Monday, March 11, 2013
Year-old texting-while-driving ban nets Pa. over 1,300 tickets.
It's only been a year, but 111 people in Montgomery County have already felt the burn. On March 8, 2012, the new Pennsylvania law took effect – no longer could drivers in the Commonwealth text and drive. In the year since, over 1,300 tickets have been issued to drivers in the state, according to the AAA Mid-Atlantic. Of those tickets, 40 percent were issued in the Greater Philadelphia area. Where did Montgomery County stack up? Area residents netted their fair share of offenses. In the last 365 days, 111 tickets were issued to Montco drivers for texting while driving. According to Philly.com, AAA spokespersons think the higher local average has most to due with volume. "The high percent of citations issued in Philadelphia and its suburbs …
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Prices are dropping, but are still much higher than a year ago.
AAA released its weekly Fuel Gauge Report Tuesday, in which the agency predicts gas prices will continue to fall from now until Christmas. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.81, down 4.9 cents from a week ago. In the Philadelphia region, the average price is slightly higher at $3.91, down 4.5 cents from last week. That also marks a decrease of 11.8 cents over the past month. However, prices are considerably higher than this time last year: 31.8 cents higher in Philadelphia, and 30.5 cents higher nationally. The good news is that AAA predicts prices will fall through Christmas, a trend that has held true in seven of the past nine years. According to AAA, prices rose steeply in the summer months in …
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
After fuel prices rose sharply in July, AAA releases outlook for August.
AAA released its weekly fuel gauge report yesterday, showing a sharp increase in gas prices through the month of July and predicting that prices will remain high through Labor Day. According to AAA numbers, national gas prices increased 5.1 percent, or 17 cents a gallon, over the course of July, to close out at $3.50 a gallon. That's the first monthly increase since March and the largest increase for July since at least 2000, when AAA began keeping records. If it seems like prices had been low this summer, they were. Fuel costs had decreased three months in a row before falling to a summertime low of $3.326 on July 2. However, prices rose quickly to close out the month at the national average of $3.50, $3.66 in the Philadelphia region. In …
Saturday, June 30, 2012
The state legislature passed a bill to allow red light cameras in Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks counties.
According to a release issued by AAA MId-Atlantic, the Pennsylvania legislature is wrapping up its session with a bill to allow red light cameras in the Philadelphia suburbs and in Pittsburgh. House Bill 254 passed handily in the state Senate on Friday, June 29, with 34 yeas and only 15 nays and if signed into law by Gov. Corbett, would reauthorize the red light camera program in Philadelphia through July 2017, but would also allow for the cameras to be used in some municipalities in Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks counties as well as Pittsburgh. Municipalities eligible for the red light cameras would have to exceed 20,000 residents and have full-time police forces accredited by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. That makes …
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
AAA Mid-Atlantic issues a release dispelling common "gas myths."
In a recent press release from AAA Mid-Atlantic, the company takes down a number of "myths" surrounding gas prices, including the idea that prices will hit $5 a gallon this summer. The release waxes scientific, satirical and even a bit political at times, but offers deconstructions of what it calls the most common public myths. According to the release: “Consumers are desperate, they will try anything and do anything to try to save money, including falling for the latest rumors and myths,” said Jenny M. Robinson, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Manager of Public and Government Affairs. “They range from 'it is more fuel-efficient to turn off the car's air conditioner' (false), to 'buying gasoline in the morning, when the air is cool, rather than in the …
Friday, December 9, 2011
The county's AAA bond rating was under review but has been upgraded to stable by Moody’s Investor Service.
- GOVERNMENT
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Friday, December 9, 2011
According to a release issued by the Montgomery County Office of Communications, the county received notice on Wednesday that its coveted AAA bond rating has been upgraded to stable by Moody’s Investor Service. The County had been notified in August that the rating was under review due to the federal government’s credit rating and how that might relate to county finances. "This confirms that Montgomery County is fiscally sound now, just as it has been in the past," new Chairman Joseph M. Hoeffel said in the release. "We’ve been very prudent with how we spend taxpayer dollars and we’re working very hard to do so again in the budget for 2012."
