The City of Erie had a budget deficit of $1.3 million in 2006. That’s according to the draft of the audit done by the regional CPA firm of McGill, Power, Bell and Associates. One of the requirements to have Erie declared a distressed city under Act 47, the Distressed Municipalities Financial Recovery Act, is five consecutive years of budget deficits with the proof coming from audited financial statements. As soon as the audit is in completed form, Erie will meet the criteria.
The Erie School Board met last night. They agreed be start sports programs in middle schools and also the city’s LETRA (Local Economic Revitalization Tax Act) plan. Erie County Council is next in line to vote on it. Erie City Council could vote on it by the end of the month. It will then be 30 days after that before it goes into effect. Home additions would be given a 90 percent tax break for 5 years. Businesses would be given a 50 percent tax break for 10 years for new building plus 10-40 percent more depending on job creation. New residential construction in ‘targeted areas’ would receive a 90 percent break for 5 years, 70 percent in year 6, 50 percent in year 7, 33 percent in year 8, 25 percent in year 9 and 10 percent in year 10. Residences not in targeted area get a 75 percent tax cut for the first 5 years, 50 percent in year 6 and 25 percent in the 7th and final year.
The Des Moines Register reports that Abe Satterfield (Erie Cathedral Prep) has been suspended from the Iowa football team. Satterfield was questioned by police in connection with an alleged sexual assault last month at a campus dorm.
There was a Marilyn Gibbs sighting in Erie last month. Gibbs travels town to town handing out LONG, handwritten letters on microwave technology. I read the 3 page letter and made sure my doors were locked.
Erie, PA based Amthor Steel (no web site) is erecting the steel structure for the $155 million hospital going up in Lake County, Ohio. Amthor’s work on the TriPoint Medical Center should be completed by Spring.
The Erie Otters dropped their 14th in a row falling 4-0 to Owen Sound.
One year after being named the PSAC West Rookie of the Year, Sophomore Trevor Harris (Waldo, OH/Marion Pleasant) has taken it a step further. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference today announced the 2007 All-PSAC Football Teams, with Harris being recognized the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year.
Penn State Behrend’s Anthony Spoto (Birmingham, MI/Birmingham-Seaholm) was named the AMCC Men’s Swimmer of the Week, while teammate Steve Graves (McMurry, PA/Peters Township) snagged AMCC Men’s Diver of the Week
The Mercyhurst College men’s basketball team opens the 2007-08 regular season schedule tonight at 8 pm with a home game against Roberts Wesleyan.
As part of Gannon University’s annual observance of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, the Box City will run today 8 am to 4 pm. Students will experience homelessness as they collect money for local agencies.
The Hot Club of San Francisco, an ensemble of accomplished and versatile musicians celebrating the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli’s pioneering Hot Club of France, will perform at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, on Thursday, November 15. Hot Club of San Francisco is brought to Erie by Music at Noon: The Logan Series. The lunchtime performance is FREE and open to the public, and takes place at noon in the McGarvey Commons of the college’s Reed Union Building.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” will be shown at the Roadhouse Theatre, 145 West 11th St, on Thursday Nov 15 at 8 pm. Proceeds benefit the Great Lake Film Association. You can purchase tickets online here.
Do you want to know how to expand your sales to the European markets? Learn about product regulatory aspects for goods entering the EU. Understand the importance of Exhibitions in the EU and how trade shows weigh into the overall concept of doing business in the EU. The Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission is holding a workshop in Mercer on Nov 15. Cost is $35. To register please contact Lori Moore, or phone (814) 677-4800 Ext 104.
Gem City Concert Band will offer a concert on Thursday, November 15 at the Blasco Library’s H O Hirt Auditorium. The hour-and-half-long program will begin at 7:30 pm. The concert is free and open to the public, although a free-will offering will be accepted to benefit Gem City Bands. The 40-member band, under the direction of Betty McKinney and Assistant Director Brett Woomer, will perform such pieces as Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts’ Colonel Bogey March from the 1957 film Bridge on the River Kwai; Warren Barker’s Themes Like Old Times, a medley including Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Peg O’ My Heart, I Want a Girl, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and 12th Street Rag; and Ralph Vaughan William’s English Folk Song Suite. To kickstart the Christmas spirit, several Christmas selections will also be included, including Leroy Anderson’s 1948 favorite, Sleigh Ride. The concert is part of the 07-08 Blasco Library Concert Series and is sponsored by the Erie County Public Library and the Friends of the Library. For more information, visit the Gem City Bands Web site or phone 899-8467.
The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) Student Scholarship Auction Committee has announced that the College will hold the 14th Annual Student Scholarship Fund Auction at the new Erie Bayfront Convention Center on Friday Nov 16 with the purpose of providing scholarships to their students. The program opens at 6 pm with a silent auction, followed by dinner at 7 pm and a live auction at 8 pm. For reservations contact the LECOM Communications Office (814) 866-8125 or (814) 860-5125. You may also send a request for ticket information by Email: communications@lecom.edu. RSVP by November 2.
Presque Isle Downs and Casino is giving away $5000 with their Harvest Cash Giveaway on Nov 17 from 10 am to 2 pm. Eight winners will received $500 and one winner will receive $1000.
The Erie Civic Music Association concert on Sunday Nov 18 at 3 pm is a Big Band Salute to Hollywood with a 13 piece orchestra, vocal ensemble, dancers, and beautiful costumes. Music from Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, Henry Mancini, Andrew Lloyd Weber and others are featured in the tribute to the silver screen. Tickets are $22.
The Erie Central High School Class of 1997 Reunion is holding their 10 year reunion on Saturday, November 24 at the Cornerstone Bar and Grill, 809 East 38th St.
The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Pharmacy has scheduled an On Campus Day on November 29, 3-5 pm, to provide opportunities for prospective students to tour the campus facilities and learn about the Doctor of Pharmacy Program. It includes a tour of the facility, a Pharmacy Compounding and Dispensing demonstration, an opportunity to meet with current students and faculty, an overview of the LECOM Doctor of Pharmacy programs and information on the admissions process and financial aid.
European and African tradition meet in the annual holiday performance by the Penn State Behrend Concert Choir and Chamber Choir. The concert takes place at 8 pm Friday, Nov 30, in the college’s Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel. Tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for Penn State Behrend students, faculty and staff. They can be purchased at the Reed Union Building information desk and at the door.
