Latest news with #Erie-based
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grow Erie facility produces lettuce and herbs in Savocchio Park. It also makes a statement
Bags of fresh kale and tender microgreens — distributed last week at an open house of the Grow Erie facility in Savocchio Park — are a reminder of what the new $5 million facility was built to do. But supporters of the project say the crops grown there and the revenue they will produce only hints at its value. The 17,000-square-foot facility at 1811 Paragon Drive was built in the middle of a former brownfield in one of Erie's poorest neighborhoods. Developed by the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, the newly opened complex is owned by the Minority Community Investment Coalition, formed in 2016 by the Booker T. Washington Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Center and Urban Erie Community Development Corp. Scientific support and design work for the facility come from a partnership with Integrated Agriculture Systems, known as INTAG. The facility, which already has produced its first crops, is expected to benefit the community by providing jobs to neighborhood residents, returning money to MCIC and by supporting the construction and operation of a community garden, where residents can grow their own food. The Erie-based Curtze Co., which serves the restaurant industry, already has signed on to be a lead customer for food grown in the commercial facility. Paul Nickerson, lead designer for INTAG, said the 17,000-square-foot facility provides a climate-controlled space where lettuce, kale and herbs are grown in plastic trays that keep the roots of those plants immersed in water. It's a common misconception, he said, that plants can't survive when their roots are submerged. The problem isn't the water, but the lack of oxygen. A special oxygen concentrator addresses that problem, he said. "You can't drown a plant, but you can suffocate it," Nickerson said. Elsewhere in the building, purple growing lights illuminate trays of microgreens, which are grown in potting soil and grow to maturity in between eight and 20 days. Like the plants in the greenhouse, the microgreens are fertilized using processed fish sludge. For now, that sludge comes from the Fairview State Fish Hatchery. Eventually, the fish waste will be produced on site once the facility begins growing its own fish, Nickerson said. Grow Erie is designed to benefit a social need, but it still faces the challenges of turning a profit, he said. "You can't just give the crops away," Nickerson said. "Look at our power bill. These oxygen concentrators cost a lot of lettuce to run." Tina Mengine, CEO of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, was among those on hand to show off the facility last week. "It's exciting. It's been a long time coming," she said. "This project embodies what economic development is. You take a brownfield that sat dormant for 20 years. It will employ people and will bring high-tech agriculture to the center of the city." Candace Battles, a retired social worker who is a board member of Our West Bayfront, was impressed. "I think it's awesome," she said. "They are bringing something new to a community where people wouldn't have had these opportunities." Funding for the project — $5.6 million in all — came from a variety of sources, including grants from the Erie Community Foundation, Erie County and the city of Erie. But the idea came from the eastside community itself, said Gary Horton, who is both president of the NAACP in Erie and founder and CEO of the Urban Erie Community Development Corp. "The idea for the project came not out of the mayor's office, not the authority, but out of the minds of Black and Brown people and new Americans," Horton said. In short, the concept was homegrown. "There are so many people who think poor Black and Brown people can't do anything, but no one rode into our neighborhood on a white horse," Horton said. On one level, the Grow Erie project is being scored as a success. The project is among those included in Infinite Erie's Investment Playboook and it's the first to be completed, said Kim Thomas, the group's executive director. More than anything, Thomas said, she likes the message sent by an investment of this size in an neighborhood where such investments are uncommon. "It's something new, it's something transformational," Thomas said. "It's a game changer for the Buffalo Road corridor. I think what that does is spur motivation." More: Where does the $1 million-plus environmental cleanup at Erie's Quin-T property stand? Thomas expects the project, which already has brought scientists to work in this gleaming new facility, will create both jobs, spinoff investments and a sense of pride. More: Urban agriculture site takes shape at Savocchio Park. When will it be ready? It promises to change how people see the place where they live, she said. "They see the investment in resources, not just in the downtown, not just on the bayfront, but in their own community." Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@ This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Grow Erie greenhouse represents $5.6 million investment in community
Axios
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Philly officials are spending big to tell voters they're doing good things
Did you receive one of those yearbook-looking 48-page mailers boasting the Philadelphia City Council 's 2024 feats? They cost taxpayers nearly $83,000. Why it matters: The Parker administration, city lawmakers and other elected city leaders have spent at least $2 million in recent months on outside communications firms and media campaigns touting their accomplishments, the Inquirer reports. And a government watchdog group is questioning whether the expenses are a good use of taxpayer dollars. State of play: Last month, the Parker administration finalized a six-figure contract with Erie-based public relations firm Kate Philips & Co., which is run by former Gov. Ed Rendell's spokesperson, to promote the mayor's "initiatives and their successes," per the Inquirer. City officials spent another $102,000 on advertising to promote four town halls about the budget, including billboards plastered with council members' pics and names. Plus, the city sanitation department spent $107,000 to wrap garbage trucks and trash cans with Parker's name and the "One Philly, United City" slogan, the newspaper notes. Between the lines: The emphasis on public awareness efforts suggests city officials are increasingly concerned about how they're perceived by voters. The council's glossy mailer effort specifically targeted "super voters," people who tend to vote in every election, per the Inquirer. What they're saying: Vincent Thompson, spokesperson for council president Kenyatta Johnson, told the outlet that spending money on public awareness campaigns is important because "many people don't even know who their elected officials are." Parker's spokesperson, Joe Grace, defended the PR contract to the Inquirer, saying it'll allow the administration to "tell more stories, and inform the public" about the mayor's positive influence. The other side: The good government group Committee of Seventy is concerned about local politicians spending public money to promote themselves "rather than City programs, services, and opportunities." That "should definitely be handled on the political side," the group says — especially when City Hall already employs dozens of in-house communications workers who collectively earn about $5.3 million a year. By the numbers: The budget for Parker's nine-person comms team is $1.1 million — 20% more than that of her predecessor, Jim Kenney, per the Inquirer.
