July 15th, Rep. Jim Gerlach announced that he would be running for the position of Governor of PA. He is the rep for my district, and I have personally been fairly pleased with his job. I actually follow him on twitter. His twitter page is http://twitter.com/JimGerlach
About a year ago my sister in law, who is a commercial real estate appraiser and I have a “prophetic” conversation. I asked her how commercial real estate tends to trend compared to residential. She said it is usually about a year to a year a half behind residential. That was about a year ago.
Lately I have been seeing more and more news stories like the one below.
NEWS FLASH!
My office, KW Exton, took first place in total units sold for past year with a 5.261% market share in all of Chester County! Our nearest competitor has a 5% market share. We had 463 units and they had 440.
Year to date numbers are even stronger. The numbers show that our training and systems are allowing our agents to power through this shift and gain more market share. After only five years we are now leading the way.
I found this article last week. Interesting idea.
PHILADELPHIA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–All sorts of things can happen to cause power outages – trees can contact aerial utility lines, vehicles sometimes strike poles, birds and squirrels can make the wrong move and trip electrical equipment, equipment fails at times, and wind and lightning can result in power problems, for example.
One approach PECO is taking to improve electric service reliability is by making its distribution circuits operate “smarter.” That is, sophisticated smart switches, also known as reclosers and sectionalizers, are installed with telecommunications to automatically sense “faults” or problems on a distribution circuit that cause outages affecting customers.
The switches, which break up the length of the circuit, have built-in intelligence to sense when a circuit experiences a fault and activates automatically, most often keeping the lights on for many customers, or transferring customers to an adjacent circuit within minutes. The devices then communicate this information to PECO’s operations center. This allows PECO to better pinpoint the problem and dispatch utility crews to make for repairs quicker.
In Chester County, customers in Berwyn, Paoli, Malvern, Downingtown, and around Phoenixville will benefit.
Money Magazine released its annual “Best Places to Live” list this morning, and only one area municipality made the Top 100: Chester County’s West Goshen, population 8,800, came in at No 11. Money Magazine described West Goshen as a “family-friendly community that has a quiet suburban feel, with no shortage of nearby shopping centers and local business, while Philadelphia is less than an hour away.” This annual list keeps changing the slice of life it looks at. “Best small towns” was the focus this time – even though the big print, as usual, proclaims “Best Places to Live 2009.”
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 7/14/09
Local legislators announced this week that nearly $3 million in state funds have been awarded to Chester County municipalities and authorities to pay for improvements to water and sewer projects. The funds are part of the H20 PA program, which uses revenue from the Pennsylvania Gaming Economic Development and Tourism Fund to pay for repairs to water, sewer and flood control systems. The top award, of $1.8 million, goes to Phoenixville to cover half of the cost of retrofitting that borough’s water plant.
Source: Daily Local; 7/16/09
The city will likely be low on cash by year’s end, City Manager Harry Walker told City Council on Monday night, and more budget cuts will be likely as a result. But city officials are dealing with the grim realities of tough economic times. Officials expected to collect $357,000 this year in real estate transfer taxes, but so far that number sits at about $90,000. City officials budgeted $388,000 for building permit revenues, but so far just $22,000 has been collected. Donations for recreation programs are down as well; just $16,000 of the $65,000 expected by city officials has been collected. Additional shortages were created by the arson crisis that plagued the city earlier this year. Police overtime has cost the city $300,000, but less than $150,000 was budgeted. That gap will likely be erased by a state grant for arson investigations.
Source: Daily Local; 7/16/09
Plans are shaping up for a low-income housing project for seniors in Kennett Square Borough. Borough officials last week looked with favor on a plan that would convert the old Creamery Building on East Birch Street into a housing complex with 61 apartments for seniors. The project’s developer, the Ingerman Group, indicated it plans to work closely with the borough’s historic commission to retain as much of the building’s integrity as possible.
Source: Chester County Press; 7/8/09
Here is a State-by-state look at cities, counties and communities where stimulus money will be distributed to combat homelessness and the dollars for each location, according to the Housing and Urban Development Department, published by the AP. Chester County, in Pennsylvania, is set to receive $1,130,871.
West Chester Borough is investigating a new state law that allows judges to wrest control of blighted properties from chronically negligent property owners. The Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act enacted last year allows a “party of interest” to petition the court to put control of a blighted property into the hands of an entity capable of fixing it. After a property is fixed, the court can order that it be sold. Revenues from the sale would go toward reimbursing court fees and repair costs. Once these and related costs are covered, the rest of the money would go to the property owner. Borough officials say they are unsure whether other Pennsylvania municipalities have tried this approach to combating blight. West Chester Zoning Chief Mike Perrone said he has identified five properties in the borough that he believes would qualify for court-appointed conservatorship.
Source: Daily Local; 6/16/09
Valley Forge to Downingtown, pa 19335 to Shutdown from Midnight until 6 a.m. Sunday
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (06/18/2009)(readMedia)– The Pennsylvania Turnpike cautions motorists that a 14-mile stretch of the toll road will be closed in both directions for six hours this weekend between Valley Forge (Exit #326) and Downingtown,PA 19335 (Exit #312) to allow a contractor to place beams for a new bridge carrying a local road (Route 252) over the Turnpike in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County.
Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, June 21, all westbound Turnpike traffic will be diverted off at the Valley Forge Interchange, Montgomery County, and all eastbound Turnpike traffic will be diverted at the Downingtown Interchange, Chester County. The Turnpike will reopen by 6 a.m. with bi-directional, single-lane traffic restrictions and all lanes will be open and traffic fully restored by 10 a.m. Sunday morning.
Pennsylvania State Police and Turnpike personnel will be available at the Interchanges to help direct motorists and provide an alternate-route card, which provides the best route to re-enter the Turnpike system. The Turnpike Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) will be activated and motorists can tune to 1640 AM for detour information and traffic conditions.
All Westbound Turnpike Traffic MUST EXIT at the Valley Forge Interchange (Exit #326) Take Interstate 76 east (.5 mile) to US Route 202 south (12 miles) US Route 30 west (2.5 miles) to State Route 100 north (5 miles). Re-enter the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the Downingtown Interchange (#326). Eastbound will be open to traffic.
All Eastbound Turnpike Traffic MUST EXIT at the Downingtown Interchange (Exit #312) Take State Route 100 south (5 miles) to US Route 30 east (2.5 miles) US Route 202 north (12 miles) to Interstate 76 west (.5 mile). Re-enter the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the Valley Forge Interchange (#326). Westbound will be open to traffic
The detour route is approximately 20 miles and the directions are produced solely as a convenience to the public. Motorists are encouraged to plan their travel accordingly. For emergencies, dial *11 on your mobile phone.
Saturday night leading up to the closure the contractor will implement single-lane travel restrictions westbound at 8 p.m. and eastbound at 9 p.m. At 10 p.m. State Police will proceed with a bi-directional traffic pace to allow construction crews time to move large equipment into place. All lane restrictions, paces and construction activity will take place within a one-mile work zone at milepost 324 (approximately 12 miles east of Downingtown and 2 miles west of Valley Forge). The Valley Forge Service Plaza, located adjacent to the bridge (eastbound) will be closed at 11 p.m. and all customers will be asked to vacate the premise.
This work is weather sensitive and could be rescheduled in case of precipitation, high winds or lightning. All motorists traveling on this stretch of turnpike are urged to use caution and remain alert for slow-moving or stopped traffic, and to travel at posted speed limits through all highway work zone areas.
Please visit www.paturnpike.com for project-related announcements and updates, including bridge-detour information.
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
