Monday, May 21, 2012
The state House returns to session on Monday, May 21, to debate and vote on various issues.
Here's this week's schedule for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Information has been supplied by Rep. Mike Turzai, Republican Majority Leader. In Pennsylvania, retired state employees who have been called back to work temporarily via a signed contract with a definitive end date have been later collecting unemployment benefits when that contract comes to an end. These are retired individuals already collecting a pension. State law dictates that annuitants who are re-employed may not work more than 95 days in a calendar year without impacting their annuities and health care benefits. House Bill 2346 (Rep. Adam Harris, R-Snyder/Mifflin/Juniata counties) would add a new provision to Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation Law to …
The Safety 1st toilet and cabinet locks were sold at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, Target and Walmart.
Hundreds of thousands of child safety locks are being recalled because they can fail, exposing children to dangerous situations. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with Dorel Juvenile Group, Thursday announced a voluntary recall of about 183,000 toilet locks and 685,000 cabinet locks. Young children can unexpectedly disengage the toilet locks and gain access to water in the toilet, posing the risk of drowning, according to the CPSC, and the cabinet locks are being recalled because young children can disengage the lock, posing the risk of injury from dangerous or unsafe items stored in the cabinet. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Parks, roads departments being consolidated; county's legal department being rebuilt
Last fall, residents thronged a hearing held by the previous Montgomery County administration after a preliminary version of the 2012 operating budget proposed the elimination of the county's parks department, among other drastic funding cuts. That Board of Commissioners eventually passed a budget that hiked property taxes by 17.5 percent and kept the Parks and Heritage Services department intact. Thursday morning, Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro announced that the department had been eliminated, after all. Parks and Heritage will soon cease to exist. The same goes for the Public Property department and the department of Roads and Bridges. In their place will be a single, new department: Infrastructure and Public Assets. "The …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The head of the county's Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program was suspended in April.
According to The Times Herald, Karen Ricca, the assistant district attorney who was inexplicably suspended on April 27, was fired today during a county salary board meeting. Ricca and District Attorney Risa Ferman declined to comment on the cause of the original suspension at the time and today, Ferman would only say that an investigation revealed Ricca's conduct "was entirely inconsistent with the high standards we have tried to maintain. She has therefore been terminated, effective immediately." "I will not comment on the specifics of this matter because it remains under investigation," Ferman told the Herald. Ricca led – and decided whether applicants qualified for – the county's Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition (ARD) program. The…
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Watch a live stream of todays Montgomery County Board of Commissioners' meeting starting at 10 a.m.
Download the full agenda for today's meeting in our PDF section.
Also on the agenda are plenty of resolutions, advertising for bids and RFPs and over $500,000 in contract awards.
The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meets again today, Thursday, May 17, at 10 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Board Room on the 8th floor of One Montgomery Plaza. On the agenda today is the county's quarterly financial report, more than a half dozen authorizations of grant applications, various agreements, a filing deadline change for county board of assessment appeals and a for a bond refinancing for the Cherry Street Garage in Norristown. The also be discussing advertising bids for PODs for the Health Department, food service disposables for Parkhouse, and driveway repairs and window replacement at the Youth Center as well as request for proposals for a medical service provider for Parkhouse, relocation of the Black Horse storage …
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Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Ambler Borough Council has agreed to move forward with a feasibility study on the Lindenwold parking lot to see if a second level is possible.
The Ambler Borough Council discussed two bids for a feasibility study to find out if a second level is a possibility in the Lindenwold parking lot. The borough’s original quote was for just over $9,000. The second quote was $7,000 over the original quote. However, the original bid, from the Harmon Group, does not include a cap for ancillary expenses, such as travel expenses, copies, additional work, etc. The Board recommended that the administration set a cap with the Harmon Group for ancillary expenses at $500. The feasibility study will find out if a second level is possible, as well as develop a design. The expense will be covered by a grant from the county, which was originally for paving the Lindenwold parking lot and working on …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Berks County state Rep. Jim Cox's bill would fund school districts with earned income and sales tax increases and new taxes on food, clothing, TV and air transportation.
Several media outlets are reporting on state Rep. Jim Cox (R-129th District – Berks County) and his HB 1776 – the "Property Tax Independence Act." Hundreds of supporters of the proposed bill descended on Harrisburg last Monday to rally "for change to keep the American dream alive across the commonwealth," attendees told WFMZ TV in Allentown. Cox recently visited The Times Herald to talk about the bill which he says will raise $5 billion by increasing the earned income tax from 3.07% to 4% and the state sales tax to 7%. He said the state would bring in an additional $4.6 billion by adding new taxes on food, clothing, TV and air transportation. Pennsylvania allocated over $10 billion for education in the 2010-2011 budget. "We’re well on our…
Monday, May 14, 2012
State lawmakers might raise the Pennsylvania Turnpike speed limit to 70 miles per hour. Do you support the move?
State lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow the Turnpike Commission to raise the Pennsylvania Turnpike speed limit to 70 miles per hour. The House Transportation Committee recently approved the measure, which would affect sections of both the Northeast Extension and the rest of the turnpike. Supporters of the measure say the change makes sense because vehicles are safer and the turnpike is wider, flatter and straighter thanks to road improvements. There is no timetable for when - or if - the bill will come to a vote. Turnpike officials say the speed limit change would not be made without additional study and would apply only to some portions of the road. Do you think the speed limit should be raised? Vote in our poll and add …
Friday, May 11, 2012
'Inside Story' airs at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
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Friday, May 11
The following press release is from the Montgomery County Office of Communications: Josh Shapiro, chair of the Montgomery County Commissioners, will appear on "Inside Story” Sunday morning (May 13) at 11:30 a.m. on WPVI, Channel 6. The interview of Shapiro by Channel 6 anchor Tamala Edwards, which was taped Friday, will lead off the show, and will be followed by a panel discussion featuring political commentators. “Inside Story” airs on Channel 6 immediately after “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”.
Lee
9:30 am on Monday, May 21, 2012
Mr. Starr worked for the GSA in Phila yikes. GSA does not have a stellar reputation for cost cutting for a Federal Agency. You know one of the reason so many people attending in the Fall, was because Park officials and outdoorsy businesses had sent out email alerts falsely saying all the parks and trails were going to completely close forever, so of course everyone rose up! Can you say propaganda… more ›