At the other end of the scale were three condo units at 420 N. Everhart Street which sold for an average of $85,000. Three condo units in Ramsgate Townhomes at 620 S. Franklin Street sold for an average of $134,000 and seven units at 605 W. Market Street sold for an average of $135,000. Other "affordable" blocks, at least by West Chester's standards, were the 300-block of W. Chestnut Street (two properties averaged $145,000), the 100-block of E. Miner Street (four properties averaged $175,000), the 700-block of S. Adams Street (five properties averaged $176,000), the 200-block of S. Matlack Street (three properties averaged $176,000) and the 300-block of E. Miner Street (two properties averaged $180,000). Other blocks where multiple transactions averaged out to less than $200,000 included the 400- block of W. Gay Street and the 200-block of W. Lafayette Street. Everything else in the Borough cost at least than $200,000.

Unfortunately real estate transactions do not reveal anything about properties that did not sell, nor does it show how long each was on the market before selling.

Back on February 20, 2002, Borough Council adopted a resolution "supporting and joining the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives Cities for Climate Protection Campaign." For the next four years, climate protection remained a vague priority in the Borough until September 2006, when Council began to discuss forming a committee to address the issue directly. By December 2006, Council was able to interview applicants, and in early 2007, the seven-member committee started to hold regular meetings. Currently, their meetings take place at Borough Hall at 1pm on the first Friday of each month. The next meeting will be on February 1.

This was WCJIM's first BLUER meeting, so he can't claim complete understanding (yet), but according to comments made at Friday's meeting, the committee is focused on step one, but interested in ideas for step two. They have already supplied recommendations on "green building" design that were incorporated into the new height overlay standards and conditions (adopted by Borough Council last December). They also suggested that Council allow a consultant to analyze the Borough's electricity use with an eye towards reducing the bills. The consultant was present, but BLUER members had not yet received their copies of his report in January and a scheduling conflict will keep him from making his presentation in February. So BLUER will not be able to make a recommendation to Council before March at the earliest.

WCJIM has noticed that members of BLUER have become regular attendees at Borough Council meetings, and based on the activity at last Friday's meeting, the group appears to be taking their responsibilities seriously. That's why Council selected them in the first place. It was also a good sign that both high school and university students are becoming involved. Although still in the early stages of organizing their activities, the BLUER committee looks ready to bring about change,

If you are interested: BLUER meets at 1pm on the first Friday of every month at Borough Hall, 401 E. Gay Street. They are also building a web site, and WCJIM will post the link as soon as it becomes available.

After making remarks about the meaning of the oath of office, Mayor Yoder swore in Susan Bayne (Dem, Ward 4) for a second term, and then administered the oath to new council members Cassandra Jones (Dem, Ward 2) and Jim Jones (Dem, Ward 6, no relation to Cassandra).

One of the stranger items is bail, the money you pay (or don't pay) to get out of jail for free. At least that's what is seems like when the rich are accused, or when hardliners want to criticize judges that they find too "liberal." Since the difference between "ten percent of $2000" and "two million dollars unsecured" is not very clear, WCJIM decided to look up the word "Bail" and see what it really means.

The 1997 edition of Gilbert Law Summaries' Pocket Size Law Dictionary defines "Bail" as "To give a security (often money) to procure the release of a person being held for an offense, and to insure that person's future appearance in court." That's probably plain enough, but to restate the concept, you leave something behind that is important enough to make sure that you come back for it. That's similar to leaving your driver's license with the operator when you rent an air mattress at the beach.

In Pennsylvania, district judges have the responsibility for setting bail in criminal cases at the first hearing, called the preliminary arraignment, where the defendant hears the charges and enters a plea. The Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure instruct judges to consider the nature of the offense, the likelihood of conviction, employment status, financial condition, family relationships, ties to the community, criminal record, whether they have complied or "jumped bail" in the past, if they have tried to escape in the past, whether they have ever used a false ID, and whether they are addicted to drugs or alcohol. To determine all of this, judges ask questions of the defendants, their family members, the arresting officers, members of the community, and anyone else who appears at the hearing and has relevant information. District judges may also consider information from the Chester County Bail Agency, which supervises cases involving bail, and which can provide recommendations based on a defendant's criminal history and personal background.

