Leroy Hibbs, a tax preparer in rural central PA, was frustrated by how slow his dial-up Internet was. So he got 150 of his neighbors to commit to pay for broadband Internet once it arrives in their area.
Less than 1 percent of Pennsylvania businesses create nearly every new job in the state. Identifying these businesses and encouraging their growth would be a new approach to economic development.
In 2006 Erie Technical Systems moved into a light-manufacturing incubator owned by the Economic Development Corporation of Erie County. With help from a state loan, the company will triple its space by moving to a new facility.
York County manufacturing firm Doucette Industries now owns its building, instead of leasing it.
Debra Farrington's Pet Sitting Etc., based in Hershey, has received this year's Business of the Year Award from the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters. It was a pleasant surprise for Farrington, who started the business in 2007.
Pennsylvania's social media and environmental victories last week were super in their own right.
Robotics company Re2 is expanding its Lawrenceville operation and has doubled in size since 2009; Pipitone Group on the North Side has added six marketing professionals bringing its staff to 30-plus.
Forty-eight pitches were whittled down to three, and a startup known as Git Hacking earned top honors.
Somerset County will be home to a new $350 million, 170-megawatt wind energy farm, the largest project in Pennsylvania to date developed by New York City-based EverPower.
Sustainable farming has all but gone mainstream in PA as State College plays host to the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture's annual Farming for the Future Conference this week.