Business News in the Lehigh Valley, April 30, 2013

Good morning, Lehigh Valley! It appears to be slightly less cloudy than yesterday, and the weather is expected to be cloudy again, with a high of 64 degrees and only a 20% chance of rain. On this day in 1974, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States during a ceremony in New York City.

In recent business news, the city of Allentown has formed a public-private partnership to enhance the appearance of buildings and spur investment within city districts adjacent to its Neighborhood Improvement Zone. City Center Lehigh Valley is providing $200,000 in private funding for the first phase of this initiative. PPL will support the initiative through the $100,000 in funding it currently provides for the Main Street and neighborhood-improvement programs on Hamilton and Seventh streets.


Buyers are putting a dent in the housing inventory throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley area, including a huge leap in sales of 45.5 percent in Berks County. Home sales for the region increased by 32.6 percent in March compared to February. "We're seeing a shift in the overall market swinging from a buyer's market towards a seller's market," said Brad Patt, senior vice president of Prudential Patt-White and the Premier Group, Coopersburg. Read the full story on LVB.com.


On May 16, The Chamber will host a mayoral debate between Bethlehem Councilmen J. William Reynolds and Robert Donchez, both Democrats, are the city’s two mayoral candidates for 2013. The debate will take place at 4 p.m. on May 16 at Hotel Bethlehem. There’s a nominal fee for the reception that follows at 5 p.m. and the debate also will air on Business Matters 7:30 p.m. May 20 on WFMZ.

In national news, President Obama has named Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx as the next Transportation Secretary. Obama chose him because of the city’s investments in transportation and other projects that have boosted the local economy. While Foxx has been in office, the city has broken ground on a streetcar project for the downtown area, extended its light-rail system and expanded the Charlotte airport.

That's all for now, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-date event information and member news!

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Business News in the Lehigh Valley, 4/4/13

Good morning, and happy Thursday, a.k.a. Opening Day, IronPigs Fans! Are you going to the game tonight to see the Pigs take on the Syracuse Chiefs?

In local business news, the Da Vinci Science Center will be extending its Manufacturing Workforce Initiative as a leading partner of the Manufacturers Resource Center's new Skill Up Project. They are working to build a pipeline that connects students, teachers, and community members with exciting and innovative manufacturing career opportunities.

Martin Tower, the tallest building in the Lehigh Valley (and just 8 feet taller than the PPL Building in Allentown), was taken off the protection list in order to aid the redevelopment of the property. The decision to take the building off the protection list was at the request of the owners, developer Lewis Ronca and his partner, Norton Herrick. The office building and surrounding property has been vacant since February 2007.

PPL Electric Utilities of Allentown has announced plans to rebuild a power line that provides electricity to more than 27,800 customers in Lehigh, Northampton and Bucks counties. The project is part of a $1 billion effort to reduce power outages during major storms and to improve overall service reliability.

The weather this weekend looks as though it will finally feel like spring for an entire three days. The highs for this weekend are: Friday - 60, Saturday - 55, and Sunday - 64. Spend some time out in the sun and enjoy the beautiful Lehigh Valley weather!

That's all for now, but follow us on twitter and facebook to keep up to date on the latest happenings. Have a great day, Lehigh Valley!




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Business News in the Lehigh Valley, 2/27/13

Good morning Lehigh Valley, and happy Wednesday!

PPL stated yesterday that the price of electricity for most PPL customers will drop from 7.769 cents per kilowatt hour to 6.935 on March 1. A spokesman with PPL said the change will reduce the bill by about $8.30 per month for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a bill yesterday to legalize internet gambling in the state. The bill included setting a 10-year trial period for online betting, and raising the taxes on the Atlantic City casinos’ online winnings from 10 to 15 percent.


Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of Trexlertown announced it has won the second largest order ever for an air separation unit in China. The company has been doing business in China since 1987.

Allentown city residents will not be granted a chance to get a say in Allentown's water privatization plan due to an issue with the legality of the petition. The May vote would have allowed citizens to vote on selling or leasing any city asset worth more than $10 million.

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Don't Take Hurricane Sandy Lightly!

Good morning. As we're sure you are well aware, Hurricane Sandy is due to hit the region within a few hours and we thought it would be helpful to compile a list to help make sure you're fully prepared. Google has created a crisis map to track Hurricane Sandy as it makes landfall in the Mid-Atlantic region.

There's a good chance that many in the Lehigh Valley footprint could lose power, so hopefully you already stocked up on the essential non-perishables to get you through a few days. As far as last minute preparations, here's a video on last minute information you should know from Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Craig Fugate. If you don't absolutely need to be outside, don't go outside. If an area looks flooded, stay away from it. This will be a very slow-moving storm that could affect up to 50 million people.

Please keep in mind that the utility companies have done everything they can to prepare for this storm. Follow @PPLElectric on twitter for outage information if you're on twitter, they have a great response team and work hard to ensure the public is informed.

Most importantly, please err on the side of caution. Your safety is the number one priority. We hope that it doesn't affect the Lehigh Valley like the news outlets are saying it's going to, but it's just better to be prepared and use your head. Be safe, Lehigh Valley!



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