Corbett Set to Speak in Upper St. Clair

Pennsylvania's governor will speak at the Upper St. Clair Republican Committee's annual dinner next week. Tickets are available for purchase.

Attorney General Rejects Corbett's Lottery Privatization Plan

State Sen. Matt Smith and others laud the decision.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has rejected the Corbett Administration’s plan to privatize the management of the Pennsylvania Lottery to a U.K.-based company Camelot Global Services—and Senate Democrats lauded the plan. "It has been clear from the beginning that the Corbett administration’s plan to privatize the management of the lottery was flawed and could potentially jeopardize vital senior programs, " State Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, said in a statement. Smith, who represents Upper St. Clair, said the plan lacked transparency, noting that the public has not been able to glean specific details about the plan and what it would mean for the many senior programs funded through lottery proceeds. “I was particularly …

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Budget Proposal Offers Funds to Help Prevent Military Base Closures

The governor is proposing to spend $200,000 to help communities gather economic evidence about how the closure of a base would impact their area.

Buried deep inside Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget proposal released this week is a small line item to help communities gather economic evidence about how the closure of a base would impact their area. The $200,000 is just a drop in the bucket of the $28.4 billion budget, but it could go a long way to protecting the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township­–and other bases across the state–from being shuttered by the federal government. Steve Kratz, a spokesman for the Department of Community and Economic Development, said that funding would provide additional staff for a committee tasked with gathering evidence about the economic impact of these military bases. “That’s going to allow the committee to hire an additional staffer and provide additional…

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Glenn Robinson

2:27 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Keeping any base open that is no longer needed or whos mission can be fulfilled more efficiently in another location just because of local economic impact is just another form of welfare. The arguement shouldn't be to keep it open. The arguement should be how to lessen the local impact of the closing.   more ›

Corbett Addresses Obamacare, Education, Transportation in Proposed Budget

The governor has raised funding in some areas but at least some opponents don't feel the budget addresses important issues.

Gov. Tom Corbett delivered highlights of his proposed 2013-14 budget in a speech before the state Legislature on Tuesday morning. The $28.4 billion state budget plan, a 2.4 percent increase over this year, includes no general tax increases. In one of the most controversial areas, Corbett recommended against expanding Medicaid, as provided for under the Affordable Health Care Act. Corbett plans to ask the federal government for flexibililty to let Pennsylvania customize the health insurance program for its needs or have the state reject the Medicaid expansion. Under the act, also known as Obamacare, Medicaid could expand to cover people earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level and provide coverage for upwards of 600,000 uninsured …

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Corbett Announces Liquor Privatization Plan; $1 Billion in Proceeds to Fund Education

“Our plan gives consumers what they want by increasing choice and convenience, and helps to secure our future by adding $1 billion in funding toward the education of our children, without raising any taxes,” the governor said.

Gov. Tom Corbett, joined by Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County, on Wednesday announced his plan to privatize the liquor system in Pennsylvania and committed $1 billion in proceeds from the process to education funding. Corbett said the $1 billion will be used to create the Passport for Learning Block Grant, which will provide flexibility to schools, allowing our public schools, instead of Harrisburg, to decide what their students need. The grant will focus on four priority areas: school safety, enhanced early education programs, individualized learning and science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses and programs. “Our proposal is part of my commitment to changing Harrisburg, streamlining government and moving Pennsylvania …

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Bryan

6:00 pm on Saturday, February 2, 2013

Duke, small business isn't generally determined by revenue or profit but rather by number of employees. Which is exactly why smaller development firms in the area which have millions of dollars flow through them are still considered small businesses. As far as WV and other states, many of them are independently owned small businesses.   more ›

Sen. Smith Questions Lottery Privatization

The first-term Democratic state senator called the decision to hire a British-based company to run the Pennsylvania Lottery a 'risky scheme' and questioned the motivation of Gov. Tom Corbett.

State Sen. Matt Smith is questioning how Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration made the decision to hire a British company to run the Pennsylvania Lottery. The first-term Democratic senator from Mt. Lebanon said a hearing with the Finance Committee helped to shed light on the decision-making process by the administration, but it “does not forgive the actions taken that effectively cut the public and specifically seniors out of the process” to select the private operator. The Corbett administration last week issued a notice of award to Camelot Global Services, a British-based company, to manage the Pennsylvania Lottery. The governor’s office has said privatizing the lottery will add billions to the state coffers to help its aging population. …

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Gov. Corbett, in Speech, Backs Efforts to Save 911th Airlift Wing

The Pennsylvania governor speaks at the Moon Township-based air wing, urging military officials to scrap plans to shutter the base.

Standing beneath the wings of a C-130 aircraft at the 911th Airlift Wing, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said he would work with Pennsylvania's federal lawmakers to fight renewed plans to close the Moon Township air base.  Corbett, appearing alongside Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and state Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, implored military officials and federal lawmakers to end efforts to close the 911th as a cost-saving measure.  "I'm going to ask our (Pennsylvania) congressional delegation to do whatever they need to do to save this base," Corbett said.  The U.S. Air Force has again taken initial steps toward closing the airlift wing after March 2013— after the expiration of a law put…

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Gun Control Laws and Legislation: Where Does Pennsylvania Stand?

In the wake of recent mass shootings in Newtown, CT. and elsewhere, Patch examines the recent history of gun-control legislation in Pennsylvania.

On the books, Pennsylvania's gun laws are somewhat tougher than those found elsewhere in the United States, according to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The gun-control group gives Pennsylvania a 25 out of a possible 100-point rating on its state scorecard—the 10th-strictest rating in the country. "While Pennsylvania has some common-sense gun laws, including the requirement of Brady criminal background checks on all handgun purchasers, more needs to be done to stop illegal gun trafficking," according to the Brady Center website. Current Law In Pennsylvania, a person does not need a license to "open-carry" a gun by wearing it in a holster or in similar fashion anywhere but in Philadelphia, state police spokeswoman Diana Bates told…

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Patch Poll: Should Gov. Corbett Award Pennsylvania Lottery Contract to British Firm?

This week, some state House Democrats voiced their opposition to Gov. Corbett's plan to award a contract to privatize the lottery to Camelot Group—with no other bidders in the running.

The Pennsylvania Lottery is one of the most successful and well-managed state lotteries in the nation. Last year, the PA Lottery had annual sales in excess of $3.2 billion and, according to House Democrats, has held administrative costs to record lows of just over 2 percent. According to DailyFinance.com, Pennsylvania State Lottery has steered $20.6 billion to a variety of causes since it began, but its profits have primarily been funneled into an elderly benefits fund. This fund includes subsidies for transportation, tax rebates and Medicare. As of last year, about 61 percent of the annual ticket sales go to prizes, 30 percent goes to the state and the rest is for expenses. That's a higher percentage of prize return than most other states…

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