Pennsylvania
Employees become owners of iconic Bernie Robbins Jewelers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
NEWTOWN, Pa. (CBS) — An iconic local jeweler is under new management after the previous owners turned over the business Monday to several longtime employees for free.
“Harvey and Maddy, so generous,” said Stephen Berman of Harvey and Maddy Rovinsky, who handed over the keys to their 62-year-old business, Bernie Robbins Jewelers.
They didn’t hand them over to just anybody.
“It’s really exciting,” said Berman, who managed the Newtown location.
He joined an ownership group with four other longtime employees, including those from the Somers Point, New Jersey, location. Berman learned of his new role last November.
“Shocked, because I couldn’t even imagine,” Berman said. “You work, and you work, and you do it for the right reasons, and you just don’t see this coming.”
Berman said the new leaders are committed to keeping the tradition started by Maddy Rovinsky’s parents, who founded the business in 1962.
“We don’t want to change the menu. We want to be the same and just go forward,” Berman said.
Harvey Rovinsky said he trusts the new owners because they have each worked for the jeweler between 20 to 30 years.
“They’ve been running the company for all this time, anyway. Now, they’re going to own it,” he said. “So, it’s a pretty good thing.”
Harvey added that while he is turning over the reins, he will stay on as advisor.
“And these people are great people. They’re going to be able to be running this themselves, and I’m here to help them if and when they need me,” he said.
Berman and his new co-owners said the Rovinskys are like family, and he is ecstatic to have a new role in this family business.
“It’s just a wonderful opportunity,” Berman said. “I couldn’t be happier about it. I’m so fortunate.”
ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA/CNN NEWSOURCE/WKRC) — Residents of a western Pennsylvania neighborhood say they are battling a growing rat infestation that they believe originated from a condemned property where more than 100 pigs and other animals were recently removed.
Neighbors along Adams Drive in Rostraver Township say they have trapped and killed dozens of rats in recent weeks but continue to see large numbers of rodents around their homes.
Residents of a western Pennsylvania neighborhood say they are battling a growing rat infestation that they believe originated from a condemned property where more than 100 pigs and other animals were recently removed. (KDKA/CNN NEWSOURCE)
“The smell’s better, but the rats are worse,” resident Erin McCay told KDKA.
Earlier this month, authorities and animal rescue groups removed dogs, cats and more than 100 pigs from the property. Investigators described conditions at the site as deplorable.
According to Pittsburgh Squealers Rescue, 105 pigs were removed from the property, and several later died due to alleged neglect.
The property, which operated as an animal sanctuary, has since been condemned and listed for sale.
Township officials said they have contracted with a pest control company in an effort to eliminate the infestation. The one-year agreement is valued at approximately $12,000 and includes placing traps throughout the affected neighborhood.
Residents say the infestation has become a public safety concern, especially after dark.
“It’s definitely a public safety issue,” McCay said. “I want to feel safe being able to go in our yard and walk into the house.”
Township officials said they hope the rat population will begin to decline in the coming weeks.
Police said the investigation into conditions at the property remains active.
Pennsylvania
6abc Loves the Arts: Historical Society of Pennsylvania Presents “Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” through Sept. 18
PHLADELPHIA (WPVI) — The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is celebrating the semi-quincentennial with a new exhibition that shows off some very rare documents that date to the founding of our nation.
“Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” documents America’s origin story in two parts.
“The exhibition looks at the decade of controversies and conflicts leading up to the Declaration of Independence,” says David Brigham, Librarian & CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. “Why did we feel as American colonies that we needed to separate from Great Britain?”
And then the 11 years between the signing of the Declaration and the adoption of the Constitution.
“The colonies have a lot of work to do,” says Brigham.
There are 141 pieces on view.
“They include original letters, journals, newspapers, broadsides,” he says. “And an incredible oil painting of a tea protest event that happened in Annapolis, Maryland in October of 1774.”
The artwork depicts the burning of the tea ship, Peggy Stewart.
“It’s been in a private home for generations,” he says. “This painting has not been seen in public possibly for 170 years.”
Items are on display in seven cases.
“This case focuses on the Stamp Act, which is passed in the spring of 1765 by Parliament,” he says.
There’s a section on rising tensions in the 1770s, which includes the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Boston Tea Party.
You can see what’s known as the Dunlap Broadside.
“This is an original printing of the Declaration of Independence,” he says.
Just 200 were printed and only 26 survive.
Brigham says the one on display at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is unique.
“We think it was Jefferson’s proof copy,” he says. “He would mark his speeches out with quotation marks where he intended to emphasize a phrase.”
Another case includes a first draft of the Articles of Confederation, which Brigham says is “the first attempt by Congress to write a Constitution of the United States.”
There is also a first newspaper printing of the Constitution of the United States. It was someone’s personal copy, complete with notes in the margin of the newspaper.
Brigham says people of different social statuses and religions found their way to independence “for different reasons.”
“Sometimes the story’s flattened out into ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys.’ That’s way too simple,” he says. “There was a lot of complexity and even in that 20-year period a lot of attitudes changed.”
“Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” is on view through September 18 at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. This exhibition is free and open to the public during regular library hours, but visitors must check in at the front desk.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s library hours:
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Closed Saturday – Monday
Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP)
1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Pennsylvania
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