40.116063
-75.34366
Montgomery County Courthouse
493 Swede St, Norristown, PA
/articles/moody-s-upgrades-montco-bond-rating
1266307
/locations/5978220
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
AAA Mid-Atlantic is reminding shoppers to be on the lookout this weekend.
According to estimates from the National Retail Foundation, 152 million people are expected to shop over the upcoming Black Friday weekend, and AAA Mid-Atlantic would prefer that none of them get hit by vehicles. That was the main message from AAA this week, who reminded shoppers to exercise caution, particularly in parking lots and garages, while out deal hunting. “Whether it’s the thrill of holiday shopping hustle and bustle or the hunt for the ultimate gift deal, holiday shopping should not come at the expense of safety,” said Jenny M. Robinson, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “This year more retailers are opening earlier than ever before, after dark on Thanksgiving night, and others will open before …
Thursday, October 20, 2011
AAA uncovers frightening statistics and provides tips to keep your kids safe this Halloween.
- NEWS
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Thursday, October 20, 2011
From The East Penn Region, of AAA East Central, an affiliate of AAA and the Pennsylvania AAA Federation: Every Halloween, monsters, zombies and ghouls fill the streets across the United States to celebrate. And if that’s not scary enough, AAA uncovered some frightening statistics. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, October 31 is the deadliest night of the year for pedestrians. “On Halloween, motorists need to be especially vigilant between the hours of 4 p.m. and midnight, when pedestrians are most vulnerable,” said Priscilla Rosado, Coordinator of Public Affairs, AAA East Central, East Penn Region. “Slowing down, watching for trick-or-treaters who may cross between cars or mid-block and designating a sober driver may …
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The threat of a downgrade is gone, but our rating still has a negative outlook.
Last week, Norristown Patch reported that Montgomery County was recently given a AAA bond rating from Moody’s Investor Services. The county was originally given the rating with the threat of a possible downgrade “due to the federal government’s credit rating and how that might relate to County finances." Director of Communications John Corcoran said the caveat has been removed, and the rating remains an AAA with “a negative outlook.” The negative outlook is due to the county’s fund balance and the unappropriated funds in the balance going down over the years, Corcoran said. Corcoran said the most important thing, however, is that the county has the highest rating of AAA. According to Moody’s, “obligations rated AAA are judged to be of the …
40.116063
-75.34366
Montgomery County Courthouse
493 Swede St, Norristown, PA
/articles/county-retains-aaa-bond-rating-without-threat-of-downgrade
1266307
/locations/5060253
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Amid the uproar over the debt ceiling and possible default on the national level, Moody's confirms that Montco is still AAA rated.
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, August 2, 2011
According to a release issued by the Montgomery County Office of Communications, the county received confirmation today of the county’s coveted AAA bond rating from Moody’s Investors Service. The rating does come with the caveat that it is under review for a possible downgrade due to the federal government’s credit rating and how that might relate to county finances. “Montgomery County’s finances are as sound as they have ever been,” Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman Jim Matthews said. “The agreement to extend the debt ceiling in Washington today averted an immediate disaster, but it didn’t change the fact that the United States is going to be $20 trillion in debt, and climbing, by 2014, with a minimum three years more of deficit …
40.116063
-75.34366
Montgomery County Courthouse
493 Swede St, Norristown, PA
/articles/countys-aaa-bond-rating-confirmed
1266307
/locations/4997820
Goldwater Conservative
12:29 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Is it illegal to email ? Dialing a phone? Entering a location in a Garmin? Putting on makeup? Trying to find a song on your Ipod? Eating a Big Mac? Turning around to scold your kids in the back seat? Or fighting with your spouse while driving? This law, like other "common-sense", knee-jerk, feel good legislation. They only empower the police to enforce the law against those they deem fit to … more ›