Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes

Tag: Chester County

  • A Malvern teen is launching free art classes for kids | Inquirer Chester County

    A Malvern teen is launching free art classes for kids | Inquirer Chester County

    Hi, Chester County! 👋

    Welcome to the first full week of 2026. We’re kicking off the new year with the story of a Malvern teen who’s helping kids find joy in art. Also this week, four new county officials have been sworn in, West Bradford Township’s property taxes are being slashed, plus the search is on for a new tenant at the former Iron Hill in West Chester.

    We want your feedback! Tell us what you think of the newsletter by taking our survey or emailing us at chestercounty@inquirer.com.

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    A 15-year-old’s nonprofit looks to spread the joy of art

    Faridah Ismaila launched nonprofit A Paint-full of Promise to connect younger students with free monthly art classes.

    A Great Valley High School sophomore will soon be bringing her passion for art to young students in the district.

    Inspired by the phrase “Do what makes you happy,” Faridah Ismaila recently launched nonprofit A Paint-full of Promise to provide free monthly art classes for kindergarteners through sixth graders, The Inquirer’s Brooke Schultz reports.

    The program is slated to kick off this month with a winter wonderland-themed class. Ismaila is working with district educators to offer the workshops where students can learn new skills and express themselves.

    Read more about what inspired A Paint-full of Promise.

    📍 Countywide News

    💡 Community News

    • Erica Deuso was sworn in Monday as mayor of Downingtown, making her the first openly transgender mayor in the state.
    • A person on a trail on Warwick Furnace Road in Warwick Township was recently injured by a coyote, prompting the Chester County Health Department to look for the animal. It’s unknown if the coyote is rabid.
    • Residents of West Bradford Township will see a decrease in their property taxes this year, bucking a trend in the region. The 50% reduction is due in part to a mix of savings during the pandemic and more revenue from long-term leases.
    • The community is mourning the death of photographer, filmmaker, and Kennett Square resident Robert Caputo, who died Dec. 18 at a voluntary assisted dying center in Switzerland. Throughout his career, Mr. Caputo traveled the world, producing stories, films, and photographs for National Geographic magazine, Time, PBS, and TNT. The 76-year-old was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease last year.
    • A Malvern office building at 52 Swedesford Rd. is poised for demolition to make way for a mixed-use development with 250 apartments and retail space, including a market and cafe. (Philadelphia Business Journal)
    • The 33,000-square-foot Acme-anchored shopping center at 785 Starr St. in Phoenixville recently sold for nearly $7.4 million. The sale didn’t include Acme’s space.
    • The state’s Department of Environmental Protection is expected to evaluate surface and well water at the Bishop Tube HSCA Site in East Whiteland Township this month for contaminants such as PFAS, volatile organic compounds, and inorganics, as well as fluoride.
    • The Paoli Memorial Association in Malvern has been awarded a $325,000 grant, which will help fund construction of the Paoli-Malvern Heritage Center. The center, which will be adjacent to the Paoli Battlefield, will preserve an 1817 obelisk and offer interpretive exhibits.
    • Several Chester County communities have received funding from the state’s Green Light-Go Program aimed at improving traffic safety and mobility. Upper Uwchlan Township has been awarded over $920,000 to upgrade detection and controller equipment at Route 100 and Graphite Mine Road. West Whiteland Township is getting nearly $390,000 to upgrade multiple intersections along Route 100 and Commerce Drive. And East Whiteland Township will get almost $192,000 to modernize Lancaster Avenue and Conestoga Road.
    • Heads up for drivers: Asplundh will be pruning trees along Goshen Road between Pottstown Pike and Hillside Drive in West Chester throughout the first quarter of 2026.
    • Paoli Hospital is among Forbes Top Hospitals for 2026 and is the sole Chester County institution on the list.
    • Two new gyms are now open: CrossFit Reckoning opened this week at 199 Reeceville Rd. in Coatesville and Planet Fitness has opened at 270 Swedesford Rd. in Berwyn.
    • On Monday, Coatesville-based Presence Bank became part of Norwood Financial Corp.’s Wayne Bank after being acquired for $54.9 million. Presence has two Chester County branches, in Coatesville and Oxford.
    • Kennett Area Senior Center, the nonprofit helping older adults, took on a new name at the start of the year. It’s now known as The Gathering Place at Kennett.
    • Looking to dispose of your Christmas tree? Upper Uwchlan will collect trees curbside on Jan. 15; Spring City residents can place trees curbside daily through Jan. 30 for pickup; East Pikeland residents can place trees curbside on Wednesdays in January or drop them off at the township yard waste recycling facility; West Vincent residents can drop them off at the township building through Jan. 23; and Phoenixville residents can place them curbside with trash through Feb. 28. Trees can also be dropped off at the compost site at 18 S. 2nd Ave.
    • It’s the last chance for residents in Easttown (through Jan. 12) and Upper Uwchlan (through Jan. 15) to recycle old holiday lights.