Here is an example from this past week's headlines. O. J. Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas, along with five other people, for what prosecutors say was an armed robbery that included coonspiracy. Simpson lives in Florida, which is a long way from Las Vegas, and he probably has enough money to live outside of the country for the rest of his life. The penalty for armed robbery, if convicted, is a big one, so Simpson has a reason not to show up for his trial. The judge probably also considered how difficult it would be for Simpson to flee -- he's too easily recognizable to take a commercial airplane or drive across the border -- and the fact that no one was injured or killed during the incident (although prosecutors allege that a gun was used). After weighing those factors, and possibly others, the judge set bail at $125,000 and added a condition that Simpson not talk to any of his codefendants before the trial.

Once a bail amount has been set, the judge also has to chose the type of bail. Bail can involve money and/or conditions such as a requirement for alcohol counseling (in a drunk driving case, for example), to stay away from an alleged victim (when the charge is abuse), to stay out of a place where a crime was commited (retail theft, perhaps), and to avoid contact with other defendants (in conspiracy cases like Simpson's). If it includes money, the Rules of Criminal Procedure require that the amount "shall not be greater than is necessary to reasonably ensure the defendant s appearance and compliance with the conditions of the bail bond" (Rule 524), the judge must consider all of the criteria listed in the previous paragraph plus "the financial ability of the defendant" (Rule 528), and the amount must be "reasonable."

Judges have further flexibility in deciding if and when the defendant must put up money for bail. If the defendant seems completely dependable, s/he can be "released on his own recognizance" -- in other words, on a signed promise that requires no money. If there is some risk, the defendant can be required to pay a percentage of the bail at the time of the arraignment, but be held responsible for the entire amount if s/he fails to appear. If the risk is greater, the defendant can be required to pay the entire bail amount in order to stay out of jail until the trial date. Finally, if there is a high probability that the defendant will run away, hurt someone, or commit new crimes while waiting for trial, the judge can refuse to grant bail and send the defendant to jail until the trial date.

Although it is not spelled out in either constitution or the , a good judge also considers the effect on taxpayers. If bail is so high that the defendant can't pay, the taxpayers have to cover the costs of keeping him or her in jail. And if imprisonment gets the defendant fired for missing work, taxpayers may wind up with additional costs if he or his family become destitute.

Ultimately, setting bail is quite different from setting fines or prison terms. Bail is intended to make sure that someone who is "presumed innocent until proven guilty" shows up for a trial, while fines and prison terms are intended to make the guilty change their ways and to make the potentially guilty think before they act. There are plenty of ways for judges to be "tough on crime" but setting high bail isn't one of them.

The quality of the presentations was very good, although there were some amusing mispronunciations and other minor errors of type that one makes when speaking nervously in front of an audience. The presenters each offered a justification for their proposed use of the property, and discussed traffic management, public safety, parking, trash, and the environmental and economic impacts of their proposal. Some also presented demographic information about the community, and examined other issues such as sewer resources, how neighboring property is used, how the developer will obtain community support for their project, and what effect their proposal would have on other parts of town and the region.

The student proposals were limited to two types of use -- shopping and recreation -- possibly reflecting the preoccupations of people in the eighth grade. (For the record, other possible uses include housing, offices and industries). They showed a great deal of concern about the environmental impact of whatever gets built there, perhaps because it is also one of their teacher's interests, but also because they're going to have to live longer with the consequences than people from my generation. One of the best suggestions was to call the project West Chester Works to signify not only the jobs it will produce, but also the larger idea about how our Borough functions.

Thinking back to when he was in eighth grade, WCJIM realized how poised and professional these students were. Several sounded as good as some of the people who interviewed for Borough boards and commissions last fall, and some made statements that were equal to those made by real developers (or their consultants). There were errors, but most had to do with additional complexities of the process, such as the requirements imposed by state law, or the physics of particular building materials. In general, they all approached their projects in a rational and methodical way, and it was clear that they'd done plenty of "homework" to prepare.