Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

REED, SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE JAMESTOWN COMEDY CENTER IS OFFICIALLY  THE NATIONAL COMEDY CENTER OF THE UNITED STATES Reps: “National Comedy Center Is A Cultural Institution And Tourism Magnet: Connecting, Inspiring, And Educating Visitors From All Over The Country About America’s Rich History Of Comedy” National Comedy Center Also Builds On A Tradition Of Comedy History In Jamestown, NY, Birthplace Of Legend Lucille Ball Reed, Schumer, Gillibrand: Comedy Has Found Its Permanent Home In Jamestown WASHINGTON –  Representative Tom Reed, Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that their legislation designating Jamestown’s National Comedy Center as the official “National Comedy Center” of the United States has passed Congress and been signed into law as part of the 2019 Lands Package. The Comedy Center, located in downtown Jamestown and partially built to honor the vision of Jame...

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GRLI) Act of 2014, a bill which Rep. Tom Reed was an original cosponsor of, passed the House of Representatives today. The bill authorizes clean-up endeavors and efforts to combat invasive species in the Great Lakes watershed including projects in Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Seneca and Tompkins counties. “The health of our lakes and waterways is critical to our economy and quality of life,” Reed observed. “The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative cares for our environmental cleanup efforts in the Great Lakes region. The collaborative approach of the program helps coordinate resources so projects can be carried out in the most effective manner.” The GLRI focuses on cleaning waterways, preventing and controlling invasive species, and reducing harmful algal bloom in the Great Lakes watershed. GLRI supports 16 projects in the 23rd Congressional District, which lies in the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario watersheds. The news leader of the Twin Ti...

Governor Tom Corbett and his Democratic challenger Tom Wolf are putting in a full day of campaigning the day before tomorrow’s election. Corbett will be attending rallies in every media market in the state today, ending in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Wolf will also be in Pittsburgh, and also Lancaster. He spent the weekend in southeastern Pennsylvania, and was joined by President Barack Obama at a rally at Temple University in Philadelphia. Corbett’s running mate is current lieutenant governor Jim Cawley. Wolf’s running mate is current state Senator Mike Stack of Philadelphia. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo is being challenged by Rob Astorino. In race for the Twin Tiers’ representatives in Washington – the incumbent Republican men in both Pennsylvania and New York are up against Democratic women. In PA, Kerith Strano Taylor is challenging Glenn Thompson. In New York, Martha Robertson is challenging Tom Reed. In Salamanca, Mayor Carmen Vechhiarella is pitted against Ronald ...

UPDATE from our listeners/readers: I-86 eastbound (toward Bradford/Limestone) is open, but westbound (to Salamanca) is still closed . Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder, Sr. today announced the re-opening of Interstate 86, the Southern Tier Expressway, between Exits 20 and 23 on the Allegany Territory of the Seneca Nation in Cattaraugus County. Interstate 86 had been closed to traffic since early May as part of a $21 million reconstruction project. “Interstate 86 reopens today a more resilient roadway that will better serve residents and facilitate commercial activity in the Southern Tier," Governor Cuomo said. “This administration is committed to improving the quality of life for New Yorkers, and making smart investments in our infrastructure is absolutely critical.” The Interstate 86 improvement project included the major rehabilitation of approximately seven miles of road surface between Exit 20 and three miles west of Exit 23, and minor r...

Tom Reed today highlighted the bipartisan “Hospice Opportunities for Supporting Patients with Integrity and Care Evaluations Act” (HOSPICE Act) after the House and Senate passed the bill last week. Reed’s bipartisan HOSPICE Act was drafted with input from local hospice caregivers and is supported by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. The bill will ensure hospice facilities are able to continue providing quality care to patients and their families by putting fair accountability and transparency measures in place. The bill was included in the final version of the bipartisan “Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014” (IMPACT Act) and will now go on to the White House for signature. “By putting these fair accountability and transparency measures in place, our goal is to give patients access to the highest quality care possible,” said Reed. “We need to make sure families have access to all levels of care, including hospice and palliativ...

US Congressman Tom Reed will hold a town hall meeting Saturday in the city of Salamanca. All constituents with questions, concerns and thoughts are encouraged to attend and participate. The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in Salamanca City Hall, 225 Wildwood Avenue. “We’re looking forward to spending the weekend with Southern Tier residents to listen to their thoughts and take what they have to say to Washington,” Reed said. “The kinds of face-to-face conversations we have at these town halls are essential to making sure our area is heard and represented. The more participation, the better.” Reed recently worked with the Salamanca School District to secure a $2.7 million dollar impact aid award that helped decrease property taxes for residents. Reed called the federal aid a “lifeline for the school district and taxpayers alike” who will see lower taxes as a direct result of the award. Reed has already heard from residents and school employees about partnering in upcoming...

