Stimulus Watch: Fighting Homelessness

Scott Kraus at The Morning Call continues to follow the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's impact on the Lehigh Valley:

The federal government announced more than a year ago that $3 million in stimulus dollars were headed to the Lehigh Valley to prevent and reverse homelessness.

That money is just beginning to make its way into the local economy in the form of emergency rent and utility payments to help the newly unemployed avoid eviction or get off the streets.

Federal funds always tend to arrive more slowly than folks would like, but they are arriving. Allentown's Commission on Ending Chronic Homelessness is working to publicize the new resources available, while governments and organizations across Lehigh and Northampton County are accessing the money. There are pots of money for emergency re-housing, for covering rent and utilities on a short-term basis and for employment counseling. It seems like a comprehensive approach that recognizes that people can be in crisis for a short amount of time, may just need a little assist to bridge a tough time, or may need a deeper level of support to pave the way to self-sufficiency.

Remember, you can always track stimulus funding at Recovery.gov

Northampton Council Plays Hardball With Sands

Props to Northampton County Council for doing what we urged Bethlehem City Council to do - hold the license renewal over Adelson's head until Sands resumes construction.

There's no point in reserving your leverage. When you have the upper hand, you press your advantage.

NOW Backs Sestak

This is quite the coup for Joe Sestak:

The National Organization for Women has taken sides in the Pennsylvania Senate race. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that NOW will back Rep. Joe Sestak in the Democratic primary which pits him against Sen. Arlen Specter.

According to the paper's interviews with officials from the organization, NOW made its decision "after two interviews and on the strong recommendation of the state leadership of the organization." NOW says Sestak's "support of workplace equality for women and for gay rights" led to its decision to support support his Senate campaign in 2010.

Until now (heh) no major national progressive organizations have publicly taken sides in the PA Democratic primary. Predictably, the state and local parties have all dutifully lined up behind Specter, but the advocacy groups have remained tight-lipped about who they're backing.

I'm not one who puts any stock in endorsements, especially in a high profile race like this. When was the last time you decided who to vote for based on an endorsement? But it's interesting because it shows how much distrust there is of Specter among the considerable swath of the electorate to his left.

Midterm elections are all about base turnout, and that dynamic is even more pronounced in primary contests. The composition of the electorate Specter will have to win over will certainly contain a higher proportion of partisan high-information voters than would be the case in a higher-turnout election year. And among those who know both candidates, Sestak leads 54-37.

Nobel economist Elinor Ostrum at Lafayette College

Michael Duck at the Valley 610 blog has an excellent post on a discussion he had with Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrum, who just visited Lafayette College, on the topic of economies of scale and local governance.  There's lots of good material here, but I thought this part about regional institutions was especially interesting:

My ears perked up when she mentioned her observations apply to local government resources, too — I am a local government reporter, after all. But Ostrum has far more experience examining these issues than I do: She told me she spent 15 years researching urban policing.

"There are not economies of scale for all policing," she said. "Small to medium sized police departments are able to provide citizens better direct services — [such as] patrols, immediate response — than large consolidated ones."

But she's not trying to say every little hamlet should just go it alone, because on the other hand there are some things the big guys do better and can better afford: There are economies of scale when it comes to things like crime labs and dispatching centers, she said.

The solution? "Break it up," she said. "Don't think that everything called 'policing' has to be done by the same agency."

I think this reasoning bears out what advocates have been saying about the merits of a bi-county health department and a regional crime data center.  It sounds to me like a key distinction is that its possible to achieve economies of scale by consolidating administrative functions and planning on the back end, but that a more decentralized approach is better suited to on-the-ground operations.

There are plenty more fascinating observations worth discussing here, so go read the whole thing.

Dent Votes Against Common-Sense Jobs Bill

Congressman Charlie Dent has now had 3 opportunities to help the roughly 10% of his district who are out of work, and he has chosen to vote against every one of them.

