Return To Winter

After flirting with March-like temperatures, we're going to return to winter around the Delaware Valley, with colder temperatures lurking down the line.

  Reality in January isn't temperatures in the 50s or even 60s. "Normal" is highs in the 30s to around 40, which is the air that's more likely in our cards over the coming days. A cold front slides on through during the course of Monday and begins the downward descent in temperatures, with our temperatures dropping from the upper half of the 50s on Monday morning to lower 30s around the region by Tuesday morning. Along with the frontal passage, a wave of energy will push northeast along the front and spread light rain and, perhaps, some light snow along with it. Given the push of the front southeast through the region, the shield of light rain and snow may miss the northwest 'burbs of Philadelphia but be better confined to South Jersey and…

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The Brunette Lucy

Is Your Home a Holiday Inn for Mice?

The Brunette Lucy discovers that regardless of what fairytale classics like Cinderella would have you believe, mice and humans can not co-exist.

Even though I enjoy summer, I’m a cold weather fan. By September, I’ve had about enough of high heat and humidity. When fall comes around, I usher it in with unmitigated glee. Of course, like everything in life, nothing is perfect. As I prepare my house for the winter months, little field mice are packing their bags as well, in search of their winter home. My house, apparently, has a neon “Holiday Inn” sign with a perpetual flashing vacancy sign, beckoning mice from all over the town. I know this is going to sound weird, but I’m torn about having them in my house. They carry diseases, get into our food, and leave disgusting mice poop in their wake. But like most moms, I read the children countless stories about adorable miniature mice …

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Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Opens Nov. 1

LIHEAP helps people pay their heating bill.

Pennsylvanians who may have trouble paying their home-heating bill this winter can apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) beginning Nov. 1. The federally-funded LIHEAP program offers both cash and crisis grants to those who meet income guidelines. Cash grants help to pay for heating bills and are sent directly to the recipient’s utility company to offset their bill. Crisis grants help households if there is an emergency and they are in danger of being without heat. Crisis grants may be used to purchase additional fuel or fix broken heating equipment. “Especially in difficult economic times, winter conditions can force some people to face the tough choice of putting food on their table or keeping their home warm,” …

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