For those interested in the various development projects that may come to West Chester, there are some important Borough Council meetings happening after the Labor Day weekend. Council will hold a special meeting Tuesday night, starting at 630 p.m., to hear about the plans West Chester University has for its new dorms.

The following night, Council will again conduct a hearing regarding plans by McCool Properties to construct a 75-foot condominium project at the former M.S. Yearsley property, on East Market Street. And following that hearing, which starts at 6:30 p.m., council will discuss the fate of the Mosteller Garage, on East Chestnut Street, across from the YMCA. Council is going to have to decide to either build a new garage, or turn the property over to the borough's Redevelopment Authority and allow the board to consider plans to build a hotel and a new parking facility at the site.

I hope everyone has a nice Labor Day holiday. I'll be at the Italian Festival in my hometown of Scranton, looking forward to the canolis and eclairs that Italian chefs from Brooklyn always sell cheap.

Hispanic Market follow

West Chester police made another arrest regarding illegal gambling and the illegal sale of alcohol at the Hispanic Market, which is located on the 300 block of South Matlack Street, but was condemned earlier this month by the Building and Housing Department, after numerous codes violations were found.

Victor Colon, 65, of East Fallowfield, was arrested yesterday. Colon, who owned and operated the market, has received multiple charges, mostly dealing with illegal gambling and the illegal sale of alcohol.

This arrest comes after police conducted a search warrant on Aug. 16 and found 12 cases of beer, two bottles of alcohol, a working video slot machine, twenty four trash bags stuffed with beer cans and about 500 plastic shot cups.

some more construction slated for Henderson in the future

In the spring, teachers and students at B. Reed Henderson High School were glad that the lengthy renovation process was completed and they could enjoy a school equipped with the latest technology and larger space. But the Henderson campus hasn't seen the last of construction.

On Monday, the West Chester Area School Board voted to approve the first phase of a master plan and conceptual design for the school, which calls for two new athletic fields, eight tennis courts and 350 parking spots. The new facilities will be placed on land the district purchased over the last few years, including the old PennDOT building and Conner Tire Property.

Quite a weekend for borough police

If you haven't noticed, there are swarms of young people wandering around the borough, meaning West Chester University is back in session. Most students moved back this weekend and classes started yesterday.

The West Chester police department, meanwhile, was busy dealing with all of the new students looking for something to do. From Monday, Aug. 20 to Sunday, Aug. 26, police arrested and charged 47 people, according to Police Chief Scott Bohn. Among the arrests, 24 were for underage drinking, 11 for public drunkenness, seven for disorderly conduct, four for noise violations and two for open bottle violations.

This doesn't mean, however, that all of the citations were given out to WCU students. The borough, as its leaders have often described, is now a destination spot with all of its bars and restaurants.

But one thing is clear, with the university back in session, the police force is busy, and activity is expected to increase, as new students get familiar with the borough.

Quite a way to start the school year

Usually, everything runs smoothly at West Chester University during the weekend when students move in. This year, however, was a little different. Schmidt Hall, located on the corner of Rosedale Avenue and New Streets, had to be evacuated Sunday. Luckily, it wasn't because of anything major. A student left a curling iron plugged in on a bed, causing a small fire, according to West Chester Fire Chief Mark McCarthy. No one was injured, and the fire was put out in a relatively short amount of time.

I suppose, though, the incident would make for a memorable first weekend at school.

Is more of Hollywood going to come to Chester County?

Recently, downtown West Chester, Immaculata University and West Chester University had a little touch of Hollywood, with film crews and cameras everywhere for the filming of "Our Lady Victory" about the championship 1972 Mighty Macs, of Immaculata.

It seems that more projects may be coming to Chester County and the greater Philadelphia area in the future. Currently, M. Night Shyamalan is filming part of his latest thriller, "The Happening," at G-Lodge Diner, located on Valley Road in Phoenixville. The movie has brought Mark Wahlberg, John Leguizamo and Zooey Deschanel to the up-and-coming town.

This weekend, we're running a story about why people are starting to shoot movies here. According to a producer I talked to who worked on "Our Lady of Victory" and some folks at the Greater Film Office of Philadelphia, people are coming here because of the county's varying scenery, including West Chester's quaint, historic feel, as well as the vast countryside that exists in other parts of the county. And with movie studio ideas being floated for the Philly area, as well as tax credits for film projects, it is likely movie cameras and gigantic trailers will be coming here more often.