First, there was the Recovery Act, which enjoys consensus support from economists as a worthy step despite the fact that it was too small, and will create only 2.5 million jobs. Dent voted against it, citing his preference for much less effective measures.

Then in December, with unemployment still unacceptably high, the House passed a $150 billion jobs bill, mostly focused on infrastructure and job training. Charlie Dent voted against that too, and proffered an ignorant argument that would be met with gales of laughter from any economist.

Since that bill faced lockstep opposition from Senate Republicans, Harry Reid broke it down into smaller pieces to try to get Republican support. It worked, with 5 Republicans reaching across the aisle to vote for a common-sense package mostly comprised of a payroll tax holiday and other incentives for businesses to hire unemployed workers.

But when that same bipartisan bill was sent back to the House yesterday, supposed "moderate" Charlie Dent still voted against it, along with all but 6 House Republicans:

The $15 billion act, which originated in the Senate, passed narrowly by 217-201. It offers employers a payroll tax holiday if they hire unemployed workers and a $1,000 tax credit if they keep them on for a year. It also authorizes federal highway funding for the coming year and offers businesses tax credits for equipment investments. The Senate will have to vote again on the proposal because the House made some changes.

This is the worst downturn since the Great Depression. 10% of the Lehigh Valley is out of work. By opposing even the smallest of the small-bore common-sense job creation proposals being debated - indeed, exactly the sort of tax breaks Republicans have been asking for all along - Dent just looks petty, indifferent to the pain of his constituents. After all, if he won't vote for even these harmless proposals, is there anything he'd be willing to do to help the unemployed in his district?

LTE Digest

Good morning!

Today, we start a new feature, selecting some of our favorite letters to the editor from our local publications. First up, our inaugural "Grumpy Old Man/Woman" letter of the week, from Mr. Philip A. Beach of Bethlehem Township:

It seems the past generation's motivations of high moral standards have slipped by the wayside, being trumped by a dangerous mindset. Much of today's generation demands entitlement that indeed infiltrates almost every aspect of today's living. A wanting immediately the material and financial accomplishments that those of my generation took a half century to achieve. Sadly, what is not included in their desires is the taking on of integrity, hard work, sacrifice and accountability, which go hand in hand with lifetime achievements.

Granted, times are tough today with homeland terroristic threats and ongoing wars abroad against jihad extremists, complemented by our own joblessness and financial instability. Guess what? Living through the aftermath of the Great Depression and a World War was no circus given the massive military casualties and serious rationing of materials and food. Yet, those of that time persevered through much prayer, sacrifice and stamina to again prove this was and still is a great nation under God.

But somehow instead of united we stand, we are fast becoming a divided nation claiming rights by twisting or adding to the verbiage of our constitutional foundation forming the basis of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We must say no for entitlement to: abortion, legalized gay marriage, rampant government control, taxation, spending and suppression of religious expression in public schools.

Philip H. Beach Sr.
Bethlehem Township, Pa.

Also, GET OFFA MY LAWN!

Next up, a little religious fundamentalism for your reading pleasure, from noted theologian Damaris Oberman of Bethlehem:

In response to the Feb. 26 letter "Churches have a role in supporting gays," instead of being so eager to put words in the mouth of the Holy Spirit, let us allow the Holy Spirit to speak for Himself. In the New Testament it states in 2Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. This is what the Holy Spirit inspired in 1Corinthians 6:9-11: "Do you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

As there are many warnings throughout the Bible about adding or taking away what God has written, you can see the reluctance of the churches that remain true to the teachings of their Lord, Jesus Christ, to change anything.

Hundreds of years ago the word "gentleman" meant a man who had a title and land. Well-meaning people decided the term should be applied to any courteous, honorable man. In the same way, the word "Christian" seems to be changing to apply to anyone who is nice. Actually, a Christian is a specific person who follows a specific leader with specific teachings. Of course, it includes being nice, but let us not confuse the terms.

