Q.      My brother and sister-in-law own a home in the Lower Bucks County area.  Their home was one of the many homes that sustained severe damage in the recent Hurricane Sandy. They have been telling my husband and me about the numerous problems that they are facing since that time.  They also mentioned that they have hired a Public Adjuster.  Where would someone go to get information about public insurance adjusters?     MFB, Plumsteadville A.       Public insurance adjusters are independent individuals who, for a fee, legally represent a person who has experienced a property, fire or …

A Buckingham woman with ties to Staten Island has been delivering much-needed goods donated by Bucks County families to the New York borough devastated by Hurricane Sandy. But as a bleak holiday season looms over her New York hometown, Marivel Passacantando feels driven to do even more. She is collecting gift cards to national chain stores to be distributed to her former parish in Staten Island. St. Charles Roman Catholic Church has been a hub for relief efforts in the wake of the deadly storm. "I have already contacted the principal of St. Charles and she is so appreciative of the donations…

When Laci Olivia contacted the American Red Cross to help with Hurricane Sandy relief, she found out students in New Jersey need basic school supplies. After speaking with a volunteer working at the Red Cross Shelter in Tuckerton, N.J., she learned something surprising. "The students there are without the necessary supplies for school, including backpacks, notebooks, pencils…" said Olivia, a student at Delaware Valley College. "These are all things that we take for granted, but to a child they represent normalcy, especially if you will be attending a new school due to your family’s home …

A week after Hurricane Sandy struck, about 14,000 Bucks County electric customers still were without power. As of Monday at 5:20 p.m., 2,228, Met Ed customers in northeast Bucks and 820 PPL customers in northwest Bucks were out of power. In Central and Lower Bucks, about 11,000 PECO customers still were without power as of Monday. In PECO's territory, service for most remaining customers is expected to be restored by midnight Monday. However, the company noted that some "customers in the most damaged and isolated areas may be without electric service until next week." Met Ed made progress in …

  Marivel Sumaya Passacantando's family and friends in her hometown of Staten Island were among those pounded by Hurricane Sandy last week. Now, the Buckingham woman is collecting much-needed supplies to take to those who have lost so much. "My husband’s aunt’s house is devastated," Passacantando told Doylestown Patch on Monday. "My two sisters were not in the evacuation area, but they do have relatives whose homes were flooded. Everything’s lost. Other close friends, everything’s gone." Passacantando and her husband Peter, who live in the Buckingham Square neighborhood, were raised in Staten…

Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people on the East Coast, including here in Bucks County. Power companies PECO, PPL and Met Ed have been trying to restore power to their customers in Bucks for a week, and the Monday morning quarterbacking has begun. Tell us what you think of the job the companies have done so far. Vote in the poll and then share your thoughts in the comments.

Latest message from Doylestown Borough regarding the power outage: "As a long and difficult week comes to a close, less than 200 of our neighbors remain without power. PECO crews are out in force today to address these remaining areas. A large PECO crew has restored power to East Ashland Street in the vicinity of Church Street and is removing a large tree from power lines on Church Street at Burpee Park. Another large crew is at work on South West Street near Magill Lane. Still another is nearby on Worthington Street. Smaller crews are at work on Green Street, Clemens Road and at scattered …

On Saturday, local utility companies restored power to more than 50,000 customers, but they still have more than 40,000 to go. In a press release Saturday night, PECO reported that 30,000 customers remained without power in Bucks County. PPL had 5,621 and Met-Ed stated it had 4,874 customers still in the dark. Are you one of the last 40,000? How have you been coping? In Bucks County, Bristol, Lower Makefield, Upper Makefield, Solebury townships and New Hope were the hardest hit. PECO expects most of the remaining customers to have service restored by Sunday midnight.  “I want to thank our …

Doylestown Township is offering water to any township resident still without power. Township workers have hooked up a hose at the township building for residents to come and get water. Residents are asked to bring their own container to fill. Many people who live in Doylestown Township depend on private wells for their water supply. The pumps in the wells depend upon electricity, so when the power goes out, many of those people will lose water, as well as power. Township officials noted that the water is potable.