    🏫 Schools Briefing

    • Tredyffrin/Easttown School District is hosting its elementary new student registration window for next school year from Jan. 20-26. Learn more here.
    • West Chester Area School District has an opening on its school board following Alex Christy’s resignation ahead of his term’s expiration next December. Applications to fill the vacancy are open until noon on Jan. 21.
    • Coatesville offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller was named to Sporting News’ 2025 High School Football All-America Team. The junior is rated the top interior offensive line in his class.

    🍽️ On our Plate

    • The search is on for someone to take over the former Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester. Over the holidays, building owner John Barry acquired the liquor license and all assets inside the space, which he said will help him “to get a better tenant in there.”
    • In case you missed it, The Inquirer’s Michael Klein reflected on the most notable restaurant openings of 2025. They include Bao Nine in Malvern, The Borough in Downingtown, Jolene’s in West Chester, L’Olivo Trattoria in Exton, The Local in Phoenixville, and Stubborn Goat Brewing in West Grove. See the full list here. The Borough also made Klein’s roundup of the best new pizza restaurants to open in the region last year.
    • As for the best things Inquirer food writers ate last year, the Caramelia at Longwood Gardens’ 1906 restaurant was up there. Paying homage to Kennett Square’s mushroom industry, the red-topped mushroom-shaped dessert features chocolate mousse with espresso and caramel flavors.

    🎳 Things to Do

    🎨 An Ancestral Journey: Moore College of Art grad Roe Murray’s works will be on display for the next few weeks. She will also participate in an artist talk on Jan. 28. ⏰ Thursday, Jan. 8-Thursday, Jan. 29, times vary 💵 Free 📍 Chester County Art Association West Chester Galleries

    🎶 A Grand Night For Singing: This rendition will celebrate the wide-ranging works of Rodgers & Hammerstein with singing, dancing, and a live orchestra. ⏰ Friday, Jan. 9-Sunday, Jan. 18, select days and times 💵 $31.60-$36.70 📍 SALT Performing Arts, Chester Springs

    🧁 Pinkalicious the Musical: The musical adaptation of the book follows a pink-loving heroine who inadvertently turns herself into her favorite color by eating too many cupcakes. ⏰ Friday, Jan. 9-Sunday, Jan. 18, select days and times 💵 $21-$30 📍 Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, West Chester

    🏡 On the Market

    An airy four-bedroom Kennett Square carriage home

    The carriage home has a two-car garage and a screened-in porch that leads to a deck.

    Located in the Villages at Northridge, this Kennett Square carriage home is just a few years old. The great room, which has a fireplace, opens to the kitchen, where there’s two-toned cabinetry, an island with a farmhouse sink, a pantry, and a dining area with a built-in beverage station complete with a bar refrigerator and ice maker. The great room also has access to the screened-in porch, which leads to the deck. There are three bedrooms upstairs, including a primary suite with a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a double sink vanity. The finished lower level walk-out has another bedroom, a full bathroom, and a living room.

    See more photos of the property here.

    Price: $975,000 | Size: 3,544 SF | Acreage: 0.06

    🗞️ What other Chester County residents are reading this week:

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • Coatesville’s 106-year-old Presence Bank acquired in $55M deal

    Coatesville’s 106-year-old Presence Bank acquired in $55M deal

    A Pennsylvania-based bank has acquired the parent company of Coatesville’s Presence Bank, giving the two combined assets of about $3 billion.

    The $54.9 million deal was first announced in July and received regulatory and board approvals in December. It closed Monday.

    PB Bankshares, the holding company for Presence Bank, has been merged into Norwood Financial Corp., the holding company for Wayne Bank.

    “We are pleased to welcome PB Bankshares’ shareholders, customers and employees to our Norwood family,” Jim Donnelly, president and CEO of Norwood, said in Monday’s announcement. “We expect this combination will allow us to offer expanded products and services to the communities in our combined market areas.”