Damaris Oberman
Bethlehem

You got that folks? You're neither a gentleman NOR a Christian, no matter how nice you are to the gays! Why? Because Damaris says so, that's why.

There's more...

Moving on...Russell Lance is mad as hell:

Now the Bethlehem Area School District wants to increase school taxes by 10 percent-plus to pay for pensions and teacher salaries, no less. Not to give our children the best possible education, but to make sure past and current teachers are taken care of. In a time when all of us are hurting with the recession, the school board has the gall to try and do this. Like so many others in the workforces of the United States, it's time for teachers to do their bit of sacrificing. It's time again to stand up, people of Bethlehem, and say, ''I'm mad as hell, and and I'm not going to take it any more!'

Russell Lance
Bethlehem

You know, I really feel for teachers, they're one of the few professions where every Russell, Dick and Sally gets to weigh in on whether or not they are overpaid. With two kids in elementary school, I see how high the stakes are. I see how hard these (mostly women) work. And I see the cars in my kids' school parking lot -- trust me, these folks aren't getting rich.

Wow, now Russell has ME mad as hell. Thanks, Russell!

OK, deep cleansing breath. Let's finish with a quiet plea from Dr. William Steele of Lower Macungie Township:

Two deficit-funded wars against nations that pose no threat to the United States, and we are told we do not have money for single-payer health care.

We do have the money. Now we need leaders with the will and moral strength to do what is right. Please represent humans, not cash.

Dr. William Steele
Lower Macungie Township

Now, to that, I can truly say "Amen."

Looming Wal-Mart

I started to write about Wal-Mart and the impending 21% increase in traffic on Rt. 309, but I like Capri's post on it so much that I'll just send you over to her blog instead.

Bits and Bobs: Hang Up and Drive Edition

• The Allentown City Council unanimously passed a new ordinance banning the use of hand-held cellphones while driving within the city. Spearheaded by new Councilman Mike Schlossberg, the law goes into effect ten days after Mayor Pawlowski signs the bill.
• A nicely coordinated pursuit netted an alleged bank robber within a half hour of his crime today. The bank was robbed in Bethlehem, but a Lower Saucon officer gave chase beyond the city limits and was aided by a state trooper. Apparently the suspect, who waved a gun, may also be the guy who robbed the Pott's Hot Dog shop on Fairview Street in Bethlehem.
• Bethlehem City Councilman and Moravian College alumni Willie Reynolds apparently supports the College's effort to house all of its students on campus. Reynolds isn't that far away from his college years, so he knows the impact that students can have on a neighborhood. Now as a councilman, that impact is something he has to deal with when governing the city. 
• RenewLV’s next brown-bag session will be held on Friday, March 12th, 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Center, 432 West Walnut St, Allentown. The topic for this brown-bag session is Redevelopment Efforts in the Lehigh Valley, with specific focus on the work of the redevelopment authorities in the region’s cities.I've heard these are really well attended, and am planning to attend myself.

Have a productive Thursday!

Taxpayers Will Bail Out LV Polluter Property Owners

Last week, the Morning Call's excellent investigative reporters Christopher Baxter and Tim Darragh reported on the problem of leaking underground gas tanks contaminating soil and water, exposing the public to dangerous chemicals with no warning from municipalities.

Today, Baxter and Darragh report that taxpayers, not the property owners, will be paying for the clean-up with stimulus money:

A subcontractor approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection this week began work to remove three 6,000-gallon gas tanks and a 1,000-gallon kerosene tank at the former Hilltop Texaco at 208 N. Walnut St.

The property, littered with old tractor-trailers, rusting machinery and steel drums, is owned by Edwin L. Ziegler.

The cleanup, budgeted at $50,438, is being financed with a slice of $6.1 million in federal stimulus cash Pennsylvania received to remove aged underground tanks.

