News

From the Reading Eagle Opinion column (10/14/2009):

The Issue: Municipal officials say regional policing will be a hard sell.

Our Opinion: It shouldn't be. It makes sense for everyone.

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http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=161202

From the Reading Eagle (10/11/2009):

By Oct. 21, the Berks County commissioners should have the results of five public meetings held to gather input on the countywide study of police operations.

Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt, who led the project on behalf of the board, said preliminary results show that forming 10 regional departments is the favorite option.

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http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=160940

From the Reading Eagle Opinion column (10/1/2009):

The Issue: BARTA may lose $9 million in state and federal funds because Reading can't pay $120,000.

Our Opinion: Berks County should cover the city's share, for BARTA's sake.

For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=159389

From the Reading Eagle (9/26/2009):

If Berks County doesn't become Pennsylvania's poster child for regional policing, the fault won't lie with our police chiefs.

I've been following the process used to study policing options for more than a year now. I've talked to many of the chiefs and heard others speak at meetings where the results were rolled out for public consumption.

For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=158704 

From the Reading Eagle (9/16/2009):

Work has begun on $11.3 million in projects expected to save Berks County about $1.2 million a year in fuel and energy costs, the county commissioners said Tuesday.

The projects were identified by consultants who completed an energy audit of all county facilities.

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http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=157077

From the Reading Eagle Opinion column (9/1/2009):

The Issue: Berks County offers $20,000 to help fight a racetrack project in Union Township.

Our Opinion: It is a worthwhile expense to protect farmland and the serenity of the area.

For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=154838

From the Reading Eagle Opinion column (8/31/2009):

The Issue: Two Berks County commissioners are thinking about closing a federally funded facility that houses families of illegal aliens.

Our Opinion: Keep the jobs in Berks.

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http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=154505

From the Southern Berks News (8/26/2009):

In a rare split decision, the Berks County Commissioners voted 2-1 in favor of a resolution giving Union Township officials $20,000 to fund their fight against racetrack developer Ethan Michael, Inc.

Commissioners Mark C. Scott and Kevin S. Barnhardt voted in favor of the resolution; Commissioner Christian Y. Leinbach voted “no.”

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http://www.berksmontnews.com/articles/2009/08/26/southern_berks_news/news/doc4a93f652a9bf7680813299.txt

From the Reading Eagle (8/26/2009):

The Berks County commissioners said Tuesday that they are considering withdrawing funding from the court system as of July 1 to add weight to a statewide effort to convince the Legislature to provide the funding as required by a 1987 state Supreme Court decision.

Commissioner Christian Y. Leinbach said the Supreme Court has agreed to hear in December an appeal by the state County Commissioners Association asking that the decision be enforced.

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http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=154099

From the Reading Eagle (8/26/2009):

Abused and neglected children, people with drug addictions and parents trying to get off welfare are among the Berks County residents who will pay the price for the state Legislature's inability to agree on a budget, county officials said Tuesday.

Taxpayers could join them because the county already has laid out $5 million for mandated services with no idea of whether the state will pay all of it back, officials said.

For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=154098