Dinniman Says Phoenixville’s Route 23 Bridge could be Finished this Month

State Senator Andy Dinniman is confident that the Route 23 bridge construction project will be finished by the end of this month, significantly ahead of the expected date, although PennDOT officials do not share his enthusiasm.

The 48-year-old bridge in Phoenixville spanning Pickering Creek, which is normally used by almost 20,000 motorists a day, has been under construction since late April.

The $1.7 million project supervised by PennDOT is rehabilitating the bridge by removing the deteriorated steel I-beams and replacing them with concrete beams, as well as building a new deck, and repairing the support abutments.

“I’ve kept up with the progress on the bridge and I believe, barring any unforeseen obstacles, it can be completed by the end of September, more than half-a-year ahead of schedule,” wrote Dinniman in a post on his Facebook page on September 8.

Chester County Showed the Lowest Unemployment Rate in the Philadelphia Area in June

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic, at 4.1 percent Chester County had the lowest unemployment rate in the sampling region covering the wider Philadelphia area in June this year.

The Bureau’s regional commissioner, Sheila Watkins, stated that among the 11 counties that make up the metropolitan area, Philadelphia County had the highest unemployment rate at 7.4 percent. In addition, four other counties had unemployment rates greater than the U.S. average of 5.5 percent, while the remaining five had lower rates.

However, despite many counties in the area having unemployment rates above the national average, all 11 counties saw year on year declines in their unemployment rates between 2014 and 2015.

Chester County had the smallest decrease in unemployment as it fell 0.2 percent compared to some other counties which saw declines of 1.1 percent for the year.

Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Rate Remains Steady in August

For the third month in a row the unemployment rate in Pennsylvania remained steady in August, although the overall payroll for the month shrank slightly.

The jobless rate remained at 5.4 percent for the month, stated the State Department of Labor and Industry, staying unchanged from May. However, the national unemployment rate fell from 5.5 percent to 5.1 percent over the same three month period which changes the state’s position from below average to slightly above average.

While within the civilian labor force, the number of people working or looking for work shrank by 12,000, it still remained above 6.4 million. Employment went down by 7,000 across most sectors while at the same time unemployment fell 5,000 to 344,000.

The strongest employment sectors in the state are in government, information and education, and health care which all showed gains, while most others saw some declines.

Swope Lees Announces the Sale of 909 Camaro Run Drive

The West Chester based commercial real estate firm Swope Lees Commercial Real Estate, LLC, announced at the start of the week the successful sale of its 909 Camaro Run Drive property in the West Goshen Township.

The sale of the property was arranged by Frank Lamarr, from Equitrust in conjunction with Jim Lees of Swope Lees Commercial Real Estate.

The building, which consists of 8,800 square feet of stand-alone industrial flex space, has the option of expanding the property by up to an additional 3,000 square feet. The property, in a prime location, also has two loading docks and plenty of parking spaces and easy access to Route 202.

For more information on the sale please contact Jim Lees at Swope Lees Commercial Real Estate or visit www. SwopeLees.com.

CCCBI to Host 2015 Women’s Professional Development Conference

On September 29, The Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry’s Women Influencing Business Committee will host the 2015 Women’s Professional Development Conference titled Know Your Worth at QVC’s Studio Park complex.

Opening comments will be made by Tracy Davidson, Anchor at NBC10 News Today and then kicks off with Get Over Yourself: Owning and Growing Your Emotional Intelligence with guest speaker Deana Travetti, Senior Director Customer Experience at Comcast Spotlight.

The other two topics are Modern Day Mentoring, with panelists, Mary Ellen Harris, Human Resource Manager from Global Tax Management, Janet Moran, VP of Human Resources at Krapf Bus Companies and Joy Brown, Digital Technology Executive for Vanguard.

The final topic is Know Your Worth: Salary Negotiation with Confidence is presented by Kenya Jacobs, Compensation Manager for Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. The event is sold out but ticket enquiries can be directed to the CCCBI.