Bucks County

In lower Bucks County's redrawn Sixth Senate District, three-term incumbent Sen. H. Craig Lewis is facing a vigorous primary challenge in the May 20 election from state Rep. John F. Cordisco for the Democratic nomination. Jim O'Brien is unopposed for the Republican nomination. The Democratic campaign has been more than simply lively; it has become intensely personal, dripping with charges and countercharges over residence, district loyalty, character and integrity. After sorting through those charges - and because of his distinquished record of representation in the Senate - The Inquirer heartily recommends the nomination of Sen. Lewis.

W. Atlee Burpee Co., the world's largest mail-order seed company, has been sold to a group of private investors for an undisclosed price. Harvey Snyder, a Burpee spokesman, said Clayton & Dublier, a New York investment group, agreed Friday to sell the firm to B.T. and Wicks Capital, two New York investor groups, and to Burpee's current management. Clayton & Dublier purchased Burpee, whose headquarters are in Warminster, Bucks County, from ITT Corp. in December. ITT Corp. owned Burpee from 1979 to 1986.

The 2013 annual nationwide count of homeless people, taken on the night of Jan. 30 and 31, found fewer individuals in Chester County and more in Bucks County than were tallied in January 2012. Comparable figures for the nation, as well as for Philadelphia and for Delaware and Montgomery Counties, are not yet available, officials there said this week. The 625 people counted in Chester County this year compared with 666 found there in 2012. But the 476 recorded in Bucks County on the same January night this year were more than the 422 in the 2012 survey, due to a change in how information is gathered.

A bright red, out-of-control Dodge Viper sports car shot across Woodhaven Road from the left lane to the right at 6 p.m. last night, police said, smashing into the concrete side rail of a bridge and flipping several times. When the car came to rest, its driver had a broken wrist, its 450-horsepower engine was lying a few feet away on the pavement, and a 26-year-old passenger from Richboro, Bucks County, was dead. Police identified the driver as Raymond Scalzo, of Bensalem.

The owner of a Bucks County teenage dance club where about 250 teens got into a brawl last Saturday night said he has been ordered to close the club. Tony Amato, 34, said he was told to shut down Club Fusion at the Levittown Shopping Center in Tullytown by center management. He is not sure, he said, if it will be closed permanently. Joseph Felix, who manages the shopping center, would not comment yesterday. Thirty-nine police officers from 11 departments went to the club shortly before 11 p.m. last Saturday after a fight between five girls turned into an all-out brawl.

Bucks County's growing population may bring boom times to the bowling business there. John Rooney, secretary of the Lower Bucks County Bowling Association, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, said membership now stands at 6,215, but could rise to 6,500 before the year is out. "More people means more membership," Rooney said. "We had 141 leagues last year, and we expect to have 150 this season. " He also said that Philadelphians who bowled at lanes that no longer exist and find themselves without a place to turn to might consider bowling in the Bucks leagues.

The 1860s white-clapboard farmhouse, set on 10 verdant acres with a pond, swans, fresh air, and the quiet tranquillity of countryside, does more to relax a harried executive than any massage. For Cosmopolitan editor in chief Kate White, her Kintnersville weekend home is an oasis - a break from Manhattan, Manolo Blahniks, air kisses and airbrushing - that she stumbled on 14 years ago while visiting a friend in Frenchtown, N.J. "It was a serendipitous discovery," White said.

President Clinton's scandals are keeping more than just Kenneth Starr busy. Take Jeff Munchak of Bucks County. Munchak is the creator of Gummi Bills, chewy 1-inch replicas of the commander-in-chief's head that are becoming more common than subpoenas from the special prosecutor. Munchak, who first marketed the sticky candy last summer, said sales picked up dramatically in January after allegations surfaced that the preident had an affair with a White House intern. "It was pretty tough until this whole Monica Lewinsky story broke," said Munchak.

Mention Abbie Hoffman's name in the Apple Jack Bar and Hotel in Point Pleasant and beer pitchers halt at half-pour. Some eyes squint hard, others open warm. Twenty years ago, Hoffman helped divide a nation. But it was only six years ago that his brand of Peck's bad boy radicalism raised hostilities and parted friends along the quiet banks of the Delaware River. Hoffman is dead. What he did in Bucks County is not. "You talking about that idiot ass Abbie Gabby?" asked Rocco, clad in blue jeans and denim jacket, his ponytailed hair tucked underneath a yellow construction hat. "Well, you don't want to talk to me. I'm a Vietnam vet. If Hoffman had heart and honor, I sure didn't see it. I just didn't love the cat. " Dale Stauffer, owner of Apple Jack, glared at Rocco from under his straw hat. "If you're of one viewpoint that's fine, but you gotta listen to the other side," said Stauffer, a big man whose beard and bright eyes make him seem younger than his 53 years.

As television meteorologists tracked Hurricane Floyd with meticulous precision last week, Henry Liese grew just a bit nostalgic. It reminded him of a strange project his company embarked on 40 years ago at a small factory in Newtown. It was only after the work was completed that they realized what they had built: the world's first weather satellite. "Nobody knew what the hell it was," said Liese, 86. "All we heard was that it was going to fly. We said, 'How is this thing going to fly?