We recently received this from our friends at the Little Chicago offices.

Little Chicago The Movie is centered around the Bradford, PA and Olean, NY area. The plot is based on characters from the area during prohibition.

While the movie is still in production, the movie’s production office is located at 75 Foreman Street and is open to the public. Official movie products are available there and from the movie’s website.

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“As I look around me,
a bright sky I see,
and a shadow beside me.
Six more weeks of winter it will be!”

Even as Punxsutawney Phil predicted that we’ll see six more weeks of winter, it was hard to believe that anything cast a shadow today.

This week’s weather is predicted to be overcast and cloudy with temperatures hovering slightly above freezing.

Speaking of the winter blues, are you looking for something to do on Superbowl Sunday? Consider coming to the 5th Annual Big Game Party & Wing Contest, 6pm Sunday at the Open Arms Community Church, 1289 East Main Street in Bradford. Bring your best wing sauce and enter the contest, or just bring a dish or drink to share. Everyone is invited!

I’m happy to introduce Bradford-Online.com’s newest feature, Local News Headlines.

Initially we’ll be using syndicated feeds for the local radio station, WESB, and local newspaper, the Bradford Era.

The news department for WESB/WBRR, headed by news director Anne Holliday, updates their news articles throughout the day with items of interest to the local area. Hence their motto, “You hear it here first”. The only way to get local news quicker is to tune into the the radio station.

The Bradford Era is the city’s only daily newspaper. Generally updated each morning, their articles tend to be more in-depth. Their “‘Round The Square” feature has been a printed-edition favorite for decades. The on-line edition also features the work of Francie Long, probably Bradford’s best known photographer.

You’ll also find local sports information from both feeds.

Now you can make Bradford-Online.com your first stop for local news. We’ll be adding more syndicated feeds as we discover sources worth adding. If you have a suggestion, please contact us.

Of course our discussion forum, TalkAboutBradford.com, is also a great source of news, although not guaranteed as reliable as the previously mentioned news outlets. Think of it more as a stop to the local general store to discuss the local “news”.

Bradford Regional Strategy

is the process of hammering out a development plan for Bradford and the surrounding area. In addition to the 100 local residents involved on committees, the consultants invite public input via their web site.

So far, topics for discussion include Bradford’s strengths and weaknesses. Read the information directly from the researchers and consultants. You can read the minutes of each interview session as they talked to local students, township commissioners, realtors, and others. Voice your opinion. Give your two cents about the direction Bradford should take, or how to get where we need to go.

The web site has an in-depth analysis of economic data for McKean County and the 8 counties immediately surrounding it. The study compares local and regional data with national and state averages. It identifies what we have, what we’re short on, and what we’re totally missing to grow now and in the future.

The analysis itself is interesting, and breaks the economic picture into several views. Almost 50% of the region’s economic output is from manufacturing. In McKean County, Forest, wood, and wood related products provide 1,174 jobs. Healthcare and healthcare related industries provide 1,866 jobs in the county.

You can also read some ideas on the subject here.

From their “About Us” page:

The Master Planning Process:

1 - All three municipalities - The City of Bradford, Bradford Township and Foster Township - have agreed to participate in and support this effort.

2 - There are four main committees made up of nearly 100 involved residents:

- Steering Committee

- Downtown Strategy and Regional Business Subcommittee

- Zoning Subcommittee

- Economic Development Subcommittee

3 - There are plans to hold at least two Town Meetings during the process that will be open to the public. Ideas will be presented and input will be solicited from community members.

4 - The planning team will be meeting with government officials not specifically sitting on plan committees during the process to keep them informed.

5 - The planning team make-up:

MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni Architects - Albert Filoni, Kenneth Lee, Amy Maceyko

Impact Economics - Simon Tripp

Zoning/Planning - Roberta Sarraf, AICP

6 - Meeting minutes, reports and other documents will be posted to this website throughout the process for public consumption and comment over the course of the next year.

McKean County is part of the Allegheny GeoTrail.

What Is a Geocaching Trail?

A geocaching trail is simply a series of geocaches tied together by a common theme. There is not necessarily an itinerary, as we would think of a traditional trail, but rather a series of points of interest in a sort of self-guided goal-oriented plan. The Allegheny GeoTrail is perhaps the largest of its kind, encompassing ten counties throughout northwestern and north-central Pennsylvania. Within each county are between 10 and 20 designated geocaches which make up the “trail”. The quest to find these caches will take participants throughout the rugged and scenic land of the Allegheny National Forest and its surrounding gateway counties.

Visit the Allegheny GeoTrail site for more details.