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Wows & Scowls

3 min read

Scowl: It’s sad news that the Rolling Rock beer brand has been sold to Anheuser-Busch Co., likely triggering the closing of the landmark Latrobe brewery. Anheuser-Busch has bought the recipe, not the facility, which isn’t good news for the brewery’s Westmoreland County work force. Even if the famous beer still comes in its trademark green bottle, something just won’t seem the same knowing that it’s being brewed in Newark, N.J. Wow: The National Road Festival wagon train passed through Hopwood Saturday, continuing a tradition that the village heartily embraces. This year’s celebration included a parade featuring U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Hollidaysburg).

Wow: Two St. Vincent College educators released the findings of a survey that shows local workers can find high-paying jobs without having a four-year degree. Interestingly, the survey shows that manufacturing jobs on the list. The lesson being pushed to young people: You don’t always have to go to college to get a good job and be successful.

Wow: Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty has levied another $30,900 in fines against Ernest Liggett and the various properties he owns in Brownsville, arising from failure to correct building code violations. The recent round of fines comes on top of the $12,000 in fines Haggerty imposed on Liggett in January. Haggerty and other magisterial district judges need to take code violations seriously, and he’s proving that in this high-profile case, he does.

Wow: The current Fayette County commissioners and chief assessor James A. Hercik, CPE, are sticking with the program, which means they’re not going to let the county backslide when it comes to up-to-date property tax assessments. Workers in Hercik’s office are starting the work needed to launch the in-house reassessment, which should take three years and go into effect in 2009. Updating the system six years from the last reassessment is a far cry from the four-decades-plus lapse that was allowed to occur before the 2003 reassessment. Doing the work on a timely basis, to reflect ever-changing real estate market conditions, is the only way to ensure fairness in the system.

Wow: A$402,645 grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection will help extend water lines to 40 homes in Springfield Township, giving those mountain residents a needed and reliable source or good water. Abandoned coal mines have made well water in the area acidic and dirty, which is another problem that needs tackling in our area.

Scowl: A Federal Trade Commission investigation found a smattering of gasoline price gouging after Hurricane Katrina. Surprised?

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