Congressman Tom Reed was presented with the “Champion of Healthcare Innovation” award Wednesday by the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC) during their 2014 Healthcare Innovations Expo. “Innovation is critical in all sectors but most importantly in the field of health care,” Reed said in a news release sent to WESB. “Encouraging innovative thinking and the use of 21st century technology will save lives, with the latest breakthroughs in care largely dependent on the medical technology and research fields,” Reed said. “We need to constantly be developing better, more efficient and lower cost ways of delivering that care. It’s a daily challenge and we have great partners in our local hospitals and research universities working to make that next breakthrough.” Reed was honored at HLC’s 2014 Healthcare Innovations Expo in Washington. The annual event showcases new developments in healthcare technologies, treatments and practices from health care providers across the country. Pictured,...

Congressman Tom Reed will be coming to Limestone next week. Reed will hold a Town Hall meeting at 1 p.m. on February 8 at the Limestone Fireman’s Community Center on Main Street. Also that Saturday, he will be at the Charlotte Town Hall in Sinclairville at 8 a.m., the Persia Town Hall in Gowanda at 10 a.m. and the Friendship Town Hall in Friendship at 3:30 p.m. “The conversations we have at these public town halls are absolutely essential to representing our area and I always welcome the conversation – the topics are up to the residents,” Reed said. “I hope to hear many voices join the discussion and share their thoughts so we can take their input to Washington. The more local voices we can bring down to Washington, the better.” The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Pete Rahn of HNTB Corporation chats with Anne Holliday about a study from a transportation research group that found 27 percent of America’s roads are in substandard condition. Listen here . PA US Senator Bob Casey PA US Senator Pat Toomey PA Congressman Glenn "GT" Thompson NY US Senator Chuck Schumer NY US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand NY Congressman Tom Reed The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Congressman Tom Reed and the House Manufacturing Caucus welcomed a panel of experts Tuesday to Washington for a discussion on the “National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) – Past, Present and Future.” The caucus delved into a conversation of the first national manufacturing innovation institute, what current proposals exist for additional institutes, and the outlook for legislation to authorize future innovation centers to promote job growth in the United States. “Having a network of manufacturing institutes is what we need here in America to ‘Make it here, sell it there,’” Congressman Tom Reed said. “The Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act I introduced in the House will add more manufacturing institutes to bolster private-sector job creation and advance our competitive edge. We’ll engage the best and the brightest minds in manufacturing, academia and business to move American manufacturing forward.” Caucus Members were joined by panelists from the...

Rep. Tom Reed, county police, sheriff, fire and emergency services departments gathered at Cornell University Thursday for an Emergency Responders Advisory Board meeting. The group focused primarily on funding opportunities including grants made available to emergency and first responders. “With the relationships we’re building with local emergency and first responders, we have a better understanding of what they are looking toward Congress to help them with,” Reed said. “Fire departments, EMS organizations, police departments – they all have specific equipment and personnel needs and the better we understand those needs, the better equipped Washington will be to address them and address them fairly.” “As the Chief of Police at a large Ivy League University that works closely with other first responders in our community, this type of forum is essential to communicating what our needs are to do the best job in responding to and preventing emergencies,” said Chief Kathy Zoner o...

Congressman Tom Reed of New York and the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources continued its welfare reform hearing series Wednesday, gathering feedback from public assistance directors on how states’ flexibility to test various welfare programs leads to improved success rates in helping low-income individuals and families out of the welfare system and toward self sufficiency. “(The) hearing was an opportunity to engage face-to-face with those who administer welfare programs and solicit input on how we can improve the programs to better care for the working poor,” Reed said. “Welfare assistance programs are not required, nor designed, to work with one another and this presents a burden on the whole system and is not fair to recipients or taxpayers. With over 80 federal programs working independently from one another, there is a clear need to communicate and coordinate among programs.” The hearing, titled “Improving the Safety Net: Better Coordinating Today’s Maze of P...

Congressman Glenn "GT" Thompson spoke with RadioPA's Brad Christman the day before the Congressional Natural Gas Caucus hearing in Williamsport Friday. You can listen here Read about the hearing here . Note: NY Congressman is also a chair of the caucus. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Rep. Tom Reed amendment to restore millions in funding for nuclear cleanup at the West Valley Demonstration Project site passed the House of Representatives Tuesday evening in a bipartisan vote, ensuring cleanup efforts are able to continue at the local site. “Providing adequate funding for nuclear cleanup is positive news for the health and safety of the local community, the care of the environment, and taxpayers who would otherwise see added costs in future years,” Reed said. “Rather than allowing more taxpayer dollars to disappear into D.C. bureaucracy, this common sense amendment is fair to taxpayers and directs help to the sites where it is needed most and I am pleased to partner with fellow New York Member Rep. Brian Higgins once again on this important amendment.” “Cleanup at West Valley isn’t a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ and delaying what needs to be done only costs more in the long run,” said Congressman Higgins. “If this radioactive waste makes its way into the Great Lak...

