But they are going to pay almost 7 million smackaroos to past servers for shorting them on their tips. Yes. STEALING their tips. Apparently it's OK for an employer to take a "tip credit" (whatever that is) but then a base rate of $2.13/hr must be paid. Along with stealing 60% out of the shared "tip jar," the establishment were basically a-holes in every way possible. They even made the servers go to the ATM to get cash to put in the tip jar to cover those tips that were put on credit cards (Lesson for you: always tip in cash!). Get a load of this crap, too: "...servers and bartenders were paid only a flat rate of $15 per shift at all locations except for Chickie's and Pete's airport establishment, according to the [Dept. of Labor]. That amount was not sufficient in all cases to even cover the minimum cash wage of $2.13 per hour that must be paid to a tipped employee when an employer claims a tip credit under federal law. Additionally, the employer allegedly failed to pay the required overtime wages to these employees when they worked in excess of 40 hours in a week. Investigators also determined that employees were not paid for time spent in mandatory meetings and training, and were improperly required to pay for uniforms." How dickish can you be? Apparently, lots. Along with the millions, Chickie's & Pete's has to pay $50,000 in fines. The fries are good, but they ain't that good. Maybe they should change their sign from this: to this: Buh bye, Cheater's & Pete's. Lots of other places to eat. BizJournal Article … [Read more...]
What to do in H-Town if your pet makes a run for it
Dogs and cats are living together, out on the mean streets of H-Town. Well, maybe they aren't living "together" exactly. They insist they're just roommates. Still - what's the procedure if your pet makes a break for his gang banging buds? And what do you do if you find a domesticated animal? Search your surrounding neighborhood and ask your neighbors if they've seen the animal. Call the police (911). The animal control officer will keep an eye out for your pet. They can also lend you humane traps to lure a stray cat. You can also call Haverford Animal Control at 610‐853‐1298 ext. 2205. (Scroll down to see a .pdf from the township site. It has info about various pet issues.) Go to the DELCO SPCA and CHESTER SPCA pages and call or fill out information. Grab a recent pic and write up a great description. If you can, make a .pdf flyer. Think twice about posting flyers to poles. Doing so is actually prohibited in H-Town: "Posting notices upon utility poles, trees and/or public structures and buildings restricted. No person shall post or affix any commercial or political notice, poster or any other paper or device calculated to attract the attention of the public to any lamppost, public utility pole or shade tree or upon any public structure or building, except as may be authorized or required by law." If you do decide to "go rogue" and paper the neighborhood, make sure no identifying info or your home address is on the flyer. An email address or cell number is sufficient. Don't stick any flyers on US Postal Service receptacles. Mail slots on doors are OK to put flyers through. Outside mailboxes are not. USPS does not want you to put any materials in mailboxes, but if the residence has a door mail slot, you can put your flyer in that. Avoid houses with a "no soliciting" sign. From the USPS site: "If you have a curbside mailbox or a mailbox on the outside of your house, Postal Service regulations govern what can and can not be placed in … [Read more...]
Some Townie dropped out of some political race
In the very probable case you missed it, Townie Jack Stollsteimer dropped out of the PA state Commonwealth attorney general race. Currently our AG is Kathleen Kane and she ruffled a lot of feathers because we have dirty old creeps as judges in this faire greene land. Some accused her of misdeeds, but that all still remains to be seen. The House is still trying to impeach her, though. State Supreme Court is involved (in all ways), so it's messy. ANYHOOOO... Townie Jack dropped out (maybe once he realized he would have to live in Harrisburg if he won), and gave his thumbs up to Josh Shapiro, who is a Commissioner in Montco. That seems like a big leap for Mr. Josh Shapiro. Can you imagine any of our Townie Commissioners just up and running for state attorney general? Yeah right. But hey, this Josh guy has experience being the chairman of the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency. That's a lot of commissioning. Here's the DELCO Times article if you care. We've pretty much summed it up. Flickr user Jonathan Smith (if that's his real name) snapped the Harrisburg(no-h) photo with a borrowed camera (We corrected "Montgo" to Montco after someone bitched about it on FB. No idea where that g came from) … [Read more...]
PECO gonna creep your backyard. Maybe.
Chris Rock joked his only job as a dad was to keep his daughter "off the pole." Seeing that PECO pole inspectors are usually of the male persuasion, we're guessing he doesn't mean utility poles... Haverford Township will have a bunch o' pole workers in the area though. Every PECO pole (south of the Merion-Infernal-Buzzing-Goodyear-Blimp Club) will be inspected in the next 4 weeks. We emailed some Q's to a PECO dude (named Greg Smore. Yum.) and here are his A's: What is the projected schedule for Haverford Township? Work is currently in progress within the township and will continue for the next two to four weeks. The timeline for this work is dependent on weather and also may occur on Saturdays. Are there specific roads PECO will be targeting? We will be inspecting poles on all roads within the township, south of Merion Golf Club. Are the workers going to look at every single pole in the township? We will only be inspecting PECO-owned poles. What are the criteria on which they will be judging the pole’s safety and effectiveness? We evaluate each pole based on our wood pole inspection standards and procedures, in conjunction with the National Electric Safety Code. Can we expect any street closures? No road closures will be in effect for this work. What can our residents do to help either PECO or the workers that will be coming? Some poles are located in backyards behind locked fences or gates. If that is the case, our contractors will request access to inspect the poles. Please note that they should be able to show you a contractor ID badge. Where can our residents email or call now to report on specific poles they are concerned about? Customers can call the PECO customer care center at 1-800-494-4000. Customers should be able to provide the address or nearest cross street along with a description of the issue or concern. -courtesy of Greg Smore, PECO Dude. Here's the Businesswire.com article, dated Jan 19, 2016: PECO … [Read more...]