Miami Herald
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
‘Self-promotion' or informing the public? Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and Council use taxpayer money to sell their wins
Philadelphia politicians want you to know more about their accomplishments. They also want taxpayers to pay for the privilege. In recent months, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, members of City Council, and other Philadelphia elected officials collectively spent at least $2 million on contracts for outside communications firms, campaign-style billboards, magazine-like mailers and various digital, television, newspaper or radio ads - all with the stated goal of elevating their work to everyday Philadelphians. Mayor Parker's office finalized a $120,000 contract last month with a Erie-based public relations firm that aims to promote "Mayor Parker's initiatives and their successes," according to a request for proposals issued in February. In April and May, Council spent nearly $83,000 on a glossy 48-page mailer that promoted legislators' work last year. Another $102,000 went toward ad buys and a series of billboards featuring members' names and likenesses, timed to promote four budget town halls - meaning each event had an average advertising cost of over $25,000. "Many people don't even know who their elected officials are," said Vincent Thompson, communications director to City Council President Kenyatta Johnson. "What the Council President wants to do is expose the citizens to City Council and let them know who their elected officials are." Some of the advertising appears geared toward constituents who are already in the know. Council sent its 48-page mailer exclusively to super voters, the most civically engaged voters who tend to cast ballots in every election. Lauren Cristella, president and CEO of government watchdog Committee of Seventy, said that these efforts could create the impression of self-promotion on the public's dime. "We're all for promoting city services and opportunities for residents to engage with their government," she said. "Anything that is promoting an individual, rather than City programs, services, and opportunities, should definitely be handled on the political side." Susan Thompson, an 80-year-old retired special education teacher who lives in Councilmember Jeffery Young's district, said she and her neighbors in the Art Museum area were baffled by the mailer, which features numerous photos of smiling council members. She said the money could have been spent on other more pressing needs, noting news reports on maintenance lapses in Philly public schools. "There are public schools that don't even have working sinks or toilets," she said. "I think $80,000 could have paid for some plumbing." City Hall's booming PR fleet City Hall, meanwhile, is seeking to grow its flank of contracted public relations officials despite already spending millions on in-house communications. The mayor, City Council, and other city agencies employ nearly 70 different communications, media or PR staffers, with combined salaries of $5.3 million annually, according to payroll records. The Mayor's office alone is budgeted for a nine-person, $1.1 million communications office, roughly 20% more than Parker's predecessor, former Mayor Jim Kenney. For comparison, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro employs the same number of communications staffers despite helming a much larger government body - and operates without help from outside PR firms. The Parker administration said it needs help spreading the word about the mayor's agenda. To that end, it contracted Kate Philips & Co., an Erie marketing firm founded by Kate Phillips, a former spokesperson to Gov. Ed Rendell, to "garner positive coverage of successes," write op-eds, book media appearances, post on social media and do "crisis communications support." Two of Phillips' local staffers will also work on the contract. One is Kristi Del Grande, a former Rendell press secretary. The other, Daniela Snyder, is the daughter of Democratic political consultant (and former Rendell staffer) Ken Snyder. Parker's spokesperson, Joe Grace - who himself once worked for Rendell as deputy campaign manager - defended the contract. "As year two of the administration unfolds, we want to do even more," he said. "Tell more stories, and inform the public even better on all of the dynamic and positive work of the Parker administration." Kenney brought in an outside firm to handle crisis communications in 2022 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. However, that contract was issued toward the end of his second term, as staffers were departing. Parker's in-house press office, meanwhile, is in the process of hiring for several unfilled staff jobs, including a $110,000 a year press secretary to assist Grace, who earns $180,000. Other city agencies have also aided Parker's promotional efforts, with the sanitation department paying $107,000 to wrap 20 garbage trucks and 80 Big Belly trashcans with the mayor's "One Philly, United City" slogan - next to her name. Her press office is also notable for a controversial citywide communications policy after taking office in January 2024 that requires the dozens of spokespersons at other city departments to route media requests, social media posts, and any other public statements through the mayor's office for approval. That policy appears to have resulted in a bottle-necking of