The Federal Aviation Administration today will meet with local government officials to discuss the Erie International Airport Runway Extension Project. U S Rep Phil English secured the meeting at the request of local officials. The FAA meeting will take place at 9 am in the Conference Room on the 2nd floor of the Erie Intermodal Transportation Building, 208 East Bayfront Parkway, Erie, Pa. Afterwards, Erie County Council will meet at the Erie County Courthouse.
The Erie airport is currently not in compliance with FAA safety rules as the runway is nearly 1,000 feet too short to meet their standards. Another 1,000 feet are needed to allow for larger planes and cargo traffic.
The City of Allegheny was annexed by the City of Pittsburg with the deal finalized 100 years ago yesterday – Dec 9, 1907. (Pittsburgh was spelled without the ‘h’ from 1891 to 1911.) The Pennsylvania legislature called a special election for 1906. Instead of granting Allegheny the right of refusal, the state allowed the count of combined votes to determine the majority. Allegheny appealed to the U S Supreme Court, which ruled against it. With the population of Allegheny, Pittsburg became the country’s fifth largest city.
If the City of Erie annexed (or merged with) Millcreek, Wesleyville and Lawrence Park, Erie would move from the 249th largest city to 141st with a population of about 162,000.
Holy cow. Great news. Someone signed a lease to move their business into the first floor of the Boston Store Place, 7th and State Streets. The 1033 sq ft office space was leased for $15.55 sf plus gas and electric. Maybe this will help persuade others to consider moving there. Suites of 2032 sq ft, 5500 sq ft and 7696 sq ft are still available.
In more great news, someone bought one of the three new homes built by Housing and Neighborhood Development Service (HANDS) in the Little Italy area. The property at 444 W 17th St sold for $79,900. This is a major step on improving the neighborhood.
Erica Kotula has joined Optical Image Technology of State College, PA as the public relations coordinator. Kotula is a graduate of Gannon University. She has served as an advertising coordinator for a national catalog company, an account executive and copywriter with a full-service advertising agency, and a marketing coordinator for a conglomerate.
TheraDoc, a Salt Lake City-based medical informatics company, has been selected by Saint Vincent Health System, a fully integrated health care delivery network, for implementation at Saint Vincent Health Center, a 436 bed, not for profit, tertiary care hospital and regional medical center located in Erie, PA. Saint Vincent will utilize TheraDoc’s patented solutions to provide real-time electronic surveillance and expert clinical decision support to augment Saint Vincent’s well-established infection monitoring and control programs. Over the past 15 years, Saint Vincent Health System has been successful in reducing the number of infectious disease outbreaks using technology developed in-house. In striving to further improve its infection control programs, however, the organization looked to the marketplace for the latest technology. “When we conducted our review, TheraDoc presented the only solution that truly enhanced our current capacity to monitor, manage, prevent and report hospital-acquired infections (HAIs),” said Howard Nadworny, MD, hospital epidemiologist, Division of Infectious Diseases at Saint Vincent Health System. “Their robust, real-time technology and reporting systems will also allow our ICPs to spend less time on surveillance and more time on intervention.” “Our infection control nurses at Saint Vincent are constantly inundated with paperwork and truly need ways to streamline processes for effective infection control programs,” adds Saint Vincent Infection Control Coordinator Terry Kalgren, RN, BSN, CIC. “TheraDoc technology not only significantly reduces this paperwork, it also allows us to customize reports to meet the requirements of PHC4 and the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).”
Saint Vincent, founded in 1875 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania as the area’s first hospital, is now the region’s third-largest employer, with 2,900 employees. Saint Vincent has earned national recognition as a health care quality leader by the U S Department of Health and Human Services, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, and The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. The hospital has consistently scored in the top ten percent among hospitals in the nation on a number of quality measures.
Erie Area Film Maker Ryan Cavalline’s tribute to the Slasher Flicks of the 70′s “Day Of The Ax” is now available in the GMD Films DVD Store. Give the Gift of Gore with “Chasing Darkness”, “Fury” and “Day Of The Ax”. Or, for the Pool Player that has everything, give them “Virgin Pockets” or to really heat things up this winter, check out Marie Madison’s “Smoke Junkies”, the dark and depraved drama. All DVD’s in their store are now just $9.95.
The 2007-2008 Highmark Quad Games 5 mile Cross Country Ski Race or 2.5 mile Snowshoe Race is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2008, 1 pm at Peek n’ Peak.
