2022 Articles

Snow-bound!

Let us pause from playing with the latest electronic gadgetry we got for Christmas and contemplate a calmer, simpler time in America.

Transplanting 70 trees

70 saplings planted behind Pottstown High School in 2018 by the Rotary Club grew large enough to be transplanted last month.

Borough as bad guy?

For the second time this year, Pottstown Borough Council was roundly condemned for issuing code violations to churches trying to help the poor and the homeless.

Social Services "R" Us

Pottstown desperately need funds to fix up the town and make it attractive to families who will keep us economically viable. Instead, county funds are going to Pottstown's abundance of social service agencies.

Vacant storefronts multiply (1)

Lastick’s joins a growing number of store vacancies on High Street, stretching from York Street to Washington Street.

Vacant storefronts multiply (2)

When VideoRay acquired the old Levitz Furniture building in 2012, right, it housed a state liquor store along High Street. But the lease expired and the store was closed in 2021.

Last downtown anchor store closes

Lastick Furniture, a High Street anchor for nearly 50 years, will hold a pre-auction sale tomorrow and Thursday, followed by a three-day auction Saturday through Monday.

Pottstown's most successful merchant

Levitz Furniture, which operated from 1910 until 2008, was by far Pottstown’s most successful merchant.

Holiday House Tour this Sunday

This year’s Historic Pottstown Holiday Tour, scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, will feature homes in the Rosedale and East End neighborhoods. Online tickets are available at www.pottstowngofourth.com/ tickets. Printed tickets are on sale at Dani Bee Funky, 300 E. High St., as well as the Pottstown Parks and Recreation Department in Borough Hall.

When people shopped downtown

Hard to believe, but downtown Pottstown once had a big traffic congestion problem at this time of the year. Let’s take a peak at two 1971 Mercury articles at the beginning of the Christmas season: "Thousands of shoppers crammed into the downtown area Friday to look and buy."

Count your blessings

This recent New York Times photo shows members of a Venezuelan family struggling through the Panamanian jungle on their way to the U.S. border, more than 2,000 miles away. They hope, probably in vain, to be admitted. Pottstown citizens should count their blessings.

Thankful in Pottstown

With historic architecture, a lovely downtown, neighborhood schools, and every destination within walking distance, there are few better places to live than Pottstown.

Sustainable development

For decades, the gospel of growth has put the human race on a collision course with catastrophe. We have too many people consuming too many resources for the earth to support, leading to the collapse of civilization as we know it.

Progress taken for granted

As someone who’s been involved in Pottstown civic matters for nearly 50 years, either as an observer or participant, I find the amount of information available to the public today is mind-boggling.

Our best friend in Harrisburg

Ever since he was first elected in 2018, state Rep. Joe Ciresi has seemingly shown up everywhere, from neighborhood get-togethers to well organized

rallies for fair school funding. ‘Tireless” is an overused accolade, but it does fit Ciresi rather well.

The man who poisoned politics

“One of the great problems we have in the Republican Party,” Newt Gingrich preached in 1978, “is that we don’t encourage you to be nasty." In the following decades, Gingrich made his mark.

Hennessey promoted the big lie

When Tim Hennessey promoted the “big lie” two years ago, there was nothing voters could do about it. But now there is. They can vote Hennessey out of office next week.

Mastriano: threat to democracy

If Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano is elected governor, he says

he will decide who wins future elections.

Preservation movement begins

In reaction to the demolition of the 1923 Pottstown High School in 1982, a group of civic leaders formed a non-profit to promote historic preservation in Pottstown. Since then, millions of dollars have been invested in restorations.

Paris and Pottstown: same trees

Since 1983, Trees Inc. has planted more than 2,700 new and replacement trees in Pottstown, and maintained them, at total cost of $1.4 million over 38 years. These trees are the same species found in cities like London, Paris, Rome, and New York.

Church demolishes high school

This month marks the 40th anniversary of the demolition of the 1923 Pottstown High School at Chestnut and Penn streets.

All for a parking lot

At the time of its demolition in 1982, the 1923 Pottstown High School at Chestnut and Penn streets was the most energy efficient school in the district.

But it didn't have a parking lot.

Culture can change for the better (1)

The greatest culture change in American history was the abolition of slavery. Slavery is such a horrific blot on civilization it is hard to image any time in human history that it was acceptable.