media requests that used to be handled by city agencies. Grace and his team have frequently struggled to respond in a timely manner to media inquiries, including requests for basic information, during Parker's first 16 months in office. The RFP states that Kate & Co will be expected to assist "in the coordination of multiple departments" to craft "unified" city messaging. Grace denied any connection between the contract and the policy. Council hits the billboards Parker is not alone in using tax dollars to trumpet her accomplishments. Under Johnson, Council has embarked on annual multi-media ad blitzes. Thompson, Johnson's communications director, said the $185,000 spend on billboards and other ads is mostly aimed at promoting a series of town halls about the city budget. "The Council president wants to make sure we are very aggressive at letting the public know what we're doing with their tax dollars," he said. The 13 billboards - one featuring each district Council member and three of Johnson himself - cost taxpayers $18,500. For about one month, Councilmember Mark Squilla, who represents parts of Center City and South Philadelphia, gazed serenely from a digital billboard over motorists on Interstate 95, with his name and a slogan reading, "Your city, your budget." Those tuned to the right radio station or digital stream can also hear Council members promoting the budget town halls. Airtime cost: $50,000. Readers of Philly's dozen or so neighborhood newspapers, like the Sunday Sun or the South Philly Review, will also see ads featuring their local district council member, courtesy of another $34,000 ad expense. Thompson said the outreach efforts helped soften public criticism of the legislative body. "One of the things [Johnson] noticed during his tenure was that a lot of Philadelphians had a negative impression of Council. But when they found out what Council does, their impression became more positive," Thompson said. Last year was one of Council's least productive sessions in recent history, in terms of the number of bills introduced and adopted. The most high-profile issue lawmakers tackled - a December vote to approve the 76ers' proposal to build an arena in Center City - fizzled out weeks later when the team walked away from the plan. Council's 48-page brochure mailed to voters recently is titled "An Incredible Year In Council." It primarily depicts lawmakers engaging in decisive activities - attending ribbon-cuttings or authoring resolutions - with mention of the arena relegated to a back page, near a chart showing the seating order of each member inside the chamber. Thompson says these expenses are small in the grand scheme of Council's $20 million annual budget, and that the legislative body is only following an example set by other elected officials. "This isn't any different from getting a newsletter from a state representative or state senator," he said. Politicians spending on publicly paid-for promotion does appear to be contagious. Both Controller Christy Brady and Councilmember Mike Driscoll both contract Ceisler Media at a cost of $84,000 and $35,000, respectively - although neither employs in-house media staff. In February, City Council also inked a $40,000 contract with TML Communications to "enhance brand awareness" and "secure positive coverage" for Councilmember Cindy Bass, according to a proposal request. This role is in addition to her 12 office staffers, which includes a community outreach director. TML was also contracted in 2021 at a cost of $144,000 annually to place advertising notices for the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office - and, in practice, serves as a spokesperson for Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, despite the office budgeting for an $75,000-a-year public information officer. The sheriff has also poured public money into a podcast, newsletter and other promotion materials using public dollars. And five months before the 2024 presidential election, the Philadelphia City Commissioners - an elected board that oversees local elections - issued $1.4 million worth of contracts to firms Maven Communications and Berlin Rosen to handle media relations, communications, and engagement. These contracts - about $900,000 of which has been spent to date - helped disseminate information about voting in the election, but also featured ads and billboards prominently, much of which also featured names and photos of the commissioners themselves. Susan Thompson, the retired teacher, said she doesn't buy that all the spending is just to better educate the public. "It's self-promotion," she said. "So when they run again, maybe people have flipped through something and remember them...I think it's an embarrassment." Staff writer Max Marin contributed to this article. An earlier version of this article stated that TML's contract with Councilmember Cindy Bass was not competitively bid. It was. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Golden Apple Award: Shannon Holly, West Lake Middle School
