Design : In the News

SmartPlanet interviews University of Pennsylvania professor Katherine Kuchenbecker about her research on applications for haptics engineering, which allows people to feel different sensations with virtual simulations.

Our goal is to capture how things feel in the same way that photography captures how things look. We accomplish this by recording what doctors and dentists, in particular, see, hear, and feel as they treat patients.

For example, in the field of anesthesiology, new doctors have no idea what to feel for when inserting an epidural needle for the first time. It can take up to 30 minutes for a doctor to do this procedure when he or she is just starting out. We hope that we will be able to use haptography to help accelerate physicans’ experience long before they try out an injection on a patient.

Another field we’re focusing on in haptography work is dentistry. Dental students must learn to detect very subtle differences in tooth enamel. A certain number accidentally leave cavities unfilled or fill where there are no cavities. Haptics can help dentists feel the different textures, as tiny as the differences may be, so they make fewer mistakes on real patients.


Original source: SmartPlanet
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Film Journal International reports on the extensive restoration of the Campus Theatre, an art-deco movie house near Bucknell University in Lewisburg, and its upcoming reopening.

Lewisburg claims about 6,000 residents, Bucknell about 3,500 students, but the Susquehanna Valley, which encompasses four counties that border the river, boasts a population of 500,000, with a surprising number of universities and a major medical center within an hour’s drive of the theatre. “Coming to central Pennsylvania from Los Angeles, where I worked before Bucknell, was a culture shock,” (owner Eric) Faden recalls, “but I was blown away by the fact that audiences showed up for challenging films.” (public relations representative Mark) O’Brien, a more recent transplant from Washington, D.C., describes life among the rolling hills and farmland as “country living with city tastes” and sees the Campus’ reincarnation as part of the area’s cultural coming of age.

“What better way to assure the vitality of the community than to make sure its art scene is vibrant?” says O’Brien. “Bringing in manufacturing was once the way to go, but today seeding the arts is the preferred method of economic development. My dream is that within five years, partnering with the university, which has a gorgeous performing-arts center and another smaller theatre, Lewisburg will have an arts festival that will be an annual event. The city will become a destination, and the cinema will act as an economic engine.

Original source: Film Journal International
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Benner contends that his garden systems will yield not just healthier and far-superior-tasting vegetables than those found in the typical grocery store, but a return on investment in less than two years. That's based on a calculation that three beds, planted compactly via a method known as "French intensive," will produce about 1,155 pounds of produce a year.

That, multiplied by the average cost per pound of produce in the grocery store, translates to a savings of $2,552 on groceries in the first year, according to the company's website, www.backyardfarmers.com.

Steel ORCA Bucks County DC will provide turnkey data center solutions that include co-location, managed hosting and professional services. The project will be housed in a 700,000 square foot facility that will be built from the ground up, and include 300,000 square feet of  data center space, according to CEO David Crocker.

"This data center will be (one of) the largest, most ecologically considerate and efficient data centers on Earth," said Crocker. "We are developing disruptive technologies. We are able to fulfill our vision of building a data center that addresses concerns by many data center clients focused on mandates and incentives to reduce carbon footprint, yet provide optimal high-density and high-performance computing."

The tree will be set up in the White House Blue Room to be decorated by floral department staff and volunteers, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, which has been presenting a tree for the Blue Room annually since 1966.

ModCloth.com was headquartered in her dorm room and run with the help of her high school sweetheart, Eric Koger. The two drove from Pittsburgh to their South Florida hometown several times throughout college to haul up stock. By the end of their senior year in 2006, ModCloth was getting 60,000 visitors a month, and plenty of them were asking for more.

These days, as co-founder and chief creative officer, Gregg-Koger, 25, still handpicks all the clothes, shoes and accessories featured on the site (most sell for less than $100) and seeks out designers who fit ModCloth's aesthetic. Koger, the CEO, oversees the technical side. The site gets around 2 million visitors every month and is on track to surpass $50 million in sales this year. They've raised $20 million in new funding to open up offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles this summer, and employee numbers are close to 150, and rising.

"We are ramping up our focus on irresponsible property owners that are bringing blight into our city neighborhoods," McMahon said in a statement Monday after touring one property.

"For 2010, we have 60 properties ... and 10 of them have been formally brought into the process to be designated as blighted properties," he added. "If owners don't respond we will take every action necessary to remove the blight, including tearing properties down."

Original Source: MSNBC

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After research, track officials determined that a parking lot adjacent to the track would be the best placement for the panels.

The solar farm sprung into action this weekend with a visit by NASCAR's top racing circuit, the Sprint Cup Series, as well as the Camping World Truck Series and ARCA circuits.

Original Source: CNN

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The idea is for the new plant to be located next to a coal-burning power plant. The carbon dioxide from that plant would be captured and instead of contributing to climate change, would be pumped into a series of enclosed 400-foot "raceways" where it would accelerate the growth of the algae, which is a champion carbon absorber.

The oxygen released by the algae would be captured and pumped back into the power plant to make its burning of coal cleaner and more efficient, thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions and increasing the production of electricity by between 5 percent to 15 percent using the same amount of coal.

'Bioreplication began about 2001 or 2002,' said Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Godfrey Binder Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics. 'All the techniques currently available are not conducive to mass replications. In many cases you can make as many replicas as you want, but you need an insect for each replication. This is not good for industrial purposes.'

Lakhtakia, working with Drew Patrick Pulsifer, graduate student in engineering science and mechanics; Carlo G. Pantano, distinguished professor of materials science and engineering and director of Penn State's Materials Research Institute; and Raul Jose Martin-Palma, professor of applied physics, Universidad Autonomia de Madrid, Spain, developed a method to create macroscale moulds or dies that retain nanoscale features.