    Norwood’s Wayne Bank, based in Honesdale, had $2.4 billion in assets at the acquisition. Wayne Bank was founded in 1871, and Norwood Financial Corp, the holding company, was created in 1996. It has grown to 15 offices in Northeastern Pennsylvania and 12 in the Southern Tier of New York.

    PB Bankshares had $467 million in assets from its Presence Bank when the deal closed.

    Presence Bank first opened in 1919 in Coatesville, Chester County, as Coatesville Federal Savings & Loan Association, and in 2021 was renamed Presence Bank.

    Over the years, the bank added branches in Oxford, Chester County, and in New Holland and Georgetown, both in Lancaster County. Presence Bank also has an administrative office in Lancaster and a loan office in Harrisburg.

    Norwood has said the strategic combination allows the company to expand its footprint “into higher growth markets in Central and Southeastern Pennsylvania” while “enhancing Presence Bank’s capacity to provide exceptional service and solutions to its existing customers.”

    Janak M. Amin, president, CEO, and director of PB Bankshares, is now executive vice president and chief operating officer for Norwood and Wayne Bank.

    “We will be able to provide more products and services to our customers given Wayne Bank’s strength in retail banking,” Amin said.

    He added that Wayne Bank’s larger capital base will allow Presence Bank to “take better care of commercial customers with growing needs and the increased lending limit will allow us to retain and attract more customers.”

  • ‘It is a promise’: Newly elected Chester County officials and judges take their oaths of office

    ‘It is a promise’: Newly elected Chester County officials and judges take their oaths of office

    A new slate of Chester County elected officials are taking office after they were officially sworn in at a ceremony over the weekend surrounded by friends and family.

    Four officials in the county’s row offices — clerk of courts, controller, coroner, prothonotary — and three magisterial district justices took their oath of office Saturday at the Chester County Justice Center.

    “I’ve found, in this line of work, when you’re finding people to run for office, it’s quite difficult to get the good people to do it,” county commissioner Josh Maxwell told the incoming officials. “It sometimes attracts maybe the wrong people. I’m so excited to be here today because we have a lot of good people who rose their hands — maybe a higher bar than we typically have in the county.”

    Sophia Garcia-Jackson (facing camera) hugs the Honorable Alita Rovito after being sworn in as the coroner during the ceremonial administration of oaths, for elected officials and magisterial district judges, at the Chester County Justice Center on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.

    Taking office was an entirely Democratic slate of officials, upholding the political shift in the county that began in 2019, when Maxwell and Commissioner Marian Moskowitz were the first Democrats in history elected to their seats. Democrats saw wins again in 2023, with Maxwell and Moskowitz winning re-election.

    The row offices oversee essential government services residents regularly interface with — from maintaining criminal and civil court records, to monitoring the county’s financial contracts, to investigating the circumstances of sudden deaths — and operate under four-year terms. Magisterial district judges handle traffic cases, and minor criminal and civil cases, for six-year terms.

    The slate of row officials includes:

    • Clerk of Courts: Caroline Bradley
    • Controller: Nick Cherubino
    • Coroner: Sophia Garcia-Jackson
    • Prothonotary: Alex Christy

    And the county’s new magisterial judges are:

    • Anthony diFrancesca
    • Joe Heffern
    • James C. Kovaleski
    James C. Kovalski’s family helps him don the judges robe after he was sworn in as a magisterial district judge during the ceremonial administration of oaths, for elected officials and magisterial district judges, at the Chester County Justice Center on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.

    “Those of you taking the oaths … are amongst the people who will help Chester County continue to be a place where so many want to live, work, and raise their family,” Moskowitz told the officials.

    During the ceremony, the judges donned their robes and the row officers took their oaths with their partners, parents, and children nearby. Dozens of supporters lined the benches in the courtroom, and elected officials received a standing ovation when all the oaths had been administered. (Those supporters got a nod, too, with Maxwell noting that public service comes with long hours, personal sacrifice, and difficult decisions. “No one serves alone,” he said.)

    The oaths of office were administered by Commonwealth Court Judge Stella Tsai, Court of Common Pleas Judge Alita Rovito, and Magisterial District Judge Nancy Gill.

    Caroline Bradley (right) has just been sworn in as clerk of courts by the Honorable Stella Tsai (left) during the ceremonial administration of oaths, for elected officials and magisterial district judges, at the Chester County Justice Center on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.

