Much has been written about the vengeful misdeeds that marred and ultimately short-circuited the tenure of former state Attorney General Kathleen Kane. For everyone appalled at her self-inflicted fall, it may be hard to believe another damaging blow to the public interest was delivered after Kane departed office. 2017 marks the 30th anniversary of the […]
The Edward H. Arnold Institute for Policy Studies
Merit Selection Of Judges: A Better Method For Attaining Quality Courts
In the Winter Olympics, champions in a variety of sports are determined by how swiftly they race downhill. Individual performances are amazingly fast, and the difference in winning can be a fraction of a second. In the competition to achieve victory on state government reform, the course runs in the opposite direction – steeply uphill. […]
Biennial Budgeting Is Bipartisan Solution To Annual Impasses
May 23, 2016 – By Lt. Governor Mike Stack and State Senator Ryan Aument Biennial budgeting is bipartisan solution to annual impasses To the frustration of many Pennsylvanians, the 2015-16 state budget took almost nine months to complete. While this was the longest budget impasse in our commonwealth’s history, it certainly was not the first […]
Hospital Report Update 2017
Taking The Temperature Of Pennsylvania’s Hospitals & Healthsystems: Positive – Encouraging If Uneven Growth, And Negative – Troubling State Policy Trends Hospital Report Update 2017
Pennsylvania Should Hit the Brakes as the Supreme Court Stays EPA’s Clean Power Plan
On February 9, in an unprecedented and historic move, the Supreme Court of the United States stayed the keystone to President Obama’s climate legacy, the Clean Power Plan. The stay on the Clean Power Plan is in effect until legal challenges have been determined and halts the timeline on state plan submissions. Oral arguments before […]
COLWYN, PENNSYLVANIA: THE TOWN THAT CAN’T SEEM TO GOVERN ITSELF
Not many people have heard of Colwyn, Pa. It’s a tiny Philadelphia suburb of about 2,500 people that covers just 0.3 square miles. But this spring, it gained notoriety when it was declared “financially distressed” by the state. Local Philadelphia stations had already been airing chaotic council meetings, complete with screaming matches, swearing, and even […]
Going the Distance for Business Competitiveness
Rosie Ruiz won the Boston Marathon in 1980, shattering the fastest female time record and had hardly broken a sweat when she crossed the finish line. Ms. Ruiz was stripped of her title just eight days later when officials discovered she rode the subway to the finish line. Similarly, in the grueling marathon that has […]
Judges and Political Campaigns Do Not Mix Well
May 13, 2016 By David Atkinson, Associate, Susquehanna Valley Center From a public policy perspective, raising the mandatory retirement age of Pennsylvania’s judges seems sensible. However, voters see it differently. Had the primary ballot question on the subject actually counted, it would probably have been rejected. Voters do not appear in the mood to give […]
New Poll Finds Pennsylvanians Concerned About Proposed EPA Power Plant Regulations
Strongest Opposition Voiced in Hardest-Hit States Such as Pennsylvania Watch Behind the Headlines with Rep. Jeff Pyle, Chairman of the Pennsylvania House Coal Caucus, who discusses how damaging these regulations will be on Pennsylvania’s economy. Polling data released October 22, 2014 by the Partnership for a Better Energy Future (PBEF), a coalition of 175 members […]
National Civil War Museum: An Asset To Be Appreciated
History buffs have become accustomed to and accomplished at defending historical sites and properties against assaults from developers. It is a rarer occurrence for an established museum to come under a concerted political assault aimed at closing the facility and auctioning off the collection. Unfortunately, this is not merely a matter of scary speculation. There […]