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Somerset County Courthouse

Rick Santorum to Announce for President Today

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    He’s been running for months, visiting early primary and caucus states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, but today former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum makes it official: he is a candidate for President of the United States.

    Santorum has chosen to make his announcement on the steps of the Somerset County Courthouse. The former Congressman and two-term U.S. Senator from western Pennsylvania also has a residence in Virginia. Santorum was defeated for re-election to a 3rd term in the Senate by Bob Casey, Jr. in 2006 and has since spent time on the lecture circuit and setting up his exploratory committee. He may not have the name recognition of some other declared GOP hopefuls and prospective candidates, but Santorum has demonstrated that he has some support in the Republican base.

    Santorum’s years in the Senate are perhaps best marked by his fight against the procedure opponents dubbed “partial birth abortion.” He led the fight to pass legislation against the procedure and stood with then-President George W. Bush when the ban was signed into law in 2003.

    Santorum has been married to wife Karen for 21 years and they have 7 children.

Ruffed Grouse in the Wild

Habitat Improvement Projects Underway

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Wildlife habitat improvement projects are underway, this spring, on Pennsylvania’s 1.4-million acres of State Game Lands.  “In today’s age it’s not hard to understand there’s an enormous amount of landscape that’s being turned from wildlife habitat due to developments,” says Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser.  That’s why he tells us it’s critical to ensure that wildlife have access to shelter, food and water.  The projects include food plots, wetland restoration and specific timber cuts to benefit wildlife.  “So that there’s more of a diversity of the vegetation that benefits a wide array of wildlife.”   

Pennsylvania’s Wildlife Action Plan shows that 300 acres of habitat are being lost every day.  The primary culprit: urban/suburban sprawl.  “While that also creates some different, alternative habitat for a host of smaller wildlife,” Feaser says, “It still creates problems because that diversity that wildlife depends on has been taken away in some cases.”  Many tracts of State Game Lands were formerly stripped or mined, and the Game Commission projects are designed to ensure that the vegetation that returns will be beneficial to wildlife. 

State law requires the Game Commission to spend a minimum of $4.25 per general hunting license, and $2.00 for each antlerless deer license on habitat improvement each year.  “We as an agency have exceeded that legislated minimum by several hundred thousand dollars annually,” Feaser says.  During the 2009-2010 license year, the Game Commission spent $5.9-million dollars on habitat improvement projects.  That’s more than $570,000 dollars over the mandated minimum based on the number of licenses sold.  The Game Commission does not receive any state taxpayer dollars. 

In unrelated Game Commission news, they’ve teamed up with the Pittsburgh Pirates to offer discounted tickets to fans with a hunting or furtaker license.  The promotion applies to select home games in July, August and September.

Wegmans Pulling out of Wine Kiosk Program

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The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is losing almost one-third of its existing wine kiosk locations.   Wegmans Food Markets has notified the LCB it will be removing the wine kiosks serving 10 of its stores in Pennsylvania, saying they did not fit well with the store environment.

 In a statement, the company said they hoped its customers would find the kiosks to be a valuable addition to their shopping experience, but that proved not to be the case.  The statement says customers want the convenience of purchasing wine in a supermarket, but found the choice of items too limited in the kiosk.   

Stacey Witalec, spokeswoman for the LCB, says the decision will not affect the kiosk program.  She says they’re focused on bringing convenience, selection and value to customers through the kiosk opportunity.  She says they will continue to focus on the locations that are still operating as well as any future opportunities.

There are 22 other kiosks statewide and a number of leases pending with Wal-Mart’s stores.

 Witalec says the LCB continues to evaluate the program, as they have done since the pilot launched last June.  She says they will continue to listen to their customers, making sure they’re seeing the selections they’d really like to purchase in the kiosk in their area.

Under the Capitol Dome

What Should Lawmakers Do With Unanticipated Revenue?

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Sen. Jay Costa

Sen. Jay Costa

Almost everyone expects an on-time budget, for a change.  But there’s no consensus on how to handle state revenues that have come in $540-million dollars above estimate through the first 11-months of the fiscal year.  Senate Minority leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) says it should be used to mitigate proposed education budget cuts for the new fiscal year, which starts on July 1st.  “It’s very hard to defend – given the nature of the reductions in expenditures that are being proposed – that we can squirrel away $600-million dollars,” Costa says, as he predicts the state will end the fiscal year with a $580 – $600-million dollar surplus.

“We will ultimately use about half of the budget surplus, or somewhere in that vicinity, is sort of my prediction in terms of where we are going,” Costa tells us.  He adds that it’s still not enough for Senate Democrats’ liking, but that the cuts won’t be as “draconian” as they are now.  Earlier in the week, a Senate Republican spokesman told us they will seek to use “some” of the surplus to soften the impact of education and hospital cuts. 

House Republicans, however, passed a $27.3-billion dollar budget that would not spend this year’s higher-than-expected revenues.  During last month’s budget debates, Appropriations chair Bill Adolph (R-Delaware) stressed that we don’t know if this revenue is sustainable.  “Calls for increased spending, based upon a few months of bringing in more money than expected, are irresponsible in our current economic climate.” 

