Op/Ed: Rapid industrialization is ruining the Chester County rural character
By Kaitlyn Toth, Special to The Times
Kaitlyn Toth
Growing up, a core memory of mine was walking to elementary school with my siblings and my mom by my side. The luscious green grass, tall corn stalks, and smell of the fresh morning air, it was the highlight of my day. My childhood is flooded with memories of running through open fields, exploring forests, and riding my bike down trail paths. However,...
County officials: new home construction in ’21 hits 20-year high
A new report from the Chester County Planning Commission shows that more homes were built in the county in 2021 than in any year since 2001, and that the growth was largely driven by apartment construction. The report also said that despite soaring prices, more homes were sold than in any year since 2005.
“The numbers for units built and sold and the prices for which they were sold are staggering,...
Don;t Retire, ReFire: What have we learned?
By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times
Now that we’re, for the most part, back into the swing of things and the hustle and bustle of the world has returned, do you, on some level, long for the quiet of a year ago, minus the threat of a fatal virus?
Are you finding it difficult to jump back in and adjust to the hectic pace that has returned or are you sighing a sigh of relief that the quiet...
Don’t Retire, ReFire: Quarantine, a taste of retirement
By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times
It has been 11 weeks since most of us have been under Pennsylvania’s Stay Home ordinance.
How have you been spending your time?
Many of my clients, who are not yet retired and, quite frankly, fearful of how it will be when they stop working, are getting a taste of what retirement will look like.
The first, and most important, challenge we were faced with...
Don’t Retire, ReFire: Your awakening
By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times
As the season of Spring unfolds, it brings to mind all that appeared dead, but was really only sleeping, to be awakened to a new dawn.
If you ponder on that visualization, you’ll find it to be quite exhilarating to picture all that was still, on the surface, yet all of the activity and growth that was going on below the surface. Nature is amazing!
Don’t Retire, ReFire: Hello 65!
By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times
Some of you may be approaching 65, some of you may be past 65, and some of you may be years away from 65. Wherever you are in relation to age 65, it’s a number that brings many emotions, good, bad or uncertain. For me, the first positive change I that comes to mind is Medicare. I have been waiting for this for a year! Being Self-Employed, I have paid for...
Why doesn’t your town like business?
Hostile attitude toward business growth must change to fix tax problem
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
You’ll excuse my sense of de ja vu.
Back in my youth as a young reporter, the hot catch phrase for the overbuilt and tax-revenue challenged northern New Jersey suburbs was “ratables.”
Ratables are a very special kind of real estate: they use little in the way of local or school district services,...
