Senate Democrats see some gaps and loopholes in Pennsylvania’s laws that prevent child abuse that are in need of a fix.
They are proposing a series of law changes in the wake of the Penn State scandal tied to child sexual assault charges filed against former university assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
In the wake of the child sex abuse scandal at Penn State University, Pennsylvania lawmakers are creating a bipartisan commission to strengthen and create new laws to protect children.
The state Senate GOP spokesman says he expects resolution creating the joint task force to be considered and approved next week.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are bringing attention to the various bills they’ve proposed or will propose to make kids safer.
It’s the multibillion-dollar question: Where is Pennsylvania going to find the money to keep its roads and bridges maintained and open?
For many, the answer can’t come soon enough.
In Berks County, 424 of roughly 1,000 miles of highway are in fair or poor condition, and nearly half of the 700 state-owned bridges are structurally deficient or close to it. >>Read more…
Reading’s financial plight got national attention this year, on PBS and National Public Radio and in the New York Times.
Some people think Reading can get out of its troubles itself by finding the mix of revenue and services that produces growth.
The Boyertown School Board and district administrators met with state legislators Tuesday to discuss the impact unfunded mandates have on the district’s budget.
The state lawmakers at the legislative forum, which attracted an audience of about two dozen, were Sen. Judy Schwank, a Ruscombmanor Township Democrat, and Rep. Douglas G. Reichley, a Lehigh County Republican who represents part of Berks County. Rep. David M. Maloney, a Pike Township Republican, sent aide John C. Beiber.
A state senator from Berks County on Wednesday asked the state Public Utility Commission to develop an action plan for power companies to follow during weather emergencies.
Sen. Judy Schwank requested that the PUC come up with specific steps to prevent widespread outages like the one that began Oct. 29, when a snowstorm left some 70,000 Berks County homes and businesses without power.
Schwank said her office was swamped with calls from residents whose homes went dark and cold during the storm.
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The United States Postal Service could save $7.1 million annually by stopping mail distribution at Reading’s Gus Yatron Postal Facility and moving the work to a plant in Harrisburg, Postal Service officials said.
But the move would eliminate 135 jobs in Berks County and slow mail delivery.
That trade-off didn’t seem to sit well Wednesday with about 65 people, many of them postal workers, who came to hear officials detail the proposal at Northeast Middle School in Reading.
With a late-night vote on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Senate passed the first comprehensive natural gas drilling bill since the explosion of Marcellus Shale drilling, but it did not come without a heated debate. The measure essentially takes away a municipality’s ability to limit drilling within its borders and creates a $50,000 fee for each well drilled in the state. That fee will decrease over time.
Every year, the late Sen. Michael O’Pake awarded the Patriot Award at the Brandywine Heights Middle School Veterans Day program.
The Patriot Award recognizes a veteran or community member/group for exceptional service to the country.
This year, O’Pake received the award during the school’s 12th annual program on Nov. 11.
>> Read more…
On Nov. 11, the Brandywine Heights Area School District sponsored its twelfth annual Veterans Day Program and Luncheon for those veterans who reside in the community or are relatives of students.
>> Read more…
You may want to forget about the horrors of the pre-Halloween snowstorm that left thousands of people without power.
One Pennsylvania lawmaker from Berks County, however, is hoping you will jog your memory one last time. The goal is to prevent the problem from popping up again.
The Berks County Industrial Development Authority has received a $500,000 state grant for the development of the Reading Airport Commerce Park on 155 acres off Route 183 in Bern Township.
The facility, part of which will focus on the agricultural and food industries, is expected to bring 750 to 1,000 jobs to the area.
>> Read more…
More than the inconvenience and risks to health and safety, the length of time it took Met-Ed and PPL to restore power after Hurricane Irene and the Oct. 29 snow storm has eroded public trust in the utilities.
“I think that the trust that has existed between the people and their power company has been broken,” said state Sen. Judy Schwank.