Original Source: Science Centric

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The state is expected to pick a single bidder in October to build a port facility that officials hope will bring new jobs and millions of dollars in business to the Philadelphia waterfront.

"These companies that have expressed interest in Southport have solid track records in terminal development," Gov. Rendell said in naming the two bidders late Friday.

Original Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

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The ultimate goal is a system of stops and connections spanning from Berks to Franklin County in central Pennsylvania.

The study, which is funded by a state grant, will examine technology that would make fares universal from bus system to bus system. It will also determine how much regionalization would cost and look at ways to pay for it.

The funded solar projects are forecast to generate at least 26,600 megawatt-hours of electricity each year--enough for around 2,700 Pennsylvania homes.

The systems are expected to save $5.2 million a year in energy costs over the next 20 years.

Among the projects awarded funding, an $8.6 million solar photovoltaic array planned for a senior housing community in East Whiteland will receive a $2.7 million grant. The 1.8MW ground-mounted facility will generate 2.3 million kilowatt-hours of energy a year, saving $286,000 in energy costs each year.

L.R. Kimball was not looking for a partner, buyer or acquisition when CDI officials approached the family leadership about nine months ago, Kimball Chief Marketing Officer Roger Zwingler said.

"They were looking for a company to fill a void in their operation. They did not offer the kind of services we offer and had to send customers to other companies," he said. CDI has a culture and level of business ethics in treating people the right way that is similar to L.R. Kimball, making it a very good fit, Zwingler said.

Original Source: Altoona Mirror

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GreenSky Technologies LLC, whose CEO is William "Dee" Rake, will evaluate potential wind turbine locations and might ultimately develop the project. Rake, an architect, is the original CCP property owner and a former longtime member of the Middle Smithfield Township Planning Commission.

Supervisors Chairman Scott Schaller says placement of a few wind generators along the higher elevations of CCP, also known as Big Ridge, could lower energy bills for township facilities and those of residents by 15 percent to 20 percent.

Original Source: Pocono Record

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His story goes: One day he was walking around Kennywood wearing a blue "He-Man" T-shirt and at least six people came up to him and asked where he got the shirt.

"It just kind of became obvious that there is a demand for this, and people don't know where they can find it. That kind of gave me the idea," Mr. Stecko said.

"All reuse is a form of recycling, but not all recycling is reuse," says Brian Swearingen, the head of Construction Junction's deconstruction crew. "In deconstruction and reuse, we're taking that same material, but using it for the same purpose, or slightly altering it for another purpose.  When you do that, you're saving energy, because you have less transportation costs, less energy costs, and no re-manufacturing costs, which are high.  A good example is a metal table.  If you recycle that at a landfill, you have to put it on a truck, probably put it on a train, possibly put it on a ship, and send it maybe halfway around the world to make what is oftentimes a similar product."  

The meeting was called by the First Suburbs advocacy group that is pressing Harrisburg and Washington to start devoting attention, and tax dollars to the places this country's citizens have called home the longest.

Paravis--a vocal advocate for driving development dollars into Pottstown as a way of preserving the greenspace that surrounds it and a co-founder of the Pottstown Metropolitan Area Regional Planning Committee--was among the featured speakers Thursday.

The $60 million facility--the first full-service hotel built in the Valley in more than two decades--is due to open in May 2011. It is to include 22 suites, an indoor swimming pool, a fitness center and a 5,000-square-foot meeting space capable of handling corporate meetings of up to 2,000 people. It will create 350 construction jobs for the next year and require about 100 hotel workers after that, said Sands Bethlehem President Robert DeSalvio.

Leven said room rates would be comparable to the Hyatt Place hotel in Bethlehem, which advertises prices ranging from $90 to $180 a day.

The latest effort is by partners experienced in solar leasing. Middle Atlantic Solar Leasing L.P. is the creation of Gemstone Group Inc., a renewable-energy investment-banking firm in Wayne, and AFC First Financial Corp. in Allentown.

Homeowners and small businesses would be able to forgo the significant upfront costs associated with buying a solar-energy system--typically $20,000 to $30,000 for an average home--and instead make monthly payments of about $120 over the 15-year life of the standard lease.

Original Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

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The program, which loosely resembles the game SimCity, is part of a US government effort to develop sophisticated computer models of real Afghan villages--complete with virtual people based on actual inhabitants--in an attempt to predict their reaction to US raids and humanitarian aid.

The project, spearheaded by a University of Pennsylvania engineer at the behest of an undisclosed US government agency, straddles the line between research and intelligence as part of a wider US effort to design software capable of forecasting human behavior in war zones.

After years of planning and waiting for legislative permission, Philadelphia's pedicabs finally hit the streets Saturday.

"Here's the green job sector of Philadelphia," said Sean Leahy, 22, freshly graduated from Temple University with a bachelor's degree in environmental science. He was the first of four drivers who took passengers for their maiden voyages on the canopied Velo-Park pedicabs. He plans to do the work full time until September, when this summer's test season ends.

A Marywood University professor, in collaboration with professors at three other universities, is developing a product that would monitor senior citizens' activites in their homes, check vital signs during sleep and even keep tabs on environmental health inside the home.

Dr. Herbert Hauser, an assistant professor of psychology at Marywood , said he is hopeful the Marywood University Remote Elderly Monitoring System will be ready for consumers in 12 to 24 months.

Original Source: Times-Tribune

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Supervisors got their first glimpse of the multimillion-dollar plans during a special meeting Tuesday with their architectural firm Kimmel Bogrette of Conshohocken, Montgomery County. Government offices would be housed in a 13,000-square-foot building with a garden rooftop. A breezeway would link it to a 7,000-square-foot public works building with a bank of solar panels on its roof.

