From the Reading Eagle (2/18/12):

Buried in the federal jobs bill passed by Congress on Friday is a boon for public safety that came about because of concerns raised in Berks County.

A resulting last-minute change prevented the government from auctioning off a radio spectrum that the Federal Communications Commission had ordered emergency systems nationwide to start using by Jan. 1, 2013.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=365896

From the Reading Eagle (2/15/12):

Carl E. Geffken, the city's managing director credited with helping clear out numerous City Hall problems, on Tuesday afternoon resigned effective March 15 to take over Berks County operations.

Geffken, 47, has been named the county's new chief operating officer, at an annual salary of $100,000.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=365341

From the Reading Eagle (2/15/12):

Imagine throwing a party for 241,358 guests.

Then imagine 20 percent of your invitees don't RSVP.

Berks County Director of Election Services Deborah M. Olivieri, who is busily preparing for the primary election set for April 24, deals with such a scenario every two years.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=365386

From the Reading Eagle (2/17/12):

The tables turned on John Kramer on Thursday night at the sixth annual Berks Municipal Officials Dinner.

Kramer serves as director of Albright College's Center for Community Leadership, which organized the annual gathering of local officials at the Reading Country Club.

The table-turning occurred when it came time for Berks County Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt to present the Berks Municipal Partnership's first-ever Richard C. Trossel Award to Wyomissing Mayor Fred Levering.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=365679

From the Reading Eagle (2/17/12):

Berks County's plan to build an access road for a landlocked Maxatawny Township woman is pretty much washed away after an historical drainage channel was discovered at the location near Kutztown.

Bill Fox, 84, has unearthed a brick channel, or swale, he believes was built by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=365651

From the Reading Eagle (2/8/12):

The Berks County Commissioners' plan to give a landlocked Maxatawny Township woman access to her property ran into a roadblock Tuesday at a meeting of Kutztown's public works committee.

Committee member Edwin K. Seyler said his constituents overwhelmingly oppose building a driveway across a portion of borough property destined to become a borough park.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=363926

From the Reading Eagle (2/3/12):

The Pagoda Pacers Athletic Club must find a new route outside Antietam Park for this year's Mount Penn Mudfest while a study is done to see if new trails could be established through areas that are not environmentally sensitive.

Berks County Commissioners Christian Y. Leinbach and Kevin S. Barnhardt delivered that decision to club members who attended a Thursday meeting in the hope of convincing the commissioners to allow the race this year.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=362682

From the Reading Eagle (2/5/12):

Only one candidate had substantial contributions during the final cycle of campaign finance reporting for the election of Nov. 8, 2011.

Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer's campaign raised $3,750 between Nov. 29 and Dec. 31.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=362841

From the Reading Eagle (2/3/12):

Three complaints about election campaign finance reports are headed to Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams for investigation, including one that alleges Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer may have accepted improper contributions.

The county elections board made the referrals Thursday after reviewing the complaints.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=362683

From the Reading Eagle (2/1/12):

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement family shelter program will remain in Berks County, saving 60 county jobs and adding up to $1 million annually to the county's bank account.

Under the agreement approved Tuesday by Commissioners Kevin S. Barnhardt and Christian Y. Leinbach, the federal government also must pay the county for renovations needed to relocate the shelter to the county Community Reentry Center from the old Berks Heim nursing home.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/Article.aspx?id=362525

From the Reading Eagle (1/28/12):

The Issue: The Berks County commissioners agree to move the Veterans Affairs office from Bern Township to downtown Reading.

Our Opinion: It was the right move, but we were sorry to see a county leader raise concerns that reinforce false perceptions about the city.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=361771

From the Reading Eagle (1/26/12):

The Commonwealth Financing Agency has approved a $2 million Business in Our Sites loan for the Berks County Industrial Development Authority's Berks Park 78 in Bethel Township.

The money, which must aid job creation, will go toward the $6.4 million cost of infrastructure improvements needed to complete the industrial and commercial complex along Interstate 78.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=361538

From the Reading Eagle (1/25/12):

Up to 17 farms could be added to Berks County's farmland preservation program this year, with the commitment of more than $2.5 million from the county commissioners and expected state funding.

The program has preserved 634 farms totaling 64,291 acres since it began in 1989, earning the Berks program the ranking of third in the nation.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=361272

From the Reading Eagle (1/20/12):

Organizers of an effort to renovate the historic Wernersville Train Station will get an extra $50,000 to finish the project, but the additional cost doesn't sit well with the officials who approved it.

The Reading Area Transportation Study's coordinating committee voted Thursday to have the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation add money to the $322,235 in PennDOT-administered federal grants the project has already received.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=360286

From the Reading Eagle (1/20/12):

Berks County Veterans Affairs will move to BARTA's downtown bus terminal in the spring.

The move was in doubt earlier this week, after Commissioner Mark C. Scott expressed concerns about the cost of the move and veterans who would prefer that the office be placed in the Berks County Community Reentry Center, near its current location in the former county nursing home on County Welfare Road in Bern Township.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=360280

From the Reading Eagle (1/18/12):

Maybe moving the Berks County Veterans Affairs office to BARTA's downtown bus terminal isn't such a great idea after all, a Berks County commissioner said Tuesday.

Commissioner Mark C. Scott said he's been hearing some concerns about the cost of the move and veterans who would prefer that the office be near its present location in Bern Township.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=359802

From the Reading Eagle (1/14/12):

Rejection hurts, even when you've spent nearly six months expecting it.

It took that long for state Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch to officially tell the Berks County commissioners that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation does not have the money to widen Route 222 North.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=359127

From the Reading Eagle (1/13/12):

Berks County officials are being criticized for limiting activities in Antietam Lake Park, but the move should come as a surprise to no one, according to Lower Alsace Township Manager Terry L. Styer.

"If you read the Antietam Park master plan," said Styer, "the first point is to conserve and enhance the site's natural resources while providing opportunities and protecting areas of sensitive natural resources."

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=358924

From the Reading Eagle (12/30/11):

Beginning Sunday, the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department is banning large, "high impact" events such as trail and mountain bike races and weddings from Antietam Lake Park.

Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt said Thursday that the ban was being imposed in an effort to preserve the park after consulting with a park advisory board and YSM, a landscape architecture firm in York.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=355541

From the Reading Eagle (12/25/11):

The time for getting holiday greeting cards in your mailbox is ending. After the new year you can instead expect a flood of mailers from candidates running for Congress.

And the faces on mailers might not be familiar.

That's because of redistricting approved Tuesday by the state Legislature. Voters in the 2012 primary and general elections will elect candidates to take office in 2013 in districts with new boundaries.

For more on this story, click on the following link:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=354949