pennsylvania

Cigar Taxes Biggest Trend Since Smoking Bans

Filed under: Cigars

Let the madness begin! Following grumblings across the country, more municipalities are starting to jump on the sin tax bandwagon ... and they're targeting us. Maryland, for example, is looking to use tax increases on tobacco (as well as alcohol and payroll) to fund health insurance via the state.

In a bout of much-welcomed civil disobedience, Davidus Cigars in Frederick and Urbana, Maryland, offers a message to his customers on its website: "CAUTION, you are about to enter the government shakedown zone."

The Maryland bill would kick the tax on cigars from 15 percent of the manufacturer's price to 90 percent. Of course, these are not the percentages that consumers would see (as a result of retailer markups), but the impact would be noticeable. Meanwhile, the cigarette tax would increase by 37.5 percent to $2.75. The State of Maryland expects these measures to generate $28 million in tax revenue.

Retailers, of course, are bleak. Davidus owner David Castro believes that the 90 percent tax rate would put him out of business. Proponents of the new expense for cigar smokers are dreaming more optimistic, claiming that cigar industry folks are "Chicken Little crying wolf."

Across the border in Pennsylvania, Governor Ed Rendell's 2009 budget would add another 36 cents per ounce to the tax on loose tobacco and the same amount for every 10 cigars. The tax on cigarettes would move from $1.35 to $1.45.

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Tags: cigar, cigarette, cigarette smoking, cigarettes, CigaretteSmoking, cigars, ed rendell, EdRendell, maryland, pennsylvania, taxes, tobacco, tobacco tax, tobacco use, TobaccoTax, TobaccoUse

Doe Run, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Real estate commenter extraordinaire, Spectacular Bid, led me to the website for Doe Run, a horse farm in Unionville, Pennsylvania. This classic estate has 220 green acres which have been the home to many race horses. The property also includes the gorgeous gardens of Sir John and Lady Thouron. The gardens include alpine, river, shade, wild flower and formal gardens and the listing pictures showcase some of this floral beauty. The gardens are supported by two large greenhouses. There are also expansive equestrian with two separate main stables, turnout stables and a bank barn. Spectacular Bid points out that Lady Thouron, a member of the du Pont family, was a steeplechasing and racing enthusiast who won races with the horses based at Doe Run and that she was also the original donor behind the University of Penn's veterinary New Bolton Center, which is where racehorse Barbaro went after his accident in the Preakness Stakes. The property includes six other residences including an 18th century farm house, guest house and gardener's cottage.

The main house has a front-to-back center hall, formal dining room, living room, and both a small and a large panelled study. There are nine bedrooms including a master suite with 18-foot ceilings and his and her baths, dressing rooms, and sitting rooms, one of which has private stairs to the lower-level study. It's no surprise that Architectural Digest has done a feature on this home. The press release aptly calls Sir John and Lady Thouron's home "a testament to their legacy of horses, horticulture, and refined living." Doe Run is listed at $15 million.

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Gallery: Doe Run

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Gladwyne Pennsylvania, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's estate is another reader submission. Luxist reader Michael brought my attention to this huge home, 22,000 square feet of interior space in the posh town of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. This six-bedroom home is grandly extravagant. It has a sunken living room, formal dining room, large kitchen, billiards room, family room, gym, , a Jacuzzi set in its own gazebo, and an office with a private bath and sauna. There are both indoor and outdoor pools, a huge master suite with an elaborate bathroom, and an entire level given over to recreation with the indoor pool, in-home media room that seats 20, massage room, and additional live-in apartment. The listing says the home cost $22 million to build but it is listed through Maxwell Realty for $19.5 million.

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Gallery: Gladwyne, Pennsylvania

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The $1,500 Bottle of Bourbon

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

When you think of bourbon you naturally think of Kentucky, but in fact they were making sour mash whiskey in Pennsylvania long before Kentucky was even settled. Michter's in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, originally known as Bomberger's, was the oldest licensed distillery in America when it closed down for good in 1988. A prescient fellow named Adolph Hirsch bought up Michter's' cask aged reserves of its precious 16-year-old pot-stilled sour mash bourbon years ago and stored them in steel vats for preservation. Distilled in 1974 and labeled as A.H. Hirsch Reserve, what's left of the stock is now owned by importer Henry Preiss, who plans to sell it off in a final edition of 1,000 bottles. Each one will come numbered in a special mahogany humidor with a booklet on Michter's' history, two hand-blown glasses and a custom heavy metal tasting cork from France, and is expected to sell for $1,000 - $1,500 when it becomes available in the fall.

