Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

HARRISBURG) – The Pennsylvania Department of Education has taken steps to establish Pennsylvania’s first Rural Regional Community College, announced Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25), Senator Bob Robbins (R-50) and Senator Scott Hutchinson (R-21). According to the legislators, the newly created community college is being established with the goal of offering two-year associate degrees, as well as training and certificate programs to underserved areas of the Commonwealth. Curriculum of the college will be determined by the Board of Trustees, based upon the future workforce needs of the designated region of Cameron, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, McKean, Potter, Venango and Warren counties. “I am very excited that groundwork for launching the Rural Regional Community College is now in place,” Senator Scarnati stated. “This will be the first community college to offer greatly needed higher educational opportunities to northwestern Pennsylvania. Thanks to input by edu...

HARRISBURG – Senate Republicans today elected their leadership team for the 2013-2014 legislative session. Senator Joe Scarnati (R-25) has been nominated once again to serve as President Pro Tempore. The full Senate will vote on Scarnati’s nomination when it reconvenes in January. As President Pro Tempore, he will be responsible for appointing the chairpersons and members of the standing committees of the Senate. He will also play a significant role in negotiations with the Administration and the House of Representatives. A native of Brockway in Jefferson County, Scarnati was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 2000. A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University at DuBois, the Senator is a third-generation small business owner and served in local government. Senator Dominic Pileggi (R-9) will serve his fourth term as Senate Majority Leader. His duties include overseeing the legislative agenda, developing policies an...

Harrisburg – Governor Tom Corbett today ceremonially signed seven pieces of legislation that will benefit Pennsylvania’s military veterans and Pennsylvania National Guard. “Today is about honoring a debt; a debt earned in blood and sacrifice,” Corbett said. “These bills are various in their goals. But they share the single purpose of repaying part of the debt we owe to those who have guarded our freedom and place their very lives between us and our enemies.’’ The ceremony was held this morning, nationally observed as Veterans Day, at the Pennsylvania National Guard’s Keystone Conference Center at Fort Indiantown Gap. Governor Corbett is himself a veteran, having served nearly 14 years in the National Guard. Joining Corbett at the signing today were members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, including The Adjutant General Major General Wesley Craig, as well as representatives of several veterans’ groups, lawmakers, state and local leaders. Legislation ceremonially signed today inc...

Some election results are inevitable because the candidates were running unopposed. In Pennsylvania, incumbent state representatives Marty Causer, Kathy Rapp and Matt Gabler did not have challengers, nor did incumbent State Senator Joe Scarnati. State Representative Scott Hutchinson can officially be called Senator-elect Hutchinson. He was running unopposed for the seat held by Mary Jo White, who is retiring. She was first elected in 1996. The 21st Senatorial District includes Forest, Clarion and Venango counties, and parts of Warren, Butler and Erie counties. In New York, incumbent State Senator Cathy Young ran unopposed. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Legislation sponsored by Sen. Mary Jo White (R-21) to help ensure that female students are offered athletic opportunities comparable to their male counterparts was unanimously approved today by the Senate. Watch the video here . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

State Rep. Scott Hutchinson of Oil City has announced that he will run this year for the state Senate seat now held by Mary Jo White. White has announced that she would not seek re-election to another term. Her district includes Venango and Forest counties and part of Warren and Butler counties. Hutchinson said he is committed to conservative, pro-growth, smaller government principles that allow working families and the small businesses that create jobs to keep more of their income. The Pennsylvania primary is April 24 and the general election is Nov. 6. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Senator Mary Jo White has decided she will not seek re-election in 2012. White was first elected to the Senate in 1996 and has served Clarion, Forest and Venango counties as well as parts of Warren, Butler and Erie counties. She is currently chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. She also serves on the state Environmental Quality Board. She is on the Center for Rural Health Practice Advisory Board and is a Commonwealth Trustee of the University of Pittsburgh. Before being elected to the Senate White served as an attorney and in other capacities with Quaker State Corporation. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission has approved a preliminary plan, but it will be under review for 30 days. If the new map is approved the districts of representatives Marty Causer, Kathy Rapp and Matt Gabler would all change. Causer would take over Rapp’s portion of McKean County and lose Cameron County, which would go to Gabler. Causer’s district would also include Mead and Sheffield townships and the Borough of Clarendon in Warren County. His district would not include part of Potter County: Abbott, Hecktor, Pike, Stewardson and West Branch townships, and the Borough of Galeton. That section of the county would go to Rep. Matt Baker. State Senator Joe Scarnati’s district would include parts of Clinton County and more of Clearfield County, but would not include the City of Warren, which would go to Senator Mary Jo White. Scarnati’s administrative assistant Anne Albright in Warren said she doesn’t know yet what will happen with that office. You can find all the information ab...

Harrisburg – The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, chaired by Sen. Mary Jo White (R-21), today approved amended legislation that would impose an impact fee on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. As amended by the committee, Senate Bill 1100 would set the fee at a flat $40,000 in the first year of production, followed by $30,000 in year two and $20,000 in year three. A fee of $10,000 would be assessed from years four through 10. The bill is sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25). White said the schedule reflects the decrease in community impacts as the well production decreases. Of the revenue collected, 60 percent would go to local and county governments with drilling activity, and 40 percent would go for environmental and safety initiatives. The amended bill also sets aside $1 million a year for training and equipment for emergency responders in Marcellus Shale drilling areas, and would allow drillers a credit of up to 30 percent of their fe...

A busload of students from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford traveled to Harrisburg today to lobby legislators concerning the proposed 50 percent cut in higher education funding in Governor Tom Corbett’s budget. The students met with senators Joe Scarnati and Mary Jo White, and representatives Marty Causer and Matt Gabler. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate said some funding will be restored to Pitt, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln before the final budget is approved.