    “The oath you have taken is more than a formality, it is a promise to the people of Chester County, a promise to uphold the law, to treat every resident with fairness and dignity, and to carry out your duties with independence, integrity and care,” Maxwell said. “Those values matter deeply, especially at the local level, where government has its most direct impact on all our lives.”

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • A Chesco town lowered taxes. That’s pretty unusual — but may not be something others can copy.

    A Chesco town lowered taxes. That’s pretty unusual — but may not be something others can copy.

    It was something of a lucky confluence of factors in West Bradford Township that led to residents seeing a reduction in their property taxes going into the new year, as other communities in the state see hikes.

    A number of loans that were refinanced during record-low interest rates at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, plus long-term lease agreements that brought the municipality more money, eventually equaled “substantial savings,” said Justin Yaich, town manager.

    Savings in hand, the township decided they’d give it back to residents, he said, rather than funding “another pet project or another program.”

    In the budget, passed last month by the town’s board of supervisors, West Bradford set its property tax millage for a 0.25 mill — a 50% reduction in the tax for residents. For a home worth roughly $300,000, residents will now pay $75 a year, down from $150.

    It comes as Philadelphia’s collar counties and municipalities have faced tightening budgets and have had to hike taxes after years of stagnation.

    It’s unusual, John Brenner, executive director of the Pennsylvania Municipal League, said of West Bradford’s reduction.

    “There have been increases, and I’ve seen a number of them from municipal leaders throughout the Commonwealth — cities, boroughs, townships,“ Brenner said. ”You’re seeing counties raise taxes that haven’t in a long, long time. So that tells you the environment we’re in.”

    Local governments are fairly limited in how they can levy taxes under state law, with the biggest portion of revenue coming from “the beleaguered property tax,” Brenner said. Schools and the county take from that same source, with local municipalities usually taking far less.

    “Local government is not a business,” Brenner said. “It’s a provider of services, and those services cost money, and somebody has to pay for it.”

    But in West Bradford, it was years of planning and a flurry of factors, Yaich said. It started in 2019, when the town purchased the former Embreeville State School and Hospital, an abandoned 900,000-square-foot psychiatric hospital that had been deteriorating for more than two decades. A developer had sought to transform the property into a high-density residential complex, which saw community pushback and years of litigation.

    To purchase the site for roughly $23 million to turn it into 200 acres of open space, the township — for the first time — levied a real estate tax. (Residents already paid property tax to Downingtown Area School District and the county but previously did not pay the town.)

    But early in 2020, West Bradford refinanced its outstanding debts, renegotiated some lease terms, and began to hold other costs consistent. Over the years, it culminated in the township being able to reduce the real estate tax, Yaich said.

    The board’s philosophy is to do its core responsibilities — taking care of roads and infrastructure, caring for the open spaces and parks, running trash and recycling programs — and make sure there’s enough leftover for new programs or capital improvements, Yaich said. But anything beyond that, return it to the taxpayers, rather than figure out how to spend it, he said.

    It is easier to spend money than it is to trim, Yaich added, noting that the township faces rising costs and shrinking revenue sources: Cable providers, who once were paying $300,000 to the township in a year to put their lines in, are dwindling as people turn to streaming services. With more electric vehicles, fewer people are filling up at the pumps, meaning less liquid fuels money for the township, too. It’s rare, and unlikely to be replicated in a few years, to cut costs for residents like this, he acknowledged.

    As other town managers call and ask Yaich how to emulate him, he tries to dispel the magic.

    “We’re in a unique situation that we were able to do it,” Yaich said. “There’s no magic sauce or magic potion that we’re doing here that other places aren’t doing. It’s just that we were set up at the right time in the right place, and we acted when things were favorable to us and we were fortunate.”

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • Art makes this Chesco 15-year-old happy. So she launched a nonprofit to teach younger kids.

    Art makes this Chesco 15-year-old happy. So she launched a nonprofit to teach younger kids.

    Something about the phrase “Do what makes you happy” struck Faridah Ismaila. It became the title of, and inspiration behind, one of her art pieces. It’s printed onto the back of her T-shirt. It’s something the 15-year-old artist lives her life by.

    “When I do art, it’s because it makes me happy, and when I can give my art to other people or spread the joy of art, it’s making them happy,” she said.

