Media in Two Minutes

 Media in Two Minutes

Thanks to all the readers who stop by to read this blog.  I got to meet quite a few of you this weekend and appreciate the nice compliments.  It's my enthusiasm for Media that overcomes my dislike for writing that allows for the motivation to do this every week for the last four years.  It's fun too, so that helps.

A special recognition to faithful reader, Stan who I saw yesterday at an event and who told me he reads everyday.  Wow, thanks Stan, I still have you letter you wrote me that hangs in my office.  Also, kudos to Media Borough Code Enforcement, Jim Jeffery's who was given some of the nicest comments I heard from a family that recently moved into a newly refurbished home they bought.  Nice job, Jim!

 Tedman

Berry Fresh Cafe - Opening Soon
I caught up with Berry Fresh Cafe Manager, Jason who is still putting the final touches on the store located on the westside of State Street, but the place looks GREAT.  They've got a neat layout, that kind of reminded me of a Chipolte restaurant.  Corrugated metal, burlap ceiling and something I wasn't familiar with but looks really cool; mushroom wood that covers certain areas of the cafe. 

They are excited to open and the enthusiasm from Jason gave the place a great vibe.  No date yet on the grand opening, but it will be in the next few weeks, if not sooner.  They even have coconut water packaged in what looks like a coconut.  Had to give that a try.  Also, they use bio-degradable utensils which is pretty cool.  I've never seen that before.  

Best of luck Berry Fresh Cafe and welcome to Media!

Send your questions via twitter
Not quite once a day, but I do on occasion get questions via twitter (@mediapanews) on all sorts of things.  Where's the best bar? Who has wifi? How do I contact so-and-so?  I actually like the requests and it's much more effective than emailing me.  I'd say 90 percent of the email I get I don't read, unless I know to expect it from someone.  Email may still be effective, but when it comes to advertising, it's become almost useless.

Penncrest Football Ad form
Support a great program that could really use your help.  Penncrest Football will be featuring an ad book that will include advertisements from local businesses.  Don't miss out! 

National Night Out.
I had never heard of National Night Out until I starting seeing posts by communities who were hosting these events in their towns.  Here's a description of what it is all about and its purpose.  It might be helpful if Media participated in these to get to know better the towns first responders.

Amazon starts same day delivery in Philadelphia
I don't know how much of Philadelphia is covered, and it may not include Media just yet; but this is an ambitious move by Amazon towards changing the way people shop.  Depending on it's success, which remains to be seen, this could put a lot of pressure on the historical format of mega-centers (Walmart, Target, etc) and malls.  

Imagine a part of Granite Run Mall with an Amazon retail distribution pickup store.  Put in a few drive-thrus and same day pick-up could get interesting.  Many stores such as Staples, Walmart and Best Buy are testing these models now.

Property values near stations are 41% higher
Check out what Wall Street Journal had to say about living near public transportation.  Here in Media, we're lucky to have a Septa regional rail line for those who commute to Philadelphia.  We're also fortunate that Septa recognizes the value of ridership and is actively looking to include more parking in Media.

Rail ridership is also increasing, up to 4.8 billion in 2013 from 3.4 billion a decade earlier. Passenger rail lines are becoming more popular as more people opt for downtown living where they are less dependent on cars. WSJ July 29th

Media Borough's Website is useless
I made mention of this a few weeks ago, but just this weekend two people told me how much media borough's website, well, sucks!  The problem is that for $15,000 spent to redesign the whole site 3 years ago, it shouldn't, but like many things in this borough it was mismanaged.  

Forget that it looks outdated and is poorly laid out; it's not even consistently updated and is a pain to navigate through.  Some committee minutes are posted, while others aren't.  The calendar is a mess and should at least be a priority of the site which is what West Chester Borough seems to get.  As for mobile apps and social media, Media totally missed it.  

Media's Hotel in Springfield is doing just fine.
“The hotel has been a great success, and the township is very happy with it,” said Solicitor Jim Byrne on Springfield's hotel. So good in fact, they are already planning an expansion.  Meanwhile, Media's borough council likes to play the victim of circumstance when it come to any project (Third Street, Wawa, Hotel), but the fact of the matter is, other municipalities facing the same challenges are doing just fine and working through their issues.  

Mismanaged projects, lack of communication, dissension and zero leadership is what this town suffers from.  Don't believe me, here's a comment from a business owner in June's Media Business Authority illustrating the well known dysfunction.

Is this how you want your town run?