The final week of April marks the final week for honoring a local school teacher with the JET 24 Pennwest University Golden Apple Award. This week, the winning teacher is at West Lake Middle School in Millcreek. Shannon Holly is the music teacher at Westlake. Her mom worked in school and that's what made her choose a career as a teacher. 'I knew I wanted to be in the school in some way,' she said. 'I thought maybe a math teacher. and then that quickly dropped off when I got to high school.' But she added, 'Then I realized music and chorus was my thing, so I just wanted to continue with that, and I'm very glad I have. This has always been my dream job to be a middle school chorus teacher,' she explained. Ms. Holly likens being a music teacher to being a coach. 'Yes, we do music things in here, but we all have to come together as a team on stage to make sure we're singing together as a group,' she said. 'So really it's just about bringing all these different personalities and different uniquenesses together to go toward a common goal.' To reach those goals, it's taken a few years to find the right pitch in the classroom. Holly suggested, 'I really make sure that I get to know the students, what they're doing on the weekend, things that they like. Talking to a student yesterday and found out she's Italian, and they do Sunday dinners. So just small things with students because you have to know your people if you want to work with them and really lead them to success,' Holly said. PennWest University professor Mary Jo Melvin, PhD, said, 'Ms Holly shows her students through music the importance of teamwork, self-discipline and collaboration. And for some students, I think music may be the only voice that they have when there are no words.' This week's student nominator, Andrew Pianta, recently played a lead role in the school musical with encouragement from He said, 'Ms. Holly is a really special teacher to me because I like known her since 4th grade.' He continued, 'She would always say 'bye kiddos' all the time when she would leave, and I thought that was really special. I was originally going to be in orchestra, but I found out was going to be in chorus, so I made that switch to be in class with her,' Pianta said. Like all Golden Apple teachers, Ms Holly received $250 from Big Ideas Learning, an Erie-based math textbook company. 'She found an opportunity to help a student feel like they belong. It opened up a whole world of performance outside a comfort zone, that a student now became a star,' said Damon Finazzo, of Big Ideas Learning. Watch JET 24 on May 14 at 7 p.m. for our annual Golden Apple Awards special presentation. That night, a Teacher of the Year will be selected from among this school year's 27 Golden Apple Award recipients, hosted by JET 24's Lou Baxter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Jury acquits 2 therapists, convicts another of lesser charge in Hertel & Brown fraud trial
(This story has been updated to add new information.) A jury has reached a split verdict in the case of three defendants who went to trial in the 21-defendant Hertel & Brown federal health care fraud case. After deliberating about 11½ hours over two days, a jury of nine men and three women on April 23 acquitted two of the defendants, Abigayle J. Fachetti and Marissa S. Hull, of all charges against them — the felonies of health care fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud. The jury convicted the third defendant, Julie A. Johnson, of health care fraud and acquitted her of the conspiracy count. The fraud count is the lesser charge. The jury issued the verdict after a monthlong trial in which the defense never denied that widespread billing fraud occurred at the Erie-based Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy, where Johnson, Fachetti and Hull worked for years. Johnson, 43, is a licensed physical therapist. Hull, 31, and Fachetti, 34, were physical therapy assistants. The defendants argued they were caught up in the scheme unwittingly and never intended to commit fraud. Closing arguments were on April 21. The jury deliberated about eight hours on April 22 and about 3½ hours on April 23. U.S. District Judge Robert Colville read the verdicts at 1 p.m. on April 23 in federal court in Erie. He let Johnson remain free on an unsecured bond of $10,000, the same bond terms for all the defendants. Colville scheduled Johnson's sentencing for Sept. 3. The health care fraud charge of which Johnson was convicted carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. She is all but certain to face far less time under the federal sentencing guidelines, which account for lack of a prior record and other factors. Johnson, Hull and Fachetti would have faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison had they been convicted of the conspiracy count. The conspiracy count was the first of the two counts listed in the indictment, issued in 2021. Johnson's conviction on the felony count puts her at risk of losing her physical therapy license. Fachetti and Hull are no longer working in the physical therapy field, according to testimony. Hull, Fachetti and Johnson cried and hugged their lawyers and family members after the verdict. "Although we are disappointed in the outcome, we feel vindicated by the jury's verdict as to count one, and are grateful for their efforts in this case," one of Johnson's lawyers, Efrem Grail, of Pittsburgh, said in an interview. Johnson's other lawyer is Julia Gitelman, also of Pittsburgh. Erie lawyer Elliot Segel represented Hull in what he said is the last case he will handle as he retires from his 45-year legal career. In his closing argument, he told the jury that "liberty has been his client" in all his cases, and that, in Hull's case, he was fighting "for the freedom of a good person." "I'm happy," Segel said after the verdict. "It took a lot for her to stand up and, with the family support, decide