Believe it or not, today is the first day of fall. Funny, I thought fall started back in late July.

John Guerriero has a good look at the state budget proposal in the Erie Times-News. While we won’t face an income or sales tax hike, other taxes will go up (shocker.)
The tax on cigarettes will rise a quarter and tickets to concerts, sporting events, museums, zoos, etc will now be taxed at the current state sales tax rate of 6%. This ones a tough one – some localities like the city of Erie already charge a tax on fee and that coupled with this new tax and nefarious “convenience fees” may keep event go-ers from coming to events. It’s already happening, check out this tweet from a local Twitter user:

was going to buy tickets for Ave Q in Erie, but an $8 Convenience Charge tacked on to $30 ticket is foolishness.

The other big news is the legalization of table games, which means no more video blackjack in Presque Isle Downs, soon you can play the real thing with a real dealer. No word on when table gaming will actually begin, we would think not long after the budget is signed into law since lawmakers are betting, no pun intended, on the revenue table games will bring in.

With it’s acquisition of National City Bank complete, PNC has announced that some National City offices in Erie and Girard not taken over by First Niagara on close on Nov. 6

While we’ve had a smoking ban in PA for awhile now, the BBC reports that smoking bans have cut the number of heart attacks, as reported by two scientific journals.

Scary story from Union City – a driver lost control of their vehicle and ran into a gas station, pinning a woman underneath the car. The driver wasn’t injured, but the woman was taken to Hamot.

Sports

Events

Gannon University’s Dahlkemper School of Business Administration will host a one-day fair for high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing a business career. The University’s Business Day will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 on the second floor of the Waldron Campus Center, 124 West 7th St. The informational event is free and open to students and their parents and is designed to help them learn more about career opportunities in business, the programs offered by the Dahlkemper School of Business, and what students can expect from an undergraduate education in business.

When the Erie Ad Club became the Advertising Federation of Northwest Pennsylvania last year, it wasn’t just a name change. The goal was to encourage and invite advertising, marketing and business professionals from all over the northwest Pennsylvania region–not just Erie–to take advantage of our professional development seminars, community education and service projects, as well as social networking and professional recognition events. So in order to reach out to those businesses, organizations and individuals in those outlying areas, we’ll be holding a Membership Kickoff, “Brews & Dues,” at the Edinboro Hotel on Tuesday, Sept. 22, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Meet some AFNWPA members and check out what we have in store for the year ahead, all while enjoying free appetizers. Plus, we’ll be offering discounts on membership dues for those who join at the event.