The township hopes to break ground on the complex, which is expected to cost between $3.5 and $4.6 million, later this year. Once the project is completed, the existing structure would be razed.

Brian Auman, Landscape Architect and Principal Planner for SEDA-Council of Governments planned a field visit with Christopher King, transportation planner with PennDot and Shawn Stille, a PennDot civil engineer to help assess the needs in the Main Street business district, the community gateway at Muncy Valley Hospital, and the truck access area to the Industrial Park area.

The group met at the Borough parking lot at 4 p.m. and proceeded to the corner of E.Water and Main Streets to observe the traffic patterns, determine curb and sidewalk street scape improvements and implement better lighting.

Original Source: Muncy Luminary

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When it outgrew its digs on Route 22 in Lopatcong Township, N.J., the company sought help in relocating. That help came from the state and locally from the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. Kitchen Magic's manufacturing shop and showroom are now operating in a former garment-sewing factory at 4243 Lonat Drive, near the intersection of Routes 22 and 191 in Lower Nazareth Township.

"The state of Pennsylvania was instrumental in being very business-friendly and rolling out the welcome mat for us," said Brett Bacho, president of the company. "It's worked out really well."

Company Vice President Autumn Bayles explained the building is one story which will make the flow much easier. 4.3-million cakes, pies, cookies, and donuts are made at the plant everyday.

A glass mezzanine was built above the baking area so tour groups can visit.

Bayles vows everything will taste the same even though everything is being made in a new facility. The company did a lot of testing and no one could tell a difference.

Original Source: FOX29

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The Greater Wilkes-Barre Development Corp., the real-estate arm of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry which owns the Innovation Center, proposed to construct a new building.

The project would provide support to more than 33 new start-up companies and has the potential to create about 205 new jobs and more than $35 million in wages during the first 10 years of operation, chamber officials said.

In its monthly look at state job trends, the Labor Department said Friday that Maryland led the country with a gain of 35,800 payroll jobs last month. Virginia and Pennsylvania also posted increases that topped 20,000 in the month.

By contrast, Michigan continued to have the nation's highest unemployment rate at 14.1 percent, and also led the country in job losses in March with a decline of 9,500. Nevada and Florida also posted sizable job losses and were among 17 states recording job losses during the month.

Nationally, the unemployment remained unchanged at 9.7 percent in March while payrolls grew by 162,000, the biggest gain in three years.

Liberty Property Trust is headquartered in Pennsylvania and controls about 3 million square feet of office, flex and industrial space in the Triad.

Liberty's Carolinas portfolio includes three LEED-certified buildings, including the Bull Ridge Distribution Center in Greensboro, which was one of the first speculative warehouse developments in the country to achieve LEED certification.

The line's look is so popular--think Hollister or Abercrombie & Fitch--that the retailer opened its fifth stand-alone store earlier this month and, this fall, will fund a scholarship at its namesake college west of Philadelphia.

Franklin and Marshall the company was founded by a pair of entrepreneurs in Verona in 1999, more than 200 years after Franklin & Marshall the college was founded in Lancaster by a gift from Benjamin Franklin.Giuseppe Albarelli and Andrea Pensiero were inspired to create their high-end sportswear by an authentically old F&M sweatshirt they found at a secondhand shop in London. 

Tim Phelps, chamber president, announced the endorsement of the proposed center at a TCACC Membership Mixer hosted by the college on Jan. 26. Phelps presented the board’s letter of support to Dr. Karen A Stout, president, MCCC, and Kurt Zwikl, executive director, Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area, for the project created through the partnership of the two organizations.

“The partnership between the college and the SRHA is the first known one of its kind--where a community college partners with a designated national heritage area to benefit the greater community,” said Stout.

"We're trying to put (city transportation planning) ahead of the curve, trying to put ourselves in a better position when that next round of transportation funding comes out," said Planning Director Noor Ismail.

The city effort is called Move PGH, and the first step is a meeting in the mayor's office today for prospective members of a 13-member task force and a 29-member management committee, including city directors and officials from other transportation agencies. (Mayor)  Ravenstahl plans to ask them to help set the stage for the selection of a consultant, who will guide the $1.1 million process of analyzing and planning the city's transportation system.

ArtsQuest, a nonprofit, runs Christkindlmarkt, the Banana Factory and Musikfest-- a 10-day festival that depends a great deal on its volunteers -- and is developing the 65,000-square-foot ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, which is scheduled to open in May 2011. PBS-39, WLVT-TV is developing a broadcast center there as well.

ArtsQuest expects to fill 30-35 positions during the next 14 months, which would double the size of its staff, spokeswoman Kassie Hilgert said. The balance of the 100 new positions will be with the group that will provide food service at the center. ArtsQuest also estimates providing 168 jobs during construction.

Philadelphia spent over $48 million on electricity, heating oil, and natural gas in fiscal year 2008-09, one of the largest line items in the city's general budget.

Which explains why reducing municipal energy use--by 10 percent this year, and by 30 percent within five years--is one of the top goals on the Nutter administration's sweeping environmental agenda.

Edinboro University is renaming its satellite campus in Meadville after Joseph and Eleonora Buba of Pittsburgh, who pledged the largest donation in school history--a "multiple seven-figure commitment"--reports the Meadville Tribune.

The Bubas have a history of supporting the university. In 2006, they established the Joe and Eleonora Buba Scholarship for Manufacturing Engineering & Technology, which is awarded each year to an incoming freshman pursuing an EUP degree in the fields of manufacturing engineering technology, industrial trade and leadership or physics.

Original source: Meadville Tribune
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As part of a senior class project, a group of Carnegie Mellon University civil engineering students are trying to preserve the 101 year-old Hulton Bridge that crosses the Allegheny River near Pittsburgh, reports the Design Training blog.

