The 2009 Central Pennsylvania Farm Tour Guide

The Downtown Farmer’s Market of State College features locally grown produce such as these apples from Patchwork Farms in Aaronsburg. Photo by Erica Wallace

by Jennifer Chesworth

This past spring, just as farmers in Pennsylvania were preparing their fields for the season, dark clouds that had been looming overhead for years broke into a media storm: Big Brother was going to make farming illegal.

The attack came in the form of a bipartisan U.S. Senate Bill HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Farmers, who are always concerned when new laws affecting agriculture come into play, furrowed their brows and kept on working in their fields, but the blogosphere—that indoor, blue-screened world that never sees a corn seed sprout—suddenly filled with a flurry of alarms and accusations.

HR 875 was taking Chicken Little out of the hen house altogether and letting the giant corporate fox take over. According to one blogger, “the food police [were] criminalizing organic farming and the backyard gardener.” Another wrote that it was “the death of farmers’ markets, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), and local foods.”

By: Sara Blackwell

State College Horse Show Series

July 1-5 2009

The State College Horse Show Series will be held Wednesday July 1 through Sunday July 5. The show will feature over 500 horses. The shows include nationally rated horses. For more information visit: http://www.happyvalley.com

Central PA 4th Fest

July 4, 2009

The Central PA 4th Fest has been held in State College for over 80 years. Centre County has had a celebration every year since 1927. The celebration will be held Saturday July 4. The day is filled with fun for the entire family. The 8th annual Firecracker 4K Race begins at 9a.m. And goes through the Penn State campus. There are prizes awarded to the top male and female, as well as to all age groups. There will be activities and entertainment. A few of the activities include: a pyrotechnics demonstration, held in the pyro demo tent , which will show those attending what goes into making the fireworks display come alive. In the Stadium Lot West there will be free hot dogs and chips from 4p.m to 8p.m., and there will be a golf ball pyramid demonstration at Founder’s Mall. Entertainment will be provided at the White Stage, Blue Stage and the Towne Square. Entertainment events begin at 2p.m. The fireworks show will begin at 9:15p.m., and is ranked as one of the greatest displays in America. Be sure to check the website for more activity listings as well as a full schedule of entertainment events, and a listing of where the events will take place. Any additional information can be found at http://www.4thfest.org.

Philipsburg Heritage Days

July 7-12 2009

1st Open Keep your distance Bill Mertens

1st Theme Broken Chair Elizabeth Pennock

Some of the recent winning photos from the State College Photo Club competitions. These photos were from the online competition - the theme for the theme competition was "worn out". Get more information at http://www.statecollegephotoclub.org/. (click the headline for more winning photos)

Rush Limbaugh claims Holocaust Museum shooter "was a leftist if anything"
Limbaugh : Holocaust Shooter Has "More in Common" with Liberal Protesters

By Suzan Erem

Photo by Rupesh R. Kariyat. The Jacksons, from left, Jayson, Devon, Lesley and their dogs Raven and Bailee, have found support in the Multiracial/Multicline Family Resource Community.

They are singles and couples, with and without children, in all shades and shapes, from around the country and around the world — and they defy the usual descriptors of “black” or “white” or “Latino” or “Asian.”

Membership in the Multiracial Family Support Group is growing, the ongoing result of the melting pot America and Centre County are becoming after years of institutionalized racism. Even the name of the group continues to evolve, most recently to Multiracial/Multicline Family Resource Community to recognize that race is a man-made definition and that “cline,” or phenotype, better describes the physical differences in people.

“I felt it would be good for my son,” explained organizer Denise Hinds-Zaami, a counselor with the Multicultural Resource Center at Penn State, about organizing the group. “He has a sense of social justice in him.”

After a racist altercation two years ago involving her son Mahdi at State College Area High School, Hinds-Zaami called in the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Out of that incident came the Student Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues Together (SPIRIT) program at the school.

Tom Baker '09

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=25468

by Tamara Conrad and Delia Guzman, Photo by Delia Guzman

The End Result, in business since 1971, is one of many business casualties of the down economy.

Despite the conventional wisdom that college towns are “recession-proof,” the sight of empty storefronts with papered- or painted-over windows is becoming more common as the economy continues to sputter and business slows. Several downtown State College stores, such as Insomnia Cookies and The End Result, are either closed or in the process of closing despite the ever-growing student population of Penn State.

Laura Herman, owner of The Roost, Crushed Ice, and The End Result — all clothing and accessories stores that cater to a younger clientele — has decided to close The End Result and Crushed Ice and cited the economy as a factor.

The End Result has been in Herman’s family since 1971, she said, but the store will be closing soon.

“Initially I decided to close Crushed Ice because the lease for that space was up, and it seemed like a good time,” said Herman. “But I changed my plans and decided to keep that space and The Roost. I’m trying to cut back on as many expenses as possible, and it’ll be easier to keep an eye on things with the businesses right next to each other.”