    Following that guiding light of happiness, Ismaila, a digital artist and a sophomore at Great Valley High School, recently launched her nonprofit, A Paint-full of Promise, which offers free monthly art classes for kids in her school district in kindergarten through grade six.

    Working with educators in the district, Ismaila devises themed art projects and provides supplies and classroom time to teach young artists how to express themselves. The first club is slated for mid-January, with a winter wonderland theme. Children will make snowflakes and paint winter-themed coasters.

    Ismaila has been recognized for her art nationally: She was the state winner and a national finalist in the 2022 Doodle for Google competition, where young artists compete for their work to be featured as the Google homepage design. That recognition helped give her the confidence to pursue big dreams, like her nonprofit and club.

    “It makes me feel I can still do this. Because sometimes I’ll doubt myself. … I can’t be having all these big dreams,” she said. “But if people want to vote for me and I am recognized nationally, I feel on top of the world. I can do anything.”

    The first brushes of the nonprofit — which she hopes one day will grow to multiple sessions a month — started years ago, when Ismaila began making YouTube videos, teaching the fundamentals of art. She showed viewers how to make a gradient, how to depict a sunrise. She circulated the videos around her Malvern neighborhood, and she thought: Why not hold a class for younger kids?

    Faridah Ismaila, 15, poses for a portrait at her home on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Malvern. Ismaila started a kids art nonprofit called A Paint-full of Promise. She also sells her art online.

    Over a summer, in her garage, she set up two art projects — painting and colored pencils — and led about eight kids through a lesson. She called it Faridah’s Art Crafty Corner.

    Holding the class made her happy. So she did it again, but bigger, turning it into a summer camp, under the new name: A Paint-full of Promise.

    “Then I decided, why not actually make this a club, so not only my community can get this, my entire district can?” she said.

    And now, the teenager has a nonprofit under her belt. She officially launched the organization last month at an event in Malvern, where she raised money by auctioning off prints of her work and selling T-shirts with her designs.

    Anne Dale, an art teacher at Great Valley High School who is an adviser for the club, said she was impressed with Ismaila’s ability to get other high school students involved in running the club.

    “A lot of students have big ideas for clubs, but there’s not always follow-through. With her, it’s definitely different, and I knew that when she approached me with it,” Dale said.

    Giving kids the tools and opportunity to create artwork was essential to Ismaila, who gravitates to art to process her emotions.

    “It’s just the best thing ever,” she said. “Once you start doing art as a kid, it’s just a great way to get your feelings out there and express yourself, even if you can’t use words to describe it.”

    One of her pieces, Beauty Within, depicts a skeletal hand holding a white mask, a tear running down its cheek. Behind the mask, flowers bloom. It came from a feeling of constantly analyzing herself, the feeling that what you show people is not necessarily what’s on the inside.

    Another piece, made when she was “seriously sleep-deprived,” shows a face with an assortment of pixels, pizza, stick figures, and paint pouring out.

    Faridah Ismaila, 15, talks about some of her early works at her home on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Malvern. Ismaila started a kids art nonprofit called A Paint-full of Promise. She also sells her art online.

    A piece she is working on now shows herself, in vibrant colors, pointing to her reflection. She wanted to capture the feeling of two versions of the self — one confident, the other fragile.

    Sometimes, her mother Nofisat Ismaila said, her parents feel as if they are holding her back.

    “I don’t know how I’m gonna keep keeping up with this girl, because she’s just taking us to places, keeping us busy, keeping us on our toes,” she said. “She’s turning out to be a really young, determined adult.”

    Faridah Ismaila, 15, poses for a portrait at her home on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Malvern. Ismaila started a kids art nonprofit called A Paint-full of Promise. She also sells her art online.

    But to Faridah Ismaila, it’s about finding happiness, and giving it to others, too.

    “I really hope the kids just do what makes them happy. … It’s also just not being afraid to get out there, because when I was a kid-kid, I wasn’t afraid of anything,” she said. “I think middle school really kicks some kids in the butt, and getting up out of that — at least for me, art was a way to do that. I just want to give that to kids.”

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • A Phoenixville shopping center sold for more than $7 million

    A Phoenixville shopping center sold for more than $7 million

    A fully occupied shopping center near downtown Phoenixville recently sold for nearly $7.4 million.

