VisitErie launches program to bring tourists to Erie.

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Is it just me, or do the leaves that keep falling to the ground seem to be much more abundant this year?

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Everyday Erie County front line employees come in contact with the traveling public and now VisitErie is acknowledging those that go above and beyond their duties.
The “Outstanding Customer Service in Erie” Awards were developed to thank/recognize those for their exceptional work in ensuring customer/visitor satisfaction with the traveling public.
After receiving over 120 [...]

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VisitErie and the City of Erie are hosts for the Pennsylvania Convention & Visitors Bureau (PACVB) regional fall conference September 19-23. The conference, taking place at the Bayfront Convention Center and Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel, is expected to attract 100-125 attendees. The last PACVB conference held in Erie was 1998.
PACVB was [...]

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VisitErie President and CEO John Oliver is in Harrisburg today to speak to the House Gaming Oversight Committee in favor of table gaming being allowed in PA casinos. He will also request that part of the proceeds from table gaming be earmarked for the state’s tourism industry, which includes groups like VisitErie.
Thanks to VisitErie, [...]

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VisitErie has released hotel tax proceeds for March, 2009.
This March was the best March since the tax was enacted – raising $39,178 for VisitErie, compared to $37,091 in 2008 and $35,561 in 2007.
Click on the image before for a more detailed graph and chart.

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The 2009-2010 Erie All Seasons Visitors Guide is now available. Designed and produced by VisitErie, the 72-page, full color visitors guide is VisitErie’s primary promotional brochure for tourism information. This years’ guide includes:

Erie Highlights, Entertainment & Arts, Shopping/Dining, Outdoor Adventures
Visitor Services Directory (accommodations, churches, businesses, schools, hospitals)
2009 Major Event Calendar
Newly updated easy to read [...]

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Twenty groups have selected Erie as their destination city for their 2009 conventions, tournaments and events*. The recent bookings reflect strong marketing efforts by VisitErie and their tourism partners, including the Erie County Convention Center Authority.
From sporting events, fraternal organizations and state associations to hobby enthusiasts, Erie is seeing an increase in [...]

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The parents of Gregory Jacobs have filed suit against Hamot Medical Center.  Their son, 18, suffered a brain injury while snowboarding at Peek ‘n Peak Ski Resort in New York and believe doctors at Hamot ended Jacobs’ life early and intentionally so they could harvest his organs. They are seeking $5 million for medical bills, [...]

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If you see someone walking around today with black soot on their foreheads its because it is Ash Wednesday.
Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper released this statement following last night’s address to Congress by President Obama:
Just moments ago, I joined my colleagues in the House of Representatives to listen to President Barack Obama’s address to the joint session [...]

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Hoping for Spring?  Keeping hoping.  You can blame the groundhog for temperatures that are not supposed to get above 30 degrees today and tomorrow, 45 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday, and back down to the 30’s on Friday.
If you’re scoring at home, that’s an error on VisitErie in their new Erie video they promoted on [...]

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VisitErie has released a new video about Erie. They say “The fast-paced three and a half minute video features a pop-up theme, similar to VH1’s “Pop-Up Videos” highlighting fun and interesting factoids people may or may not know about Erie, Pennsylvania. The goal is to reach a more diverse and Internet savvy audience. ”

Despite [...]

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Mid-day, the snow machine kicked up and Erie and Crawford Counties got dumped on. I-79 southbound was closed for a few hours yesterday after a truck jack-knifed. At one point last night, we were getting an inch and hour. We’re guessing that we’re going to break the all-time record this year.
Teri Rhodes has formally appealed [...]

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Erie Insurance reached the milestone of four million policies in force after reaching 3 million policies in force just eight years ago in 2001. Erie Insurance has been in business for 83 years and is a Fortune 500 company.  According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance is the 16th largest automobile insurer and the [...]

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In case you missed it yesterday, we’re giving away 3 $25 gift certificates to local restaurants. We’re totally in the holiday spirit. Read more and enter here.
Be careful driving today. For the most up-to-date forecast and conditions, check out the WSEE weather box in the column to the right of this post.
Congresswoman-elect Kathy Dahlkemper will [...]

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Ken Barnes was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the murder of Brian Wells by placing a collar-bomb on him which eventually exploded. Somehow the length of the sentence seems inadequate due to the total disregard for human life and being such a heinous crime.  Although Barnes claims he was forced to place [...]

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Be careful tonight as Thanksgiving Eve is a popular “bar night.”  Those coming in from out of town are reuniting with old friends, or simply getting a last few drinks in before spending a long day with family.  Some bars claim today rivals St. Patty’s and New Year’s Eve attendance.
Weather conditions for the next few [...]

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In case you missed the big news yesterday, a jury found former Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce guilty on all the counts for bilking insurance companies $440,000 from a 2001 car accident.  Joyce will be sentenced next March on two counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering.
VisitErie, together with member tourism [...]

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Even as President-Elect Barack Obama begins to pick his cabinet and other key positions, two states remain uncalled from Tuesday’s election. At the time we write this, North Carolina and Missouri are neither red nor blue. In North Carolina, Obama leads 50% to 49%, and its flipped in Missouri.
Bit of a police blotter today.
James DiNicola, [...]

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David Justka has been a bus driver for EMTA. In 2000, he hit a pedestrian and in 2005, he hit and killed David Sanders, who was on a bicycle at the time. He was fired after that incident yet for some reason an arbitrator awarded him his job back. On Tuesday, he struck a 16-year-old [...]