Getting old tanks out of ground -- even ones that are no longer in use, like those at the former Texaco -- is necessary to prevent the potential for widespread environmental damage.

It is insane that taxpayers are left holding the bag while Ziegler straight up refuses to cooperate, claiming he's "too busy" to even discuss it. Furthermore, if this is from an out-of-business Texaco, why wasn't it Texaco's responsibility to pull their gas tanks out of the ground before they fled the scene?

Fortunately for taxpayers, it looks like their are some options for clawing this money back when the clean-up is over:

That leaves the question of whether Ziegler can be forced to reimburse taxpayers for the tank removal.

''In every case, we've told these people that they're potentially subject to cost recovery when we're done,'' said George Hartenstein, DEP Environmental Program manager. ''Their ability to pay is definitely looked at.''

DEP could sue to recover the costs, or it could place a lien on the property, Hartenstein said. It depends on the property owner's ability to repay as well as the state's potential legal costs, he said. ''It's a case-by-case evaluation.''

The DEP should by all means begin exploring their options for recovering this ridiculous expenditure.

What I continue to find most disturbing about this episode is the lack of coordination between municipalities. East Allen had the information, but did not notify Upper Nazareth and was not required to. Further, the municipalities were not required to alert residents to the problem.

Add this to the long list of reasons why we need a Regional Public Health Department. Neither municipality has the capacity or the money to do this on its own. This is a perfect example of how the ability to respond competently to problems that span multiple jurisdictions is needlessly hamstrung by a lack of regional coordination and communication.

Wary or Just Plain Confused?

A new poll by Quinnipiac University indicates that most Pennsylvania voters haven't come close to settling on a choice in the Governor's race. With a crowded primary field, Democratic voters are scattering their support widely. If my math is right, the top four Democratic gubernatorial candidates account for only 39% of the voters; a staggering 59% of Democrats responded "Don't Know."

Republicans won't face as many names on the ballot as Dems, but still, 49% remain undecided with less than two months until primary day. In the Republicans' case, however, Tom Corbett is the clear front runner, with 43% of GOP respondents voicing support. Still, 48% said they didn't know enough to form an opinion.

The Morning Call's take on the poll is that voters are "wary," but my sense is that voters are just plain confused. I'm a generally pretty well educated voter, and I still don't know who the heck I'm voting for. Certainly the Onorato team has been the most aggressive locally, I think they call me or email me every day. But I still don't know much about him or any of the other candidates.

With fourth-grade science fair projects and dinner to prepare and the health care reform debate and the earthquake in Haiti and a Senatorial primary and, and, and, and....well, I just haven't gotten focused on this race yet. I'm sort of secretly hoping a couple of candidates drop out before the primary, but at this point I don't think that will happen.

So, has anyone out there settled on a candidate in either primary? If so, why? I'm interested in hearing what you all are thinking!

Bethlehem Council Disarms, Punts on Sands Resolution

Last month, amid rumors that Sands was eyeing a new casino in Florida, Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan asked the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to make the casino's license renewal conditional upon a clear timeline for resuming construction of the hotel, mall, and conference center portion of the complex. Even after that hearing, Sands remained noncommittal on a specific timeline.

Then, this past weekend the Express Times reported that Sands was considering selling the Bethlehem casino while eyeing an expansion in Asia. Sands quickly dismissed the charge as unfounded, and offered assurances that construction would resume in the next several weeks.

A key fact to note here is that Sands never denied its exploration of expansion opportunities in either case. That means they either have money to spend or think they can get financing. And if they can get financing in Florida, why not Bethlehem?

But despite the hedging and wavering from Sands in the face of hints that their financial position is not as bad as they claim, the Bethlehem City Council quizzically moved to table a resolution urging the company to finish the job.

Why?