>> Read more…
A public-private partnership that helped create jobs and improve the environment was honored Monday night at the Lyons Municipal Authority meeting.
Working with state Sen. Judy Schwank, the authority received $1.7 million in state funding to expand its sewer system to handle wastewater from East Penn Manufacturing Co. Inc.
>> Read more…
Local government leaders from across Central Pennsylvania appeared before the state Senate Democratic Policy Committee last weekto give a first-hand account of the challenges facing the commonwealth’s small cities.
“When a local problem replicates itself across the state under different leadership and in different regions, then it’s not a local problem anymore,” said state Sen. Lisa Boscola, the Lehigh Valley lawmaker who leads the committee. “Local officials are expressing common problems and they need a common solution.”
While Harrisburg, the state’s capital, is drawing national attention for economic woes that have driven a state takeover, local government leaders say many other municipalities are struggling with the same shifting demographics and out-dated tax policy.
State Sen. Judy Schwank, whose Berks County district covers Reading, said the legislature has failed to keep up legislatively with changes in demographics across the state.
>> Read more…
Investigations into lavish spending on catering by the Reading School District might not be complete.
After learning Friday of a special investigation of the district by the state auditor general, state Sen. Judy Schwank is requesting the state attorney general to conduct a forensic audit of school district finances.
Concerned that school-vouchers legislation would hurt public school students left behind in its wake, state Sen. Judy Schwank voted against Senate Bill 1 on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
The Senate passed the bill in a 27-22 vote. >>Read more…
A sewer project in Virginville, Richmond Township, will receive significant state funding to relieve residential septic system issues.
The township will get a $1.1 million grant and a $632,000 low-interest loan through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST). The funds will be used toward the construction of a conventional sewage system in the Virginville area. >>Read more…
HARRISBURG — A bill creating and expanding school choice options for Pennsylvania students passed the state Senate with a vote of 27-22 on Wednesday afternoon.
The bill would:
•Create a public school voucher program for students from low-income families;
•Expand an educational scholarship program used by some students to attend nonpublic schools;
•Institute financial and academic standards for the state’s system of public charter schools.
The final vote capped 10 months of work on the bill in the state Senate. The proposal now moves to the state House for consideration. >>Read more…
Three Berks County school superintendents and state Sen. Judy Schwank criticized legislation passed by the state Senate that would implement school vouchers: >>Read more…
A sewer project in Virginville, Richmond Township will receive significant state funding to relieve residential septic system issues, according to state Sen. Judy Schwank, who was instrumental in ensuring that the project would receive appropriate financial support.
Richmond Township will receive a $1,095,351 grant and a $631,849 low interest loan through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority. The funds will be used toward the construction of a conventional sewage system in the Virginville Area of Richmond Township. >>Read more
We discovered things about government last week: When it has to, the Legislature can move like greased lightning, and Act 47 isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Maybe a third thing we’re learning is that municipal governments are in trouble and nobody seems to know what to do about it.
Testimony before a legislative hearing strongly supports the call for changing Pennsylvania law relating to municipal government, state Sen. Judy Schwank, a Democrat who represents part of Berks County.
“It’s obvious that our current laws no longer give communities the tools they need to look after their well-being,” said Schwank, a former Berks County commissioner and former chairwoman of the State Planning Board.
“In too many cases, we already are seeing towns and cities entering into slow death spirals.”
HARRISBURG – With Pennsylvania’s distressed municipalities program coming under greater scrutiny, the state agency managing the program is offering a new set of proposals to help municipalities regain their fiscal footing.
HARRISBURG — This city may be grabbing headlines as it teeters on the edge of financial disaster, but Pennsylvania’s cities are facing economic problems beyond those in the capital.
Dwindling populations, underfunded public pension systems and an over-reliance on property taxes are driving expenses up and keeping tax revenue down in the Keystone State’s metropolitan centers.