to go to trial. We always felt it was the right decision. "She spent four years going through this," Segel said. "It's life-changing, regardless of the outcome." Fachetti's lawyers were Jeffery Carr and Sarah Levin, both assistant federal public defenders. They declined to comment on the verdict. The lead prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Trabold, also declined to comment. The 18 defendants who declined to go to trial in the Hertel & Brown case included business owners Aaron W. Hertel and Michael R. Brown. All 18 pleaded guilty only to the conspiracy count. Many of those defendants, especially those listed lower in the 21-defendant indictment, are expected to be eligible for probation at their sentencings over the summer, according to information presented at their plea hearings over the last several months. Hertel and Brown each face a recommended sentence of six years in federal prison when they are sentenced on Aug. 28. Johnson was listed as seventh-highest in the indictment, in which the lead defendants were Hertel & Brown as a business and Hertel and Brown as individuals. Fachetti was listed 17th and Hull 19th. At trial, the defense argued that Johnson, Fachetti and Hull had no intent to be part of the scheme, and that their superiors, including the owners, lied to them and duped them into carrying out what the three said they later learned was fraudulent behavior. The defense said the three believed that what they were doing was correct under the operational norms at Hertel & Brown. The U.S. Attorney's Office argued that the three defendants knew what they were doing was wrong at the time and that they willingly participated in the fraud. Trabold emphasized that three learned about proper procedures and billing practices in physical therapy school, and that the three were required to follow state regulations for physical therapists. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the $22 million fraud occurred over 14 years, starting when Hertel & Brown was founded in 2007 and ending about a month before all 21 defendants were indicted in November 2021 in the largest-ever prosecution of white-collar crime in Erie. The main element of the fraud, according to undisputed evidence, was Hertel & Brown's use of low-paid, unlicensed technicians to treat patients and billing Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers as if licensed physical therapists and physical therapy assistants did the work. Hertel & Brown also billed for more treatment hours than its clinics were open, billed for services that were never provided, billed for one-on-therapy when patients were treated in less expensive group therapy and billed for treatment on behalf of physical therapists who were on vacation at the time, including in Cancun, Mexico. Evidence showed the fraud was designed to boost revenue to offset decreased insurance reimbursements. A trial, Fachetti and Hull took the stand and admitted that they participated in fraudulent activity, such as completing treatment notes for physical therapists when unlicensed techs had actually provided the therapy. But Fachetti and Hull, who both primarily worked at what was Hertel & Brown's office in Harborcreek Township, said they had no idea what they were doing was wrong. They said they were following the lead of their superiors. "I felt manipulated," Fachetti testified. Johnson worked mainly at what had been Hertel & Brown's headquarters in the West Erie Plaza in Millcreek Township, where she specialized in women's health. Johnson did not testify, though she gave a statement to the FBI in which agents said she said fraud was widespread at Hertel & Brown and that all the employees "turned a blind eye" to it. The defense relied on expert witnesses and character witness to try to show that the defendants were law-abiding and well-regarded clinicians who would have never knowingly set out to commit fraud. At trial, the U.S. Attorney's Office called 19 witnesses over 12 days. They included five former Hertel & Brown employees who pleaded guilty. Hertel and Brown did not testify. Trabold and the other prosecutors, Paul Sellers and Molly Anglin, both assistant U.S. attorneys, also called physical therapy professors. Those witnesses said the defendants would have learned about proper billing practices in physical therapy programs, including those at Gannon University, where Johnson received her doctorate, and Mercyhurst University, where Fachetti received her associate's degree as a physical therapy assistant. Trabold highlighted the professional obligations of the three defendants. He said they knew that they were breaking the law when they participated in the fraud at Hertel & Brown. He cited their educational backgrounds and the "mountain of evidence" against them. In his closing argument, Trabold summarized what he saw as the defense's case: "I am a licensed medical professional. All this fraud is occurring around me for years, and I have no clue what is happening." Trabold urged the jury to reject the claims. "You know what went on here," he said. The defense countered that Johnson, Fachetti and Hull never intended to be fraudsters. "Proof of intent is not here," Levin, one of Fachetti's lawyers, said in her closing argument. "Just being around a conspiracy is not enough." Ed Palattella at epalattella@ or 814-870-1813. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Jury acquits 2 Hertel & Brown defendants, convicts 3rd of lesser count
