For me Berkshire Mall is a time capsule. The main concourse; floors and molded seats near center court are so 1970s. Love the late 80s / early 90s look of the food court that opened in Dec-89; love the neon.

The mall's fate was practically sealed when it was sold to Namdar. My take is they'll milk it for what they can while seeking out redevelopment opportunities. It's important to note Berkshire Mall West, last I checked, is separately owned; wasn't sold to Namdar.

Unlike Fairgrounds in which Boscov's owns both its building and ground underneath plus the farmer's market, Namdar own the entire mall outright. A question though is the terms of Boscov's lease. Often are very favorable. Including renewal options, lease could easily be 50-90 years total. Think 2050 and beyond. That could be a sticking point, but see it as a motivation to keep some of the mall.

My view is they should keep center court to Boscov's and demolish the rest of the mall. Basically, downsize it to about half or less than its current size. Consolidate stores into the smaller footprint. Then put in separate retail, commercial and/or apartment buildings on the remainder.

In short, the current mall is on its last legs. Take the time to visit.

Brings to mind the perpetual shortage of truck drivers. And yet companies always seem to find people. How? Simple, lowering standards, immigration, and technology (many trucks are automatics).

Figure the same will happen with teaching. Already is. The last point about tech is one many teachers don't think much of in regard to qualifications. Virtual learning, which many teachers and even unions often advocated for, could also lead to less credentialed teachers replaced by teacher aides acting primarily as monitors watching over the students as they're instructed remotely.

One remote teacher could potentially teach several classrooms at once. Even for instances they can't, they could be located anywhere and hired as a contractor with minimal benefits. Many ways I see could play out.

I don't put much faith in school districts / taxpayers ponying up the considerable extra funds to do what some are suggesting. Instead seeking more shortcuts. They'll be exceptions of course, but in many places, the more well-to-do parents will increasingly seek out chartered schools, parochial schools, and private schools. Leaving the remainder, often including students with special needs, to the public schools to deal at the detriment of teachers, students, and the community.

In short, technology could allow schools to reduce their accredited teaching staff considerably. Combine that with lowered standards and immigration, the shortage of teachers will be mitigated. Not solved, but handled good enough to keep schools running.

Can't speak for California. In PA more roads and lanes often do help. I know from personal experience.

Induced demand is an issue, but not building new roads / adding lanes isn't the answer either. It needs to be a combination of better road infrastructure and other transportation options along with coordinating zoning across municipalities.

In my view, among the most promising is on-demand public transit. Instead of full-size buses running on a fixed routes, using a mix of vehicles from vans to full-size buses instead with flexible routes. Closest analogy would be Uber Pool. If done right, many would use it.

One can dream. About the best we'll get is roundabouts. Lots of them. Oh, and the speed limit will be posted artificially low (ie. 45 instead of 55) like is on the quasi-limited access bypass they built about a decade ago south of Allentown. It's better than before, but it's 2nd rate compared to what many other places have.

Some in Berks like that it's not well connected to the north. They don't want more development and like Berks County the way it is; prefer it stay a backwater. Can't totally fault that sentiment either.

It's interesting how fast similar projects get done down in Chester County. What is a 6 month project there takes 2-3 years in Berks. Oh, they're resuming the ongoing milling and repaving work Rt 222 around the Mall in a couple of weeks. Maybe they'll finish this year, but not so sure.

More lanes often do help. When they completed the RT 222 conversion to a 4-lane limited access highway back around 2007 (delayed about 40 years), getting to Lancaster County from Reading area became much easier and faster. Also, traffic on surrounding back roads decreased. Even 15+ years later, it's still better than before.

Some don't like cars and that's fine, but more roads and lanes, on the whole, do help. Anyone doubting that should look at how long it used to take to drive across Pennsylvania before the PA turnpike and other highways, such as I-80, were built.

I remember the days before the Blue Route was built (started in the 60s and finally opened around 1990). Getting to the Philadelphia airport was a nightmare. Some will point out the nasty traffic jams on there as a proof that more highways / lanes don't help. However, the main reason for the jams around milepost 9 is due to be only 2 lanes each way instead of 3 lanes as originally proposed. Traffic on the 3-lane northern section generally moves well.

Not going to change your mind, but pointing this out for others. Many PA residents want and demand more highways. Not only that, many are willing to pay extra tolls (begrudgingly) if that's what it takes to get them built. Many people value their time and want flexibility in travel. Difficult to take camping gear or lumber on the bus. Renting a car sounds good, but is very expensive and not guaranteed (may not get a car or isn't the type expected), but I digress.

PA has a lot of local nuisance taxes, but is far from the highest. Take car registration. It's around $44 per year versus $500-$1500+ in some other states. Sales tax is middle of the road at 6% (Philadelphia 8% and Allegheny County 7%) with clothing (big draw for outlet shoppers, especially back before the internet), most food (bought in a supermarket, etc; not made to order or restaurants) and some essentials excluded. Income tax 3.07% flat.