[via Men.Style]

Gallery: A.H. Hirsch Reserve

Tags: A.H. Hirsch Reserve, A.h.HirschReserve, Bourbon, Henry Preiss, HenryPreiss, Michters, pennsylvania, Whiskey

Malvern, Pennsylvania, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's grand estate is located in Malvern, a small town that was once the end of the Mail Line railroad in Pennsylvania. Today's home is located on a quiet country road and expands over 19 acres. The six-bedroom home has an original part that dates back to 1755 but had a major addition six years ago. There are 40 rooms total including a home theater, a large kitchen, hand-carved Parisian paneled living room and a billiards room in over 18,500 square feet. The grounds include a pool, tennis court, pond and there is a beautiful terrace that looks out over rolling green lawns. This home is listed at $10.5 million.

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Gallery: Malvern, PA

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Luxury Condo Projects Bloom In Downtown Pittsburgh

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Big construction is going on in downtown Pittsburgh. The downtown area which has long been in a state of slow decline is looking to be revitalized thanks to a couple of major projects especially the Piatt Place project. Piatt Place will be a redesign of the Lazarus department store building. Two upscale chain restaurants, McCormick and Schmick's and the Capital Grille will anchor the building and the rest of the building will be turned into offices and condos. The residential units are new construction, built on a new slab on top of the roof. The condos start $330,000 to $1.5 million each and in an article on KDKA it has been reported that 40% of the units are under contract.

But in a nationwide market that is not, for the most part, favoring condos, there may be trouble ahead. For example at another high-end project in Pittsburgh, 151 First Side, owners have closed on more than half of the 83 units but a handful are already up for resale. At the Carlyle, a project that has currently a 6,000-square-foot penthouse listed at $2.195 million, half of the 60 units are under contract but many of those buyers are investors and the second phase of the project is on hold. It seems that the problem in Pittsburgh isn't so much a condo glut of the type that has affected so many other cities, but instead is a question of changing people's perceptions of life downtown and whether or not people are willing to pay these types of prices when for the same amount of money they could get a fairly large home in the suburbs.

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Tags: condominiums, development, pennsylvania, pittsburgh

Pheasant Hill Farm, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Today's estate is a slice of American history. Pheasant Hill Farm is located in Carversville, Pennsylvania. The 47-acre property is actually two separate parcels. The main home is on 10 acres and the other 37 are given over to farmland and wooded areas. The main residence is a cluster of frame and stone buildings. It is one of the earliest settlements in the area wit h public record showing a dwelling as early as 1704. The stone home is a country house with four bedrooms and it takes Americana collections to its cluttered extreme. The house and other outbuildings are surrounded by gardens and lawns and there is a large party room on the second level of the stone barn. It is listed at $6 million which is a really high price for the area.

Gallery: Carverville

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Pennsylvania Compound, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Wow, this home on 90 acres is tucked into a small town located about an hour from Pittsburgh. It's really more of a compound than a home. The main house is over 10,000 square feet and has six bedrooms. It is dominated by a huge circular entry that includes a glass elevator which connects o a tower of rooms in the round including a home theater, wine tasting cellar and the showcase, a 360 degree rotating observation view study with a box beam ceiling and an outdoor deck. Other features include a huge three-story pool room with a cascading fountain and both a lap pool and a wading pool which are ringed by redwood balconies. The lodge has a stone fireplace so large it needs two animal heads mounted on it and its own indoor barbecue. This massive home is listed at $5 million.

Gallery: Pennsylvania Compound

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Michael Andretti's Home, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Today's estate listing has 70 pictures, but that's because there is a lot to check out. The 12,000-square-foot mansion is Michael Andretti's home in Bushkill Township, Pennsylvania. Andretti the son of racing legend Mario Andretti and the father of current Indy Racing League star Marco Andretti. He is also a former racer and is now the owner of Andretti Green Racing as well as other businesses. Andretti built the home in 1986. The ten acres include a six-hole golf course, six-car garage, pool, tennis court and a pond. The home is lavish and developed to the owner's specifications with hand-painted murals that reference the family's Italian heritage. There are six-bedrooms total as well as a gym, game room and wine cellar and massive two-story dome. The home is listed at $3.4 million.