Culture can change for the better (2)

Next to the abolition of slavery in 1865, the greatest culture change in American history was the 1920 ratification of the 19th amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote.

Tax exempt degradation

Nearly a quarter of Pottstown’s total land area is used for streets and parking lots. More land is covered with asphalt than with buildings.

Culture change needed for climate change

People are slow to recognize the new reality of climate change if it hasn’t directly affected their lives. They are simply not ready to change long-established attitudes and lifestyles.

Too much turf

Turf lawns may be attractive, but they’re ecological deserts. Because they are shallow rooted, they don’t absorb stormwater very well. They don’t attract insects and other pollinators.

Nature removed at Riverfront Park

What had been a natural wooded area was thinned out to almost nothing by the Pottstown Parks and Recreation Department. The riparian buffer was replaced with grass that must be constantly mowed.

Thinking solar

Pottstown School District consultants will conduct a top-to-bottom assessment of our facilities. One thing we should consider is rooftop solar panels.

Give up meat?

Eating meat might be tasty, but from the perspective of human and environmental health, it’s a custom whose time has passed.

Climate change and school districts

What does public education have to do with climate change? The reality is we are preparing students for jobs they won’t have and very big problems we can’t currently solve.

Climate change problem solving

There are lots of specific actions the Pottstown School District can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, engage students, and set a good example for the community.

Drought watch: just a prelude?

It’s been a very dry summer. Last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection declared a drought watch for Berks, Montgomery, and 34 other Pennsylvania counties.

Cold slap in the face

"There is now no chance of us avoiding a perilous, all-pervasive climate breakdown. We have passed the point of no return."

Reinforcing the existing system

It’s wonderful to help those in need. But social service agencies attract an unending flow of low income residents. Pottstown desperately needs funds to fix up the town and make it attractive to families who will keep us economically viable.

Hospital closing? It could happen

Last week, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Tower Health has just 54 days of cash to keep running without new revenue.

The new "American dream"

The most dramatic change in how we live and work in recent generations has been the new "American dream."

Flaws in the new "American dream"

On Tuesday we discussed the new “American dream” as analyzed by economist Anthony Downs of the Brookings Institution. It has flaws, however.

Undermining democracy

The Berks County Republican Committee has decided it doesn’t have to seat candidates who were legally elected in the May primary.

Everything comes from nature

Steam rises from the cooling towers of the Limerick Nuclear Power Plant. The power plant uses more than ten times as much water daily as the entire borough of Pottstown.

Denuding Franklin Street

PECO plans to cut down virtually every tree on the 800 block of Franklin Street, destroying the leafy ambience of the block. PECO could trim these trees instead, but it’s cheaper and easier just to remove them.

PECO: Easier to cut them down

In the last seven years, Trees Inc. has planted 120 young shade trees along the streets of Pottstown. Taken together, they barely have the cooling power and environmental benefit of just one of the mature planes, oaks and maples PECO plans to cut down in the coming weeks.

Best financial shape ever

Thanks to a substantial infusion of state and federal dollars, and good management, the Pottstown School District is in excellent financial shape — perhaps the best ever.

Salary schedule comparisons

With a declining tax base and among the highest taxes in Pennsylvania, Pottstown could not afford parity with suburban districts. But with higher state subsidies, we're coming closer.

Too much asphalt

Pottstown is pockmarked with parking lots, which are ugly and degrade the environment by eliminating natural vegetation and preventing rainwater from percolating into the ground.

MCCC: From parking lot to park

For the first time in memory, a parking lot is being removed and replaced with a park. The new park will face the High Street entrance to the Montgomery County Community College.

First Presbyterian first to leave

First Presbyterian Church, built in 1889 at High and Evans streets, was replaced in 1963 by a new, spacious building in the North End with plenty of parking.

Buildings demolished for parking

In 1999, First Methodist bought two houses east of the church for more parking.The church promised to maintain the older home in return for a permit to demolish the second house for parking.

Housing patterns isolate the poor

Today, Pottstown is the poorest municipality between Reading and Norristown, with the highest percentage of low income residents in the region.

From church to mission center

The evolution of the former First Methodist Church, 414 High St., into a mission house is an excellent example of the isolation of the poor in Pottstown as the middle class and affluent moved to the suburbs.

37 dead trees removed, 23 planted

Last December, Pottstown Council authorized Trees Inc. to remove dead street trees and replace some of them under the direction of the borough manager.

