Pennsbury School District is planning around a $12 million deficit for 2027-28, and Superintendent Thomas Smith has told the board that staff reductions are coming. The district’s $269.5 million high school project stays on schedule, so the savings have to come from somewhere else.

Seven days in Bucks

Skill games go dark as Harrisburg misses its deadline
Machines in bars, delis and clubs across Lower Bucks were supposed to be unplugged after lawmakers blew through an Oct. 14 deadline to settle how the games are taxed and regulated. Small operators who built a few hundred dollars a week into their books are the ones feeling it first.

United Way HELP Center funding hits $5.4 million
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick announced another $1.25 million for the Bucks County United Way HELP Center in Levittown, bringing the public total to $5.4 million. The center is the county’s single front door for rent, utility and food assistance, and the money decides how many families it can process this winter.

Bristol Township studies a new Haines Road bridge
Township officials are looking at building a new span over the Amtrak line at Haines Road, a shift that could mean the Randall Avenue bridge never gets replaced. Anyone who crosses the tracks on a daily commute should watch this one closely.

A Bristol Township middle school cut absences by 1,100 days
Benjamin Franklin Middle School credits fast phone calls, home visits and less paperwork for the drop. Districts across Bucks are chasing the same problem, and this is a working example of what moved the number.

LaScala’s Fire opens at The Village at Newtown
The South Eagle Road restaurant is open and taking reservations online. It fills one of the larger vacancies in a shopping center that has turned over steadily over the past two years.

Where to be, Saturday through Friday

• Sat., Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to noon: Tree planting at Peace Valley Park, 264 Creek Road, New Britain Township. Volunteers work with county parks staff.
• Sat., Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Olde Langhorne Harvest Day on Maple Avenue in Langhorne Borough, with the street closed to traffic.
• Sun., Oct. 25, 8 to 11 a.m.: High Rocks habitat restoration at the High Rocks Vista parking area, Pipersville. It repeats Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 9 a.m. to noon.
• Sun., Oct. 25, noon to 4 p.m.: Stover-Myers Milling Days at the Stover-Myers Mill on Dark Hollow Road, Pipersville.
• Sun., Oct. 25, 1 to 4 p.m.: Tricks and Treats at Pennsbury Manor, 400 Pennsbury Memorial Road, Morrisville. Free, but registration is required.
• Sun., Oct. 25: The High Heel Drag Race runs down Mechanic Street in New Hope. Racer registration is closed and the organizers have not posted a start time, so check before you go.
• Mon., Oct. 26, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: MBIT Executive Council committee of the whole, 2740 York Road, Jamison. Open to the public.
• Wed., Oct. 28, 10 a.m. to noon: Liberty Coke hiring event at PA CareerLink, 4800 E. Street Road, Trevose.
• Through Fri., Oct. 30: FallFest at Shady Brook Farm, 931 Stony Hill Road, Yardley. The last week of the run.

One good Saturday, then an inch of rain

Tonight stays partly cloudy with a low near 55. Saturday is the weekend, weather-wise: partly sunny, a high near 73, northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Showers arrive after 2 a.m. Saturday night with a 30 percent chance and a low around 59.

Sunday is the washout. The National Weather Service calls for showers mainly after 8 a.m., a 90 percent chance of rain, a high near 71 and a quarter to a half inch of new rainfall. Sunday night brings more, with a possible thunderstorm before 2 a.m., an 80 percent chance and three quarters of an inch to an inch on top of the daytime total.

The rest of the week stays unsettled and cooler. Monday reaches 68 with a 40 percent chance of showers, Tuesday and Wednesday top out near 62, and Thursday climbs back to 65. The weather service has no watches, warnings or advisories posted for Bucks County. More at our weather page.

Votes taken, and a meeting worth attending

Pennsbury renews its superintendent’s contract and trims his pay. At the Oct. 15 board meeting, Pennsbury approved a five-year contract for Superintendent Thomas Smith with a base salary of $226,229.67. Smith gave up his 1.5 percent annual increases, agreed to a $10,000 reduction in the district’s yearly retirement contribution and cut his monthly expense account from $600 to $250. The board also approved paying parents up to $300 a month to drive children to out-of-district special education programs, and put a plan to hire an outside demographer on hold. (Bucks County Herald, Oct. 21)

Bristol Borough unveils a single firehouse for four companies. Council presented the plan at a special meeting Wednesday night. A centralized station on Jefferson Avenue would consolidate Bristol Consolidated, America Hose Hook and Ladder, Goodwill Hose and Bristol, with four pull-through bays, a decontamination room, bunks and a community room facing the canal. The borough has about $3.7 million in state and federal funding in hand and estimates the consolidation cuts the apparatus fleet in half, for roughly $6 million in avoided costs. The Adams Hollow Community Garden stays, and all three basketball courts get resurfaced. No vote was reported. (LevittownNow, Oct. 22)

Bristol Township weighs doubling its earned income tax. Council discussed raising the EIT from 0.5 percent to 1 percent at its Oct. 15 meeting. The township collects about $9 million a year at the current rate. Its consultant projected that the increase would turn a $3.1 million deficit in 2027 into a roughly $2.5 million surplus, and would pull back $4 million to $4.3 million that township residents currently pay to other municipalities. No vote was taken. A preliminary budget is coming, and officials said a property tax reduction is also under discussion. (LevittownNow, Oct. 21)

Northampton Township switches yard waste haulers. Supervisors awarded a five-year contract to Britton Industries of Morrisville at $46 per ton, running Jan. 1, 2027 through Dec. 31, 2031. The township currently pays about $48 per ton to Waste Management, whose agreement expires at the end of this year. The board also approved a one-year extension with Whitetail Disposal for trash collection. (Bucks County Herald, Oct. 19)

On the calendar: the MBIT Executive Council meets as a committee of the whole Monday, Oct. 26, at 5:30 p.m. at 2740 York Road in Jamison. It is the only Bucks County school board meeting posted for the Oct. 24 to Oct. 30 window. (Central Bucks School District board calendar)

Know about a vote, an opening or an event we missed? Reply to this email and tell us. Tips from readers put more than a few of this week’s stories on our desk.