Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

HARRISBURG – The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) has awarded a $1.54 million grant to Liberty Township, McKean County, for much-needed infrastructure improvements that will help promote job growth in the area, Sen. Joe Scarnati (R-Brockway) and Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) announced today. Specifically, the grant will help fund the extension of sewer and water services from Port Allegany Borough to portions of Liberty Township, including the Portage Industrial Park and surrounding residential and commercial properties. It also will support replacement of existing infrastructure in Port Allegany to increase capacity at the borough’s treatment plant. “This grant not only helps fulfill a current need in the community but also makes an important investment in our future,” Causer said. “We cannot grow and expand job opportunities for our citizens without the necessary infrastructure. I commend the local officials and business leaders who saw this need a...

Local oil and gas producers, along with other business and community leaders, met with DCED’s Carolyn Newhouse today about the danger of changes to regulations that would be detrimental to the industry, as well as the local economy. The Environmental Quality Board is considering changes meant to further regulate drillers in Marcellus and Utica shales. But shallow well drillers say not only would it be too costly for them to comply with the regulations, it’s not necessary. The local producers are asking the board to allow the shallow wells to operate under the regulations in place before Act 13, and to tell DEP to apply changes to deep wells only. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will continue its 50th Anniversary celebration during Alumni and Family Weekend Oct. 4-6. The weekend will feature a networking luncheon, a block party, and the annual Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association awards brunch and Athletic Hall of Fame induction. During all three days of the celebration, an exhibit in the KOA art gallery will celebrate the campus’s history as the site of Bradford’s original airport. The exhibit will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day and offers historical photos and memorabilia as well as a video featuring interviews with local historians, pilots and members of the Pitt-Bradford staff who grew up near the original Harri Emery airport. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Friday’s activities begin with an Executive Speaker Series and Networking Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. in the Mukaiyama University Room featuring Carolyn Boser Newhouse ’86, deputy secretary for innovation and investment for the state of Pennsy...

Bienvenido de nuevo, la comida Mexicana. Bradford City Council on Tuesday authorized a lease agreement that will bring Mexican food back to Main Street. Mauricio Feria-Espana plans to rent 109 Main Street for one year and bring in a new Mexican restaurant. OECD Executive Director Sara Andrews said Feria-Espana owns a Mexican restaurant in Olean, New York, that, she says, is “bright, cheery clean.” She says the food was good and service was excellent when she went to the Olean restaurant recently. “We’ve done our due diligence … and we’re looking forward to having them come into our community and bring back a Mexican restaurant,” Andrews said. Also Tuesday, council accepted a quote of $7,972 from IA Construction for the paving of the access road to the Callahan Park ice rink and the side lot next to the rink. The money will come from the General Obligation Bond Fund. Council also authorized the execution of a grant contract for $50,000 in Keystone Communities Program grant mon...

Former Tuna Valley Trail Association president Mike Glesk, Bradford Mayor Tom Riel, state Department of Community and Economic Development deputy secretary Clyde "Champ" Holman and Bradford Office of Economic and Community Development executive director Sara Andrews get ready to cut the ribbon on the Pine Street Bridge this afternoon. Not pictured is Julie Marasco, a president of Northwest Saving Bank, which was instrumental in completing the project. WESB photo To see more photos, go to our Facebook page, Facebook.com/1490wesb . To hear the remarks made during the ceremony, click here . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Governor Tom Corbett today recognized Zippo and 49 other Pennsylvania companies and entrepreneurs that are creating jobs and making positive contributions to the state's economy at the first-ever Governor's ImPAct Awards. “Today we honor the men and women who spend countless hours providing the leadership and care that it takes to run a successful business,” Corbett said. “You are the champions partnering with us to put Pennsylvania on the path of growth.” The Governor’s ImPAct Awards recognized 50 companies from throughout the state in five categories: Jobs First, Community Impact, Small Business Impact, Entrepreneurial Impact and Export Impact. The awardees were chosen by an independent judging panel selected by the state’s partners, Team Pennsylvania Foundation and Journal Multimedia. Nominations for each award were provided by the state’s regional economic development partners – the Partnerships for Regional Economic Performance (PREP) network. Each of the 10 PREP regi...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Property taxes in the City of Bradford will not go up next year. Mayor Tom Riel thanked the city’s department heads and City Clerk John Peterson “who did a tremendous job with the budget this year, resulting in no tax increase two years in a row in a time when most communities in Pennsylvania are seeing double digit tax increases.” “I think that speaks volumes …” Riel added. “I think we’ve turned the city’s finances around. Contrary to what some people think, I think we’re headed in the right direction.” “We’re not there yet,” Riel said, “but this is my seventh year on council and I think this is the most comfortable budget I’ve ever been involved in, and I think John (Peterson) can attest to the same.” Peterson said this was his 13th budget and it was a “refreshing process to be able to go through.” “Our department heads this year have done a tremendous job … not coming in with inflated budgetary figures for council to review,” Peterso...