No snow? No problem! (& snow shovel match-up)
We will be writing this post with our best Delco accent. Here's the State of the Tewnship, right now: As ya probably kneow, an official H-Town Snow'mergency has been declared! Our intrepid officer-on-the-scene, Lt. Joe Hagan, has listed a whole crapload of roads ya cain't park on and if your car ain't got no chains then keep yer broke ass home! (Screll dewn to see Officer Hagan's noot). BUT! Havertownies has opened up the shoveling match-up service again! If you have a kid that wants to shovel snow this weekend, have them fill owt the form here: GOT SHOVELS? If you have walks and driveways to be cleared, fill owt the form here: GOT SIDEWALKS? We'll match up kids in neighborhoods with those needing snow removal, and we'll give yas a call on the phohhhne. We'll talk regular. Maybe. You all are on your own in terms of money exchanged, insurance, etc. Don't sue us, we're just trying to be helpful. We don't cover or claim any responsibility. Use the forms and the service at your own risk. From Officer Hagan: Due to the most recent weather forecast and the high probability of extreme weather conditions, Haverford Township has declared a Snow Emergency effective 6 p.m. on Friday, January 22, 2016, as authorized by § 175-58 Declaration of Emergency of the Haverford Township Codebook of Ordinances. This declaration will assist in snow removal and the safe passage of emergency vehicles. The Emergency Declaration will end 6:00 p.m., on Sunday, January 24th, unless you receive further notification. All unessential Township Facilities will remain closed during this event. When a snow emergency is declared, it shall be unlawful, at any time during the continuance of the emergency, for any person, firm or corporation: To park a motor vehicle or to allow that vehicle to remain parked anywhere on any Snow Emergency Route designated pursuant to this article; or To drive any vehicle on any such Snow Emergency route … [Read more...]
ICYMI: Chestnutwold 5th graders win local essay contest
On January 11, the Delco News Network site reported on the (former Gov.) Rendell Center's "Citizenship Challenge" essay contest. The contest was held on December 17th 2015 and the winners, who took home a big ol' check for $1000 were our own Chestnutwold 5th graders! Get this - they had to write about the 4th Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure. THEN do a skit about it! Whaaaa? They keep using that word, "5th grade" and we don't think it means what they think it means... When we were in 5th grade, we were writing about Smoky Bear and How to Stop Forest Fires (Only ME! *I* am the ONLY ONE WHO CAN STOP THEM) and even then, we only got an honorable mention in the county contest. 4th Amendment? Geez. These kids ROCK, though, and for real rock, not SchoolHouse Rock. They actually know the US Constitution and we only know the Preamble song, if we're lucky. Go, KIDS! You little law scholars, you. LINKS Rendell Center Citizenship Contest Here's the article over at delconewsnetwork.com BTW, you know ICYMI means "In case you missed it" right? And BTW means "by the way." C'mon people. Keep up. Kids with check photo by Rendell Center Smoky the Bear Photo Credit: Steven on Flickr (and yeah, that's Steven in the pic) … [Read more...]
MLK day Hoops from the Heart
Hoops clinic at Haverford College for kids benefitting a Delaware County Charity tomorrow: "For the 15th consecutive year, Haverford College, Neumann University, Widener University and Cabrini College are joining forces for the annual Hoops from the Heart basketball clinics Monday, Jan. 18 as part of the Martin Luther King Day of national service. The clinics, which are open to boys and girls in grades one through eight, will be conducted by the men’s and women’s teams as well as the coaches from each school. The clinics will be held from 9 a.m. to noon. Proceeds from the event benefit the Community Action Agency of Delaware County, Inc., the anti-poverty agency that helps families and individuals move toward self-sufficiency. Previous clinics have raised more than $90,000 and the organization hopes to go over the $100,000 mark this year." Go over to the Delaware County Daily Times to get more info on MLK day hoops and how to get a free t-shirt! PHOTO CREDIT: Havertownies.com Copyright 2016 … [Read more...]
Photos of theft suspect
Haverford Police Department released some security camera footage of a possible suspect for the rash of car break-ins (most recently along Colonial Road in H-Town). Below each pic is a guess at the suspect's traits. Contact 911 if you've seen anyone like this. … [Read more...]
