The bureaucracy in Harrisburg often gets a bad rap, so I was amazed at the good service I received the other day from the Department of State.
The Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations had sent me a stern letter accusing me of sending in an unsigned registration document -- followed by two ominous paragraphs about applicable fines and deadlines.
Well, I knew that I had gotten the document signed and had returned well within the deadline. In fact, I had made a special trip to get it signed because the signer in question was about to fly off to Europe on vacation.
So, full of righteous indignation, I phoned Harrisburg.
My first pleasant surprise was the Miles Davis jazz as hold music. A clerk got on the line after not too long of a wait, pulled up my account and informed me, with some measure of surprise, that "Oh. Yes. There IS a signature."
She apologized, told me that she had approved our account and told me she'd send out the confirmation letter that very afternoon.
And then she apologized again.
Saturday, December 8, 2018
Thursday, December 6, 2018
HARD NEWS: Rocks by Lars
Kennett Square friend Lars Farmer has turned a hobby -- painting and hiding rocks around town -- into an avocation -- decorating, shellacking and selling custom rocks. On his Facebook page, I saw one of his creations, an oval rock painted with the lighted mushroom that is dropped every New Year's Eve in the middle of town. I thought it would be a perfect gift for an overseas friend (I try to send him something Kennett-related every Christmas). I contacted Lars, and he told me he could print a label with a personalized message and paste it on the back.
When I picked up the completed rock at his house the next day, Lars gave me a tour of his basement studio. Outside the door were two boxes of flat, smooth river stones that he had just collected. Inside on tables were rocks of various sizes, painted with everything from flowers to Kennett scenes to a fully loaded shish kebab. He's been doing a lot of seasonal designs like wreaths and pine cones; one page of his tablet was full of poinsettia sketches.
You can contact Lars through Facebook (LarsRocks) or by phone (302-299-2111). My personalized rock cost $25.
When I picked up the completed rock at his house the next day, Lars gave me a tour of his basement studio. Outside the door were two boxes of flat, smooth river stones that he had just collected. Inside on tables were rocks of various sizes, painted with everything from flowers to Kennett scenes to a fully loaded shish kebab. He's been doing a lot of seasonal designs like wreaths and pine cones; one page of his tablet was full of poinsettia sketches.
You can contact Lars through Facebook (LarsRocks) or by phone (302-299-2111). My personalized rock cost $25.
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| This is the rock that Lars made. Fork for scale. |
WEST MARLBOROUGH: Raise for employees
West Marlborough Township residents will see no tax increase, either in the real estate tax or the earned income tax, under the proposed 2019 budget, which the supervisors discussed at their Dec. 4 meeting.
Supervisors' chairman Bill Wylie said that the proposed budget is "very much like last year's budget," although the supervisors are keeping a close watch on two items that could affect expenditures in the future. The first is possible increases in financial support for the fire and ambulance companies that serve the township. The second would be part of the supervisors' ongoing efforts to discourage speeding and through traffic, which, as Mr. Wylie put it, "could involve some expense."
A vote on the 2019 budget will be taken on Thursday, Dec. 27, at 7 p.m. at the township office.
Township employees will get a 3 percent raise in 2019, prompting an amusing exchange between the board and longtime township secretary-treasurer Shirley Walton. She told the board that rather than a raise, she'd rather replace the township's aging Quicken software with QuickBooks.
Mr. Wylie, chuckling, said he was sorry, but she had to take the raise.
"Can I still get the software package?" Mrs. Walton quickly asked. He agreed.
Supervisor Hugh Lofting Sr. looked out at the audience in wonder.
"Only in West Marlborough," he said.
The township's annual reorganization meeting will be on Wednesday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m. (not the usual Tuesday night, which is New Year's Day).
Supervisors' chairman Bill Wylie said that the proposed budget is "very much like last year's budget," although the supervisors are keeping a close watch on two items that could affect expenditures in the future. The first is possible increases in financial support for the fire and ambulance companies that serve the township. The second would be part of the supervisors' ongoing efforts to discourage speeding and through traffic, which, as Mr. Wylie put it, "could involve some expense."
A vote on the 2019 budget will be taken on Thursday, Dec. 27, at 7 p.m. at the township office.
Township employees will get a 3 percent raise in 2019, prompting an amusing exchange between the board and longtime township secretary-treasurer Shirley Walton. She told the board that rather than a raise, she'd rather replace the township's aging Quicken software with QuickBooks.
Mr. Wylie, chuckling, said he was sorry, but she had to take the raise.
"Can I still get the software package?" Mrs. Walton quickly asked. He agreed.
Supervisor Hugh Lofting Sr. looked out at the audience in wonder.
"Only in West Marlborough," he said.
The township's annual reorganization meeting will be on Wednesday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m. (not the usual Tuesday night, which is New Year's Day).
GROCERIES: Postprandial chore
After having a tasty dinner at Mi Cocina Mexicana in Jennersville (chicken fajitas and pork quesadillas), we walked over to the Giant supermarket -- and spotted four other diners who had done exactly the same thing.
"Wait, I recognize you!" I said to one of them in front of the milk case.
He laughed. "It's never a good idea to go to the grocery store hungry," he said.
"Wait, I recognize you!" I said to one of them in front of the milk case.
He laughed. "It's never a good idea to go to the grocery store hungry," he said.
RADIO: 1980s marathon
WXPN, the Philadelphia radio station, has spent the past 2 weeks playing songs from the 1980s, in alphabetical order. As I'm typing they are up to the letter "S." Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me," which I heard this morning, seemed prescient with its lyrics "People call me on the phone I'm trying to avoid. Well, can the people on TV see me, or am I just paranoid?": after all, in the 1980s we didn't have cell phones, Facebook, or much of the technology we take for granted now.
I shared the playlist with a buddy in Havering, England, and he texted me that he was listening to it at that very moment, via Alexa and TuneIn Radio. Pretty amazing, considering the FM station on my car radio went all fuzzy as I drove through downtown Kennett.
I shared the playlist with a buddy in Havering, England, and he texted me that he was listening to it at that very moment, via Alexa and TuneIn Radio. Pretty amazing, considering the FM station on my car radio went all fuzzy as I drove through downtown Kennett.
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