When I first started out in politics, I naively believed that anyone getting into public service must want to help others. As lawmakers, we are tasked with putting forth policies that support the average Pennsylvanian and building a commonwealth where anyone can thrive.I have since learned that ...
More than 165,000 students soon will head to campus at Penn State, Temple, and Lincoln universities and the University of Pittsburgh, long before the state Senate returns to Harrisburg Sept. 18 and the House straggles in on Sept. 26.Pitt and Penn State students face some of the nation鈥檚 ...
Now is the time to get a divorce in Pennsylvania.Because of a failure of the state Legislature to pass legislation, a surcharge on court filings has lapsed. The $21.25 fee can鈥檛 be charged because the law authorizing it expired Aug. 1. Lawmakers haven鈥檛 passed new legislation that would ...
One of Pennsylvania鈥檚 recent gun-related tragedies occurred in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia.A 14-year-old boy with severe developmental disabilities found an unsecured handgun in his grandmother鈥檚 bedroom and accidentally shot his cousin, a 2-year-old girl, in the head. The ...
Given the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission鈥檚 history of cost and corruption, it鈥檚 not easy for another government body to make it look good. But the state Legislature has risen to the challenge.The commission announced recently that, in January, it will raise turnpike tolls for the 16th ...
It鈥檚 time to sound the alarm on early literacy in Pennsylvania.Almost half of fourth graders across our state are reading below grade level, a challenge that exists in every corner of our state 鈥� from urban cities to our rural communities.Research has consistently shown that early literacy ...