Basically, for many in PA, taxes aren't that terrible with the possible exception of property taxes (varies a lot) and local taxes, in particular, Philadelphia with their earned income tax and higher sales tax. Also, property assessments there for some have greatly increased in recent years.

In short, PA taxes are a mix bag. One needs to also consider the services they get. While PA could do better, it could be far worse.

Article says there were complications. Seems to me the Lehigh Valley Network’s Cedar Crest hospital might be culpable. A possible strategy to keep her in the U.S. is to sue the hospital, doctors, etc for malpractice. Getting an injunction to keep her under hospital care in the U.S. Surprised they haven't done that already.

That's extremely high. Could see that for a business deemed high risk (often based on its merchant category code) and/or with many chargebacks (customer disputes). 3%-4% average is more typical for many small businesses.

Assuming the $3 is right, the merchant acquirer (payment processor) is probably gouging her business. Sometimes it's not obvious either. It could be their base rate is competitive, but many of her transactions aren't qualifying for some reason and being charged more. Lots of reasons, including some types of cards, such as high rewards travel cards, Amex cards, etc.

Should shop around or, if sales are relatively low volume, use a pay-to-go option, such as Square, PayPal Here, etc. Most are around 3%. While not great, the hardware costs may be cheaper, especially if one can use their own devices, such as tablet, phone, etc. Many merchant acquirers bundle in the hardware cost into their monthly fee. Maybe that's where the excessively extra cost is coming from.

In short, she should shop around.

If she hasn't sent you the money by now, that's a bad sign. However, worth asking her one more time.

Print out / screenshot the amount owed and ask her to send you payment via check (don't assume funds being available means they really are - wait it out several extra days) or Zelle (safer and convenient). Alternatively, via Venmo or Cash App.

EDIT: She might be able to pay the bill directly herself. Another option, but not sure how practical that is, since she's not on the account.

If she won't pay, then contact EZ Pass and explain you want to pay, but can't afford the amount. They may be able to reduce the penalties and/or offer other payment options.

The article isn't clear regarding ownership. My sense is they have a ground lease and own the building, but not the land underneath.

If owner of the brewery truly owns the land, they could be selling under duress as you suggest. However, their seemingly lack of comment suggests otherwise. Hopefully there's a follow up article with more details.

As for PECO, props to them making improvements proactively verses waiting for a flood. Of course, they're not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, but rather as a good business move, which should also improve reliability.

The facts don't matter, just that people click into the article to boost views. That's it.

Many news sites don't even try anymore. For a while it was simply increased number of typos and lack of fact checking. Then it progressed to many articles being little more than a few sentences, if even that with little to no detail all. Now articles often consist of gibberish mashed together that may convey some useful information, but often not.

As for bots, I'd wager they didn't use ChatGPT. It would likely have done a better job.

Agree totally with your main point. Going after employers would greatly help. However, many workers can't afford to rock the boat. It's a difficult problem as California's recent push to seeking to reclassify many gig workers as employees illustrates.

The IRS can barely keep up with their basic workload. Cash income is easy to spot by an experienced auditor looking at one's financials, but not for automated matching, which is mostly what the IRS relies on. Ie. reported income (W2, 1099, etc) verses what the tax filer stated.

Your final statement pretty much sums up the sentiment I'm getting at "... you are one of the wealthy elites". The typical working person (ie. earning less than $100K or so per year depending on locale) has to do what it takes to survive. The government knows this and has priced that in. Around 1/2 of all taxpayers pay little to zero federal tax; some getting money back (EITC, etc). The government will do fine whether the OP's cousin reports or not. They'll, figuratively speaking, just print up some more anyways. Inflation is the ultimate taxation that most no one can escape, but I digress.

Read up on what big corps do on the daily. It's not that 2 wrongs make a right, but rather people need to do what it takes to survive.

Another option is buying tickets online. Many states offer that and eliminates much of the issues with physical tickets that are essentially bearer documents.

In Pennsylvania, to buy on-line lottery, one needs to register an account and all purchases are in the name of the account holder. Much better and safer than physical tickets.

Seems eventually, lotteries will more aggressively tout safety as another reason to buy big jackpot games on-line. Plus, lotteries benefit too by not having to pay out sales commissions to retailers.

Hopefully the CA Lottery handles this promptly, because there are some lottery players who avoid buying Powerball / Mega Million tickets when jackpots get unusually high for just this reason.

$1200 per month is $14,400 for the year. That's virtually nothing these days. Better to keep it on the downlow. Also, makes obtaining benefits much easier.

CPA, etc is overkill for what amounts to doing some small odd jobs verses running an actual business. Don't get me wrong, you're technically correct, but not readily practical for the guy's situation.

