As you might have guessed, I'm a bit sensitive these days to the concerns of many in Upper Darby about how their township is often portrayed in the pages of the Daily Times.
Believe me, I have heard them loud and clear.
Now I'd like them to hear me. It's not as easy as it looks.
Take today's edition for example. I wanted to note one more aspect of the amazing turnaround that is going on in the township's 69th Street Shopping District. The popular clothing outlet H&M will open its doors in the old McClatchy building. They're bringing 50 jobs to the township as well.
The H&M opening comes just a few months after Burlington Coat Factory opened its doors not far away.
Mayor Tom Micozzie is rightfully proud of what's been accomplished on 69th Street - which had fallen on some lean years from its heyday when it was known in the popular ad campaign as 'Easy Street.' He points out the next step in the revival will be the plans to demolish the old Sears site at 69th and Chestnut streets. Township officials have applied for a $10 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to help the process, in particular to updgrade lighting and parking in the area.
Then there's our other front page story today.
It involves the theft of valuable, one-of-a-kind bronze doors from a couple of mausoleums in Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill.
These are massive doors that weigh several hundred pounds each.
The brazen thefts prompted Police Superintendent Mike Chitwood - never one to be at a loss for words - to note that 'nothing is sacred.' Thus our front page headline.
Chitwood thinks he knows the culprit, the same kind of drug scourge that is affecting all parts of the county, forcing junkies to steal whatever they can get their hands on so they can buy their next fix.
Both stories made the front page. We used a skybox for the continued boom on 69th Street. The cemetery theft was the lead. My guess is that's not going to make some people very happy.
Welcome to my world.
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