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson today voted to support H.R. 1991, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, a bill to prevent the student loan interest rate increase scheduled for July 1, 2013, and set all new student loans, except Perkins loans, to a market-based system. Loan rates would be calculated using the 10-year Treasury note plus 2.5 percent, reset once a year, and capped during higher rate environments. Thompson delivered the following remarks during floor debate before the bill passed the House by a vote of 221-198. “Short-term, one-year patches are not fair to our students and leave them waiting on Congress each year to see if it will act to prevent a rate increase,” Reed said. “Today’s bill prevents students from seeing their interest rates jump to 6.8 percent, which is mandated by law if Congress does not act. This is the long-term solution local colleges and students have been advocating for, lowering rates for federal loan recipients...

Congressman Tom Reed announced today that Megan Clark, a sophomore at Clymer Central High School, is the winner of the 2013 Congressional Art Competition from the 23rd district. Megan’s artwork will be put on display in the United States Capitol in Washington, DC where thousands of visitors from across the country will view the artwork. “Congratulations to Megan on her winning entry in this year’s contest,” said Rep. Tom Reed. “I know our panel of judges had some difficult decisions to make again with this year’s entries which goes to show what high caliber of talent we have in our area. I am proud to have Megan’s photography hang in the Capitol representing our district.” Each of the original entries from high school students throughout the district were judged by a panel of art professors from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Megan’s digital photography titled “One Way” will hang in the Capitol for the entire year of the exhibition. Megan has also been invited to th...

Rep. Tom Reed highlighted today a local utility plant report concluding how plentiful natural gas reserves can help lower utility rates for consumers, including homeowners and manufacturers. “As evidenced by the Dunkirk NRG utility plant, our ability to access this clean-burning fuel will help provide cheaper electricity rates from natural gas fired generators, lowering costs for home heating and attracting manufacturers to the area,” Reed said. “Simply put, this means more money in people's pockets.” According to the Energy Information Administration, over 60 percent of the natural gas consumed in the United States is used in residential, commercial and industrial applications. “Providing more natural gas to the markets will help get the American economy moving and bring manufacturing industries back to our region. By providing lower energy costs to manufacturers, they will have the ability to expand their businesses and add more jobs.” Reed pointed to a recent...

Congressmen Tom Reed (R-NY) and Tim Ryan (D-OH), Co-Chairs of the bipartisan House Manufacturing Caucus, held a workforce development panel Thursday with presentations from individuals in both the manufacturing and education sectors on how the two can collaborate. “Manufacturers are facing a very real problem of a skills gap in today’s workforce,” Reed said. “While we have 12 million Americans out of work, 3.6 million job openings remain unfilled – largely due to a skills gap. As demand continues to grow for highly-skilled workers, it’s increasingly important we bridge that gap to fill in-demand positions. The panel shed light on ways education and the manufacturing industry can partner to prepare students for jobs in manufacturing.” The Caucus invited Lynn Freid, Director of Workforce Development at Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) to Washington to participate on the panel. “We are thrilled to have one of our community colleges represented at the event to highlight ...

Rep. Tom Reed voted this week in support of the Preserving the Welfare Work Requirement and TANF Extension Act of 2013. The legislation ensures that work requirements remain a central part of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and prohibits the Administration from waiving work requirements for welfare recipients. The bill also extends the TANF program through December 31, 2013. “Work activities like on-the-job-training, vocational training, community service, and education in a job field are central to lifting families and communities from poverty,” Reed said. “By waiving the requirements that welfare recipients engage in these types of work activities, the Administration is discouraging recipients from gaining the valuable skills needed to gain meaningful employment to help their families.” Current welfare requirements encourage TANF recipients to engage in full or part-time employment, education and training. But in July 2012, the Obama Administration...

Reps. Tom Reed (R-NY) and Ron Kind (D-WI) are urging federal officials to take proactive steps to prevent Canada from imposing new barriers to U.S. dairy exports. New York and Wisconsin are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in the Canadian market, but only if Canada does not move to block U.S. dairy imports. “With the growth the dairy industry has been experiencing in Upstate New York and the country as a whole, the federal government has to stand up for our dairy farms and ensure our dairy exports aren’t slowed,” said Reed. “Additional barriers placed on U.S. dairy exports to Canada will result in sizeable losses for our dairy companies, and run counter to efforts to foster a closer U.S.-Canada relationship.” “Dairy exports are critical to Wisconsin’s economy, and Canada has long been a valued trading partner for both Wisconsin and the United States,” said Kind. “We need to act now to avoid damaging new trade policies that could harm our dairy farmers and weak...