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Phoenixville Bridge Renamed in Honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

In a unanimous vote on Thursday, the Chester County Commissioners accepted the proposal by a group of Phoenixville community leaders to rename the county-owned bridge in honor of the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The former Mayor, Leo Scoda, addressed the Commissioners two days before the vote, pointing out that although the borough has around 20 streets named after former U.S. Presidents and other famous Americans it has none for historic black civil rights leaders.

Renaming the bridge that spans the French Creek as it bisects the borough “would symbolize the work done by Dr. King. The idea of bringing together not only the different racial groups that make up our community but also the different economic groups and religious groups,” he also said that this “reflect the borough of Phoenixville in the way we live together.”

 

Malvern Federal Savings Bank Awards $12,000 Grant to FLITE

The Foundation for Learning In Tredyffrin/Easttown, (FLITE), has been awarded a $12,000 grant by the Malvern Federal Charitable Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Malvern Federal Savings Bank.

The goal of the grant is to help Tredyffrin/Easttown students achieve in the classroom by providing educational programs and tools to local children who would not otherwise have access to them. This includes the Afterschool Homework Program, School Supplies, and Preschool Tuition Assistance.

“Malvern Federal Charitable Foundation and Malvern Federal Savings Bank have been generous supporters of FLITE for many years,” said FLITE Board Member, Paige Skelly, when she was presented with the check. “Their support enables FLITE to provide the tools, support and opportunities needed by many students in our school district. We value our partnership with Malvern Federal and know that together we can make a difference in our community.”

CNBC Interviews Gabriel Weinberg, the Founder of DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo, the Paoli-based search engine startup that protects its user’s   privacy by not tracking their data is gaining more and more traction, and the media is starting to take notice.

CNBC interviewed the company’s founder, Gabriel Weinberg, on his unconventional online approach and the importance of privacy to everyday Americans.

Citing the recent 600% increase in searches since the latest NSA surveillance revelations, Weinberg points to the fact that more and more Americans are starting to care about their online privacy, and represents an ever-increasing share of the market going forward.

Weinberg also noted that while their approach might be unconventional, they are not really losing money by not tracking people as “you don’t lose that much, because the most lucrative advertising is things like mortgages and cars, and people just literally type that into the search engine. And advertisers just bid for those keywords.”

New Vanguard Study Highlights Millennials’ Preparations for Retirement

According to a new Vanguard whitepaper“The Auto Savings Generation: Steering Millennials to Better Retirement Outcomes,” the issue of retirement, currently a hot topic with older generations does not hold true for Millennials.

The study states that automatic enrollment and the rising popularity of target-date funds are allowing millennials, aged between 18 and 34 to easily save for retirement without giving it a second thought. This has led to a 70% increase in Vanguard plans with the automatic enrollment feature compared to just ten years ago.

“Automatic plan design features and the rise of target-date funds are reshaping retirement plan outcomes for all generations,” said Jean Young, author of the paper and a senior research analyst with the Vanguard Center for Retirement Research. “However, these innovations are by far having the greatest, and most positive, impact on the retirement savings of millennials.”

West Chester University Donates iPads to Hill Freedman World Academy

Hill Freedman World Academy in Mt. Airy has received a donation of 100 iPads from West Chester University.

Carol Smith, Associate Professor of Literacy at West Chester University, studied iPad-based learning in Haverford and Phoenixville, while her colleague Diane Santori used a university grant to bring that experience to an urban school.

They brought 100 iPads to Hill Freedman World Academy and connected the teachers with mentors, noting that too often when new technology gets delivered to teachers’ hands, they do not know what to do with it.

The donation was received with joy, as the eighth grader John Capatulo-Roni noted that not a lot of students at the school own iPads. “It’s really exciting. People are taking videos, looking at the new apps and it seems that they’re excited to use them.”

Swope Lee Closes on Sale of Flex Building in Whiteland