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Hyper-Local Bellwethers of Economic Activity Can be a Boon to Small-Business Forecasting
Monthly government-released data and economic activity are important for small business owners. But they may miss important micro-trends. And they often lack immediacy. More salient to small businesses are those more agile indicators, writes Gene Marks for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Open Table, for example, is a popular app that millions use around the globe to make restaurant reservations. It publishes weekly reservation data by country, state and city. Restaurateurs in family-run eateries can use…
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Philadelphia Real Estate, Including the Montco Suburbs, on the Up and Up, According to 2021 Investing Forecast
Philadelphia real estate market, including the Montgomery County suburbs, is currently on the up and up. It’s a market worthy of investors’ consideration, writes Aly J. Yale for The Motley Fool. The overall environment is decidedly business friendly. Philadelphia region, is home to six million people. It has a strong economy with deep ties to the education, healthcare and…
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Pennsylvania Games and State Lottery: How Much Scratch Does Gus Make a Year?
Pennsylvania’s casinos and state lottery take in billions of dollars each year, putting the Keystone State near the top of the list for gambling spending across the country, with the help of Gus, writes Samuel Stebbins for 24/7 Wall St. In 2019, 12 commercial casinos were operating in the state. In that same year, patrons…
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Pennsylvania LCB to Fans of Hard Spirits: Try Your Luck and Take a Shot
Pennsylvania bourbon and rye whiskey lovers: You’re in for a true treat, writes Paul Guggenheimer for the Trib Live. Interested buyers need to be quick. And lucky. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) is offering residents the chance to buy 213 bottles of 28 rare whiskeys. It will do so via five lotteries with multiple draws. The coveted drinks include Pappy Van…
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When Can We All Breathe a Mask-less Sigh of Relief that the Pandemic Is Truly Over?
Is the pandemic truly over yet? Signs of Montgomery County progress against COVID-19 are out there. Vaccination levels are up. Prevention measures such as washing hands and social distancing are established as habitual. But determining when the pandemic is truly over is not a simple task, writes David Murrell for Philadelphia Magazine. Furthermore, according to the health experts, as much as it might seem that the…
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Contactless Tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Enable Motorists to Glide through Safely
Ten months after initiating toll-by-plate via contactless tolls, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is on track with expectations, writes Kate Sweigart for ABC27 News. Currently, E-ZPass users outnumber and toll-by-platers 85 percent to 15 percent. Those data show that PA commuters enjoy the convenience and the economy of having that little transponder Velcroed inside their windshields. Toll-by-plate is more expensive. Processing times associated with matching images to drivers’ names and addresses adds to the expense. The system…
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PA 2021 Unemployment Claims Drop by Nearly 90 Percent from 2020; One of Best Recoveries Nationally
The job market is on the mend throughout the country. The U.S. makes significant progress in the fight against COVID-19. Unemployed Pennsylvanians are getting back to work at a rate better than 90 percent of the rest of the nation, according to a new report by WalletHub. WalletHub identified which states’ workforces are experiencing the quickest recovery from COVID-19. It analyzed…
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What Do Brood X Cicadas Have to Do with Frank Sinatra?