All systems are go for a grass-roots, social media-organized day of volunteerism in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The Bux-Mont Hurricane Sandy Clean-up Team formed quickly this week on Facebook, spearheaded by Chalfont resident Paul Dziewisz. After a few hasty planning meetings, and plenty of time spent fielding emails and phone calls, the group's weekend plans have come together. Anyone who wants to help out is asked to meet at 7 a.m. at the Central Bucks West High School parking lot located at Rt. 202 and Lafayette Street in Doylestown. The group will be going out both Saturday and Sunday. …

They have been working 10-, 12- and 16-hour shifts in the days since Hurricane Sandy left nearly a million Philadelphia-area electric customers in the cold and the dark. The linemen working round-the-clock to restore power to a darkened East Coast have been unsung heroes. That is, until now. LisaBeth Weber, a Bucks County artist, has written a song and created a video to honor the contributions of people who she says are too often taken for granted. "The first responders - police, fire and EMS -  they're often thanked for their work, as they should be," Weber said. "But these linemen, who are…

Power has been restored to many in the Central Bucks area, but tens of thousands remain without electricity across the county on Friday. PECO says it still is on track to have power restored to 90 percent of its customers who lost power after Hurricane Sandy. But as days dragged on, and numbers in other counties began to fall, it became increasingly clear that many of the remaining still powerless into next week would be in Bucks County. For instant updates, follow Doylestown Patch on Facebook and Twitter. So, is Bucks County the 10 percent? Some local leaders are starting to think so. "I …

Central Bucks schools will be closed again on Friday because of road conditions in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Superintendent Dr. Rod Green said Thursday. Though power had returned to most district schools, downed trees and power lines across the district's 122 square miles still left dozens of area roads closed and power outages left traffic lights inoperable, Green said. "With all the road closings out there, we just don’t think we can effectively get the kids in and then effectively get them home," the superintendent said. On Thursday, 22 drivers did a "dry run" to see if buses could …

The deadline to pay your Central Bucks School property taxes has been extended as area residents still grapple with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The Central Bucks School District has given tax collectors approval to accept payments until Nov. 7, 2012, without penalties, according to Doylestown Township dftax collector Carol Scarborough. School property tax bills are mailed July 1, and property owners get a 2 percent discount if paid by August 31. The face value of the tax bill had been due on Oct. 31, and a 10 percent penalty normally goes into effect starting on Nov. 1. Because many …

Transportation around Bucks County remained difficult Thursday, as 40 state roads still were closed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. As of 9 a.m., 43 state roads remained closed in Bucks County, most of them in Central or Upper Bucks. That list, however, is constantly changing, said PennDOT spokesman Gene Blaum. By 1 p.m., four of those listed roads had been reopened, but one more had to be closed, taking the total closed to 40, Blaum said. The vast majority of roads had to be closed because of utility lines or poles down or trees that became entangled in utility lines, he said. And that …

House by house, block by block, the lights started blinking back on and homes started warming up. The power started to come back on in neighborhoods in and around Doylestown on Thursday for the first time since Hurricane Sandy belted the area on Monday. For those who have been in the dark, without electronic connection to the world, without light, or heat or warm showers and hot food, it was a welcome relief. But not everyone is ready to celebrate yet. As of 12:02 a.m. on Friday, thousands of PECO customers in Central Bucks County still were facing their fourth day without electricity. …

Joan Doyle grabbed lunch with friends at Coach's Steak and Hoagie House, on Tuesday and plugged her cell phone into the wall to charge. Carol Counihan drove around in her car the day after Hurricane Sandy so her phone could recharge on her car charger. Finding warm food, coffee and a place to recharge electronics has been a challenge in Central Bucks after Hurricane Sandy pummelled the area on Monday. As many people are still without power, we offer this ongoing list of places that are open and welcome you to recharge, literally and figuratively, while you wait for the power to come back on. …

Paul and Colleen Dziewisz have seen the damage left behind by Hurricane Sandy and think there is strength in numbers. So they are organizing the Bux-Mont Hurricane Sandy Clean-up Team. UPDATE: The meet-up location for both Saturday and Sunday will be at 7 a.m. at the Central Bucks West High School parking lot located at Rt. 202 and Lafayette Street in Doylestown. Here's the message Paul put out on the group's newly formed Facebook page: This Saturday and Sunday I am organizing a Hurricane Sandy cleanup effort for Bucks and Eastern Montco. Colleen and I feel the need to roll up our sleeves and…

A huge tree still hung precariously over one of the busiest roads in Central Bucks on Wednesday, just another casualty of unprecedented storm damage. New Britain Borough still is awaiting the arrival of a PECO or PennDOT crew to tackle the tree down across Route 202 near Keeley Avenue, borough mayor David Holewinski said Wednesday. Hurricane Sandy brought the tree down earlier this week, and it has remained there since. "We’re trying to get somebody out to handle it, but they can’t give us any idea of when they might be out here," said Holewinski. The mayor said he has spoken with Ted Dorand…

Devonshire Estates didn't lose power during Hurricane Sandy, and some other Buckingham Township residents got power back Tuesday or Wednesday, said township supervisor Jon Forest. But while life has been fairly normal for some Buckingham neighborhoods, others still were without power on Wednesday and anxiously awaiting restoration. Like those in every other Bucks County municipality, Buckingham leaders have spent the past two days evaluating damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. And again like most other municipalities, the damage mainly was caused by downed trees and utility poles. "We still …