from a source.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140925/updated-montgomery-elks-liquor-license-renewal-denied-by-state

Video Documenting Selective Enforcement By The Pottstown Codes Department (And Poor Customer Service)

Assaulted Officers Testify About Incident Outside Pottstown Club (Video)

Location of Lower Pottsgrove Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

LOWER POTTSGROVE TOWNSHIP, PA — Two men who allegedly assaulted two Pottstown Police officers who were attending to a shooting victim are headed to Montgomery County court.

Chadd Watson, 23, and Brooklyn Aiken, 22, both of Pottstown, are accused of assaulting two officers outside the Montgomery Elks Club on Walnut Street in Pottstown on Feb. 2 around 2:30 a.m.

The two accused men appeared in front District Judge Edward C. Kropp Sr. and a full courtroom Friday morning.

Officers from the borough police department lined the back wall of the courtroom and took up several rows of seats while family and friends of Watson and Aiken filed in. There were so many supporters for both sides that several people were asked to leave by the judge and told to wait in the lobby.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140221/assaulted-officers-testify-about-incident-outside-pottstown-club-video

POTTSTOWN POLICE: Two Officers Assaulted While Aiding Shooting Victim

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

(Updated 2:45 p.m.) POTTSTOWN, PA — Two borough police officers were attacked and injured as they attempted to aid a shooting victim outside the Montgomery Elks Lodge on Walnut Street early Sunday morning, police said.

Both officers were taken to an area hospital and “treated for their injuries,” according to a release from the Pottstown Police.

Pottstown Police Captain Robert Thomas said the officers, who were not identified, will both be “OK” after the incident which began around 2:45 a.m.

The officers, who were nearby, responded to the Elks Club on the 600 block of Walnut Street for the report of a shooting, according to a Pottstown Police release.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140202/pottstown-police-two-officers-assaulted-while-aiding-shooting-victim

Changing Skyline: For A West Schuylkill Site, Time To Bridge Its Moat

English: 30th Street Station In Philadelphia. Roughly speaking, the center of commuting in Philly, the former center of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Philly’s main Amtrak station (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  There are some really exciting projects going on in Philadelphia as of late.

To hear the champions of Philadelphia’s university district tell it, the west bank of the Schuylkill is poised to give Center City’s skyline a run for its money.

Last week, Brandywine Realty Trust announced plans for its third riverfront skyscraper, a sharply faceted, 47-story office-and-apartment tower at 30th and Walnut Streets. West Philadelphia office space now commands higher rents than the aging behemoths in the city’s legacy downtown. Such is the clamor to live close to the big campuses that at least five residential high-rises are in the works.

It’s nice to see the city’s skyline stretching west. But a clutch of shimmering skyscrapers do not a neighborhood make.

Overlooked in all the hoopla over Brandywine’s latest project, FMC Tower at Cira Centre South, are the conditions on the ground. The site is cut off from the Schuylkill waterfront by a large, triangular moat, which looks down on the train tracks that feed into 30th Street Station and is one of several barriers that make walking there an unpleasant, and often hair-raising, experience.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/home/20131108_Changing_Skyline__For_a_West_Schuylkill__time_to_bridge_its_moat.html#4677tKeG0ScuYbfb.99

Crane Installs $40,000 Public Art Project In Lancaster

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

Workers used a crane this morning to install an “artwork cistern” on the Walnut Street side of the Lancaster Brewing Company building.

The cistern, commissioned by Lancaster city’s public art program, is made of steel and lengths of native wood.

Inside, a tank will hold 750 gallons of rainwater from the brewery roof. The cistern water will be used to support the plants in a rain garden along the street.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/912608_Pictures–Crane-installs–40-000-public-art-project-in-Lancaster.html#ixzz2jKNY9pnh

Blighted Pottstown House Owned By State Rep.’s Chief Of Staff

Editor’s note:  There are a couple of take away items here.  a.  The Pottstown Codes Department evidently can’t process an address change.  Does that require a $5,000.00 “donation”?  b.  The house is in poor condition and needs repairs.  c.  This illustrates the pitfalls of being an “investor” in Pottstown.  Most likely that amount of damage didn’t happen overnight, from the sounds of the report.  How often are problem properties being checked on by an owner or property manager?  It sounds like the house should be demolished except the owner owes money to the bank.  It will be a LONG wait until conditions improve enough in that neighborhood to make fixing up this property economically viable.  So just add another vacant property to Pottstown’s housing stock.

POTTSTOWN — The district chief of staff for state Rep. Mark Painter, D-146th Dist., is the owner of a Walnut Street home that the borough has recently identified as “blighted.”

The designation was advertised in the legal notices of Wednesday’s edition of The Mercury.

Michael A. Lavanga, who heads up Painter’s district office in Sanatoga and has appeared on his behalf at local government meetings, expressed surprise Wednesday when contacted by a reporter about the advertisement.

According to the legal notice, Lavanga has 30 days to make repairs to the property including repairing or replacing rain gutters, loose paint, windows and the front steps to 409 Walnut St.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130412/NEWS04/130419776/blighted-pottstown-house-owned-by-state-rep-s-chief-of-staff#full_story

Are You Over The Age Of 40 And Need A Mammogram?

Image via Wikipedia

Are you over the age of 40 and need a mammogram?

 ACLAMO Family Centers with the help of Fox Chase Cancer Center, will be offering free mammograms on

July 15, 9:00 am – 4:40 pm

515 Walnut Street, Pottstown
You must pre-register in order to participate due to limited space.

No medical insurance necessary.

 For more information or to pre-register please call Glenda at 610-970-2134.

To learn more about ACLAMO, click here: http://www.aclamo.org/index.html

Another Iconic Company Leaves Philly

Image via Wikipedia

The economy is the culprit behind Robbins Diamonds leaving Pennsylvania.  We all remember those silly commercials with Jerry Robbins having a diamond in his beard, I’m sure.

Robbins Diamonds had three locations.  They closed their 8th and Walnut Street store in Center City, Philadelphia along with their store in Allentown.  Robbins blames the horrible economy.  Interestingly, they are keeping their large Newark, Delaware store open.  It has tons of free parking, access to Interstate 95 and Delaware has no sales tax.  (aha!)

Robbins stated he is glad to still be in business considering big names like Jack Kellmer, Bailey, Banks & Biddle and Caldwell’s have closed.  There are still 37 stores left on Jewelers Row in Philadelphia.

Another one bites the dust!