Thursday, May 17, 2012
Parks, roads departments being consolidated; county's legal department being rebuilt
Last fall, residents thronged a hearing held by the previous Montgomery County administration after a preliminary version of the 2012 operating budget proposed the elimination of the county's parks department, among other drastic funding cuts. That Board of Commissioners eventually passed a budget that hiked property taxes by 17.5 percent and kept the Parks and Heritage Services department intact. Thursday morning, Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro announced that the department had been eliminated, after all. Parks and Heritage will soon cease to exist. The same goes for the Public Property department and the department of Roads and Bridges. In their place will be a single, new department: Infrastructure and Public Assets. "The …
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Plan includes funding for critical repairs to county roads, bridges, Norristown office tower
The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Thursday approved a $146.5 million capital spending plan that includes repairs to at least 18 bridges and roads around the county as well as extensive repairs to the 1 Montgomery Plaza office tower that now houses the bulk of county's government. View the county's full summary of the $146.5 million spending package in the PDF section attached to this article. The county purchased the building for $26 million in 2006 and is now facing $35 million in repairs, prompting Commissioner Bruce Castor to wonder whether the county might pursue compensation from any parties that were charged with inspecting the building for the county prior to its purchase. "Somebody decided to buy this building without …
40.11532
-75.344159
1 Montgomery Plz, Norristown, PA
/articles/county-approves-plan-for-146-5m-in-capital-repairs
/locations/6843732
Thursday, April 12, 2012
New policies governing bids for county business, employee ethics introduced as new administration marks 100 days in office.
The current Montgomery County Board of Commissioners marked its first 100 days in office Thursday morning with a special meeting that introduced new county ethics and procurement policies intended to increase transparency and eliminate patronage and corruption from county government. Board chairman Josh Shapiro said Thursday marked the beginning of a "new era" for Montgomery County. Reading from a prepared statement, Shapiro said the new procurement policy will "ensure a level playing field and a good value for the taxpayers" while the "totally revamped" ethics policy will "value integrity and not one's political agenda." New procurement policy favors local businesses, punishes misconduct The new procurement policy replaces a policy passed…
40.11532
-75.344159
1 Montgomery Plz, Norristown, PA
/articles/montco-commissioners-herald-new-era
/locations/6789479
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Montgomery County Commissioner and former county district attorney Bruce Castor gives expert commentary on an upcoming crime show.
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
From the Montgomery County Office Of Communications: If you are home Saturday night, flip on the TV to the Investigation Discovery channel and catch Montgomery County Commissioner and former county District Attorney Bruce Castor giving expert commentary on a crime show detailing the Craig Rabinowitz case in Lower Merion in 1997. The show, “Scorned: Love Kills," airs at 10 p.m. and will be repeated several times next week. The episode, entitled “Never Enough," details the case of Rabinowitz, who eventually pleaded guilty to strangling his wife. Castor, then the First Assistant DA in Montgomery County, was the lead prosecutor on the case. Originally, it was thought that Rabinowitz’ wife, Stephanie, accidentally drowned in her bathtub. …
Monday, October 31, 2011
Anastasia Przybylski and Steven Long, of the Kitchen Table Patriots, call for Montgomery County Commissioners candidates to pull videos from ads
- GOVERNMENT
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Monday, October 31, 2011
To Whom It May Concern: Ms. Anastasia Przybylski of Kitchen Table Patriots recently noticed the use of copyright-protected video/audio by the Shapiro Richards campaign. More specifically, the Shapiro Richards campaign is currently running a commercial which contains copyrighted video and audio, as owned by Ms. Anastasia Przybylski. Ms. Przybylski owns the copyright to the video of Jenny Brown, as recorded for a segment for Kitchen Table Patriots. Ms. Przybylski was never contacted by Shapiro Richards Campaign, or by Comcast Network, to request permission to use the copyrighted footage. Ms. Przybylski never granted permission to Shapiro Richards Campaign, or by Comcast to reproduce the footage (in whole, or in part). Accordingly, Ms. …
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Would require approval in state legislature
The Brown-Castor campaign for Montgomery County Commissioner has its eyes on the coming Valley Forge Casino Resort. Specifically, on the revenue it's expected to generate. Right now, that money is slated to go to the state, not Montgomery County. "If we have to deal with the hassle of having a casino, it is just not right that we don't get with any of the revenue," Castor said earlier this week, according to a PhillyBurbs.com report. The campaign on Friday called on the state legislature to pass a law that would let the county collect a "host fee" that it says could be used to help fund improvements on U.S. Route 422. The casino will be situated alongside the highway, which runs roughly parallel to the Schuylkill River through central and …
Thursday, August 25, 2011
A large group of Republican supporters were at the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown for the annual Montgomery County Republican Committee Summer Picnic.