Students estimate that the proposed renovation would only cost around $279,000 for barriers to discourage automotive traffic and hand railings to ensure the safety of pedestrian travelers.

Original source: Design Training blog
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Bethlehem-born and raised guitarist Steve Kimock, a favorite of Jerry Garcia's who returned to live in his home state five years ago with his family, is featured in this CNN video and story.

Ever since he was 10 years old, influenced by the instruments and songs he encountered at his Aunt Dottie's home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the only thing on Kimock's mind has been music. Nearly 50 years later, not much has changed; his road manager revealed that even after a lengthy gig, Kimock still takes a few guitars up to his hotel room to noodle away into the night.

Original source: CNN
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Franklin County, which relies on tourism as its second-most lucrative industry, will utilize its namegiver, Ben Franklin, in its highly ranked marketing plan, reports the Public Opinion.

Franklin County is trying to make a name for itself, without a major tourist attraction and during a down economy.

The county has been preparing four years to go it alone. The county in 2006 broke from a regional tourism promotion agency. Much of the county's room tax had paid for promoting regional attractions outside the county. For more than 20 years the county's tourism promotion had been linked to those major destinations.

Franklin County is promoting itself as "a spoke to a hub," according to Pollard.

Original source: Public Opinion
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The $786 million expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia is at the halfway point, with a March 2011 opening expected, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"It allows us to attract groups that we couldn't in the past because we weren't big enough," said Ahmeenah Young, president and chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority.

That means attracting larger national conventions, especially health and medical groups, and accommodating multiple conventions at the same time, Young said.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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The CEO of The Sextant Group, Mark Valenti, hopes to restore the former Allegheny City Stables in Pittsburgh and double his local staff in that space for an estimated $2.5 million, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The 1896 building was originally home of the Allegheny City public works department -- in which Belgian horses were hoisted to the second floor. It is a city-designated historic structure but in wretched condition. The entire third floor is missing. An itinerant tore out the floor boards and burned them to stay warm. The roof is "pretty much non-existent," Mr. Valenti told the Historic Review Commission last week when he presented his plan.

"Our intention is to design a state-of-the-art intelligent building, a showplace to demonstrate to our clients what you can do," he said. Mr. Valenti said will seek LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Original source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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A national museum recognizing scholastic sports excellence is expected to open in Easton, which hopes to attract new visitors to the sports-rich town on the Eastern PA border, reports the Associated Press.

The 20,000-square-foot complex is still being planned but will likely include exhibit space for memorabilia, a holographic theater, a testing and training center for current athletes, an education center for coaches seeking certification, and a "Hall of Achievement" featuring standout prep athletes who went on to attain career success.

The complex, to be built on the site of an abandoned restaurant and movie theater, will also feature a 350-car parking garage and a commuter bus depot.

Original source: Associated Press
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Groundbreaking on the $25.8 million SteelStacks Performing Arts Center, expected to open in May 2011 and transform part of the former Bethlehem Steel plant, took place last week with Gov. Ed Rendell, reports the Morning Call.

The Performing Arts Center will include a community events facility called the Blast Furnace Room and two digital screen arts cinemas--one with 100 seats and one with 200 seats.

The center also will include the 600-seat Musikfest Cafe, where 280 concerts a year will feature the kind of world music, jazz, folk, blues, bluegrass, gospel, country, adult alternative, R&B and new age music often found at Musikfest's free stages.

Original source: Morning Call
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Word is getting out that the trail is a world-class biking destination. Linda Boxx, president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, a coalition of seven organizations that oversee the project, said 10,000 to 15,000 people rode a long-distance trip along it last year. The trail was built at the cost of $65 million after the rail tracks were abandoned in 1975.

Unionville and Julian, combined population of about 450 in the Bald Eagle Valley, are bustling with the start of production on the Denzel Washington film "Unstoppable," reports the Centre Daily Times.

Depending on whom you talk to in the valley, the spotlight is either a curse or a blessing. But one thing is sure--the arrival of Hollywood has been the talk of both towns.

Several Penn State students have signed on as part of the crew, serving as production assistants for the filming. The university began its partnership with the production team in late summer, when it held an informational session for students interested in participating.

Original source: Centre Daily Times

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Like its 2007 entry, Penn State relied heavily on local materials. The Pennsylvania-grown black locust decking requires no chemicals to resist weather and insects; interior flooring is white oak reclaimed from a barn being torn down near campus; and trusses were manufactured with pine from a local FSC-certified forest. The bed frame was outfitted with the trunk of a fallen tree, while the headboard was handcrafted using chalkboards and wood from deconstructed campus buildings.

According to Jennifer L. Swain, executive director of the Northern Tier Cultural Alliance and Artisan Trail Coordinator, the event is designed for buyers and directors for gift shop, restaurant, lodging site owners, school districts, hospitals, and assisted living-nursing homes from the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier of New York; as well as producers such as artists, specialty food producers, and growers.

"There's a lot of work going on right now around the concept of buying and selling local artwork and local foods. One popular suggestion in the Northern Tier is the creation of a wholesale show that features regional artwork, specialty foods and produce," Swain said.

Art Works, a communal art center in Johnstown that will house artist studios, classrooms and public space, received $500,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, reports the Daily American.

The money will allow the art center to begin the final phase of renovations. Art Works is housed in a 18,000-square-foot turn-of-the-century industrial building, which is being renovated using green technologies and practices. One "green" technology is a living roof, which will manage storm water runoff from the building, reduce heating and cooling loss and provide outdoor space for audiences and artists.