    Chester County property records show that the 33,000-square-foot complex was sold in late November by one private investor based in Malvern to another based in Glen Mills, with both registered as limited liability companies. The sale was first reported Thursday by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

    Located at 785 Starr St., the center is about a mile down the road from Phoenixville’s main drag. It is shadow-anchored by a corporately owned Acme, according to Marcus & Millichap, the firm that represented the seller. The Acme is connected to the rest of the shopping center — and drives traffic to other stores — but was not included in the sale.

    The center’s other tenants include Benchmark Federal Credit Union, Habitat for Humanity ReStore thrift store, Fresenius Kidney Care, Labcorp, NovaCare Rehabilitation, and State Farm. It also has a martial arts gym, a dry cleaner, and several quick-service restaurants.

    “This closing highlights the strength of essential-service tenants, 100% occupancy, and strong tenant performance,” Scott Woodard, senior director of investments for Marcus & Millichap, said in a statement. “Phoenixville’s expected population growth and proximity to major anchors, such as Acme, made this center a standout asset with long-term stability.”

    People walk along Bridge Street by the historic Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville in this June 2021 file photo.

    Woodard represented the seller alongside Derrick Dougherty, senior managing director of investments.

    The shopping center sits on 3.7 acres, near the corner of Nutt Road and Starr Street, and was built in 2007. According to Chester County property records, it previously sold for $6.35 million in 2018.

    Prior to that, the property had last changed hands in 2006, when the land was purchased for $325,000, according to the records.

    Phoenixville, a once-dilapidated former steel town, has experienced a rebirth over the past two decades.

    Its restaurant and bar scene has flourished, and Bridge Street is bustling, especially on the weekends. Luxury apartment complexes have attracted both millennials and empty nesters to the quaint 3.8-square-mile borough.

    Phoenixville has turned into a destination, but some locals don’t like what it’s become

    Since the pandemic, Phoenixville has continued to grow: Its population increased 9% between 2020 and 2024, according to census data.

    In 2010, it was home to roughly 16,000 people. Today, that number is estimated to be more than 20,000.

    The Acme shopping center sits just inside the bounds of Phoenixville, near its border with Schuylkill Township and not far from Valley Forge National Historic Park.

    The Phoenixville center’s sale occurred around the same time that grocer Jeff Brown bought a 98,000-square-foot Northeast Philadelphia complex, anchored by one of his ShopRites, for $30.8 million.

  • A person was injured by a coyote in Chester County

    A person was injured by a coyote in Chester County

    A person was injured by a coyote this week in Chester County, and officials are trying to locate the animal, health officials said.

    The Chester County Health Department said in a social media post that the injured person was seeking medical care. The incident happened Sunday on Warwick Furnace Road in Warwick Township.

    The injury, which broke skin, occurred on a trail during daylight hours, a spokesperson for the county said in an email Wednesday. No one else was involved, and there have been no further reports of contact with a coyote in that area, he said.

    The department does not know if the coyote was rabid.

    The last incident with a coyote was reported to the health department in late October, in the southern part of the county, the spokesperson said. Several people were injured, and the coyote was rabid, the health department said at the time. Everyone injured was identified and was provided medical guidance in that incident, the department said.

    The state game commission was involved with locating the coyote, officials said.

    Coyotes are not necessarily rare in Pennsylvania, and their numbers are growing. They have been spotted near Philadelphia, and can thrive in suburban and urban areas, according to Chester County’s parks department.

    In Chester County, they are usually spotted near heavy, brushy cover and around woods, fields, and agricultural areas where their prey (mice, voles, rabbits, woodchucks, and birds) live. Sightings and signs have been reported in all county parks, the county said previously.

    They rarely attack humans, but they will engage with pets. (Health officials advised residents to remain aware of their pets following this week’s incident in Warwick Township.)

    Residents who come in contact with a coyote were asked to call the Chester County health department at 610-344-6225 for further information and guidance.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • Former Rep. Dick Schulze, who represented the Philly burbs in Congress for 18 years, has died at 96

    Former Rep. Dick Schulze, who represented the Philly burbs in Congress for 18 years, has died at 96

    Former U.S. Rep. Richard “Dick” Schulze, a Republican who represented the Philadelphia suburbs from 1975 until 1993, died last week at the age of 96.

    Mr. Schulze, who served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly before running for Congress, died of heart failure in his home in the Washington, D.C., area on Dec. 23, according to a news release from his wife, Nancy Shulze, and former chief of staff Rob Hartwell.

