Local/Regional

An executive with Univest Bank says there continues to be mixed messages in the local economy. Phil Jackson is President of Corporate Banking.

“It’s a dichotomy of good ness and bad news. The good news is, industry segments are improving. The housing sector is getting better. There are more home that are being sold and the days they are on the market are less and prices have stabilized. If you’re in the auto business, auto sales are up.”

But Jackson says, The economy will continue to be sluggish until employment numbers improve.

In the wake of the recent killing of two DA’s in Texas and one of their wives, people who work in the legal system are reevaluating their safety. On Wednesday, a Sheriff in West Virginia was gunned down as he sat in his cruiser. Bucks County District Judge, William Benz says, Judge School is a requirement. “And the last time we were there, we saw a session on judges security, and what to do and what not to do. We are trained in that way to know what to do. If there is ever a hint of a threat, we have to report it, we are supposed to report it.” Judge Benz also says, inside the courtroom, he has access to a panic button in response to a threat. Judge Benz was a guest Wednesday on the WNPV program Legally Speaking.

Lansdale Boro continues to move forward, not only to accommodate residents and visitors, but to also bolster the Boro’s financial well-being, Boro manager Timi Kirchner cites one particular project that will generate income. "The Madison Lot project, on a yearly basis will be bringing in three quarters of million dollars in direct revenues back in to the Boro. That property right now is not taxable, it's owned by the authority, but it will become taxable property, so there's the tax revenues that come in from that, also all the new sewer and electric customers will also generate those revenues." Kirchner, a recent guest on Comment Please by Univest, also commented on the Wood-vine Connector, which will make it easier for visitors to make it around Lansdale.

11-and–a-half to 23 months in Montgomery County Prison, that’s the sentence that was handed down to an Upper Dublin man for his actions in Upper Merion in December of 2011 and may of last year. According to authorities, 38-year-old Kornwell Chan, known as the bra bandit, broke into the home of a Springfield woman and stole her underwear and bra. Chan also used a video device to look up a woman’s dress at a store in King of Prussia. Judge Thomas Branca told the court “the commonality of these crimes is perversion.” Judge Branca also ordered Chan to undergo sex treatment during and after his prison term. Chan faces an additional 8-years of probation and 300 hours of community service.