Original story: Daily American
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In the first phase, hundreds of buildings on the 47-acre industrial tract were demolished, and the land cleaned up. The property, which will be divided between F&M and Lancaster General, includes sports fields for the college, and may become the site of a new nursing school. A football stadium and baseball field are planned as well.

Nikoloff said the Lancaster General portion of the site could create hundreds of jobs and is projected to pump tens of millions of dollars into the local economy.

PennDOT's 511PA phone highway information system started last week, reports the Morning Call.

The program they're calling 511PA provides free, 24-hour traveler information, offering real-time warnings of traffic jams resulting from accidents, road work or other causes, as well as alerts about snow, ice and other weather conditions that might threaten a pleasant journey.

A companion Web site, http://www.511PA.com , offers the same information, plus links to other sites with public-transit, car-pooling and route-planning information, even details about major tourism programs or destinations.

Original source: Morning Call
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A new medical school building and a mix of residential and commercial projects have North Philadelphia bustling with development, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

John Kromer, former director of the city's Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD), said that the city's decision to make "lower North Philadelphia a priority" for new-home-ownership programs in the early 1990s spurred private development now going on near Temple.

Kromer, author of Fixing Broken Cities: The Implementation of Urban Development Strategies, said the city's efforts and the Philadelphia Housing Authority's push to build new houses in a long-ignored section of North Philadelphia have helped to save the area.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Philadelphia's economic development advocates are attempting to revive the city's manufacturing might by restoring underused industrial buildings, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Community Design Collaborative, a volunteer group that promotes revitalization of older, urban neighborhoods, is joining the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. (PIDC) on an 18-month initiative to improve job opportunities and restore underused industrial buildings and land to what they call "a competitive market standing."

Put more simply: "Let's focus on industrial for industrial for a little bit," said Elizabeth K. Miller, executive director of the collaborative.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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The streets of historic downtown Lancaster are noticeably more crowded since the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau opened in April, reports the Intelligencer Journal.

"It's clear that we have tons of new visitors. ... There are a lot more people on the street in the evenings," said Phil Wenger, president of the Isaac's Restaurant & Deli chain, which has a restaurant at 25 N. Queen St.

"We're definitely seeing a lot more," said Phillip Eck, manager of Annie Bailey's Irish Pub and Restaurant, 28 E. King St. "The doormen are seeing a lot of different state IDs."

Original source: Intelligencer-Journal
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Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, which hosted the NASCAR Sprint Cup Pennsylvania 500 last weekend, plans to construct the world's largest solar energy project at a sports facility.

About 40,000 photovoltaic panels are to be installed on 25 acres across the street from the racetrack on property that had been used as a parking lot for races. The solar farm is expected to generate three megawatts once it is completed, in spring 2010, making it Pennsylvania’s largest such facility, Igdalsky said. The project is expected to cost $15 million to $17 million but more than pay for itself over time.

A number of prominent sports sites use solar energy, including Taiwan’s National Stadium, which recently hosted the World Games; AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants; Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians; and the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland.

Original source: New York Times
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Philadelphia's cultural district along Broad Street was highlighted for its high-tech lighting by New Urban News.

Nine buildings--on a stretch of South Broad that, because of its theaters, concert halls, art school, and other cultural venues, has been dubbed the "Avenue of the Arts"--now feature choreographed illumination from dusk to midnight (and later on weekends). A synchronized system using LED (light-emitting diode) fixtures causes the buildings’ facades to become brighter or darker and to change color.

Original source: New Urban News

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A distribution hub in Conewago Township is adding nearly 650 jobs, reports the York Daily Record.

The facility, a prominent square building described as about the height of the Statue of Liberty's crown, is visible on the west side of Interstate 83 between Harrisburg and York.

Storage and shipping company ES3 announced the expansion along with affiliate C&S Wholesale Grocers with Gov. Ed Rendell at the state Capitol on Monday.

The state put together a $2.9 million package to help facilitate the $200 million project.Rendell said it was "terrific news" considering the economic hits Pennsylvania has taken recently.

Original source: York Daily Record
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Railroad-related jobs are returning to Carbondale, Lackawanna County, thanks to the expansion of natural gas drilling in the region, reports the Scranton Times-Tribune.

Linde Corp., a regional utility and heavy construction contractor, recently agreed to lease 5.5 acres of former Delaware & Hudson Railroad property in the city, said Larry Malski, president of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority.

"The genesis of this was the natural gas industry," Mr. Malski said. "We've been trying to get something in Carbondale for quite a few years."

Original Source: Scranton Times-Tribune

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A list of railroad projects the state submitted to the federal government for a chunk of the $8 billion in high-speed rail stimulus funding includes the Lackawanna Cut-Off, part of a commuter rail plan that would link Andover, N.J., to East Stroudsburg, reports the Pocono Record.

The long-awaited commuter rail service would connect Scranton to Hoboken, N.J., in a 133-mile corridor through Monroe County.

The high-speed rail line has five proposed stops in Monroe County; Delaware Water Gap, East Stroudsburg, Analomink, Mount Pocono and Tobyhanna.

Pennsylvania's candidate project list for federal money is part of a pre-application process. Three other projects also made the list. Here is the state's complete list of candidate projects as it appeared in a press release from Rendell's office: Keystone East Corridor from Harrisburg to Philadelphia; Scranton to New York Rail Passenger Rail Service Program; Pittsburgh High-Speed Magnetic Levitation Project (this would be a Maglev, or magnetic levitation line from Pittsburgh International Airport to Monroeville/Greensburg); Keystone West Harrisburg to Pittsburgh High-Speed Rail Feasibility and Business Plan Study

Original Source: Pocono Record

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Local government officials cut the ribbon last week to open Arts Walk, the final phase of a lengthy development of Allentown's downtown arts district, reports the Morning Call.