By SANDRA RHODES Great Places, Great Design, Inspiring Youth and Government Leadership Awards were presented to McKean County entities Wednesday evening at the Pennsylvania Wilds Annual Update hosted by the PA Wilds Planning Team on Wednesday, April 26. Rick Allan, Secretary of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; and Carolyn Newhouse, Dep. Sec. for Innovation & Investment at the Department of Community & Economic Development, Tourism & Film both presented on current efforts of their agencies in support of the great work being done in our region in developing heritage and nature tourism. Keynote speaker was Ted Eubanks of Fermata Inc. who has assisted Pennsylvania in planning for long term sustainable tourism development, first with the development of the Elk Scenic Drive and then the creation of the Pennsylvania Wilds marketing brand which is based on the footprint of the Lumber Heritage Region’s 12 counties. “I was very pleased to be a part of t...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director The City of Bradford has come up with a new battle plan in its fight against blight. Instead of demolishing only a handful of properties this year, they’re going to go after many more by, as OECD director Sara Andrews said, getting more bang for their buck. She explained that every year $30,000 of Community Development Block Grant money is set aside for demolition. But this year, they are going take out a loan for $150,000 and pay back the loan with the CDBG money. Andrews said she checked with the state Department of Community and Economic Development and they said using the money that way would be fine. City Council on Tuesday authorized OECD to send letters to lending institutions in an effort to secure the loan. She said Councilman Rhett Kennedy has complied of list of 56 properties that need to be demolished, and that list is growing. She added that they are in the process of getting the “legal end of things” tied up so they can secure the ...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Main Street businesses should look as if they want to be part of Main Street. OECD Executive Director Sara Andrews said that’s the attitude she and Main Street Manager Colette Roessler are going to try to encourage business owners to have. Andrews and Roessler talked about the downtown business district prior to Tuesday’s Bradford City Council meeting when they discussed applying for a Keystone Communities Main Street Façade Grant. If they get the $50,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, they would continue the façade improvement program, which has already led to $600,000 worth of improvements downtown. More than half of that came from private investments by property owners. During the council meeting, members authorized the filing of the grant application. As for the new attitude on Main Street Andrews said, “If you want to be on Main Street, let’s have some pride and look like you want to be on Main Street...

By SANDRA RHODES To know Carolyn Boser Newhouse is to know a woman with a sharp mind and great business acumen as well as a sense of community. Now, Boser Newhouse will share her strengths with the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as she takes the position of deputy secretary of innovation and investment at the Department of Community and Economic Development. The Bradford woman, who is stepping down as president and chief executive officer of SuperUser Technologies, starts in this new position on Tuesday. This position consolidates three existing deputy secretary positions. DCED Secretary C. Alan Walker said Newhouse will lead the commonwealth’s efforts to create family-sustaining jobs through advancing technology and innovation, supporting business growth and bolstering Pennsylvania’s robust tourism industry. “It’s all about job creation,” Boser Newhouse said about the new position. “Having been a business owner, you realize the struggle and the day-to-day challenges every sin...

Harrisburg, PA – Mayors and local government officials from across the Commonwealth, representing the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities (PLCM), as well as local business chamber executives, rallied in the Capitol Rotunda earlier today, to make an urgent call to the General Assembly for measures to prevent municipalities from entering Act 47 – the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act – by providing the necessary tools for municipal self-reliance. Local officials also called for immediate legislative correction to the October 19 PA Supreme Court decision regarding Act 111 arbitration awards under Act 47. The press conference was held following a joint committee hearing of the House and Senate to discuss amending Act 47, where several League members testified, urging reform of the antiquated laws under which local government currently operates. One of the primary reasons a governing body enters Act 47 is for the ability to hold the line on personnel costs. For 25 years...

Bradford Mayor Tom Riel and mayors from several other cities are headed to Harrisburg Thursday to discuss how the state’s Act 47 plan should be amended. Act 47 is the program that allows the Department of Community and Economic Development to declare a city financially distressed, and provides measures to attempt to relieve the distress. Bradford participated in the DCED’s Early Intervention Program that helps cities before they reach distressed status. On Thursday, Riel, six other mayors and officials from across the Commonwealth, representing the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities, will gather to ask legislators for measures to prevent municipalities from entering Act 47 by providing the necessary tools for self-reliance. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Delta Development Group is recommending something many people in Bradford have been suggesting for years: Taking code enforcement out of the fire department. That was one of the many recommendations the consultants made during a presentation Wednesday night concerning their work with the city in the Early Intervention Program for financially troubled cities in the state. “(Code enforcement) does not belong in the fire department,” said Deborah Grass of Delta. “We don’t think it makes a whole lot of sense for trained firefighters to be looking for high grass and weeds and garbage and junk cars and those kinds of things.” Grass made it clear that Delta was not doing performance reviews of personnel or departments; they were concentrating on the financial aspects of all city departments. Before the presentation Mayor Tom Riel stressed that while some recommendations in Delta’s report have already been implemented, not every one will be. “Just becau...