    During his first term in the U.S. House, Mr. Schulze led the charge to make Valley Forge, seven miles from his home at the time, a national historical park. President Gerald Ford signed the legislation Mr. Shulze authored into law on July 4, 1976, the nation’s bicentennial.

    By the time he retired from the House in 1993, Mr. Schulze was a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. He spent his whole congressional career in the political minority, retiring shortly before Republicans retook the chamber in 1994 for the first time since the mid-50s.

    “He knew what he believed and he stood for what he believed but he was not, he was not partisan,” Nancy Schulze said in an interview with The Inquirer Tuesday.

    Mr. Schulze’s former employees described him as tough but fair, demanding a lot of his staff but offering them the space to achieve it.

    “You really had to be at the top of your game,” said Tim Haake, a former attorney in Mr. Schulze’s congressional office who had reconnected with him in recent years. “Overall he was a very nice man, very polite, very cordial.”

    Mr. Schulze, Hartwell said, “probably taught me more in my life than anybody.”

    Hartwell remembered his former boss as a man willing to work across the aisle in a way that is less common in today’s politics. Mr. Schulze founded the Congressional Sportsman Caucus and served on the National Fish and Wildlife Board among other posts focused on wildlife.

    Hartwell recalled that Mr. Schulze played a key role in securing the 1983 release of Romanian Orthodox priest Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa who had been held as a political prisoner in the country, representing President George H.W. Bush in negotiations with the country’s communist leaders.

    Serving in the minority throughout his career, Hartwell said, Mr. Schulze was willing to make deals and work for the benefit of his district, which included portions of Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester Counties.

    “He was a man of his word and he was a man who wanted to accomplish things for his district and his constituents,” Hartwell said. “Unlike today he would reach across the aisle to get those things done.”

    Mr. Schulze unsuccessfully proposed a constitutional amendment imposing term limits of 18 years for members of the House of Representatives. Although the proposal did not advance, Mr. Schulze himself chose not to seek reelection in 1992 after serving 18 years in office. He went on to work as a lobbyist for a conservative firm.

    “He did not cling to his role as a congressman and he did not go to occupy a seat,” Nancy Schulze said.

    Nancy Schulze and Dick Schulze were married following the 1990 death of his first wife, Nancy Lockwood Schulze, after a battle with cancer, and the death of her first husband, Montana Secretary of State Jim Waltermire.

    In addition to his wife, Mr. Schulze is survived by four children, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

    Nancy Schulze remembered her husband as a gentleman, an Eagle Scout who lived by the scouting oath and was dedicated to loving and serving his country, state, district and family.

    “He was a man of dignity,” she said.

    Services to honor Mr. Schulze are scheduled for Saturday Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Great Valley Presbyterian Church in Malvern.

  • Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester is officially seeking a new tenant

    Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester is officially seeking a new tenant

    The search is on for a new restaurateur to take over the shuttered Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester, after the building’s owner bought the assets from the former CEO of Famous Dave’s BBQ.

    John Barry, a Massachusetts-based real estate investor who owns the building, and Jeff Crivello, the ex-CEO of Famous Dave’s, said Friday that Barry purchased the liquor license and all assets inside the former West Chester Iron Hill, one of 16 locations that closed abruptly this fall when the regional chain filed for bankruptcy.

    In November, Crivello had said he intended to revive the West Chester Iron Hill, under the same name or as a new concept, after a bankruptcy judge approved his offer to buy the assets of the location and nine others in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and South Carolina.

    A view from the outside looking in of the closed Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester in October.

    Both Barry and Crivello declined to disclose financial details of the West Chester deal, which was finalized on Christmas Eve. It was first reported Wednesday by Hello, West Chester, a local news website.

    “As a landlord, I was hoping to have a chance to purchase the assets,” Barry said Friday in an interview. “I wanted to buy and keep the liquor license with the building. It allows me to get a better tenant in there that is probably going to pay a little bit more in rent.”

    Iron Hill had anchored the old Woolworth’s building since 1998, when the brewery founders opened their second location there. Many local business owners credit Iron Hill with sparking a restaurant renaissance in the borough, as the brewery did in other Philadelphia suburbs.

    Shuttered Iron Hill breweries sit empty across the Philly area. What will become of them?

    Situated at West Chester’s central corner of High and Gay Streets, Iron Hill had a 30-year lease, with a 15-year extension, Barry said.

    Barry, a West Chester native who now lives outside Boston, purchased the nearly 30,000-square-foot building for $8.25 million in 2022, according to Chester County property records.