HIspanic Market shut down

If you drive by the Hispanic Market today, located on the corner of Matlack Street and Magnolia Street, you'll notice several postings on the store. That's because West Chester police executed a search warrant on Aug. 16, arrested three people, with more arrests likely to come, and shut the place down for illegal gambling and the illegal sale of alcohol.

There were also several structural and/or code deficiencies found at the store. Look for a more detailed account in Friday's DLN.

planning commission says no to WCU

Last night, the borough's planning commission voted to recomend that Borough Council deny the current land development application for a garage that would be used for WCU, on the corner of West Nields and South New Streets, on a parking lot the university currently owns.

Commission members said the garage should go elsewhere, such as behind Sykes Student Union, or on Matlack Street, near the current garage and parking lot. That land, WCU officals said, is in West Goshen, but commission members said that isn't their problem.

WCU is hoping to build this garage for a recreation center it wants to build near the Lawrence Dining Center, on "D Lot." University officials also said the garage will be necessary because as new dorms are constructed, parking on campus will be lost, so the garage would make up for that loss.

It'll be interesting to see if Borough Council will agree with its commission, or allow the plans to move forward as presented.

garage woes

A few months ago, quite a few residents showed up at Borough Hall for a Planning Commission meeting. They weren't coming to protest a new liquor license in the borough, or rowdy behavior on South Walnut Street. Rather, they were upset about a garage West Chester University wants to build on the corner of West Nields and South New Streets, on a parking lot it owns.

When I first heard about this plan about a year ago, I never thought it would draw so much resistance, but neighbors have been fighting hard to get this garage moved elsewhere. To their credit, WCU officials have hosted several meetings over the last few months with neighbors to try to revise the plan and make it more acceptable to residents.

On Tuesday, the Planning Commission will again consider the garage proposal. Will WCU present another plan? I don't know, but you can be sure a lot of residents will most likely be present. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.

One whopper of a ram

Students returning to WCU this fall are going to see something quite large that wasn't there before: a 2,000 lb. golden ram, in honor of the university's mascot.

An artist from Wyoming will be delivering the decoration tomorrow between 8 and 9 a.m. in front of the Old Library.

If I remember correctly, this whole ram statue idea was a bit of a controversy when I was attending the university and wrote for "The Quad," WCU's newspaper. Our op-ed page had more than a few editorials about this statue. I'm not sure what the big deal was. Maybe I'll return to my alma mater and some point in the day and look at the statue.

What about that music venue?

As people may have heard or read, a Thai food restaurant got approval the other night for a liquor license, meaning the restaurant will be replacing Rex's Bar on West Gay Street, unless some unforeseen circumstance occurs.

After the meeting, though, I think a lot of people wondered, myself included, what the status is of the planned music venue and theater Donald Moore, the owner of Rex's, wants to open on East Market Street.


Bill Shehwen , Moore's attorney, has mentioned for a previous article I did that Moore would consider transferring the liquor license at Rex's to the new venue. But during the hearing Monday, Shehwen stayed away from discussing Moore's intentions, including the fate of the liquor license at Rex's. All he said is that the license will not be sold or put into safe keeping.

Shehwen said he would try to give me an interview with Moore next week, so maybe I can have some more details by then.

Another website to enhance your dining expierence

Shortly after I blogged about and wrote an article on Mary Bigham and her website, http://www.wcdish.com/, I received an e-mail from another West Chester area resident, Chris Dima. He operates http://www.westchestermenu.com/. This site is especially beneficial for people that are not so familiar with the several eating establishments in the borough. While WC Dish provides reviews and blog posts about restaurants, West Chester Menu provides a complete listing of menus, addresses and contact information for the restaurants in the area. This is especially helpful for people that may want to try a new place, but want some info about the establishment, before going there.

Dima said via e-mail that he left West Chester University in 1996 and then became a teacher in Philly. After a few years, he decided he wanted to join the .com world. Later on, he bought a house in the borough with his wife and saw an ad for Economy.com. After a few months working for the company, he did marking and design work.

The idea for the website came from some of his observations at work about a year ago, when he noticed his colleagues swarming around a co-workers desk, seeking menus. "So, the idea was born to create a virtual folder of menus, or an Internet site dedicated to West Chester that listed complete menus," Dima said.