I'm not suggesting Council members should assume bad faith on the part of Sands. But I think there's enough of a bad smell surrounding this that the city government should exercise what little leverage it has to fire a warning shot. The city should not miss the opportunity to secure a timeline for completion of construction by needlessly forfeiting its leverage over the casino's license renewal.

Topeka, Kansas Changes Its Name to 'Google'

The race to win Google Fiber for Communities sure is getting competitive:

At 79, Bill Bunten doesn't exactly understand the Internet boom. The Topeka, Kansas, mayor has an e-mail account, he said, but his assistants take care of most of his online communications and tend to search the Web for him.

But Bunten believes so firmly that younger residents of Kansas' capital city will benefit from faster Internet connections that he wants Topeka -- which he describes as a place of many lakes and the site of a burgeoning market for animal-food research -- to change its name for a month.

In a formal proclamation Monday, Bunten announced his city will be known as "Google" -- Google, Kansas.

Bits and Bobs: Brainy Bloggers Busy Blogging

Good morning! Lots of good posts to discuss from around the LV blogosphere this morning:

• As Allentown City Council prepares to vote on the Trail Network plan, Andrew Kleiner and Mike Molovinsky offer dueling statements. You won't be surprised that I find Andrew's case much more persuasive. I think the plan contains the seeds of its own future political support. Mike still hasn't offered a convincing explanation for how he thinks the political support for spending more on maintenance of the existing parks will materialize.
• Pamela Varkony reports on the real leadership on display by Allentown Councilman Mike Schlossberg and Matt Tuerk of Allentown Economic Development Corp in coordinating Allentown's proposal for Google Fiber RFI.
• Daniel Patrick Sheehan of the Morning Call has a profile of the former-urbanite owners of Gottschell Farms in Upper Saucon Township.
• Blaine Wade at the Southside Community Gardens blog links to a piece on Tim Will, a 61-year-old social entrepreneur who recently won a prize for creating an online ordering system for Applachian farms to sell directly to restaurants. Could something like this be replicated in the Lehigh Valley?
• Alex Corgan at RenewLV highlights some preventable health problems that persist at a depressing level in the Lehigh Valley, many of which could easily be remedied through better regional public health infrastructure.
• The Coalition for Appropriate Transportation is holding a Ride the Right Way Day event on March 15 at the Grand Eastonian. The focus will be on Shared Lane Marking. It's a good inexpensive way to increase the perception that cycling is safe, which is an important part of growing the number of people who get around on bike.

Arlen Specter: Poll Winner

Since I've posted so many times about bad Specter polls, it would be completely unfair if I didn't post this one -- which actually shows that Specter isn't necessarily 100% dead in the General, even if it isn't that far off.

A new poll by Quinnipiac released today looks pretty reasonable with 1,452 Pennsylvania voters surveyed and a margin of error of +/- 2.6%. It shows Specter leading both Toomey and Sestak by margins of 49-42 and 53-29, respectively.

Keep in mind that this is a poll of registered voters, not likely voters. I actually prefer registered voter polls this early on in the race, because so much can happen in eight months leading up to an election that a pollster taking a risk on "likely voters" could provide a skewed result. With that being said, likely voters certainly would have tipped this election towards Toomey, since Democratic enthusiasm in this election is estimated to be unusually low. I would have rather seen a "likely voter" poll for Specter/Sestak, however, because their election is only two and a half months away, so it would have yielded a more likely result.

Obviously (with this being a poll and everything), it doesn't all mean good news for Specter. Only 38% of Pennsylvania voters believe Specter should be re-elected, with 52% of voters saying that he doesn't deserve re-election. Those are extremely tough numbers to bounce back from, no matter what any head-to-head match-up says. When over 50% of a state that you're running in thinks that you are undeserving of re-election, you've got a big problem.

Some more good news for Specter is that he reaches over 51% in the poll against Sestak, which is obviously where you need to be in order to win an election. However, the other side of that argument is that Quinnipiac's margin of error rises to +/- 3.9% with regards to the Democratic primary, so that means that Specter could be as low as 49% in their own polling. If that's the case, it's a battle of the Democratic undecideds.