    Barry said the next anchor tenant would take over a new lease for the now-vacant 10,000-square-foot space that can seat 300 people. He declined to specify what the lease terms might be.

    “It will not be reopening as Iron Hill Brewery,” said Barry, who didn’t buy the rights to the name. “My goal would be to find something similar,” though not necessarily a brewery.

    In buying the assets, Barry said the restaurant is essentially turnkey, with all the furniture and kitchen and brewing equipment still inside. A new tenant, however, may want to redesign, he said, or the space could even be subdivided for a restaurant and a retail space.

    A view from the outside looking in the now closed Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester in October.

    “It’s really important to me that we find the right tenant for the West Chester community,” Barry said. “It’ll take a little bit of time.”

    But, he added, “my hope is we get somebody in there and operating by the summer.”

    Elsewhere, Crivello said there is still hope that the Iron Hill brand could get another life.

    “We’re working with a couple buyers that want to reopen [closed breweries] as Iron Hill,” Crivello said. He declined to say which locations could be resurrected.

    In November, Crivello got the OK to acquire the assets of former Iron Hill brewpubs in Center City, Huntingdon Valley, Newtown, Wilmington, Lancaster, Hershey, and Rehoboth Beach, as well as West Chester and the two locations in South Carolina.

    Crivello said Friday that he has since sold the assets of the former Iron Hills in Columbia and Greenville, S.C., to Virginia-based Three Notch’d Brewing Co. He said plans for the other locations were still in the works.

  • Local pro athletes bring Christmas surprise to Chester County family

    Local pro athletes bring Christmas surprise to Chester County family

    They almost didn’t put up a Christmas tree this year.

    R.C. Wilson Sr. knew things were going to be tight for his family this holiday, with him starting a new job and “life just being hard,” he said. It was a week before Christmas when he reached out to Justin Brown, who leads an organization that connects athletes with community initiatives and had arranged several holiday donation drives this season, asking if Brown knew of any agencies that might donate some gifts to Wilson’s six kids.

    Brown reached out to the Chester County community, and he got an outpouring of support. He asked NFL tight end Kenny Yeboah, a former Temple player who later joined the New York Jets and Detroit Lions, and former Phillies pitcher Tommy Greene to be part of a surprise. He told Wilson to put up the Christmas tree.

    And on their quiet Coatesville street a few days before the holiday, the community showed up at Wilson’s doorstep with bags upon bags of gifts — essentials like clothing and shoes and food, plus toys and more than $500 in gift cards.

    “We always try to do what we can for [the kids] to give them the best, but they also understand life gets hard for everybody. We went from, I feel like, being up top to rock bottom,” Wilson said Tuesday. “It’s amazing to get to see in person. Seeing it in person, especially when I needed the help, was a blessing from the community and for my family.”

    Nevaeh Miller-Wilson, 8, organizes presents after a Christmas surprise from former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tommy Greene and New York Jets tight end Kenny Yeboah at her home in Coatesville, Pa. Greene and Yeboah surprised the family, which includes six children, with a full Christmas celebration, providing gifts and holiday essentials.

    The gifts were stacked under the Christmas tree and through the living room. It was overwhelming, said his wife, Chelsea Miller.

    Yeboah, a new resident of Downingtown, and Greene signed footballs, baseballs, and the backs of T-shirts and posed for photos with the family.

    It was cool to see, said Aadan Miller-Wilson, 15.

    “I’ve never met an athlete, and I play two of the sports they play, too,” he said.

    Yeboah, out with an injury, offered to coach the kids while he recovered. He had wanted to give back to the community he was now part of, and was connected with Brown.

    New York Jets tight end Kenny Yeboah interacts with members of a family of six children, from left, Nevaeh, Robert, Bryden, Jacob, David and Aadan, during a Christmas gift surprise at their home in Coatesville, Pa.

    “To come here and see all these people help out and give back to the community that they’re in, it’s just an amazing feeling,” Yeboah said. “It’s really, really cool to see that everyone’s here just to help out.”

    Greene credited his “better half,” Wendy, for quickly becoming involved with the surprise. When you help each other out, you help everyone out, Greene said.

    “When you get a chance to make a difference, you do,” he said.

    Wilson, who kept the surprise a secret from his family until the community showed up at their door, also found the support overwhelming.

    “It’s a blessing,” he said.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.