Montgomery County Roundup: March 6, 2013
A sampling of recent news from around Montgomery County.
Runner fatally hit by car is identified -- Merinda Pietrafitta Thompson, 40, of Royersford, was jogging in Limerick on Monday when a car swerved and hit her. The 18-year-old driver is being investigated by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. -- by Walter F. Naedele
Montgomery County commuters -- A recent study found that Montgomery County is the biggest source of Philadelphia-bound commuters, with 60,159 residents traveling to Philadelphia to work each day. A similar number of Philadelphia residents -- 60,551 -- commute from the city to work in Montgomery County. Other suburban counties export more commuters than they import. -- by Paul Nussbaum
Development in Lower Merion -- The township's Planning Committee recommended approval of an 11-story apartment building on the Righters Ferry site, bounded by Monument Road, Belmont Avenue, and St. Asaphs Road. It's the first project to flow out of the City Avenue zoning project, meant to make one of the township's major commercial corridors more livable and less congested. -- by Carolyn Davis
An Ardmore institution to close -- Sneaky Pete's, a family-owned shoe store that was a community fixture for the last 35 years, will close by May 1. -- by Kristin E. Holmes
Pottstown pastor guilty of mortgage scam -- Michael Wilkerson, pastor of New Millennium Life Restoration Fellowship; his wife, Joyce; and two others would approach members who had good credit about acting as "straw purchasers" for several homes in Schwenksville, Montgomery County, and Glenmoore, Chester County, federal prosecutors said. They obtained $6 million in fraudulent loans from JP Morgan Chase Bank. -- by Aubrey Whelan
Elmwood Park Zoo's jaguar dies -- Anasazi, a 19-year-old male jaguar, died Feb. 28, in his cage at the zoo in Norristown. He had suffered from kidney problems and lived beyond the typical 17-year lifespan. -- by Bonnie L. Cook
Career retraining at Montco Community College -- Pennsylvania's community colleges are using a $20-million U.S. Labor Department grant to help displaced workers get trained in new careers. In Montgomery County, healthcare technology is one of the boom sectors. -- by Jessica Parks