Also, remember that, if this was a poll of Democratic likely voters -- rather than registered voters -- the numbers could turn, giving better play to Sestak, based on grassroots enthusiasm. And Dan Hirschhorn over at PA2010 argues for the possibility of a Sestak upset if he plays his cards right.

Overall, it's certainly not a bad poll for Specter, but if you dig in deep, it's not so good either. If he hovers around numbers like this one, he could have a shot.

Extra polling tidbit: More Pennsylvania Republicans approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as President (16%) than Democrats that disapprove (14%). Overall, Pennsylvanians approve 49-46.

Charlie Dent's Female Trouble

You know how bloggers try to be all clever and funny and stuff? Well, I've been trying to think of a way to be all clever and funny and stuff about a topic for about four days now (forgive me Jon and Ryan, I'm not pulling my load here!).

But you know what? When "my" congressman votes AGAINST legislation that helps women, and votes FOR legislation that penalizes poor women just for being poor -- I guess I just don't find it that funny.

Here's the story: The other day I got a fund raising email from John Callahan. Not exactly breaking news, I suppose, and for the record, I didn't donate any money.

But the subject line was pretty unusual. It was called "Time Warp." No, it wasn't about The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was about two very real votes cast by Congressman Charlie Dent.

Specifically, Dent voted against the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and for the so-called "Stupak-Pitts Amendment," currently part of the House's version of the health care reform legislation working its way through congress.

If you aren't familiar with the Lily Ledbetter Act, you can read a fairly thorough accounting of the case history that led to the Act here at Findlaw. The Lily Ledbetter Act ensures women the ability to sue for equal pay by fixing weaknesses in the original legislation known as Title VII. Basically, Ledbetter lost her case because more than 180 days had elapsed from the initial time of the discrimination to when she filed suit against her employer. Of course, she had no clue she was being seriously underpaid compared to her male counterparts (as much as 40% less!) until much much later than that, so there was simply no way she could have filed suit within the time constraints.

The law now states:

"...unlawful employment practice occurs, with respect to discrimination in compensation in violation of this title, when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, or when an individual is affected by application of a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid, resulting in whole or in part from such a decision or other practice."

Dent voted against the Ledbetter Act, which was the first piece of legislation President Obama signed into law. I should point out that only THREE Republicans in the entire Congress voted for this act, which really should give any woman pause.

There's more...

The Stupak-Pitts Amendment (co-sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican) seeks to prevent any federal funds from paying for abortion services under the reforms of the health care system currently in the works. Of course the Hyde Amendement already does this, so this seems unnecessary. The problem with Stupak is that it goes even further. It will curtail private insurance companies' coverage of abortion services, since any insurance offered on "The Exchange," could be purchased using federal subsidies. In essence, Stupak-Pitts penalizes poor women and women who need to use The Exchange to purchase insurance -- it prevents them from accessing a legal medical procedure.

Charlie Dent voted FOR Stupak-Pitts. As I noted earlier, this was a bi-partisan amendment. 64 Democrats and 176 Republicans voted for the amendment.

Now, abortion is a thorny topic, and in Pennsylvania the lines are not drawn by party, but the fact is that Roe vs. Wade is the law of the land, stare decisis as the conservative Supremes always like to tout. Stupak-Pitts is an ugly jab at poor women, it basically says "too bad."

Even worse, I think, it tells all women, "we can decide what is and isn't right for your health." So much for that whole worry over "government getting between you and your doctor," eh? When it comes to women's health, well, that's another story.

This is information women voters (and the men who love them) deserve to have when they are deciding who they want as their Congressman.

Bits and Bobs: Only Tuesday Edition

• The 2010 Census is starting, and most people will get their forms within the next two weeks. Getting an accurate count in PA is especially important because the Census numbers are used for redistricting in 2011, and PA is projected to lose one House seat.