Fortunately, it's been a mild winter in much of PA and Spring is nearly here. As others mentioned, there are various programs to assist paying current and past due bills. Some hoops to jump through and not all qualify, but it's something.

Utility rates are increasing far faster than most incomes. Eventually rates should moderate and likely even fall somewhat. It's happened before. PA has a diverse energy mix and many connections to other energy sources (power lines, gas lines, etc). Not all places are as fortunate. For example, energy rates in California are often multiples higher.

If you need some cash fast, temporary employment agencies are always hiring. Also, big box stores and supermarkets for stocking (often overnight / early AM with stable hours) and picking orders for curbside pickup and delivery (day shift, but hours may be more fluid).

Regulations for how utilities do shutoffs is unlikely to change much despite more struggling. Not saying it won't happen eventually, but unless delinquencies greatly increase and/or there's a large public outcry, politicians will likely do little more than make some public statements saying they're "looking into it" and whatnot.

Finally, the distribution cost (the part one can't shop rates for) is greatly increasing too. PUC allows Weather Normalization Adjustment (ie. in my case, for gas; how it's calculated is seemingly a mystery and not transparent) and System Improvement Surcharge (ie. in my case, 5% for electric) to be added. Adds up and there's little one can do. PUC should do more to help consumers.

If you were laid off for illness, does your employer offer short-term disability? If you had health benefits, it's possible long-term disability was included.

More to the point, if you're unable to work, government disability benefits are something to consider. In some instances, one may still work part time and fully collect benefits. Worth looking into.

Alternatively, getting a job that doesn't require much physical activity and offers flexible hours. For example, answering customer service calls from home. Often such companies provide the software and even some hardware (ie. headset) and pay based on hours logged in working. If going this route, be wary of scams, such as reshipping packages or buying stuff for others.

Your guess about applying for random jobs one doesn't want is exactly what many do. It's annoyance for many employers, but many lighten the load by using 3rd party services to screen applications. On the other hand, the requirement does work by encouraging people to at least look around verses just sitting at home.

Saw a similar thread and some said the state doesn't check. That's incorrect. PA UE does occasionally follow up regarding one's job search. Another reason to apply 2+ jobs per week via career link.

Utility isn't supposed to profit on supply, but insiders and other companies associated with possibly could. I suspect that's the situation with PPL. Something that should be investigated.

Very odd with how PPL default supply rate went from middle of the pack to the highest so rapidly this past June followed by another sizeable increase again in December.

As for utility infrastructure, much needs repair, but adding surcharges is shady verses simply raising the distribution rate directly. Maybe surcharging is a legitimate approach, but have my doubts. PUC should do more to protect both utilities and consumers.

Speaking of that, much of the lower parts of the buildings aren't visible due to curvature.

Ditto on OPs reply below. Did the math too, because I thought maybe the article writer had conflated the 25 number of images with his age. Nope, he's really 25. Looks much older in that pic, but looks about 25 or so in some other pics elsewhere.

Based on the LI profile, he has a BS in accounting and criminal justice. While urges are difficult to suppress, I have to wonder if he was overly confident due to his study of criminal justice. Thought he'd get away with it or at least explain his way out of it. Maybe 25 years ago, but not these days with more awareness, stricter laws, and social media. Don't know, but a shame, since his resume appears pretty impressive.

All vaccinations come with risks. Health authorities recognize this. The tradeoff for young people, in particular males, is questionable. Read up more on the subject. The "everyone should" stance isn't helpful and counterproductive. As with many things, there's nuance. To ignore that erodes public confidence of health authorities.

Groupthink is strong here. You're absolutely correct! Even the manufacturers publicly mentioned early on that the vaccines weren't tested for whether they were sterilizing (preventing spread) and that their main purpose was reducing severity of symptoms.

So, it's no surprise many still caught it. Some debate whether the vaccines reduced symptoms, but that's another discussion. For those in high-risk groups (ie. over the age of 60-70), the general medical consensus is it's worthwhile getting the shots regardless.

The bigger question is whether young people, especially males, should get the shots. Many differing positions on that with some health agencies taking a more nuanced approach. One can search the web for more details.

Again, as you observe, none of the vaccines were intended to stop spread. Many news sources and politicians, including the CDC (lost a lot of credibility), oversold what the vaccines were tested and intended for. Reducing severity of symptoms. That's it.

P.S. You could just mail payment in. Presumably, they'd honor the $30.50 rate. Very bizarre situation.

Rates went up January-9th and appears to be retroactive. If you had paid before then, it would be $30.50 as expected. One would think the rate quoted would be what's due, but PA is desperate for revenue. Very shady!

Chalk it up as a learning experience to pay government related bills promptly. Not something I'd given much thought too either. My DL expires in December of next year and is something I will be keeping an eye on. May be worth upgrading to Real ID this year, which may extend another 2-4 years or just renewing early (think one can do so up to around 6 months ahead).