Gazette The Centre County
www.CentreCountyGazette.com
Tasting Trail
Tickets are on sale now for the Central PA Tasting Trail, a month-long celebration that starts with the purchase of a “tasting ticket” and ends with a raffle of prizes from local businesses. Check out a map of the trail. Pages 16, 17
March 26-April 1, 2015
Volume 7, Issue 12
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Parks Miller suing Centre County government By MICHAEL MARTIN GARRETT StateCollege.com
BELLEFONTE — Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller is suing the Centre County government. Parks Miller has been at odds with the Centre County commissioners for months over the handling of allegations that she forged a judge’s signature — but her latest court filing is a whole new fight. She claims that the county invaded her privacy as part of a politically motivated conspiracy to publicly embarrass her, and she wants the court to intervene. Her lawsuit, filed in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas on March 23, centers around alleged violations of Pennsyl-
vania’s Right-to-Know Law — raising concerns that mirror a similar lawsuit brought against the county by two county judges. She says the county illegally released her phone number and phone records to the public, only to have those records wrongly used against her in court. Over the past several months, local defense attorneys have used records of text messages between judges and prosecutors to allege bias in favor of the DA’s office. None of the records obtained spoke to the content of the messages, and only listed the times they were sent and received. Some of the attorneys who were involved in those cases — including local defense attorneys Andrew Shubin, Sean McGraw and Bernard Cantorna — are
listed as defendants alongside the Centre County government. Centre County solicitor Louis Glantz told StateCollege. com that the county released the phone records because they involve county-provided phones, making them public county STACY PARKS financial records. MILLER Bruce Castor, an attorney for Parks Miller, says this is inaccurate. Castor explains that district attorneys are permitted by law to purchase work-
related items with funds seized from criminals during investigations. He says Parks Miller’s phone was paid for in this way, meaning the county has no ability to release her phone records as county financial records. Parks Millers’ complaint also notes that the Right-to-Know Law clearly prohibits the release of “all or part of a person’s ... cellular or personal telephone number.” Parks Miller claims she should have been notified when a Right-to-Know request was filed that involved her or members of her office. Because the county did not notify her, she says she was deprived of her chance to object to the requests. Parks Miller, Page 4
Corman shares ‘rest of the story’ with CBICC members By HARRY ZIMBLER correspondent@centrecountygazette.com
BOALSBURG — State Senator and majority leader Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte, addressed an overflow crowd of members of the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County on March 19. The CBICC luncheon was held at the Mountain View Country Club in Boalsburg. “Secretary (John) Hanger (Planning and Policy) portrayed Gov. Wolf’s budget as bold and new. I’m going to give you the rest of the story,” Corman said in his address. He then outlined the tax increases that he and the Republican majority feel will be onerous for all Pennsylvanians. “There is a 22 percent increase in the personal income tax and a 40 percent increase in the sales tax,” Corman said. “In addition to raising the sales tax to 6.6 per-
cent, the governor’s budget removes many of the exemptions.” According to Corman, about 200 items would be eliminated from the exemption list, including home health services and the performing arts. The personal inJAKE CORMAN come tax would go from 3.07 percent to 3.7 percent, a substantial increase, according to Corman. Wolf’s budget calls for the lowering of property taxes, but, according to Corman, “I guarantee you they won’t stay Corman, Page 2
Patrick relishes role as hockey director at Pegula By CHRIS MORELLI editor@centrecountygazette.com
Patrick, Page 6 Opinion .................................. 7 Health & Wellness .................. 8
Metropolitan project remains on schedule By GREGG KOHLHEPP correspondent@centrecountygazette.com
CENTRE COUNTY SPOTLIGHT UNIVERSITY PARK — Ryan Patrick’s office at the Pegula Ice Arena is pretty sparse. Sure, he’s got a computer. In the corner, there are several hockey sticks propped against the wall. A framed photo from the “Miracle on Ice” team sits atop his desk. Of course, the office isn’t where Patrick wants to be. Sure, he loves his job as hockey director for the Pegula Ice Arena. But Patrick is at home on the ice.
Submitted photo
BIG PLANS: Construction is underway at The Metropolitan in downtown State College. The building is expected to open in late summer of 2016.
CHRIS MORELLI/The Gazette
ICE MAN: Ryan Patrick is the hockey director at Penn State’s Pegula Ice Arena. He oversees all aspects of the community’s youth, student and adult hockey programs.
Education ......................... 9, 10 Community .................... 11-13
Easter Listings ................ 14, 15 Central PA Tasting Trail .16, 17
STATE COLLEGE — The Metropolitan, developed by PennTrust Properties I LLC, is on schedule and set to open in late summer of 2016. In recent weeks, the installation of a second crane means that above-ground construction soon will begin to appear on the corner of West College Avenue and South Atherton Street. The project has dodged winter weather during the past few months, successfully excavating the underground parking and foundation areas. As the structure starts to come to life, PennTrust Properties plans to install a fence design in the next few weeks, giving State College a glimpse of what is to come. The 12-story building will offer one Sports .............................. 19-23 Women’s Corner .................. 24
floor of premium retail space, one floor of Class A office space and seven floors of student housing. An additional three floors of housing will be available for young professionals, families and alumni, with commercial event space on the top floor. “The first floor will be for retail such as restaurants, coffee shops, clothing, technology, etc.,” said Vinh Vuong, chairman and CEO of Vuong Levin. Vuong added that he was not at liberty to discuss any specific contractual or leasing projects. “Our vision of creating a true mixeduse building is about to come to life, and we’re very excited about it. We believe it will be an economic benefit to our community and a new downtown landmark,” Vuong said. Metropolitan, Page 5
Arts & Entertainment .... 25, 26 What’s Happening ......... 26, 27
Puzzles .................................. 28 Business .......................... 29, 30