When amateur musician Peter Block hears the churr of 17-year Brood X cicadas this summer, they will become a marker of the passage of time. In 2007, their last appearance, his now 32-year-old-daughter was 18 and graduating from high school. The time before that, in 1990, she was one year old. The memory of these milestones — and their unusual soundtrack — brought a creative spark. Block took that “pulsating drone that…
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Miles for Molars: Cyclists Support Dental Services to Low-Income Montco Residents and Veterans
Encore Rides, a Doylestown guided bike tour business, considers community support so integral to its operations, it donates 15 percent of every tour fee to charity. One recent outreach was to Healthlink Dental Clinic. This nonprofit Southampton dentistry office offers free preventative and restorative care. Its client list includes low-income workers and veterans in Bucks and Montgomery Counties. The timing of the day of service was…
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PA State Grants Represent Progress in STEMming the Tide of Gaps in Science Education
Governor Tom Wolf is continuing the rollout of his PAsmart initiative with the announcement of $10.8 million in PAsmart Advancing State Grants. Funding will expand STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and computer science curricula in schools statewide. Together with the PAsmart Targeted State Grants announced last year, the Wolf administration has awarded close to $20 million in STEM support. “Workers in all types of jobs increasingly need to use…
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Brood X Cicadas Invasion Will Yield a Stealthy Response from Mother Nature in Montco Communities
This year’s emerging crop of Brood X cicadas is about to yield another wildlife phenomena — one that may be as unwelcome as the bugs themselves, reports Doug Gross in the Yardley Patch. Next month, thousands of Brood X cicadas will wake from a 17-year underground slumber. Then they’ll wriggle to the surface and sing in their trademark buzzy voices in our Montgomery County communities. But that…
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Pandemic Push Demands Amazon to Double its Number of Philadelphia-area Warehouses
Amazon has doubled its warehouses in the Philadelphia region during the pandemic. The e-commerce titan now has more than 50 area locations, write Jake Blumgart and Christian Hetrick for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Amazon currently has 57 buildings online or underway across Philadelphia, the collar counties, the Lehigh Valley, South Jersey, and northern Delaware. According to real estate and industry analysts, the company’s explosive expansion is unprecedented. “They’ve been…
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D.C.’s Grade to Pennsylvania for Addressing Statewide Infrastructure Issues: A Solid Meh
A new report from the White House gives Pennsylvania’s infrastructure a C- rating after decades of “systemic” underfunding, writes Christen Smith for WFMZ 69 News. Pennsylvania is one of 25 states to receive the sub-par score. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has been lacking the resources to address the decaying infrastructure — highways, roads and bridges — for years. Meanwhile, the state’s General Assembly is trying to…
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Licking the British: Local Revolutionary War Reenactor Mimics Valley Forge Battle Formations with Popsicle Sticks
While spring is usually a big season for Revolutionary War reenactors, most have had to find new ways to enjoy their hobby during the pandemic that has caused the cancelation of the majority of events in Valley Forge for the second year in a row, writes Cameron McWhirter for The Wall Street Journal. Kenneth Gavin,…
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Flexible Speed Limits May be the Key to Solving Schuylkill Expressway Gridlock
Hoping to balance gridlock and reduce congestion, PennDOT has activated variable speed limit signs along the Schuylkill Expressway, writes Jeff Chirico for 6abc. As a major artery both in and out of Philadelphia, the road carries over 130,000 vehicles each day — four times more than it was built to handle when completed in 1959. Widening the road is…
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Four-Year-Old Conshohocken Cancer Patient Becomes a Hard-Hatted Half-Pint for an Unforgettable Day
It’s not unusual for a construction foreman to oversee heavy machinery at work while decked out in an orange vest, hard hat, and toolbelt. It is unusual when that foreman is four years old, according to Marion Callahan in the Bucks Count Courier Times. “He’ll be talking about this until he’s 20, I think,” said Dana Esposito of Conshohocken. She and her husband beamed while…
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PA’s Online Unemployment Compensation System — Often Fraught with Frustration — Is Getting a Reboot
As if being out of work isn’t bad enough, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s online system for filing/managing claims is often difficult to navigate, unsteady in its performance and outmoded in its layout. That’s all about to change on June 8, with the launch of a new unemployment compensation system, writes Tom Lehman for WGAL News 8. The improved system will replace…
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“Godzilla vs. Kong” Bodes Well for Citizens vs. COVID
With vaccination rates increasing and parts of pre-pandemic life coming back, there are plenty of signs that things are slowly returning to normal, writes Francesca Fontana for The Wall Street Journal. Among them is the monster turnout for Godzilla vs. Kong opening. The iconic bout recorded the best domestic box-office opening since the start of the pandemic, taking in…
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