While many of you were away from State College this summer, Fraser Street has been undergoing a major realignment. The construction is intended to straighten the intersection of Fraser and Beaver. The project is part of an effort to improve that region of town, while construction of the Fraser Centre remains pending. In addition to the Fraser intersection, construction projects have been undertaken to widen the sidewalk in front of Green Bowl and Saint’s Cafe. The Fraser realignment project has been in the works for years, and was even included in President Obama’s 2009 Stimulus package, where one million dollars was allotted for the Fraser Realignment Project. This summer, the project finally began. A major section of the parking lot and fenced-off areas were cut away to form the path for the new curved Fraser Street. Interestingly, this shift has left what appears to be a vacant space where the road previously ran. Sidewalks will remain open on the east side while work continues. Work will begin on the intersection at Beaver this week and will continue until late September, so be prepared for road closings! The remainder of the project will continue until November. For more project information, artist renderings and updates, visit the State College Borough website.

In other news, we are thrilled to announce that just down the street Onward State will hold its first all-staff editorial meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the New Leaf Initiative office. If you haven’t visited the office, it’s a pretty innovative venue for meetings and ideas!

For those interested, The NLI office is situated below Dunkin Donuts on the corner of College and Frasier. As we embark on a new semester of Onward State editorial meetings, we want to hear about what’s got all of you excited at Penn State this fall, so feel free to leave a comment or stop by our meetings!