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The US House of Representatives did not pass the bailout bill yesterday afternoon. The already shaky markets responded by closing down 777 points. Ouch, babe. Rep. Phil English voted against the bill yesterday. He released a statement saying, in part:
While I support the need for congressional action to stabilize the credit markets, the legislation negotiated [...]

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ABC’s “Good Morning America” is coming to our fair city. Erie will be one of several train stops on the morning show’s “Whistle-Stop Tour 08″, a five-part series that begins next Monday. The train is expected to arrive in Erie on Tuesday September 16th at The Brewerie at Union Station.
Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts [...]

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Visitors from July 2007 through June 2008
VisitErie has released their hotel tax report for June 2008. VisitErie had predicted a 5% increase in hotel tax revenue for fiscal year July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008 and they ended the fiscal year with a 13% increase from last year, exceeding our expectations. During the 2006-2007 [...]

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VisitErie released hotel tax data today for May 2008.
According to their report, $48,593 was collected, an increase of 16.4% over April and an 13% growth year to date. Of the 5% collected tax, VisitErie receives 1 percent and the Erie County Convention Center Authority receives the remaining 4 percent.
The numbers for June should be higher [...]

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This June, Erie will host three good sized conferences. That means lots of visitors to Erie who will stay in local hotels, eat at local restaurants, shop and spend money. That’s great for Erie.
Chris Pennsy at VisitErie sent out some information about upcoming events. Last year, Chris wrote a blog post for us talking about [...]

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The deal in which Teri Rhodes was expected to plead guilty on Friday hit a delay and was postponed. Everyone was in court but left without anything being accomplished. Nobody is talking. Rhodes gave birth in her Mercyhurst College apartment on August 12. The baby lived 10 minutes before the newborn girl was suffocated to [...]

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A jubilant celebration will take place on Monday, May 19 beginning at 10:30 am at the corner of Manchester and West Lake Road, where only a pile of dirt presently exists. The celebration will mark the official ground breaking of the newest branch of the Erie County Public Library, the West County Library Branch (WCLB). [...]

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WSEE TV will air their exclusive interview with John Kanzius in a 30 minute special on Wednesday, May 21 at 7 pm. For the station to preempt the uber popular “Wheel of Fortune”, you know it’s important. Along with word on the breakthrough with the success of Kanzius discusses how big it could be [...]

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Erie Indemnity Company (Erie Insurance) (Nasdaq: ERIE) announced financial results for the first quarter 2008. Net income per share-diluted decreased to $0.51 per share, compared to $0.88 per share in the comparable quarter in 2007 influenced by net realized losses on investments of $0.27 per share, after tax. Although they sold more policies and their [...]

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US Senator Hillary Clinton spoke yesterday in Erie at Mercyhurt College. The Mercyhurst Athletic Center was packed for her one hour speech. The pro-life group People for Life picketed outside the main gates of the campus. Clinton discussed economic and health care issues.
A day earlier, Erie Roman Catholic Bishop Trautman said he was canceling his [...]

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Happy Easter!
The new Erie visitor guides are in. The perfect resource for Erie tourism information from lodging to restaurants to attractions to shops, maps, background information, handy tips and more, this 80 page full color guide is a must-have! Order your free copy today. Simply send us an email with your complete mailing [...]

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All real estate is local. What’s happening in California or Florida doesn’t effect the market in Erie. Last year you heard news about home prices falling all over the country. In Erie they rose. In an 88 page report released by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, home prices in Erie were up 4.58 [...]

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An American Black Bear has been spotted on Presque Isle State Park. This isn’t Winnie the Pooh or Yogi Bear so don’t feed it. It’s believed to be a young male weighing about 200 lbs. Adult black bears usually are between 250 and 600 lbs. There are an estimated 15,000 black bears in Pennsylvania and [...]

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Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio got away with it. GoErie.com reported that DiVecchio paid $285 in reimbursements for snowplowing and parking fines. DuhVecchio still doesn’t comprehend that what he did was wrong. The article by Kevin Flowers quoted him as saying “I just want this over with.” If you get caught, all you have to [...]

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Please keep the Bolte Family in your thoughts and prayers. They are having a sonogram taken on Tuesday of their unborn baby they are calling Happy. Baby boy Happy is showing signs of serious congenital abnormalities. They are looking for head/brain growth as well as a detailed look at his heart to see if the [...]

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Anne Ryan, a Sophomore at Penn, died in September of meningococcal meningitis. Ryan was a graduate of Erie Mercyhurst Prep. The family filed suit yesterday accusing the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania of ignoring signs when it failed to admit her after an ER visit on Sept 6. The suit also claims that an [...]

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VisitErie (formerly the Erie Area Convention and Visitors Bureau) released the latest Erie County hotel tax figures. In November 2007, they received $44,885 vs the 2006 November amount of $31,878, an increase of about 41 percent. The Buffalo NY area saw a decline for November 2007 vs November 2006. The fiscal year to date figures [...]

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Questions are now being raised as to why Malcolm Kysor, who escaped from prison on Sunday and is still on the loose, was transferred from maximum security prisons to the State Correctional Institution at Albion, a medium security prison. Kysor was sentenced to life without parole for a 1981 murder in Erie County.
Wonder if they’re [...]

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Welcome to the first in our series of op-ed pieces. In this series, we’ll be giving people and businesses in our area an opportunity to tell us about them and what they have going on. I’m excited about it and I hope you enjoy reading them and starting a dialogue.
In this inaugural piece, Chris Pennsy, [...]

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Erie International Airport officials asked Erie County Council for $18 million for the runway expansion project. The airport is owned by the City of Erie. County council wants the Erie Municipal Airport Authority board expanded to 9 members with 4 appointed by the county. Erie City Council hinted around that they might agree to 3 [...]

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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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