Fort Washington Business to Help County Courthouse 'Go Green'

Constellation NewEnergy Inc. to help courthouse reduce uses of water, electric and gas.

Every house could use ways to "go green," including a Courthouse. The Montgomery County Commissioners agreed, and recently voted to hire one local business to help make their "house" get more ecofriendly. Constellation NewEnergy Inc., based in Fort Washington, was awarded a contract recently via an unanimous vote, to help the Montgomery County Courthouse go green by reducing uses of water, electric and gas, according to a WFMZ post. The courthouse currently spends more than $600,000 per year on energy. "Ultimately, we will realize significant savings right away," said Commissioner Chairman Joshua Shapiro told WFMZ. "As time goes on, our dollar savings will grow as we pay off the project." For the full story on the new contract and changes…

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Dad Charged with Third-Degree Murder in Child's Death

Edward Doyle, 28, was arrested Sunday on endangering the welfare of a child charge, but court officials upgraded that to a third-degree murder charge Tuesday.

The Upper Moreland man accused of killing his infant daughter was charged this morning with third-degree murder. Edward Doyle, of the 2500 block of Horsham Road, was arrested on child endangerment Sunday, but court officials upgraded the incident to a murder charge after the autopsy of Makayla Doyle was completed on Monday. Doctor Isidore Mihalakis, a forensic pathologist, performed an autopsy on Makayla and found multiple broken ribs, skull fractures and injuries to her nose consistent with pinching the nasal airway, according to a press release. Doyle told police he was carrying his two-month old daughter after a night of drinking when he tripped and fell on top of the infant. Mihalakis watched a video in which Doyle demonstrated how he …

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Montgomery County District Courts to be Audited with $20M in Receipts

Stewart Greenleaf announced today that "the funds held by the District Courts are too significant to go unaudited by the county."

Montgomery County Controller, Stewart Greenleaf, Jr., announced on Wednesday that his staff will begin annual audits of Montgomery County's thirty Magisterial District Courts. Despite the substantial amount of county funds held by the District Courts, about $3 million per year, the county has not performed an audit of those funds since 1996, sixteen years ago. "The District Judges in Montgomery County are known for their professionalism. However, with receipts of over $20 million a year, the funds held by the District Courts are too significant to go unaudited by the county", Greenleaf said. He added that the audits would not only protect county funds, but also encourage best practices among the District Courts to ensure that persons who …

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Willow Grove Annex Remains Closed

All Montgomery County offices are open with the exception of the Willow Grove annex on Old York Road.

Montgomery County offices have been informed by PECO that power will not be restored to the Willow Grove Annex before 11 p.m. tonight. Therefore the offices there will be closed today, Oct. 31. All other county offices will be open as usual on Wednesday.tomorrow.

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Montgomery Properties Up for Sheriff's Sale Wednesday

Hundreds of Montgomery County properties will be on the block for the monthly sheriff's sale Wednesday, Sept. 26.

About 400 properties are on the list for Wednesday’s Montgomery County sheriff's sale. Of those, some cases have already been closed, and nearly half have been postponed for next month. That leaves nearly 200 properties to be put on the block Sept. 26. Sales start at 1 p.m. in Court Room A at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Swede and Airy Streets in Norristown. There is a minimum total bid amount that must be exceeded for each property to sell. And the winning bidder must have 10% of the sale price at the auction, with the remaining portion due within 10 days of the sale. The properties are not available for inspection prior to the sale. More information is available on Montgomery County's website. 

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Montco Mommy

One Angry Juror

The Montco Mommy may be proud to serve her civic duty, but she doesn't have to like it.

I like control. I know that. I like to have control over every-and-anything that I can. Most of my fears, stressors and anxiety in life comes from lack of control. I don’t like to fly, for example, because I feel like I should be able to stop, pull over and jump out of a moving vehicle any time I’d like. I’m probably not going to, but I like knowing that if I had to, I could. I think, as I sit here watching a clock creep as slowly as I’ve ever seen it, that is why I am resenting Jury Duty so much right now. I get it, right? It is my civic duty. I should be proud to live in a free and just country. At the moment, I guess I’m just not feeling so All-American. Instead, I’m counting by the hours in the Montgomery County Courthouse. So far, I’…

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Melissa Treacy

8:25 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Thanks for your thoughts Lydia. That is an excellent point. I appreciate your sharing your opinions here, too!   more ›