washington county

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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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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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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Marcellus Shale Local Impact Fee discussion heats up

October 4, 2011

Tweet With the much-anticipated unveiling of Gov. Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Impact Fee proposal yesterday, I thought it would be a good time to revisit what local elected officials and statewide policy groups had to say on the subject. This video is an abbreviated recap from the August 24 Public Hearing of the Marcellus Municipal Co-op, [...]

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Your Tax Dollars at Work…Against You

September 14, 2011

Tweet Anyone familiar with the recent history of Pennsylvania politics knows the phrases “legislator” and “appeared in court” usually equal bad news for the legislator in question. Last week, I had the unique opportunity to appear in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County as a state representative for a much different reason. Even [...]

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Purple Heart Interchange Unveiled

August 19, 2011

Tweet A little rain (ok, a lot of rain) didn’t stop us from having a great time at the unveiling of the Purple Heart Interchange in Southpointe today. Near the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township, this interchange at Exit 48 of Interstate 79 was approved as result of HB 1799, a bill [...]

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A Local Solution to Marcellus Shale Wastewater Concerns?

August 16, 2011

Tweet Nice article in today’s Observer-Reporter by Michael Bradwell about a new mobile water treatment system that can be taken on-site to process waste water from Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling. The technology and process we saw yesterday was being developed by Aquatech, a local company with 30 years experience in the water treatment industry. [...]

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Who Exactly Are They Pledging Allegiance To?

August 10, 2011

Tweet As if it wasn’t already difficult enough to cross party lines and actually work together to accomplish anything, lawmakers at both the state and federal level now have to deal with a new variable which can bring the gears of government to a grinding halt. I am referring to pledge-mania, the phenomenon of requiring [...]

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How a Bill Didn't Become a Law

July 13, 2011

Tweet The June 30 state budget deadline is the onlypoint in the year where lots of bills move through the State Legislature in a short period of time. Many bills are budget-related, implementing programs created or altered by the annual spending plan. But every once in a while, an issue no one was paying much [...]

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The Impact of Impact Fees on Marcellus Shale

March 30, 2011

Tweet As the Marcellus Shale boom continues to redefine the landscape of Pennsylvania, people are focusing in on how government at all levels is working to find the right balance for everyone to coexist and prosper. Because most of the high-level policy on the natural gas industry is determined at the state level, it would [...]

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