Economic Outlook: June 2008 Archives

Either to save on cost or just to have pride in a job well done, many homeowners take on do-it-yourself projects rather than call in an expert.
From bathrooms to basements, weekend contractors often attempt tackle even the most daunting home improvement ventures.
What home projects have you completed?
E-mail Sean Adkins at sadkins@ydr.com with before-and-after pictures of the your most recent home projects.
Include your name, phone number and a description of the project.

I drove Northeast, Northwest and South from York this weekend, no farther than about 2 hours from the city in any direction. And I had some fun near DeHart Dam in Dauphin County fishing, in State College for a bachelor's party and with my in-laws in Towson.

So what was the cost? It was $80 in gas. And droopy eyes from being on the road so much. There really was no rest time because of the driving time.

Living and working in York is like the converse of living somewhere close to family or with decent entertainment a 5-minute drive away (personal preference of course, a nearby stream with more than a few hundred yards of fly-fishing only - and fish still alive - and a bar district you feel safe walking in past midnight are big ones for me) and commuting to a job.

Instead of the long drive to compliment the long workweek, the long drives compliments the end of the week. I pity the people who live up here and commute to Baltimore, then travel on the weekends, too.

Is being 2 hours from everywhere (probably the biggest selling point York has) still worth it when one weekend alone costs $80 just for gas? Are you worried gas prices are going to sink all the hard work people have been putting into the city over the past 5 years?

There's been a ton going on this week what with Leader Health and Fitness closing (read about it here, here and here) and a snapping turtle being found in a sink at a Chinese food place.

In case you missed anything else going on this week, I'm here to catch you up.

Kiddies were buying smokes.

You probably shouldn't eat tomatoes for a little while.

Dollar strengthens a bit.

Early termination fees being questioned.

And in really sad breaking news, 58-year-old Tim Russert died today.

Whoo hoo it's Friday, and most of us only have a little bit of the work week left before it's time to kick back and celebrate the weekend and maybe check out the street rods.

Here's what you've missed this week if you've been living under a rock.

We love green.

I wouldn't want to be this woman.

Stocks tumble as oil soars.

New job opportunities at this plant.

Here's a shocker: SUV sales are down. Wonder if that could have something to do with the insane gas prices.

A yummy new business is coming to town.

Just for fun: Don't forget to check out this great street rods video shot by Bil Bowden and take our poll below.

According to the news release about the Arm and Hammer plant coming to Jackson Township, the new plant has an established sustainability policy.

The plant will use renewable energy and cut energy waste by 30 percent and solid waste by 50 percent.

If you're interested in checking out exactly what the company has to say about the new Arm and Hammer plant coming to York, you can read the company's press release here.

What are your thoughts about a new plant coming to town?

College grads looking for new jobs or people looking for a career switch may be interested in checking out some of these green business sites recommended by Solvie Karlstrom over at the Green Guide.

* Green Jobs

* Sustainable Businesses' Green Dream Jobs

* Environmental Career

Thanks to photographer Jason Plotkin for this photo.

Right now I am about to shamelessly plug a story that I wrote. Not because I wrote it, but because the story is a great one about a man who found the silver lining in being laid off. And we all know lay offs are an all too frequent happening lately.

Chris Robins used the opportunity to find something he truly enjoyed doing and made it his job.

Everyone asks that question in terms of "when" it will happen, like how close it is on the calendar. But it also matters how close it is geographically, because most of us drive outside of York County, Pa.

I paid $4.04 at a rest stop on the Pennsylvania Turnpike somewhere between Reading and Philadelphia on Saturday.

Excuse me for a second. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

OK, better now.

Back in February, I wrote about how Blu-ray beat out HD DVD as the new high tech. way to watch movies.

This morning I came across this article in the Baltimore Sun that said even though Blu-ray was crowned the king, many people are still relying on standard definition DVD's.