"New signs will 'brand' Montgomery County public facilities"

Times Herald 12/3/13:

NORRISTOWN — The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to hire a company in Georgia to create signs that will be hung around public places in the county.

The commissioners approved a payment of $44,830 for the signs, which are being designed by Creative Impressions of Norcross, Ga. Forty-six signs will be placed across the county at various public places.

“I think it’s important if county tax dollars are going to sustain these sites, that people know they are walking into a Montgomery County facility,” commissioners Chairman Josh Shapiro said.

There are no final designs yet, and commissioners have seen preliminary sketches. What exactly will go on the signs is still being worked out.

Revealed here for the first time is the sign design the County Commissioners have decided upon in order to identify public spaces owned by Montgomery County:

The 46 signs will cost just under $1,000 each. Shapiro said the commissioners’ plan on having them installed by county employees which will save the county money.

Additional money can be saved by simply selling off the County places.

Hard hitting investigative reporting on the County budget

Oh no.

Not Montgomery County's controversial budget that uses the sale of Parkhouse and 220 acres of open space to fill a budget hole. No, this hard hitting investigative report is about ergonomic chairs purchased by BUCKS County. NBC10:



Believe it or not, this story was one of the lead stories on NBC10's morning broadcast. NBC10's intrepid reporters even went to other counties to "investigate" how much other counties spent on ergonomic chairs. Meanwhile, Montgomery County residents can't get the details of the sale that "pervades every aspect" of Montgomery County's 2014 budget.

(Also, as an aside: It's a little curious that the title of the Montco Memo post I linked here last night was changed from "Sale of Parkhouse pervades every aspect of Montco's 2014 budget" to something more innocuous and "pragmatic." Seems like controlling that spin is pretty important, hmmmm?)

And lest you think that our local reporters are incapable of filing an RTK request themselves, behold this story from yesterday's Times Herald:

WORCESTER — When the Methacton School Board meeting was opened up for public comment Tuesday night, Winnie Hayes, a former board member and president, called for the resignation of current board president Joyce Petrauskas. Hayes’ request stemmed from information that surfaced on the Internet regarding DUI charges filed against Petrauskas in February 2013 in Clearwater, Fla. The information can be found on http://mugshots.wtsp.com/profile/1538079/joyce-petrauskas. Hayes said she has sent a right to know request for the arrest record from the Clearwater Police Department. The Times Herald has also filed right to know request for the criminal complaint against Petrauskas.

We can argue about the newsworthiness of Joyce Petrauskas' alleged DUI in Florida in another conversation. But isn't the sale of Parkhouse at least AS NEWSWORTHY AS THAT?

Can some reporter SOMEWHERE start asking questions about this sale before the County jams it through?