Construction on the brick-paved walkway, which connects Symphony Hall, the Baum School of Art, the Allentown Art Museum and the Allentown Arts Park between Hamilton and Linden streets, was finished several months ago.

''The arts are critical to a healthy city, and the Arts Walk brings a new focus to connect our downtown commercial district to our arts treasures,'' Pawlowski said.

Original Source: Morning Call

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York County has enough land to keep pace with economic development for at least 10 years, reports the York Dispatch.

Projections show a demand for 7.8 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space over a 10-year span, according to the study, conducted by the consulting firm Basile Bauman Prost Cole & Associates.

With about 5,246 acres appropriately zoned and available for those types development, the county can accommodate about 27 million square feet of development.

 

The study was formally adopted Wednesday into the county's comprehensive plan, which is used by the planning commission to help municipalities manage growth.

Mr. Rub, 57, has been director of the Cleveland Museum since April 2006, overseeing its capital project and fund-raising campaign as well as the reinstallation of European and American art collections. He also has been responsible for completion of Phase 1 of a seven-year renovation and expansion designed by the architect Rafael Viñoly. The first of the project’s three new wings opened Saturday. 

While Cleveland is a highly distinguished museum, when he gets to Philadelphia Mr. Rub will be leading one of the country's biggest art institutions, with more than 200 galleries, a world-class collection and an active exhibition program. 

Employee showers and bike racks are among many green features in store for the future $1.5-million-home of Cargas Systems at the former Lancaster Stockyards, reports the Lancaster Intelligencer.

Cargas Systems, a business software and consulting firm now on Granite Run Drive, would be the third firm to open at the city site.

CoreSource, an insurance claims processor on West King Street, and Benten BioServices, a vaccine research and development start-up, also will fill new buildings to be constructed there.

Groundbreaking for all three structures is set for the second half of this year, an associate of site developer Tim Harrison has said.

Original Souce: Lancaster Intelligencer
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A Perry Township cornfield could become the site of the state's largest solar panel field, reports the Reading Eagle.

Early plans would place 18,000 to 20,000 solar panels on 14 to 15 acres off Route 61 near Houck Homes Inc.

The array could generate 4 megawatts easily, making it the most powerful solar panel field in the state, said Dean M. Arnold, solar project engineer for Solar Technology Solutions Inc., the Bern Township company working to develop the $24 million project.

Original Souce: Reading Eagle
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The Lancaster County Convention Center and Marriot hotel opened before business and civic leaders last week, marking a new era in downtown Lancaster's revitalization that was 10 years in the making, reports the Lancaster New Era.

From the hotel's marble lobby to the carvernous convention hall to the stunning vistas of city and farmland visible from upstairs hotel rooms, the project provides the county with luxury accommodations on a scale comparable to many in Philadelphia, Washington or New York.

The convention center and hotel cost $177.6 million--up $3.2 million from previous reports--and is the most expensive building project in Lancaster history.

Original Souce: Lancaster New Era
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With environmental concerns out of the way, the Scranton-to-Hoboken passenger railroad project can focus on its next hurdle--money, reports the Republican Herald.

If the estimated $550 million project is to really get going, Pennsylvania and New Jersey officials will have to refine cost estimates, figure out what the states' and federal shares should be and commit to paying their shares.

Finding the money is key to convincing the Federal Transit Administration to rate the project. The FTA issues ratings of low, medium-low, medium, medium-high and high to designate whether a project deserves federal funding and the level it deserves. The criteria include whether a project makes travel easier or serves low-income households, reduces pollution, is cost-effective, boosts economic development and supports existing uses of land. The federal government typically contributes up to 50 percent to train projects, depending on their worthiness.

Original Souce: Republican Herald
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The head of the Allentown Arts Commission is hoping to build the city's first multidisciplinary arts center and transform the city's troubled downtown, reports the Morning Call.

That's also his vision for 808 Hamilton St., a four-story building currently only housing a variety store at street level. He'd like to build a black-box theater on the top floor, put up walls for art exhibits on the second and save the third for what the future may bring--offices, dance recitals, whatever the art community needs.

The property sits next to the Allentown Brew Works, and owner George Huang of Heights Realty in New York is committed to fostering an arts community in Allentown, he said. Several floors are only an elevator overhaul and a few air conditioning tweaks from being viable space, Skrapits believes.

Original Souce: Morning Call
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Pocono Raceway, which hosted first of two annual NASCAR events last weekend, isn't changing what makes it unusual, reports the Associated Press.

The track's two races will always be 500 miles long, even as drivers and critics beg for 100 miles to be sliced off each. And those names, the Pocono 500 and Pennsylvania 500, will remain traditional and eschew corporate sponsorship.

The track is a 2.5-mile triangle and boasts the longest straightaway (3,740 feet) in the series.

And with a fourth-generation of Mattiolis in line to run the raceway, Pocono will never be for sale. Not to Bruton Smith. Not anyone.

Original Souce: Associated Press
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The bills, introduced by 1st District Councilman Frank DiCicco, were unanimously passed and create the Central Delaware Riverfront Overlay District.

The legislation has been described as a place holder designed to protect the area from development that would prevent the city from realizing its waterfront development goals until a master plan and related zoning changes are in place. The master plan is expected to be completed in 12 to 18 months. Many civic groups support the overlay. But some waterfront landowners and a development organization oppose it.

City Council also unanimously approved zoning legislation that would allow Foxwoods Casino to operate at the former Strawbridge & Clothier building.

"Star Trek: The Exhibition," on display at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia through Sept. 20 is full of promotional elements, reports The New York Times.

