It’s like my (and other policy wonks) dream came true! PA Policy blog is posting regularly. Though it’s a bit funky that it’s phrased like it’s being read by a juror.
We find that after adjusting for inflation home prices fell by 6.9% in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the same period last year, that is the third straight quarter of home price declines. We also find that home prices fell in 15 of 16 metropolitan areas around the state.
On August 14th the National Association of Realtors(NAR) released data on total sales of single-family homes, apartment condos and co-ops by state, we missed it because we were busy writing the State of Working Pennsylvania.According to the data Pennsylvania home sales in the second quarter were down 18 percent from the second quarter of 2007; sales were down overall in the Northeast as well as in all of Pennsylvania’s neighboring states (Figure 1).
This is an interesting policy question for discussion. It pits law and order crowd against the no tax crowd, which is often one and the same.
Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering whether to impose a $100-per-resident tax on large municipalities that do not have their own police forces and instead rely entirely on state troopers.A state House bill would impose the fee only on municipalities with at least 10,000 people. Under current census figures, it would produce more than $31 million annually from 21 townships in 12 counties. read more »
Pennsylvania will shed a school district by the end of this school year – a significant development after years of nationwide efforts to nudge and sometimes force school systems to share services or merge.The merger between two western Pennsylvania school systems with sharply declining enrollments is the state’s first consolidation in at least 20 years and, most notably, its first voluntary one.
Officials say the move will save money and improve educational offerings, yet parents in both districts worry that some losses will accompany any gains. The consolidation is expected to be closely watched. read more »
Sens. Barack Obama and Joseph R. Biden Jr. drove headlong into a post-nomination bus tour yesterday, working to distract voters from John McCain’s headline-grabbing selection of running mate and that most formidable of public policy issues in Western Pennsylvania: Friday night high school football. read more »
An accurate depiction of the electorate here.
To roam the rural reaches of western Pennsylvania, through largely white working-class counties, is to understand the breadth of the challenge facing the two presidential candidates. But this economically ravaged region, once so solidly Democratic, poses a particular hurdle for Senator Obama. read more »
If Washington allows I-80 to be turned into a toll road, most short-distance drivers on the heavily traveled interstate wouldn’t pay any fees at all under a plan presented yesterday by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.By stretching out collection stations and giving local drivers incentives to use E-ZPass, seven out of 10 cars, pickup trucks, SUVs and school buses would be spared tolls. read more »
We all know that things get weird in Harrisburg. This is weirder than usual.
Mary McFate was the kind of volunteer the gun-control movement in Pennsylvania prized. By all accounts, she was dedicated and diligent, humble enough to stuff envelopes yet bold enough to lobby U.S. senators.Now it seems that the CeaseFire PA board member may have been more versatile than anyone could have imagined. According to Mother Jones magazine, she was a spy for the National Rifle Association. read more »
The chief justice of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is pouring cold water on the idea of a four-day week for the state’s courts.In response to what he says was an informal request to allow one county’s courthouse to operate on a four-day week, Pennsylvania Supreme Court chief justice Ron Castille (in file photo above) has informed all county president judges that they are to maintain five day weeks with their regular hours.
Likewise, spokesman Chuck Ardo says Governor Rendell isn’t jumping on the four-day week bandwagon, either: read more »
Four years ago, Republican George W. Bush shocked local political observers by winning the presidential race in heavily Democratic Cambria County.This year, a Johnstown city councilwoman has been tapped to try to engineer a repeat performance for the GOP.
Ann Wilson will serve as Cambria County chair of the John McCain campaign. And she’s sure to be busy, since Pennsylvania is viewed as a key battleground state in McCain’s race against Democrat Barack Obama.
Wilson’s mission is to “act as a representative for the McCain campaign,” she said.
“I’ll make sure I get John McCain’s message to the people of Cambria County.” read more »
Months before the federal government could approve even a plan to make I-80 a toll road, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says it knows how it would spend part of the money.Within a decade, the commission says, it would resurface more than 200 miles of I-80 across northern Pennsylvania – most of which has not been fixed in 30 years.
Additionally, it would replace 62 bridges along I-80 that officials believe are in poor condition or are too low, according to a list of projects unveiled by the commission yesterday.
“We’re just getting started,” Barry J. Schoch, a commission consultant, said yesterday at a news conference. read more »
Two bills that school officials say would have meant tax increases and millions in lost revenue in their districts were vetoed yesterday by Gov. Rendell.Rendell said in his veto message that he wanted to see a major change in state law that would force counties to reassess real estate more frequently.
Under current law, counties have to assess all real estate parcels at the same time, and are forbidden from raising values on individual properties except in the cases of new homes or significant renovations. read more »
Saying saving lives is more important than saving money, state Auditor General Jack Wagner on Wednesday urged the state to reverse its January decision to remove lifeguards from all but one of its 37 state parks with lake beaches.The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which eliminated lifeguards in 22 state parks from 1999 to 2007, announced it would remove them at 15 more parks this summer, including Beltzville in Carbon County and Tuscarora in Schuylkill County.
The additional cuts would save $800,000, Conservation and Natural Resources said.
Presque Isle State Park on Lake Erie, which has strong currents, would be the only one to keep lifeguards. read more »
Pennsylvania is embarking on a two-year effort to more thoroughly document the state’s black history.The state Historical and Museum Commission plans to spend $285,000 on the initiative, which will be partially funded by a grant from the group Preserve America. The commission plans to start a Web site and conduct public educational programs around the black history theme.
PHMC spokesman Kirk Wilson said the agency, in partnership with the African American Museum of Philadelphia, will look at historical and cultural resources across the commonwealth.
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From the DoS website, here are the winners in the contested races for US House and State Senate. The results for the State House are here, but of note is that Don Costa (D), D21, may or may not have won this seat. The vote looks too close to call and I expect a recount.
US Rep:
PA-03 – Kathy Dahlkemper (D)
PA-05 – Mark McCraken (D)
– Glenn Thompson®
PA10 – Chris Hackett®
PA-18 – Steve O’Donnell (D)
—————————————————————————-
State Senate
PA-1 Larry Farnese (D)
PA-13 Lloyd Smucker®
PA-15 Judy Hirsh (D)
PA-17 Lance Rogers®
PA-23 Gene Yaw®
PA-33 Richard Alloway II®
PA-39 Bompiani (D) read more »
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Anonymous (1 hour ago)
Every presidential election year is important!
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Don't forget the impact on prevention
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Bottom-Up, not Top-Down
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