Significant Events of the Time Period
This timeline is in chronological order but the play is presented in a non-linear fashion.
January 2000
The booming Stock Market is widening the income gap between the poorest and richest U.S. families.
Reading, Pennsylvania proposes an aggressive dog ordinance to regulate ownership of certain pet breeds (including pit bulls).
January 18th - Tracey's Birthday
February 2000
Black History Month
Billionaire Steve Forbes drops out of the Republican primary after investing more than $66 million of his own money on this campaign and his first failed, 1996 campaign.
Work begins on the downtown civic convention center in Reading, Pennsylvania.*
*The convention center was completed in 2001 and is now known as the Santander Center.
March 2000
Republican presidential debate - Alan Keyes, John McCain, and George Bush.
March 2nd - An overnight fire leaves a mother with five children homeless.
Baldwin Hardware Corps announces plans to open a new 280,000 square foot facility in Leesport.
April 2000
Three days after a record 617.77-point drop in the Dow Jones as the tech bubble bursts.
D.C. protesters disrupt World Bank and International Monetary Fund meeting.
April 17th - A 26-year-old man is shot leaving a bar on Woodard Street in Reading, Pennsylvania.
May 2000
U.S. employment rate tumbles to a thirty-year low, 3.9%. The City of Reading, PA fires a dozen employees, fearing a deficit of $10 million.
Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for Game 1 of Eastern Conference Semifinals.
May 5th - Jessie's Birthday
July 2000
Working Woman magazine reports the salary gap narrowing between men and women in some U.S. industries.
Reading, Pennsylvania police crackdown on high-crime neighborhoods in response to a recent rise in violent crime.
The City of Reading purchases a number of run-down buildings and will demolish them in an effort to combat urban blight.
Federal Eligibility guidelines ease, allowing more families in Reading public schools to receive free and reduced school lunches.
Several U.S. companies, including 3M, Johnson & Johnson, and General Electric increase leadership development internally, expanding opportunities for minority employees.
July 4th - Three mills from Olstead's Steel Tubing were moved out of the factory over the long weekend.
August 2000
Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush begins a post-convention train blitz across the Midwest.
August 4 - Cynthia's Birthday
September 2000
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton post strong polling numbers in her NY Senate race against Rick Lazio.
Venus and Serena Williams win a gold medal in women's doubles tennis at the Sydney Summer Olympics.
Three Mexican migrant farmworkers are killed when their car crashes into trees in Reading, PA.
October 2000
Attorney General Janet Reno reassures the public that "American schools are safe places."
Two hundred people camp overnight at a Reading, PA electronics superstore hoping to be the first to buy the $350 Sony Playstation 2.
November 2000
Four days before the United States Presidential Election; George Bush and Al Gore are running neck and neck in the polls.
The mayor of Reading, PA proposes a budget to increase earned income tax
September 2008
The 63rd session of the United National General Assembly closes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points, marking the largest single-day decline in stick market history.
Reading, PA residents sample fresh apple cider at the annual Fall Festival on Old Dry Road Farm.
October 2008
The Dow Jones gains 916 points, its largest gain ever, following news that government-funded bank bailouts were approved around the world.
In Berks County, PA, power shut-offs for delinquent utility customers rise 111% over the previous year.
October 2008 (cont.)
Baghdad and Washington reach a final agreement on a pact requiring U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq by 2011.
U.S. stocks plunge 33 points, the second-biggest point loss in history. John McCain and Barack Obama hold their final televised debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.
Federal prosecutors convict multimillion-dollar drug rings that converted several Reading houses into indoor marijuana farms.
Thousands of Latin American immigrants are returning home as U.S. jobs dry up in the construction, landscaping, and restaurant industries.
Pennsylvania's Republican Party sued the community activist group ACORN, accusing the group of fostering voter registration fraud.
Philadelphia Phillies prepare to face off against the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 Major League Baseball World Series.