Sunday, May 12, 2013
Police and emergency crews will converge on Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom for a mass casualty drill on Monday.
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, May 12
If you’re driving past Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom on Monday and see police cars, fire trucks and ambulances amassed, don't be alarmed. Dorney Park and South Whitehall police are partnering to conduct a full-scale emergency preparedness drill, according to a release from the township. The drill, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., is sponsored by the Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Counter Terrorism Task Force. While the emergency won't be real, the response will be as realistic as possible, officials say. The exercise will simulate a hazardous condition with many casualties during the peak of the park's summer season. "On a busy day, attendance at Dorney Park can result in the doubling of our population in South Whitehall," …
Pennsylvania lawmakers are discussing whether or not to increase driver fees and, possibly, gas prices to get more funding for roads.
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, May 12
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — In 1997, a postage stamp cost 32 cents, a dozen eggs about $1.17, and a gallon of gas about $1.32. It was also the most recent time Pennsylvania lawmakers touched the state gas tax to raise more money for roads and bridges, said Senate Transportation Minority Chair John Wozniak, D-Cambria. As consumer costs have risen, so have the costs for roads. “I challenge anybody to say they’ve stopped at a convenience store and a cup of coffee is the same today as it was 15 years ago,” Wozniak said. “Government isn’t immune to market forces.” As a result, drivers may have to pay more, too. Wozniak was among the lawmakers who voted in favor of a $2.5 billion transportation funding package, which passed …
If lawmakers accomplish nothing on Pennsylvania's pension crisis by June 30 when the state budget deadline hits, the issue will be larger and more difficult to grapple with next year.
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, May 12
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — There is little disagreement that Pennsylvania’s $47 billion-and-growing public pension debt represents a serious threat to the financial future of the state, its school districts and taxpayers. But there is little in the way of agreement when it comes to how that debt can, or should, be addressed. Gov. Tom Corbett and some allied lawmakers seized the bully pulpit recently in what appeared to be an effort to spark some movement on the public pension issue that mostly has been dead in the water since Corbett pitched a package of reforms in February. Corbett has pegged his proposed budget for fiscal year 2013-14 on supposed savings from overhauling the state’s public pension system to save $175 …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
A new TV commercial thanks U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey for trying to expand gun background checks.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns on Thursday announced a new television commercial thanking Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) for co-sponsoring an amendment to expand background checks, according to Huffington Post. The ad urges Toomey, of Zionsville, Lehigh County, to keep fighting for background checks although Toomey has said he's turning his attention back to economic issues since his amendment failed in the senate. Toomey achieved his highest approval rating ever since brokering the unsuccessful compromise on background checks. The issue put Toomey in the national spotlight and he was even spoofed on "Saturday Night Live." Mayors Against Illegal Guns is backed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Salisbury Township is running a bus trip to Atlantic City and Thursday is the deadline to reserve a seat.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, May 8
Salisbury Township is running a bus trip to Atlantic City, N.J. on Sunday, June 9. Cost of $69 includes: Shopping and the enjoyment of the Atlantic City Boardwalk is on your own! Pay by cash, check or money order by Thursday at Salisbury Township Municipal Building, 2900 S. Pike Avenue, Allentown. Please contact Salisbury Township at (610) 797-4000 for more information.
Monday, May 6, 2013
The Salisbury school board race includes one incumbent and three challengers in the May primary.
The Salisbury School Board race features perhaps the youngest municipal candidate in the Lehigh Valley—high school student Chad Gleissl. Five candidates are running for four seats, each a four-year-term. Patch is in the process of sending a questionnaire to the candidates. But here's a preview of the race thanks to information from the League of Women Voters (LMV) online voters guide for the primary. Challenges facing the school district include a $740K budget gap. Primary election day is Tuesday, May 21. Four candidates are cross-filed: Christopher J. Spedaliere, a development scientist, is running only on the Republican ticket. The top four vote-getters on the Republican and Democratic ballot will face off in the general election. If …
Residents can meet an outreach specialist from the staff of state Rep. Justin Simmons at the Salisbury Township building on Tuesday.
A satellite office of state Rep. Justin J. Simmons, 131st Legislative District, is currently located at the Salisbury Township Municipal Building, 2900 South Pike Avenue, Allentown, PA 18103. An outreach specialist will be available the first Tuesday of each month from 9 a.m. until noon. For further information or to make an appointment, please call 610-861-5201.
40.56719
-75.449759
Salisbury Township Municipal Offices
2900 S Pike Ave, Allentown, PA
/articles/meet-simmons-rep-at-township-office-tuesday
1833987
/locations/9355074
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Police and emergency crews will converge on Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Monday for a mass casualty drill.
If you’re driving past Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Monday and see police cars, fire trucks and ambulances amassed, don't be alarmed. Dorney Park and South Whitehall police are partnering to conduct a full-scale emergency preparedness drill, according to a release from the township. The drill, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., is sponsored by the Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Counter Terrorism Task Force. While the emergency won't be real, the response will be as realistic as possible, officials say. The exercise will simulate a hazardous condition with many casualties during the peak of the park's summer season. "On a busy day, attendance at Dorney Park can result in the doubling of our population in South Whitehall," said …
40.577029
-75.536906
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
3830 Dorney Park Road, Allentown, PA
/articles/police-at-dorney-park-for-mass-casualty-drill-monday
1793322
/locations/9379244
Testimony at a recent Pa. Senate hearing told of liquor privatization as a harbinger of social chaos, but advocates of privatization say the concerns were overblown.
By Eric Boehm| PA Independent HARRISBURG – For most of the last two years, the debate over alcohol privatization in Pennsylvania has focused on the financial aspects of the Republican-backed plan to sell-off the state liquors. But such bottom-line issues took a backseat as the state Senate held the first of three planned hearings on the liquor bill passed by the state House in March. Social issues were front and center in the Senate Law and Justice Committee, with privatization painted as a harbinger of doom by a litany of testifiers who promised everything from an increase in crime and disease to higher rates of unemployment and prostitution. Related stories: And all, they said, because a private retailer would be allowed to sell a bottle…
Barry Kauffman, executive director of government reform group Common Cause Pennsylvania, said an outright gift ban would be a drastic culture change, but one that lawmakers could learn to live with.
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Back in March 2012 when Gov. Tom Corbett traveled Europe on a trade mission, he received a suave souvenir—a $275 fountain pen gifted by a public official at an event in Oyonnax, France. That was while Corbett was touting Pennsylvania as part of trade mission paid for by the Team Pennsylvania Foundation, a trip that cost nearly $11,000. Pennsylvania lawmakers, Corbett included, reported the extent of gifts and travels as part of financial disclosure forms due this week with the State Ethics Commission. The reports give a glimpse into what public officials receive from special interests in their district, across the state or even internationally. But some government watchdogs say gifts for …
Carol Ann
1:54 pm on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
As long as you are breathing, you will be paying an average of $300./month to your local public school district or you will lose the roof over your head. .... Until we get HB/SB76 passed, no matter who you are, what your income, or how long you live, your home or business property will be seized if you ever stop paying your School Property Tax. .... You can move from state to state, home to home… more ›