On Wednesday night, the Montgomery County Republican Committee held its annual picnic at the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, giving voters, candidates and elected officials a chance to mingle prior to the upcoming elections. Some familiar faces included Bruce Castor Jr., who is seeking re-election in November for Montgomery County commissioner; Sheriff Eileen Behr, who is also seeking re-election; and Moon Ahn, who has his sights set on the Clerk of Courts seat. Despite the large turnout, it was easy to identify the candidates, as they all wore red T-shirts bearing the names of the 2011 Montgomery County Republican ticket. Those who attended the free event to support the GOP were treated to dinner, free drinks and most importantly—a chance…
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Elmwood Park Zoo
1661 Harding Blvd, Norristown, PA
/articles/viewfinder-montco-gops-summer-picnic
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Thursday, June 23, 2011
A confident group of Republican hopefuls held a Thursday morning press conference in support of the Brown-Castor ticket.
With the Montgomery County Republican ticket standing behind them, Jenny Brown and Bruce L. Castor Jr. held their first press conference, which aimed to solidify their stance and unify the party for the upcoming 2011 election in November. Standing inside the Swede Street entrance of the Montgomery County Courthouse, Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Bob Kerns began the press conference with a brief statement, introducing Brown and Castor and setting a tone for what seems likely to be a highly contested race against the Democratic ticket of Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards. "We have two candidates as commissioners who I believe are the epitome of what is good about Montgomery County," said Kerns. "We are ready to go. We are …
40.116063
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Montgomery County Courthouse
493 Swede St, Norristown, PA
/articles/county-commissioners-race-heats-up
1266307
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Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Montgomery County Commissioners held a meeting Wednesday morning on the future of an airport at the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove.
In an effort to address the numerous concerns that have arisen since the airport possibility took flight, the Montgomery County Commissioners held a special meeting Wednesday to hear public input on future runway use at Willow Grove air base. The eighth-floor board room was packed with about 60 people—many of whom were angry Horsham residents vehemently opposing using the 892-acre base as an airport. As the meeting began, a Montgomery County comprehensive plan was displayed, stating that the 8,000-foot-long runway should stand. Immediately following the presentation, Roger Moog, a board member of the Aviation Council of Pennsylvania, made a case for using the airport for corporate use. "I believe the airfield should be retained as an …
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Bruce Castor reported on the local government at a banquet in Towamencin Monday night.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Gail Gresh
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Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor Jr. leaves his decisions up to faith. “A person of faith worries that God is looking over his shoulder and does the correct thing,” he said. Castor was the featured speaker Monday at the annual banquet of The Men’s Group of Christ United Methodist Church in Towamencin. His message was that morality and moral decisions are lacking in government today, with politicians making decisions based on what is politically correct or what friend or crony could benefit, rather than doing what is right. “In my career, I have seen the worst things that people can do. We need to take the talents that we are given to better ourselves and our community,” Castor said. Castor is in his 26th year with Montgomery …
John Sailor
12:43 am on Sunday, July 1, 2012
Castor is involved in a quid pro quo with former mobsters that he made a sweetheart deal with years ago, only fining them, and then later when the feds caught the mobsters doing the same thing and hiding money in pipes underground on their property, he now defends them in court. Too bad the other republican was a teaparty person, or would have voted for her instead of withholding my votes. more ›