In the meantime this show--with "Star Trek" costumes, replicas of props and models of a Borg, a Cardassian and other aliens, as well as the opportunity to sit in the original Kirk's command seat (yes, his too)--must provide that parallel universe for visiting Trekkies. (Or Trekkers, as they prefer to be called.)

But it pays tribute to fantasy with fantasy: it imagines that in spreading out these artifacts over 12,500 square feet, it is creating something more than a promotional space for the franchise. The Franklin tries to edge a little closer to its mission as a science museum by punctuating the show with explanatory panels that give some glimpse into (a) the real history of space exploration and (b) the science behind the fiction.

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PennDOT is funding the County of Lebanon Transit Authority with $660,000 for a long-discussed park-n-ride at Route 934 and Interstate 81 near Fort Indiantown Gap, reports the Lebanon Daily News.

The park-n-ride will provide daily express bus service into Harrisburg, said COLT Executive Director Teri Giurintano. The facility will have a shelter and spaces for at least 100 vehicles and perhaps as many as 200, she said.

"We want it to be nice and environmentally friendly with trees and other landscaping. It will also be well-lit and have fencing around the perimeter," she said.

Original Souce: Lebanon Daily News
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The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem opened last Friday on the former site of Bethlehem Steel Company, reports The New York Times.

The mayor said he expected the casino, the largest in Pennsylvania, to draw more than 4.5 million visitors a year and provide about $9 million to the city's general fund, which this year stands at $55 million. Mr. Callahan sees this as the entertainment part of a redevelopment that also includes plans for an arts center and television station, a museum focused on American industrial history and condos to be built in a former steel plant building.

But while opening day may be promising, the resort has significant competition from casinos in the Poconos and Atlantic City, among other places in the general region.

Original Souce: The New York Times
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Northeast Pennsylvania art shop owner Ken Marquis's Landfillart Project turns hubcaps into art and creates awareness about environmental concerns, reports the Citizens Voice.

After seven months, Marquis has artists involved from every state and 44 countries throughout the world. But he says the project is only 40 percent complete. At its conclusion more than 1,000 artists will have completed the same project--turning a hubcap destined for the landfill into a piece of great art.

Marquis first asked local artist friends from Luzerne and Lackawanna counties to create art using one of the hubcaps. Each artist was given a primed hubcap--or a "metal canvas" as Marquis calls them--and they could do whatever they wanted with it. To Marquis' surprise and delight, none of them flinched when he gave them a hubcap as a canvas.

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The 139,000 square-foot Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, built on former Bethlehem Steel Corp. land, is on schedule to open on Friday after two slot machines tests, reports the Express-Times.

The South Side casino's last day of construction was also its first day of operations as 5,000 people were invited to test the casino's 3,000 slot machines.

The bulk of the casino floor has been complete for more than a month, but much of the casino's four restaurants, two bars and retail shop came together in just the past four weeks.

Original Souce: Express Times
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Restaurants, museums and bustling neighborhoods with shopping and nightlife are helping Philadelphia become more than a historic day trip, reports the New York Times.

Some places can't be fully captured by just photos and words. That sums up Philadelphia's Magic Gardens (1020-1022 South Street; 215-733-0390; www.philadelphiasmagicgardens.org), an art center and endearingly bizarre outdoor maze of mortar, bicycle tires, bottles, textiles, artwork and tchotchkes. The Philadelphia mosaic muralist Isaiah Zagar's magnum opus is a multitextured, multilayered labyrinth that leaves visitors amused, if maybe puzzled. "I think it communicates something, but I don't know what that is," said Mr. Zagar, who frequently roams his creations and obligingly fields questions from visitors.

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A canceled order forced Theodore DelGazio's Main Line Engineering Associates of Exton into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but sacrifice and a return to basics has the company back on track, reports Forbes Magazine.

The petition included DelGaizo's narrative detailing how the company fell ill and what it would do to recover. Next, he hammered out a payment plan for all of MLEA's creditors to vote on. (Debtors owing less than $2.2 million, adjusted annually for inflation, have 300 days to submit a restructuring plan to the judge; they have another 45 days to get creditor approval.)

MLEA pored over every vendor contract to decide whether to assume or reject it. Assumed contracts--say, a utility bill--would be paid in full; rejected ones (like those for the nitrogen-plant gear) would entail a payment by MLEA of only a fraction of the amount owed.

Three months later DelGaizo presented his 25-page restructuring plan to the court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "I told [the judge] that we would never take on another of these turnkey projects again," he says. "For us, getting out of trouble was about getting back to basics." MLEA's approved penance: full restitution to the asset-based lender and 15 cents on the dollar to unsecured suppliers. That erased $1 million of debt from the books.

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Remnants of a downtown Scranton industrial structure gutted by fire 15 months ago will be replaced by a multi-million dollar, upscale apartment complex, reports the Times-Tribune.

The four-story, brick complex, simply called 317, will include 40 high-end apartments and incorporate the upper floors of the former Penguin Lounge building, a three-story structure at 324 Penn Ave., that Mr. Joyce’s group acquired in 2006.

"There are upper-end paying people that are looking for a better place," said Charles Hibble, owner of Weichert Realty, Hibble & Associates, who redeveloped a warehouse section at the rear of the former Coon Building, 329 Penn Ave., into six luxury apartments in 2006. "I have a waiting list. I get people calling me all the time."

Some interest comes from the Commonwealth Medical College, which will open in the fall. Medical students have committed to rent dozens of the apartments, which start at $1,500 a month for two-bedroom units, Mr. Joyce said.

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Philadelphia unveiled one of its new solar-powered trash compactors they plan to install throughout Center City in the next few months, reports the Philadelphia Daily News.

Dubbed "Big Bellies," after the company that manufactures them, the cans compact trash using solar power. The city plans to replace 700 wire trash baskets with 500 solar litter compactors between now and July.