Join your friends at the Watson-Curtze Mansion for the 28th annual Victorian Holidays program Whimsical Wonderland. Included in this exhibit are professionally decorated evergreens, fireplace mantles, doorways, windows and other displays that will be open to the community. Whimsical Wonderland features more than ten different themed rooms; including a Seussical room decorated in all things Dr Seuss, a wintertime teddy bear picnic, a Victorian garden and much more. Participating decorators includes Traditions, the Carrie T Watson Garden Club and Melody Potratz of Potratz Garden Shop. Try you luck with the annual Chinese auction and win gift certificates from local eateries and specialty shops, or a holiday wreath. Victorian Holidays will run until December 30. Wednesday – Saturday 11 am – 4 pm, Sunday 1 pm – 4 pm. Museum Admission: $4 Adults, $3 Seniors, $2 Children.
Gannon University will be holding open auditions Sun, Dec 9 and Mon, Dec 10 at 7 pm in the Schuster Theatre, 620 Sassafras St, for their spring production of Nicholas Nickleby. Rehearsal will begin after the first of the New Year; production dates are April 10 – April 19. The production will be co-directed by Fr Shawn Clerkin and Paula Barrett. You’ll be reading right from the script so preparation is not necessary, although British accents will be encouraged. People can just show up at the theater at 7 pm and go upstairs into the theater space. No need to call in advance.
Family First Sports Park is in the process of making youth football more than just a seasonal sport. This year they are introducing a Winter Indoor Tackle Football League. The league will focus its emphasis on the basic fundamentals of football rather than the competitive nature of the sport. “We are very excited to start an instructional program during the off season, a place for youth to focus more attention to their individual skill,” said Mat Carpinello. The league is open to children ages 7-13 and will start on Dec 10. For more information, please contact Mat Carpinello by e-mail or call him at (814) 866-5425 ext. 247. You can register online here.
The Gem City Concert Band will offer its annual Christmas concert on Tuesday, December 11 at St John’s Lutheran Church Parish Center at 2216 Peach Street. Special guests for the evening will be Bridge City Brass, a brass ensemble from Pittsburgh that will premier several new arrangements composed by ensemble members. The program will begin at 7:30 pm and is free and open to the public. Plenty of off-street parking is available and the Parish Center is wheelchair accessible.
The Erie IT Network’s next Lunch’n Learn tackles the complexities of Blackberry Integration. It will be held on Thursday Dec 13, 11:30-1:00, at the Ambassador Banquet and Conferece Center, 7792 Peach Street in Erie. Data phones and PDAs are gaining prevelance in today’s workplace. More and more executives, sales agents and IT professionals are using hand held wireless devices to monitor servers, check emails and manage contacts. The speakers are with Research In Motion (RIM), the group that brought you the Blackberry. Join them for a technical seminar as they discuss the Blackberry Enterprise solution, including a look at the advanced security features inherent in the server software, as well as the framework used to deploy mobile applications. Register now, by clicking HERE. Or contact Karen at karen.kimet@technwpa.org or call (814) 451-1174.
The Lake Erie Ballet 49th annual production of the Nutcracker will be held Sat Dec 15 at 7 pm and Sun Dec 16 at 2:30 pm. Purchase tickets at the Erie Civic Center box office or at Ticketmaster.
While you are finishing your last minute shopping at the Millcreek Mall on Saturday, December 22, stop by the Center Stage located by Burlington Coat Factory between noon and 1:30 pm. The 20-member Gem City Jazz Ensemble will be filling the halls with Christmas carols and other jazz selections. Join the band for the entire show or just a couple songs to keep you in the holiday spirit!
The 25th annual McDonald’s High School Basketball Classic will be held in Erie PA on Friday, January 18 and Saturday January 18, 2008 at the Gannon University Hammermill Center. St Edward of Lakewood Ohio, Rice High School of NYC, Saint Patrick of Elizabeth NJ and Erie Cathedral Prep are in the powerful field. Adult General Admission tickets are $7 and Student General Admission are tickets are $5. Reserved tickets are $12.50.
The Association of Program Members (APM) of General Electric Transportation in Erie PA announced that it will be sponsoring the 13th Annual Winter Wishes Benefit Gala for the Foundation of Western Pennsylvania on February 16, 2008. Each year, the members of APM reach out to the community to collect donations for the silent auctions, live auctions and raffles that are held at the event. They also solicit “table sponsors” from local businesses. As a table sponsor, the business’ name appears on the centerpiece showing their support for this wonderful event as well as in any promotional materials that they put together for the function. The money raised with the auctioned items donated by local businesses will help provide funding for Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Community support of this event is recognition of the importance of this cause are greatly appreciated. Along with your assistance, GE will be able to make an impact on the day-to-day life of children whose lives are threatened.