Trees Inc. 2022 report

More than two-thirds of Pottstown’s 2,800 street trees have been planted by Trees Inc., a non-profit corporation established by Pottstown civic leaders in 1984 to plant and maintain street trees.

Agnes: Pottstown's worst disaster (3)

As night fell on June 22, 1972, the sky was full of noise and lights on the south side of the Schuylkill River.

Agnes: Pottstown's worst disaster (4)

The oil equivalent of a half-inch rainfall was deposited in homes, factories, yards, shrubs, trees, and every other object touched by the flood. It was the worst inland oil spill in U.S. history.

Agnes: Pottstown's worst disaster (1)

It didn’t rain for 40 days and 40 nights, but for a while it seemed like it might.

Agnes: Pottstown's worst disaster (2)

At times it seemed like power outages might prevent the Mercury from printing the biggest story in its history.

Eerie parallels with Allentown blast

Last week, Borough Manager Justin Keller advised Pottstown Council it may take a long time to pinpoint the cause of the May 26 home explosion on Hale Street that killed five people.

Assessing risks

Dramatic incidents such as mass slayings and gas explosions are widely reported, making it difficult to properly assess all the risks we face in life.

Preserving the best memories

Many of us who have lived a long time have cherished memories of specific times that stick with us over the decades.

Can you go home again?

Novelist Thomas Wolfe famously wrote, “You can’t go home again.” Life is constantly changing, and we can’t return to the happy times and places in the past that we’ve sanctified with nostalgia.

Foundation boosts college- bound

Twelve of the students who will graduate from Pottstown High School Friday have a head start on college, paid in part or in full by the Foundation for Pottstown Education.

Pottstown grads = top colleges

A lot of people don't realize it, but top Pottstown graduates can — and do — compete with anybody, anywhere. They are admitted into the nation’s finest colleges and universities, and they excel once they get there.

Pottstown: A safe place to live

Regardless of the health issue, it’s mighty convenient to have a hospital and a complex of doctors’ offices clustered in one location at the east

end of Pottstown.

Hereford declares war on dead trees

State foresters estimate there are more than 8 billion trees in Pennsylvania, including 308 million ash trees. Eventually, they will all die.

Crime levels off after years of decline

Despite a slight uptick last year, crime in Pottstown continues to be lower than it’s been in recent decades.

Part 2 crimes remain down in Pottstown

Today’s chart shows that less dangerous crimes, known as Part 2 crimes, are also down from their peak about 15 years ago.

Unresolved blighted properties

Pottstown has lots of neglected properties that need major renovations. Some are so far gone they ought to be demolished.

Private market restoring homes

On Tuesday, we discussed efforts by Pottstown Council to rehabilitate blighted properties with its Land Bank board. But private developers are doing a great job on their own initiative.

Spring enlivens High Street

Last weekend’s warm weather brought out scores of diners and social drinkers to enjoy the downtown’s numerous restaurants and pub gardens. People complain about back-in angle parking, but every spot was filled.

Cruising now in rearview mirror

What a contrast from 30 years ago, when High Street was wall-to-wall with young revelers lined up in their hot cars racing up and down High Street making as much commotion as possible.

Volunteers plant trees

Habitat for Humanity recruited more than 40 volunteers to plant 40 trees at Pottstown’s Edgewood Cemetery Saturday. The next day, local volunteers planted 15 trees at Pottstown’s Riverfront Park.

More parking lot trees needed

The most effective place to add trees is parking lots, where they absorb stormwater and lower ambient temperatures, reducing the “heat island” effect. Parking lots cover about 15 percent of Pottstown’s land area.

Earth Week: Future looks bleak

This is Earth Week, and our planet has never been in worse shape since the beginning of human civilization.

Remove carbon the natural way

At present, trees remove about a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions.

Finally, court action and a clean-up

In 2015, a Norristown businessman bought the long-vacant Levengood Dairy property, across from Pottstown’s Chestnut Street park at Washington Street, for $20,000.

When property owners won't clean up junk

On Tuesday, we discussed property owners who are taken to court to clean up their junk. But sometimes the borough has to do it.

Land Bank gets first property

More than four years after it was created by Pottstown Council, the Pottstown Land Bank will facilitate the transfer of its first blighted property to a non-profit for redevelopment.