• An unseasonably cold winter in the South, which is obviously not the result of climate change, has led to a low yield of tomatoes, tripling prices. We can expect more of these kinds of random problems as the planet warms and global weather patterns change.

• LANTA linked to these cool bus stations. Not very practical, but good design definitely has a role to play in making transit options more attractive.

• Allentown is putting together a proposal to be a test city for ridiculously high-speed Google Fiber. You can help by filling out a recommendation.

• RenewLV is having another Brown Bag Lunch on the topic "Redevelopment Efforts in the Lehigh Valley" on Friday, March 12th and the Lehigh Valley Heritage Center. The last one was apparently very well-attended.

Who's Ready For Another Rate-Hike?

WFMZ reports that PPL is already proposing a brand-spankin' new "modest" increase of electric rates in 2011. Although the percent of the increase is not yet finalized, I would imagine that PPL thought that their 30% rate-hike this past month was also pretty reasonable, so I'm sure we can expect something equally exciting next year as well. Thank you, utility deregulation!

Size Matters

Tammy Alonso has an interesting post at pa2010 asking if the PA legislature is too big:

Do we really need 253 men and women to adequately represent our interests in Harrisburg?

That’s pretty much a rhetorical question, because we pretty much all know the answer.

Our legislature is the second-largest in the nation, surpassed only by the General Court of New Hampshire, with its 400 representatives and 24 senators, an amazing statistic from the independently-minded “live free or die” state. And in 2005, our members enjoyed the country’s second-highest base pay making Harrisburg’s the costliest state legislature per capita in the United States (though it’s worth that the state also has one of a only a few full-time legislatures, and on that list, our lawmakers’ salaries are near the bottom).

And what have all of those members and money gotten us? Not much, if last year’s lengthy budget impasse and the disturbing revelations of rampant, institutional and structural corruption coming out of the ongoing Bonusgate investigations are any indication (maybe when they were looking for places to trim the budget they should have looked a little closer to home).

Tammy goes on to recommend a Constitutional Convention, an idea that seems to be gaining momentum lately. I'd personally like to see two main changes to state government result from such a Convention.

First, we need fewer elected officials. Most people don't have a lot of time to pay close attention to politics, and currently there are just way too many elected officials to monitor. Pennsylvanians elect a Governor, a Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, and Auditor General, a State Treasurer, a House representative, a state Senator, a district judge, and a Supreme Court justice.

In my view, it would be better to elect only a Governor, an Attorney General, and one state representative. This would make it much easier for people to know who to hold accountable at election time. At a minimum, we should switch to a unicameral legislature, which happens to be what William Penn originally designed. The election of judges, especially to the Supreme Court, needlessly introduces politics into a branch of government where it shouldn't exist. It's insane.

Second, we need to depoliticize redistricting by giving that responsibility to an independent commission. Politicians shouldn't choose their voters; voters should choose their politicians. The Republican gerrymandering fiasco of 2000 made elections much less competitive than they should be. A politician who doesn't think he's in danger of being unseated is an unaccountable politician.

What changes would you like to see come out of Constitutional Convention?

Help A Refreshing $250K Get to Bethlehem Skateplaza

I could write for pages and pages about how amazing it would be to have Homebase's Bethlehem Skateplaza come to fruition in Bethlehem. Thankfully, it looks like it's well on the way.

Their mission:

Our mission is to establish a world-class Skateplaza in Bethlehem, Pa. that is unrivaled in its progressive design and immense size. The plan addresses the needs of the community and the desires of action sports’ enthusiasts to exercise in a safe, secure environment. Benefits include strengthening community partnerships, providing positive youth development and contributing to the health and physical well-being of our City in a multi-use, park-like setting.

So that this post doesn't get bogged down in economic talking points from me about how great it would be for the community -- and everybody, in general -- to have this park, let me just post quickly what you can do to help them.

