Perspective.

February 3, 2012

TweetToday I spoke with a woman who had just lost her husband, two different families about to lose their homes because of shady mortgage companies, another family about to get their water shut off because the Cecil Twp. Municipal Authority won’t work with them over a $331 bill, did interviews with reporters from three newspapers [...]

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Treat The Disease of Reassessments, Not the Symptoms

January 10, 2012

Tweet One of the fringe issues of 2011 came roaring to the forefront as the calendar flipped to 2012. When Allegheny County was forced by a judge to release its first set of property tax reassessment numbers last week, people went indiscriminately crazy as their property values skyrocketed with no rhyme or reason. Even if [...]

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A Change is Gonna Come

December 16, 2011

TweetI sat alone in my tiny office in the East Wing of the State Capitol, focused intently on the 13-inch television tuned to PCN. I have watched or participated in dozens, if not hundreds of hearings in Harrisburg since taking office in 2007, but none quite like this. Most hearings provide useful but not critical [...]

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Is Black Friday Really Just “Occupy Wal-Mart?”

December 1, 2011

TweetI just don’t get Black Friday. I’ve tried to understand but it’s just not happening. Somehow the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving, designed for us to spend time with family and friends and simply relax, has been unceremoniously cut short because people have to go stand in line outside big-box retail stores in the middle of [...]

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This Is Not “The Right Way” on Marcellus Shale

November 26, 2011

Tweet  Last week, two bills advanced through their respective chambers in the Legislature. Don’t let anyone tell you these bills, Senate Bill 1100 and House Bill 1950, were “the best we could do” on the issue of Marcellus Shale. When you consider all the time spent on the studies, hearings and commissions—coupled with the immense [...]

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Speaking Out for Local Communities on Marcellus Shale

November 15, 2011

TweetEarlier this evening, I spoke on the House floor in opposition to an amendment to HB 1950, which would strip local communities of their right to enact reasonable ordinances on natural gas operations. Here is my speech: TweetScridb filter

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The 46th Curveball

November 2, 2011

Tweet Although the work of governing is rarely a game, the comparisons between politics and sports are difficult to avoid. Elections and the political process lend themselves well to sports metaphors—sometimes the comparisons are forced, but often they are spot-on accurate. Earlier this week, I was subjected to my first taste of the legislative redistricting process, [...]

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Building Bridges (literally)

October 27, 2011

TweetLast week, I had the pleasure of attending a ground-breaking on the Montour Trail for two new bridges. Check out the article by Amy McConnell Schaarsmith in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for more details. One of the great aspects of the projects we’ve done with the Montour Trail is the great cooperation we’ve enjoyed with both the [...]

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Marcellus Youth Jobs Forum a Success

October 25, 2011

TweetLast week, I joined with my colleague Rep. Brandon Neuman to host a Marcellus Shale Youth Jobs Forum at the Western Area Career and Technology Center in Chartiers Township. The purpose of the forum was to let local guidance counselors learn about skills and requirements kids coming out of high school may need to be [...]

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I Want My Three-Legged Stool Back

October 6, 2011

Tweet Informed public debate is a three-legged stool; in order to stay level, you need all three legs to be stable, equal and somewhat independent of one another. In this equation, the three legs consist of the elected officials, the public and the media— otherwise known as the people who make laws, the people who [...]

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