Today, Governor Tom Corbett presented his 2011-12 budget to the state legislature – a budget that is balanced and does not raise taxes for the residents of Pennsylvania. “I’m proposing something we haven’t had in a long time: a reality-based budget,’’ Corbett said. “To the people of Pennsylvania, the taxpayers who sent us here, I want to say something you haven’t heard often enough from this building: We get the picture. It’s your money.’’ “The electorate, its trust scraped to the bone by lies and half truths, isn’t going to stand for another broken promise,’’ Corbett said. “I said we’d cut. I’m not asking you to read my lips. I’m asking you to read my budget.’’ Specifically, the new, $27.3 billion budget focuses on improving four key elements: fiscal discipline, free enterprise, limited government and reform. “Government will never be cost-free. But it must be freed from the culture of churning through cash that farmers and clerks and mill hands and nurses earned dollar-by-dollar. The...

New state investments and loan guarantees approved today by the Commonwealth Financing Authority are providing an influx of capital to help make projects in Pennsylvania's two leading industries a reality, Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Austin Burke announced today. In total, the CFA approved $1.6 million in loans and $2.5 million in loan guarantees to benefit 13 different projects throughout Pennsylvania. The state funds will be leveraged to attract more than $19 million in additional private investments. "These are important investments in the state's two largest industries: agriculture and tourism," said Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Austin Burke. "They encourage job creation, sustain our rural communities, and bring visitors and their tourism dollars to the state." The funding was approved through the state's First Industries program, which provides loans, loan guarantees and grants to strength...

By ANNE HOLLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Get ready for another traffic change in downtown Bradford. An ordinance to make Kennedy Street one-way from Boylston Street to Main Street was approved on first reading by city council Tuesday night. Traffic would flow toward Main Street. Mayor Tom Riel explained that a parking space would be removed from Main Street so people turning onto Main from Kennedy would have a better view. Also, council approved on first reading an ordinance that would allow parking on both side of Kennedy Street from Boylston to Main. The measures are in response to concerns from Kennedy Street business owners. If approved on second reading, both ordinances would go into effect on October 4. Councilman Rick Benton voted against the proposed ordinances because of the “terrible sight problem.” “I hope one parking space will take care of it,” he said. Also Tuesday, council agreed to execute an agreement with Rudy Gobin to buy 19-23 Pine Street for $50,000, pending appro...

The Lumber Heritage Region (LHR) and the 11 other Pennsylvania Heritage Areas, including the PA Route 6 Heritage Corridor were inducted into the Keystone Society for Tourism. According to the Office of Governor Edward G. Rendell, induction into the Keystone Society for Tourism is the highest honor Pennsylvania confers on leaders in the tourism industry. Pennsylvania’s Heritage Areas were honored with the Enterprise Award, presented "to champions of a cooperative alliance that has spurred economic development through significant financial investments" to regional anchor attractions. Recipients of this award "demonstrate skillful management and facilitation of diverse resources necessary to frame, brand, and position a destination or attraction." In northwestern and northcentral Pennsylvania, the Lumber Heritage Region has been recognized for the management and facilitation of diverse resources designed to enhance the anchor attractions of the Lumber Region, such as ...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Bradford City Council has taken a tremendous step in the right direction toward rectifying the city’s financial problems, according to Mayor Tom Riel. During its meeting Tuesday, council agreed to take any and all actions necessary to initiate the application process for the state’s Early Intervention Program. The program, administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development, was designed to help municipalities that are financially troubled, but not yet formally distressed. The Early Intervention Program supports municipalities by offering grants that can be used to pay costs associated with hiring an independent financial consultant to prepare a three- to five-year financial plan and management review of the municipality. “This is probably one of the biggest steps the City of Bradford can possibly take to try to rectify our financial problems,” Riel said. “It’s probably overdue, but I think … it’s going to work for us and it’s a...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director While the City of Bradford’s financial picture isn’t bright, budget figures are right where they’re expected to be through April. During Tuesday’s council meeting, city clerk John Peterson said that, as of the end of April, “Revenues are tracking on pace and our expenditures may actually be a little under what is budgeted currently for most line items.” “It’s a little early to process right now,” Peterson said, “but we haven’t had anything alarming show up in wage tax figures or anything else that would make us say ‘Oh my God, it’s the end of the world.’ We got the big shock last year with timber, and we adjusted the budget accordingly this year based on the best projected revenue we could.” On June 16 of last year, during a mid-year budget review city council work session department heads learned that timber revenues would be anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 less than projections. Also last year, about 800 people were out of work, meaning wag...