Haverford Police: We’re on the prowler. You lock your car doors
A post is going around Facebook this week that reported of a masked prowler in the WestGate Hills section of H-Town. Here is a screen shot from Facebook, dated Jan. 15, 2016: We called the Haverford Police Department for an update. Lt. Hagan said there is increased patrols in the West Gate area but at this point in time, the HPD thinks it may be an isolated incident. As reported to them, the supposedly male figure was dressed in a black "spiderman-like" spandex suit that covered from head to toe. Besides the initial report, there have been no more reports of sightings of any prowlers. Still, Lt. Hagan asks residents to call 911 for anything at all. The police force has canines that can track the path of trespassers. Lt. Hagan insisted that 911 is to be used freely and immediately. "You're not bothering us," he said. Lt. Hagan would like to emphasize something else though: LOCK YOUR CAR DOORS. We've seen a serious uptick in thefts from cars over night, he reported. Cars parked in driveways as well as parked on the street have been entered. The unifying theme is that the vehicles were left unlocked. The perps aren't actually damaging the vehicles. They are checking to see which are unlocked and grabbing loose change, etc. It's a crime of opportunity. Please remember to lock your car doors. And again, call 911 for any suspicious activity, even if you think it's "nothing" or "stupid." Lt. Hagan would rather you be safe than sorry. Let them determine what's what. LINKS PHOTO CREDITS: Car in driveway Jim Grey on Flickr Ninja Costume: Google search Screen shot: Havertownies.com via Facebook.com Update: The original post of this article had the HPD Lt. listed as Lt. Logan. It is actually Lt. Joe Hagan. It's been corrected. Our apologies. … [Read more...]
Chatham Park Chorus sings National Anthem at HHS Boys Basketball Game
What a great job! Congrats to all the kids in Chatham's 4th and 5th grade chorus and their teacher, Sonya Genstein. … [Read more...]
Drones, drones, everywhere, and not a minute to think…
So H-Town cops have their own drones. The only shooting it does is with a camera, which the cops used in the summer to get arial shots of Merry Place's Life. Be in it. Day. (Which, according to reports from H-Town's youth, involved some sort of Kumbaya hold-hands-in-a-circle moment that was waaaaay awkward). Don't shoot down the cops' drone. That would be bad. And we're not telling you to mess with the FAA airspace, or discharge a firearm in the Township (not permitted, btw). BUT we can tell you that reports abound that one of a drone's fans hit with, say, a rock or a bird or something, will take out the whole drone. Those little flying pests are dependent on all of the fans. Take one out, down comes the drone. We searched the "General Laws of the Township" for "Drone" and we got bupkis: On a totally unrelated note, let's think back to those wonderful, boring summers of years ago, when we climbed trees and whittled sticks and skipped stones on the creek. We had pocket knives and digging spoons and never any shoes on our feet. And we always carried around our own homemade sling shot, one we made with a stick we found by the creek and a rubber band from the garage. Ah, the simpler days. We wear shoes now. The creek is probably contaminated. But we still have the sling shot. Just sayin'. LINKS: Deputy Drone of Haverford Township FAA owns everything above your blades of grass, apparently How to make a survival sling shot... you know, to bring back the old days of youth Sticks and stones will break my drones Search The General Laws of the Township That toy drone you got your kid for xmas? You gotta register that thing with the FAA. Photo Credits: Drone: San Leandro Privacy on Flickr Screen shot, "drone" search: Havertownies.com Sling shot: Havertownies.com … [Read more...]
We’ve got a new top cop
Chief Pettine is retiring. One of HPD's own, John Viola, was promoted. He starts Monday. Details in the News-o-Delco (more about John Viola and the US OPEN on philly.com below): John Viola becomes police chief in Haverford Published: Wednesday, January 13, 2016 By Lois Puglionesi For Digital First Media HAVERFORD >> After a career that has spanned more than 45 years, former Deputy Chief of Police John Viola became the township’s new chief of police, effective Monday. The commissioners voted unanimously in favor of Viola’s promotion. Viola succeeds former Chief Carmen Pettine, who is retiring. Family, friends, supporters from multiple police departments, Brookline Fire Department and several county officials were on hand as Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Green administered the oath of office. Commissioner and Chair of the Police Committee Stephen D’Emilio noted that Viola has served in many capacities during the course of a distinguished career that began in January 1970, when Viola joined the Patrol Division. In his earliest role as a police medical emergency responder, Viola helped transport sick and injured persons on police medical wagons, D’Emilio said. Appointment to the Youth Aid Division and Detective Division followed in 1975. Then in 1991, Viola joined the Highway Safety/Special Operations Unit, honing skills for major accident investigations. Additionally, Viola trained in arson investigations and SWAT/crisis management and has served as Tactical SWAT commander for over 15 years, D’Emilio said. Viola was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 1994 and became special operations supervisor several years later. Subsequent roles included assignment as Delco’s lead law enforcement representative on the Southeastern PA Terrorism Task Force and serving on the Five County Terrorism Task Force under Homeland Security as the Haz Mat SWAT Commander and as commander on the Major Incident Response Team, … [Read more...]