Number 1... A group of U.S. House Republicans has voted to deny funding to the LGBT Center of Greater Reading. The House Appropriations Committee voted Tuesday to deny Community Project funding applications for two Pennsylvania lawmakers, including Democrat Chrissy Houlahan of Berks County. Her application was for 970-thousand dollars for the center and would have expanded transitional housing to clients, including to members of the LGBTQ community.
Number 2...Berks Native and former Olympic athlete Allison Baver has been found guilty of fraud in Utah where she now lives. A judge last week ruled that Baver gave false information to banks in order to get 10-million dollars in small business loans as part of pandemic relief funding. Baver was convicted last week on various money laundering charges for applying for eight loans for her media company. Her sentencing is scheduled for October.
Number 3... A company called Valley Forge productions will be bringing movies back to the Marketplace at Oaks. Managers say the theater, which closed earlier this year due to bankruptcy, will reopen later this summer as an independent theater and entertainment center, now called Oaks Center Cinema.