The Senate Appropriations Committee, including Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango, Butler, part of Warren), continue public hearings on the proposed 2011-12 state budget. This afternoon, White asked acting DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn if there are any plans to close state parks because of the budget situation. She and John Norbeck of the Bureau of State Parks said all parks that were open last year will be open this year, with the same services they had last year. Parks that were closed last year, will remain closed. Photo provided by Senate Republican Communications

Harrisburg – State Sen. Mary Jo White (R-21), chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, applauds Governor Corbett for repealing the policy of imposing additional restrictions on oil and gas drilling on state park and forest land as part of the state Department of Environmental Protection's standard well-permitting process. "The Governor took the appropriate action in repealing the policy," said White. "As I outlined in my letter to Governor Rendell last November, the policy was irresponsible, and could potentially cost Pennsylvania taxpayers tens of millions of dollars from the impairment of existing contracts." White added that by repealing the policy, Governor Corbett properly upheld a legal precedent set in the case of Belden & Blake Corporation v. DCNR, where the courts prohibited the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources from imposing surface use agreements and drilling conditions on permit applicants who own...

The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources plans to open six tracts of land in state forests for natural gas leases. The 32,000 acres in Cameron, Potter, Clearfield, Tioga and Clinton counties was picked after a year of environmental reviews. The land is in the Elk, Moshannon, Sproul, Susquehannock and Tioga State Forests. DCNR Spokeswoman Chris Novak says the reviews are "meant to protect the health of the forest now and in the future." She said they look at ways to avoid wild and natural areas as well as vistas. She added that they try to make use of existing pipelines and roads. She says parts of the land cannot be developed in order to "protect wild or natural areas, water bodies, certain types of recreational opportunities." Novak says only a small portion of the total acreage would be used for actual well site location. State Senator Mary Jo White, chairwoman of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee she is pleased that the depa...

HARRISBURG -Complementary amendments sponsored by Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-Warren/Forest/McKean) and Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Warren/Butler/Clarion/Erie/Forest/Venango) to enable Warren General Hospital to purchase approximately 0.74 acres of land owned by the City of Warren for the fair market value of $81,500 were signed into law on Tuesday as part of Act 16 of 2009. "It was my privilege to once again work together with Senator Mary Jo White to facilitate final passage of this legislation for the citizens we represent," said Rapp. Originally introduced as House Bill 720, Rapp's legislation releases the Project 70 land use restrictions on the two parcels of land owned by the City of Warren to allow Warren General Hospital to move forward with its planned expansion of the current cancer treatment facility, additional physician office suites, and extra parking areas for patients, visitors and staff. "I was pleased to assist Representative Rapp in expeditiously moving the le...

Harrisburg – The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, chaired by Sen. Mary Jo White (R-21), unanimously approved legislation today that would ensure funding for services at state parks is not reduced as a result of budget constraints. The measures would permit the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to utilize funding from the Environmental Stewardship/Growing Greener Fund (Senate Bill 962) and Key '93 realty transfer tax revenue (Senate Bill 963) for the operation and maintenance of Pennsylvania's 117state parks. "The money in the Key '93 and Environmental Stewardship funds belongs to the taxpayers," White said. "Over the past several weeks, citizens have expressed their strong support in ensuring that services at state parks are not reduced. While this legislation does not require any transfer of funding to state parks, it gives the Governor and the Secretary of DCNR added flexibility to ensure that our state park system ...

Harrisburg – The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, chaired by Sen. Mary Jo White (R-21), will meet Tuesday to consider four bills. Senate Bill 235 authorizes the state Department of Environmental Protection to implement flood protection measures using nonstructural alternatives including acquisition of land and structures; demolition, removal, relocation, elevation and floodproofing of structures; and floodplain clearance and restoration. (Senator Wozniak) Senate Bill 880 authorizes the Secretary of Environmental Protection to enter into redevelopment agreements with developers who remediate brownfield sites. Developers may be eligible to receive a reimbursement of up to 75 percent of the remediation costs. (Senator Wonderling) In addition, the committee is expected to take up two bills sponsored by Senator White which would permit the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to utilize funding from its existing grant programs to ensure that no state pa...

Kinzua Bridge, Elk, Bendigo, Ole Bull and Clear Creek state parks are among those on the list that the Rendell Administration says would have to close under the Senate Republican budget plan. They all fall within the 25th Senate District but Joe Scarnati, who represents the district, says he doesn't believe any state parks will close. The adminisration says the senate plan would close 35 state parks. "Nothing could be further from the truth," Scarnati says, adding that Rendell's budget could be interpreted as closing up to 30 state parks. "So he put out a press release saying we're closing 35." "I think this diminishes the ability to get a budget done. It raises very false expectations of what's going on," he says. Two other parks – including Cook Forest – fall within the District of Senator Mary Jo White, who chairs the Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, and has been critical of DCNR. DCNR spokeswoman Christina Novak sa...

When (acting DEP Secretary John) Hanger was nominated seven months ago, (Senator Mary Jo) White said she wouldn't support his nomination because he had accused her of being corrupt due to her ties to various extractive industries. For the full story, go to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette .

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director During Appropriations Committee hearings today with the Office of the Administration, Senator Mary Jo White questioned why getting cell phone service in rural areas of the state seems to very low on the state's priority list. "We're like a Third World country up there," White said, referring particularly to the western and northwestern part of the state. She said when driving from her Warren office to her Oil City office she has coverage only about one-fifth of the time. She added that there are some places along Interstate 80 where you can't get coverage. "I think in a state, in this time and place, that is just unimaginable," White said. She said when the Office of Public Safety first started working on its project to provide emergency radio service to the entire state – in 1996 – she talked to the state police and technicians about making space available on their towers for cell phone providers. "I think t...