Did yesterday seem downright tropical or what? Temperatures in the low 40′s make us long for Spring. The heat wave ends today, with temps not even getting to 20°. Millcreek police were investigating a robbery at a trailer mobile home and instead of a burglary, they found drug paraphernalia and at least one marijuana plant [...]

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First on the docket today, several local companies announced earnings reports yesterday. Here’s a brief recap: Erie Indemnity Company, parent company of Erie Insurance, released their quarterly earnings report yesterday. Net income per share was $0.71, down from $1.11 compared to the second quarter of last year. ERIE shares closed yesterday at $45.14. If you [...]

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When Starbucks announced it would be closing 600 of its stores, some of us were left wondering if any of the stores in Erie would be closing. Although no official list has been released, the Seattle Times has put together a Google map of stores rumored to close using information from store employees and other [...]

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All around great guy Jack Tirak passed away last night. Jack was a partner at Erie ad firm Engel and Tirak and many of us knew him through his blog, Erie Media Go Round. We’ll fill you in on the funeral details when they become available. Condolences to his family. Casting call for you actor [...]

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Erie City Council voted unanimously to go after the money the city loaned for the dead Koehler Square Brewery project. The city probably won’t see a dime as National City Bank and the state get any money first but maybe it will teach future would-be developers that government funds aren’t just free money. The Greater [...]

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I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. In a sad day in American history, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated 40 years ago today. The great [...]

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Candidate for Congress Kathy Dahlkemper was to speak today at Gannon University. The engagement was canceled. An official with the school said that they didn’t want an individual candidate to speak as it might appear that they were supporting one candidate over another. Sounded reasonable. You still have to wonder if it had anything to [...]

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There is a nice sheet of ice over everything. Give yourself a few extra minutes to get where you’re going. There is a huge list on YourErie.com of schools with 2 hour delays as well as some closed organizations. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is warning local taxing districts in Pennsylvania about misleading materials [...]

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Eriez Magnetics of Erie, PA has built a second 55 ton electromagnet, matching the one that is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest. The original magnet was christened “Big Moe”, and the new one is known affectionately as “Big Moe II”. Big Moe II, known officially as the SER700, measures [...]

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Hackers from China broke into Pennsylvania government web site prompting the decision to take down nearly the entire system. It was back up later in the day after being down for several hours. Steris Corporation announced they closed on the sale of their 525,000 sq ft manufacturing complex on 25 acres in Erie, PA. Industrial [...]

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MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a contagious infection that is resistant to many antibiotics. Pennsylvania doesn’t even require health care centers to disclose the number of patients that have MRSA. About 30 percent of Americans have staph bacteria living on them, including about 1 percent with MRSA, but they have no infection symptoms. MRSA has [...]

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Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio’s 2008 preliminary budget calls for a .25 mill tax increase. The enormous amount of property taxes is a big reason why Erie can’t attract new businesses. DiVecchio must want people and existing businesses to move away. According to The Tax Foundation in their 2006 report on Property Taxes on Owner [...]

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Bethlehem Council President J Michael Schweder put a resolution on the council agenda requiring half the casino host fee go toward providing real estate tax relief to property owners. Giving tax money back to the taxpayers – a novel approach. Las Vegas Sands is building the casino on the former Bethlehem Steel property. The casino [...]

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On Tuesday, County Council Chairman Fiore Leone had a sheriff’s deputy remove Dan Galena from Erie County Council Chambers. Galena is a Republican who is running for the District 7 seat on council. Galena accused council of violating county rules and the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act. Here is the email I received from Mr Galena with [...]

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According the Brookings Institution study – From ‘There’ to ‘Here’: Refugee Resettlement in Metropolitan America – an analysis of refugees as a percentage of overall immigrants, the Erie PA area ranked third in a list of Medium-sized USA metropolitan areas. From 1983-2004, 4,545 refugees made Erie their new home including 2,969 from 1990-2000. The International [...]

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  The Erie PA casino will open today at 9 am. Presque Isle Downs and Casino will be opening, including 2,000 slot machines, following receipt of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s final approval to open the facility. Situated on a 272-acre site, approximately 58.4 acres of which are dedicated to the public as open space, [...]

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Erie County Council voted to approve a committee that will study and make recommendations on the Erie County Sheriff’s Department powers. The committee includes Judge Ernest DiSantis, DA Brad Foulk, both who rely on council to fund their offices, and three people that work for the county that council could fire. Don’t expect the committee [...]

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A theft of nearly a half million dollars has occurred at 19th and Parade. The police have not been notified. Why? Because it was only taxpayer money. In the past few days the sign on the lot announcing that Invest Erie Community Development Corporation was developing the spot for a grocery store has been removed. [...]

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The official site for Celebrate Erie 2006 is www.CelebrateErie2006.com. Jon Whaley, the top assistant to Mayor Joe Sinnott, asked for links to point to that URL. The site is owned by the City of Erie. The web design firm that owns CelebrateErie.com has recently updated that site to include info on this years event, but [...]

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Congrats to Jenny and Mike on the birth of their son Grady Matthew. Grady was 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Both mother and son are healthy and doing great. Me: When is the Erie Management Group going to start the move to the former Hammermill/ IP plant and have their groundbreaking? Boss man: They have already [...]

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The Erie Gauge War ended on this date 152 years ago, February 1, 1854. Unlike today where all trains run on a standard width of track, different railroads and different states had separate track gauges. Being a county sandwiched between New York and Ohio, Erie County profited – at least for awhile. The first railroad [...]

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