Fixing a High Street eyesore

The most visible blighted property in Pottstown — and probably the worst — is 542 High Street, in the middle of the block that includes the Pottstown Regional Public Library.

Vigil in perspective

Is preserving and protecting the planet and the people who live on it critically important? If so, we should start acting like it.

The ideal teen-ager

Greta Thunberg is the living embodiment of philosopher Herbert Spencer’s dictum: “The great aim of education is not knowledge, but action. Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.”

The invasion of Pensylvania

As the Russian Army pummels more and more Ukrainian cities into rubble, it’s worth remembering that cities have arisen from the ashes of war in times past. Even Pennsylvania has a town that was burned to the ground by the enemy and rebuilt.

Within the realm of possibility

Thousands of people have been killed since the Russian Army invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. As tragic as that is, it pales in comparison of the worldwide calamity that nuclear war would bring.

Ukraine: History repeats itself

As the attached chart shows, 130 million people have been killed in senseless carnage since the assassination of an Austrian duke set off the First World War in 1914.

What does the developing world think?

From a global point of view, it is vitally important the Russo-Ukraine war doesn't escalate into an all-out nuclear war that could kill everybody.

We can all help Ukraine

Anyone can Google “Ukraine relief” to find the websites of numerous creditable non-profits providing help. They all take credit cards. You can do your part at home with just a few computer clicks.

It's all about physics

As physicist Stephen Hawking said, “It is clear that we are just an advanced breed of primates on a minor planet orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies.”

Freedom for the bullies

Last week a group of angry parents shut down a meeting of the Spring- Ford School Board. The board voted to adjourn the meeting rather than try to conduct business over the din of people who refused to sit down and listen respectfully.

Mascots caught up in changing norms

In our deeply polarized world, how important is a school mascot? A senior at Twin Valley High School has earned a lot of attention lately in her crusade to get the school district to drop its Indian mascot.

Housing prices increase 5o% in four years

The median price of a Pottstown home has increased 50 percent in just the last four years.

Wide variety of housing in Pottstown

On Tuesday, we noted that Pottstown housing prices have increased dramatically over the last four years, at more than six times the rate of inflation. Here is a sampling of the 473 houses that sold in Pottstown in 2021:

Pottstown's come a long way

It’s good to remember that for most of Pottstown’s 207-year existence as a borough, our town was amazingly primitive by today’s standards.

Technological progress, yes, but...

Does technology make us better, more virtuous people? It doesn’t appear so.

Too much salt in our lives

The recent ice and snow is mostly gone now, but the salt we’ve poured on our streets and sidewalks is still around.

More hand-wringing in New Hanover

Another revised plan for a massive development in New Hanover Township called the New Hanover Town Center has been submitted.

More school funding coming from state

Gov. Wolf’s No. 1 priority continues to be education, especially leveling up low-income districts like Pottstown.

The public education labyrinth

Seemingly every special interest group in Pennsylvania has had a hand in creating a byzantine system of rules and regulations with the assumption that public schools can solve every problem in society, if we just spend enough money.

Borough brings in grant dollars

Over the last 20 years, Pottstown has applied for $47 million in grants and been awarded $37.7 million. That’s a lot of money!

Jobs and quality of life

Earlier this month, Pottstown Council approved a 10-acre site plan for a $208 million sustainable energy facility on Keystone Boulevard that will employ more than 100 people.

Employer listings for 2021

Each year for the last six years, I’ve published a list of Pottstown’s top 25 employers. The list provides a “big picture” look at Pottstown employment.

More transparency than ever

The 2008 Right-to-Know law assumes that all local and state government records are public (with a few exceptions such as personal information).

Why we can't find teachers

Pottstown and other school districts can’t find teachers, substitutes, paraprofessionals and aides.

So what‘s it like to be teaching in an overregulated school?

'Attention economy' fosters falsities

The internet provides everyone an opportunity to seek your attention, and those who shout the loudest and make the most outrageous claims are the ones who get the most attention.

Truth and reconciliation

Archbishop Desmond Tutu of Cape Town, who died last week at age 90, was a trailblazer in overcoming apartheid and healing his nation. He set an example of the moderation sorely needed in America.

Champions of protecting earth

Desmond Tutu and Edward O. Wilson, who both died last week, shared the conviction that, divinely inspired or not, humanity’s greatest challenge is to protect the environment.

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