[via Penn Live]

Gallery: Andretti House

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Pennsylvania Farmhouse, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

This country home in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania is both elegant and farmhouse casual. The home is a barn conversion with plenty of expansive high-ceilinged rooms as well as cozier spaces like the downstairs family area with stone walls. The home is on 2.4 acres that include a pool/spa and a separate stone farmhouse which functions as a pool house/guest house and has a fireplace and a full kitchen. The home also features a country cute mural in the dining room. Can't you just imagine stringing that big tree in the front with lights for the holidays? The home is over 7,400 square feet and is listed at $2.35 million.

Gallery: Pennsylvania Farmhouse

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Mount Airy Casino Resort Opens

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The reinvention of the Poconos as a gambling destination gets its official start with the opening of the Mount Airy Casino Resort, a $412 million destination resort which is the first stand alone casino to open in Pennsylvania. The casino offers 2,523 slot machines, video poker, blackjack with virtual dealers and roulette games. There are also four dining options including a steakhouse, a buffett, a diner and an italian restaurant. The hotel is set to open on November 15 and is hoping for a four-star rating. In December the resort will open a nightclub which will host live bands, DJs and comedy acts. The spa will also be open at that time. The resort is not completed yet, an additional 212 hotel rooms, pool, and a casino with up to 3,000 total slot machines are all scheduled for completion by the end of 2008.

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Tags: mount airy casino resort, MountAiryCasinoResort, pennsylvania, poconos

Babcock Mansion, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Pittsburgh recently made the Forbes list of most affordable cities. The probably weren't thinking about the high end of the market but there are deals there too. Check out the Babcock Mansion, a vintage beauty in the Shadyside area that dates back from the 1880s. The elegantly columned home was designed by Pittsburgh Architect George Orth for the founders of the Babcock Lumber company. The home has entertained presidents, Madam Curie, Mary Pickford and a host of others. The home has five bedrooms and all sorts of period details including stained glass, ten exquisite fireplaces, hardwood floors, chandeliers and ornate ceilings. It's gorgeous although as we often see with older homes, it might not work for those with more modern wishes like a home theater and a massive bathroom. It is listed at just $1.85 million. After the jump, walls that whisper history.

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Ardrossan For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The classic 1940 movie "The Philadelphia Story" offers a unique window into the lives of society folk in the Main Line area of Pennsylvania. Now the AP reports that the estate that inspired the movie, Ardrossan is for sale. The 360 acres includes the 50-room Georgian mansion. The home, named after the Montgomery ancestral home in Ayrshire, Scotland, was the home of Hope Montgomery Scott, the basis for Katherine Hepburn's character in "The Philadelphia Story." The estate is also home to a working farm. No price has been given for the land yet and conservationists are hoping that potential developers can find a solution that allows for plenty of open space. Hopefully the grand old mansion will be saved as well.

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1706 Rittenhouse Square

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

A few weeks ago I mentioned the rise in luxury condominiums in Philadelphia. One of the most lavish is 1706 Rittenhouse Square. This new 32-story glass tower has 29 full floor units, wide open apartments with floor to ceiling windows, 10 ft. ceilings and two terraces for each unit. Each unit has over 4100 square feet of customizable space. Amenities include a fitness center with sauna, massage rooms, endless pool, private boardroom and garden. The unit price also includes an onsite parking space in the fully automated underground garage that will store cars underground on a rock system, and retrieve cars by swiping a card reader in the passenger elevator. Unit prices vary based on floor level with unit #2901 listed at $6,849,085 while unit #4 is listed at $4,180,850.

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Toad Hall, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Toad Hall is a beautiful old Georgian style home built in 1929 in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. It sits on 11 acres and has a gated entrance and a formal entrance court. The grand home's details include vaulted ceilings, classical friezes and cornices, elaborate iron work, and period millwork. The home was designed by Philadelphia architect Arthur Paul and has eight bedrooms and a glass conservatory. The grounds include a five car garage and a swimming pool. It is listed at $6.75 million. After the jump, a sweet little old lady of a house.

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