By FRANK SOJAK
When an area trash hauling company heard about a new shopping mall coming to Johnstown, it hoped to land the job of removing trash from the site.
After making an inquiry to Forever Broadcasting Co., the owner of six radio stations in the Johnstown region that is promoting the mall, the business learned that it exists only in cyberspace.
No trash to be hauled.
Owned by Forever Broadcasting, the online mall will open for business Feb. 15, said Terry Deitz, vice president and general manager of the Johnstown group of Forever Broadcasting.
The radio ads have caused a stir among some listeners, who were left with the impression that a new mall is being built in Greater Johnstown. Residents have been calling the station for more information.
“It is a real mall,” Deitz said Wednesday. “It’s just not a brick-and-mortar mall.”
Resident Vicky Del Grosso, of Johnstown, said while in downtown Johnstown Wednesday that she heard about the cyber mall on the radio.
She said more opportunities to shop in the Johnstown area will be good for the economy.
Del Grosso is fine with online shopping – so long as it doesn’t hurt The Galleria or other shopping centers.
She said she was disappointed with the decline of the former Richland Mall when The Galleria opened.
Judy Kimmel of East Taylor Township said while in downtown Johnstown that – as long as she is able to pay for her purchases with a check or money order the cyberspace mall would be fine.
She fears identity theft when giving her credit card number out over the Internet.