Dima bought the website last summer and takes pride in it. He said it gets over 5,000 hits a month. "The reason they like it, I think, is that it's simple, uncluttered with advertisements, and, most importantly, completely dedicated to the greater West Chester community," Dima said.

meetings, meetings, meetings

Well, my vacation to Chicago and Ocean City, MD has ended. It was a great time. I was very impressed with Chicago, especially its architecture. I took a boat ride on Lake Michigan and also ate some authentic deep dish pizza.

It seems like I returned to West Chester during a busy week. Borough Council will meet at 6:30 tonight to discuss allowing a liquor license for a Thai food restaurant that wants to move into Rex's Bar on West Gay Street. As I wrote before, the fate of this hearing may determine if Donald Moore, the owner of Rex's, opens up a music venue and theater on East Market Street or not.

On Wednesday, council will hold another hearing regarding plans by First National Bank of Chester County to build a nearly 100-foot building downtown, so they can create a corporate headquarters. That meeting is at 6 p.m.

And on top of all that, council will hold its work session Tuesday at 7 p.m. and its voting session the following night at 7 p.m.

A little vaca

Just so everyone knows, I will be away all next week and this weekend. I'm going to Chicago and will be there until Monday, and then I'm going to Ocean City, Maryland next week. I'll be back next Sunday, but I will not be near a computer during my trip. Feel free to continue to post comments on here, but please understand I will not be able to moderate them until I get back.

I hope everyone has a nice week.

And to think she only used to eat turkey sandwiches

I'ved covered a lot of interesting things so far while working for the newspaper, including the big recount in the 156th Legislative District last fall, two homicides in Coatesville, terrible flooding throughout the county last summer and countless Borough Council issues. But sometimes, I like doing profiles on interesting, quirky people.

Yesterday, I met and interviewed Mary Bigham, who runs WC Dish, a website dedicated to providing information about local restaurants in the West Chester area. I was stunned to learn Bigham has no writing or culinary expierence, but has created a rather interesting website.

I've probably never seen someone have so much passion about food before. For Bigham, who only ate turkey sandwiches until she was seven, food represents culture, family and tradition. ] Personally, I never thought about food in that manner. Usually, when I go out to eat or travel, I never really think about the culture surrounding certain foods.

There will be a full profile of Bigham and her work in the paper this weekend. I'll enjoy writing it today because sometimes it's nice to take a break from stories about local government and write about these unique people around West Chester.

After four hours, no decision

I walked into the newsroom this morning feeling a little tired and exhausted, since I sat through a meeting that lasted nearly four hours last night regarding the condomenium project McCool Properties wants to construct on the 100 block of East Market Street, at the former M.S. Yearsley property.

The hearing featured lengthy testimony from McCool representatives, as well as comments from residents for and against the project.

The real issue here seems to revolve around McCool's request for a permit to demolish the buildings to do the project.
Like they've done at previous meetings, current and past members of the Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB), fought hard at the meeting to preserve the buildings, saying they still contribute to the borough's historic character and integrity.
But for the developer, it would be too costly to do the project and maintain the buildings. It's another classic case of historic preservation and development.

All of this will resume in September, and let's hope there is some decision then and no more meetings that stretch until 11 p.m.

update on possible fate of Rex's

wwwYesterday evening, I learned a little more about the possible fate of Rex's Bar on West Gay Street and got a first look at the plans for a possible Thai restaurant that could take over the building. Bill Shehwen, the lawyer for Donald Moore, the owner of Rex's, invited me to a meeting that consisted of a few residents, Shehwen and the people that hope to open the restaurant.


The restaurateurs, Joshua Morton and Natalie Phrompeng, said if everything moves forward and Borough Council allows them to bring in a liquor license from outside of the borough, they would change the facade of Rex's and clean it up. They said they would like to add some Asian themes and a herb garden, but still maintain some of the historic character and design of the surrounding neighborhood. Phrompeng, who owned a Thai food restaurant in Malvern for three years, said the inside would be converted to a more open space.

According Shehwen, Moore is still locked into a lease with Stan Zukin, but would be able to break it, if the restaurant opens.

Only two neighbors were at this meeting, Ben Aller, a county employee, and his wife, Becky Aller. They live on West Gay Street, quite close to the bar. They seemed eager about the possibility of having a restaurant in their neighborhood and believe it could revitalize the area. Of course, they do not speak for all residents in the neighborhood, but are some of the closet people near Rex's.