Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Year, new possibilities

OK, let's start the new year off on the right foot.
We spent the past year complaining about everything under the proverbial sun, and don't get me wrong, we'll get back to that real soon. I just wanted to start off the year with a blog about new possibilities in the new year. I've been working with some really great folks behind the scenes to find a new home for the Montgomery County Cultural Center. We're even going to give it a new name, the Norristown Performing Arts Center. It's going to be a place where you can go see off-Broadway quality theater and musical acts that you can remember from days gone by. Did you know Greg Allman was booked for New Year's Eve at the Keswick?
We're going to start a new feature in paper and online about people in the are who do good deeds, just because. 'Faces' will debut the first week in February. We're going to launch a social networking site to accompany the profile pieces so everyone will have a place to share their stories.
Those are just a couple off the top of my head. How about you? What do you see possible in the new year?

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Stackless in West Norriton

Take a look up the next time you're driving down Main Street.
Make sure you're keeping one eye on the road, though, I don't want you to get into an accident.
When you do look up you'll notice that one of the Barbadoes Island smoke stacks is gone.
The other is going to come down soon, I hear.
There are a lot of eyes sores around the area, and while the smoke stacks were not as visible as most, they certainly didn't lend anything positive to the aesthetics of the area.
What other buildings or structures do you know about that need to be no more?

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Postal mystery solved, ARC still coveted

Thank you, Mr. Rick Brown.
I thought I was going crazy last week when I saw the Eagleville post office had shut down, especially since my mailing address had recently been changed to Eagleville. Thanks, Rick, for letting everyone know it had simply moved. Unlike you, I don't live in Lower Providence. I live in West Norriton, but that's where I go to pick up my certified mail.

So, every one's tired of talking about the ARC, eh? I could talk about the hospital move, but there's nothing new going on right now.

How about a performing arts center in Norristown?
I'd love to talk about that. How many of you would be interested in helping out with bringing a little culture into the county seat? We already have the state on board to the tune of $500,000, the county on board for some significant funds, and the borough, I mean municipality, is ready to help out any way they can, but we're also going to need some every day folks willing to throw a shilling or two into the pot.
Shoot me an e-mail at shuskey@timesherald.com if you think you want to get involved.

Friday, December 5, 2008

New heights in Lower Providence

Maybe this was in the paper and I missed it, but being a resident of West Norriton, which has the same zip code as Providence and East Norriton, I became one the new residents of Eagleville a few months back when the U.S. Post Office decided that's where we live now. To be honest, it really didn't bother me all that much. But, there's always a but, isn't there? Anyway, I went to Kmart the other day to buy a gift for a youngster in Norristown's preschool program and guess what I spied as I pulled into the parking lot. The Eagleville post office was closed down. I don't mean just for the day, the letters have been pulled off the front of the building.
So, stew on that one for a while and let me know what you think.
And if that's not enough to get your juices flowing what do you think about the latest with the ARC?
I thought that might work.
The National Parks Conservation Association has filed a federal suit to get the zoning overturned.
I'm beginning to think we might have another revolution before this thing gets built, no matter where it winds up getting built.