Verizon Internet, TV and phone down in portions of Chester County

Verizon FIOS is suffering a major outage near West Chester — definitely in the Pocopson area — affecting hundreds, if not more, homes and businesses, leaving them without Internet, TV service and in many cases landline phone service. The appears to be some major fiber optical cable break — but company officials declined to comment both on the nature of the outage and when service...

AT&T, YMCA team up to bring WiFi Internet to Avon Grove students

WEST GROVE — With schools closed in Pennsylvania due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some students in the Jennersville area without internet access have had to get resourceful when it comes to completing assignments. Volunteers from the Jennersville YMCA, along with other local Chester County organizations, will be delivering mobile hotspots – courtesy of AT&T – to these students on Tuesday,...

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is

By Dr. Stephanie McGann, DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times Buyer Beware, I heard my parents tell me that decades ago when I earned my first paycheck working as a part time lifeguard.  It was the mid 1970’s and I wanted a stereo. Yes I just dated myself. I listened to music before the ipod,earbuds and pandora.  I knew the sound of a needle skipping on a record and the horror of a cassette tape...

An, um, interesting year comes to a close

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times To say that 2017 has been an interesting year is something of an understatement. From that standpoint, it has been one of the most amazing years to be in journalism — a dynamic year with no shortage of compelling stories and subject matter. It has also been one of the most challenging — probably the most challenging year in the 34 years I have been in the business.

Shopping in an age of instant gratification

By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times The art of shopping has changed, changed, changed, my friends. Most say for the better, but I’m not convinced. It all seems too easy. There’s no “thrill of the hunt” anymore. Remember when we were kids and you waited, ever so patiently, for your mom to take you for Back to School clothes and how, if you went too late, the store would probably be...

Just the facts, please

By Stephanie McGann, Columnist, The Times It’s the Wild Wild West out there. No I don’t mean politics. Today’s Wild West is the internet, full of great information, supposition, opinion, marketing and malicious intent. As health care providers it’s our job to know when something is based on solid science or just someone’s opinion or anecdotal evidence. Worse yet, when information on the...

Do celebrities impact your fashion choices?

By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times I subscribe to a rather long list of online resources that I look forward to reading on a regular basis. I have talked about The Skimm (www.theskimm.com) in the past. If you are short on time and don’t want to rely on Twitter or Facebook for an update on current events (that is a joke, peeps), The Skimm actually imparts real facts. It is enjoyable that...

Authorities warn of IRS phone scams

Calls from overseas often ‘spoof’ local numbers in Caller ID By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times The phone rings and after a pause and maybe a few clicks, a voice comes on the line claiming to be calling you from the Internal Revenue Service — and that you’re in big trouble and need to pay up right now. Forget for a moment that the voice sounds a bit southern Asian, the sound quality...

Sometimes, the world really is flat

Why I like flat shoes and thoughts on bloggers, the Internet and…BBQ? By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times I had a really exciting opportunity this week! I was featured on a blog called La Petite Pear! Check it out here. Sam does a fun article each Wednesday called “Fashionistas In Flats” where a different woman is photographed in her favorite flat shoe. I had to describe why I...

Verizon reports phone/Internet outages

WEST CHESTER — Can you hear me now? If you’re a Verizon phone or Internet customer user Voice over IP, you might not even be able to hear a dial tone on your home phone — or only be able to intermittently. According to the Chester County Department of Emergency Services, Verizon is battling an equipment failure near Wayne that is sporadically disabling Verizon phone service throughout...