The Bethlehem Skateplaza is relying on using money mainly raised through community donations, grants, local business sponsorships and hopefully corporate advertising dollars. The Pepsi Refresh Project giving organizations and causes that will benefit the community a chance to win grants up to $250,000. (Voting starts today through March 31st.)

Here are Homebase's instructions if you are interested:

1. Go to: http://www.refresheverything.com/bethlehemskateplaza
   
2. Click “Sign In” along the bottom of the page by using your Facebook Account or by creating a Pepsi user name. To create a new account, enter your email address, and click no, “I'm new here,” and follow the instructions to register your email. You can vote once per email registered per day.
   
3. Once signed in, click “Vote for this Idea” on the right hand side of the webpage.
   
4. Spread the word to all your friends, co-workers, family via Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, email, etc. to vote for the project.
   
5. REMEMBER TO VOTE EVERYDAY!
   

If you think this is a worthwhile project, you can possibly help the Bethlehem Skateplaza raise $250,000 by clicking a button once a day. Not bad.

Bits and Bobs: Weekend News Round-Up

• Las Vegas Sands wants to sell its Bethlehem casino. Bethlehem City Council needs to pass John Callahan's resolution to make their license renewal contigent upon finishing the hotel, mall, and conference center. The most ridiculous part of this situation is that Sands is straight up saying they have the money to expand in Asia. They're specifically not saying they don't have the money to clean up the mess in Bethlehem. It seems pretty obvious to me that the casino would be "performing better" if there were other attractions around the site.

UPDATE: The Sands is denying the rumors. Here's their official statement:

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) said today that recent rumors of the company's supposed interest in selling its Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem property, or indefinitely delaying the completion of the hotel and other components of the development, are unfounded and contrary to that, the company has already mobilized its development team in the region and could restart construction on the 300-room hotel tower within the next several weeks, or as soon as subcontractors are lined up and activated.

"We are looking forward to reviewing our table games application with the Gaming Control Board, and at the same time we have undertaken efforts which will result in construction resuming on the hotel portion of the development in the very near future," said Las Vegas Sands Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon G. Adelson.

"With the addition of table games, Sands Bethlehem will become the most complete and convenient gaming destination for millions of New York City and northern New Jersey residents and, at the same time, enhance the profitability of the property starting in the foreseeable future," said Mr. Adelson. Mr. Adelson said the company would assess restarting construction on the remaining aspects of the development, including the retail space and multi-purpose facilities, while it prepares for table games and the resumption of construction on the hotel tower.

• Kevin Conrad at RenewLV's Crossroads blog has a good take on the Call story on leaking underground gasoline tanks in Upper Nazareth, and how the situation could be improved with better regional coordination. It seems like a no-brainer that municipalities should be required to notify adjacent property owners of pollution from the tanks. Gerald Gasda says he would notify residents if they asked. Shouldn't the city tell you even if you don't ask?

• The Morning Call finds Lehigh Valley residents have contradictory, unworkable opinions on what to do about school budgets, but raising taxes is less unpopular than laying off teachers or cutting classes and activities. Ed Rendell's proposal to save money by consolidating school districts is the least unpopular, with 45% support. It's safe to predict lots of people would complain about having their own district consolidated, but the result would be greater accountability since people would have fewer politicians to monitor.

• The conservative Commonwealth Foundation has silly things to say about PA transportation policy. President Matthew Brouillette seems to think a fragmented approach to transit funding is best because mass transit is "totally unrelated" to highway use. In the real world, reducing transit ridership would put more drivers on the road, increasing congestion and highway maintenance costs. A holistic approach to transportation policymaking makes more sense.

• Perennial candidate and crank nutcase Ron Shegda will challenge Bob Freeman again for the 136th District.

• I'd like to hear more from Michael Donovan about which government positions he thinks should be changed from political appointments to professional civil service.