Philly is also poised to start offering pedestrian recycling for the first time. Recycling cans will be placed next to 210 of the compactors.

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Commissioners in Montgomery County approved spending $20 million in the next year for the first phase of its county economic stimulus plan, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

If it runs its full course, the plan will authorize spending $105 million in county-issued grants and loans over the next seven years to boost private- and public-sector construction projects as well as job training, mainly in the county's most downtrodden areas.

In an era of depleted government resources across the board, the money is coming from county borrowing. So are two other large-scale spending projects in the county: a $39 million extension of the county's program for buying open space that was approved yesterday, and a $150 million road-construction plan that is the subject of a referendum planned for November.

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Governor Ed Rendell announced $15.4 million in state and federal funds for Pottsville's high-profile bus and train station project, the Schuylkill Transportation System Union Street Intermodal Trade and Transit Center, reports the Republican & Herald.

City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar anticipates the demolition of 300 and 314 S. Centre St. this summer. Rendell said the project--which includes construction of Centre Station, a three-story, 18,000-square-foot facility that will house a bus and train station, a Pottsville police substation, the Schuylkill County Visitors Bureau and commercial space--will create more than 400 construction jobs. But Palamar was not sure how many permanent jobs the intermodal center would create.

The intermodal center will serve the Schuylkill Transportation System, currently in Saint Clair, as well as Capitol Trailways and Greyhound bus companies. About 50 STS buses will drive through the new terminal's Centre Street driveway each day, while 10 Trailways and Greyhound buses will stop at its Union Street driveway daily, according to Michael M. Micko, STS vice president for public transportation services.

Original Souce: Republican & Herald
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Low speed limits and lots of schools earned Philadelphia the No. 4 spot among the 25 Best Walking Cities, reports Prevention magazine.

Top honors were awarded to San Francisco (#1), Boston (#2), New York City (#3), Philadelphia (#4), and Chicago (#5). New for 2009: A list of 15 “honorable mentions” for cities that are best for families, nature walks, fitness walkers, and walking commuters.

Metro areas were evaluated based on 19 criteria including population density per square mile, use of mass transit, crime rates, and square miles of local and state parks. Prevention, APMA, and Sperling’s Best Places also consulted with a panel of nationally recognized experts in the field of walking communities.

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Solar panels, wind turbines, and drip-sprinkler systems are part of South Londonberry Township's inaugural Earth Day farm tour on April 25, reports the Lebanon Daily News.

Township manager Thomas Ernharth said the tour was designed “to allow our residents to get a feel for and experience a working farm, as well as the role farms play in maintaining the rural character of our township.”

The tour will start at the Risser-Marvel Farm Market along Route 322, just east of Campbelltown, at 9 a.m., followed by the farm of Jim and Cindy Hess, 5641 Gingrich Road, and Carl Weidler’s dairy farm at 717 Lawn Road.

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Drexel University President Constantine Papadakis, who drove expanded enrollment, faculty and research at the Philadelphia school for 14 years, died on Sunday because of pulmonary complications, reports the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Mr. Papadakis was among the longest-serving presidents in higher education. He was appointed Drexel's president in 1995, a tenure that surpassed 85 percent of current presidents of major American research universities.

Mr. Papadakis, a professional engineer and executive before his move into academia, made significant changes at the school. Since his arrival at Drexel, total enrollment at the school grew by more than 130 percent, from about 9,000 to 21,000, with full-time undergraduate enrollment increasing by 144 percent to more than 11,000. At the same time, freshman applications grew by nearly 700 percent to 27,500.

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A new medical school and architecture school in Scranton and a proposed law school in Wilkes-Barre are filling a void in Northeastern Pennsylvania when it comes to intellectual capital, reports the Scranton Times-Tribune.

"From the perspective of economic impact, I think the medical school is the best bet you could possibly make on the future," Robert D'Alessandri, M.D., dean of the college, said.

He is not alone in that assessment. State Sen. Robert Mellow, D-22, Peckville, called the college an "exciting and promising new economic engine for our region."

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The riverfront in Easton along Larry Holmes Drive will soon become a vibrant public space thanks to unanimous approval for $2.1 million in funding from the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission for the project's first phase, reports the Express-Times.

The commission, meeting in Solebury Township, unanimously agreed Monday to let the city use the $2.1 million as the sole source of funding for the project's first phase, which includes narrowing Larry Holmes Drive and adding lighted walkways in Scott and Riverside parks.

"I'm very pleased," Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said after the commission's unanimous decision. "Our waterfront will become the gathering place it should be."

The project aims to slim down Larry Holmes Drive to slow traffic, making it easier for pedestrians to reach Scott and Riverside parks and ''creating a public space that is more accessible,'' said Frank McCartney, the commission's executive director.

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The Harrisburg Regional Chamber presented a development plan for a rail project that could create as many as 200 jobs at the site of ArcelorMittal Steel USA in Steelton it hopes will be designed a Keystone Opportunity Zone.

Keystone Opportunity Zones require the approval of tax beneficiaries including state, county and municipal governments as well as the area school district.

Chamber representatives explained that ArcelorMittal would pay taxes on the project to the municipalities and school district frozen at current rates for the next 10 years.

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The Pa. Department of Environmental Protection has awarded a $1 million Growing Greener grant to Slate Hills Enterprises to fill a quarry and build on and around it, reports the Express-Times.

Slate Hills wants to fill a 5-acre quarry near the Washington Township boundary with 34 acres of surrounding slate spoils, leveling the entire 39 acres for development. The quarry and slate spoils are on commercial land along Route 512.

Slate Hills is a partnership between Gibraltar Homes owner Pete Iselo and Great American Real Eastate owner Ron DeCesare.

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