That’s long been the stance of the Corbett administration, and it seems they have at least one Democrat on their side.  “I think Governor Corbett is right to say that the majority of the surplus needs to be kept in reserve for the unknown,” says Auditor General Jack Wagner, who finished second in the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary.  Asked about the budget battle at an unrelated news conference, Wagner cautioned that Pennsylvania’s liabilities dwarf any surplus.  He cites additional pension obligations, money owed to the Pennsylvania Employee Benefit Trust Fund and a pending labor contract, just to name a few.        

The state budget deadline is June 30th.  Senate Republican Appropriations chair Jake Corman (R-Centre) recently told us that he expects to have an “action plan” by the end of the week.

Pennsylvania Spellers Finish 1st & 3rd at Scripps National Spelling Bee

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    14-year old Sukanya Roy of South Abington Township near Scranton is the winner of the 84th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. Roy won the title last night by correctly spelling “cymotrichous” in round 20. By contrast, last year’s spelling bee only lasted 9 rounds.

    Roy won the trophy and the lucrative prizes that come with the national championship, after outlasting 274 other spellers this week. The finals were held in suburban Washington, D.C. and were broadcast nationally on ESPN.

    Pennsylvania was well represented in the bee, placing 4 spellers among the 41 to advance to the semi-finals. That was more than any other state. In addition, Carlisle’s Joanna Ye finished in a tie for 3rd place after spelling out in the 17th round. Ye finished tied for 5th in 2010, but this was her final year of eligibility.

Motorcoach Enforcement Effort in Pennsylvania Puts Buses, Drivers Out of Service

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State Police conducted a seven day enforcement blitz on tour buses last month.   The enforcement effort from May 15th to 21st concentrated on popular travel destinations.  369 motor coaches were inspected at casinos, amusement parks and other spots across the state. As a result, 26 of the vehicles and 16 drivers were placed out of service.

State Police spokesman Jack Lewis says the reasons varied from brakes not in proper alignment to drivers not having proper documents with them. He says there are a wide variety of things that can cause a vehicle or driver to be placed out of service. However, when that happens during a trip, the bus company has to send a replacement bus or replacement driver.

Lewis says motor coach safety has become a high visibility issue after recent crashes in the United States.  He says law enforcement wants to take all the steps it can to make sure bus passengers are safe.

Lewis adds the great majority of motorcoach operators are doing everything they can to make sure their vehicles and drivers are in good shape and properly documented. He says in those cases where there are violations, they want to make sure the message gets to the companies that officials will not accept problems with vehicles or drivers.

 Four State Police troops, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Police departments and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration took part the enforcement effort.

Pennsylvania Finance Building

Auditor General Raises Red Flag on Tobacco Settlement Fund

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Jack Wagner

Jack Wagner meets with the news media on Thursday

Fresh off of a series of five statewide public hearings, Auditor General Jack Wagner has delivered a special report to state lawmakers.  “It’s about time the General Assembly steps to the plate and listens to what the public is talking about in relation to their dollars, these tobacco settlement dollars,” Wagner said at a Thursday news conference.  “Overwhelmingly, in 99.9% of all the testimony we heard, the public wants these dollars to be spent for health-related purposes.”  Wagner says that was the intent behind the Tobacco Settlement Act of 2001, but about $1.3-billion dollars has been quietly diverted to other budget purposes over the past six years. 

Pennsylvania has been receiving $350-million tobacco settlement dollars a year, and is expected to continue to receive that money for at least the next 15-years.  Two of the high-profile uses spelled out in Act 77 of 2001 were the adultBasic health insurance program, and tobacco use prevention and cessation programs.  The adultBasic program expired earlier this year due to a lack of funds, but Wagner says it can still be salvaged with a combination of public and private financing.  “There is a significant need for it to continue,” Wagner says.  “There were 42,000 people on the rolls of adult basic and there were almost 500,000 on the waiting list.” 

When it comes to tobacco cessation programs, Wagner was flanked by a chart that shows they received $50.5-million dollars in funding for fiscal year 2003, but only $14.7-million in FY2011.  He says 20,000 Pennsylvanians die of smoking-related illnesses each year.  “We are hopeful that what has happened over the last five or six years does not continue to happen in this budget,” Wagner said, upon delivering his special report to legislative leaders and Governor Tom Corbett.  A Senate Republican spokesman confirms that the Tobacco Settlement Fund will be discussed during the upcoming budget negotiations, but he could not speculate as to the result of those talks.

Pennsylvania Sends 4 Spellers to National Spelling Bee Semi-Finals

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Joanna Ye

    Years of preparations boil down to one tense day for the kids who have advanced to the semi-finals of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will crown a new champion this evening. After two days of written and oral spelling, the field was whittled down from 275 to 41.

    Pennsylvania leads all states with 4 semi-finalists. Topping the list, a returning semi-finalist from 2010. Joanna Ye of Carlisle finished tied for 5th in last year’s national spelling bee. Joining Ye in the field of 41 are fellow Keystone Staters David Krak of Lititz, Anahita Iyer of Doylestown and Sukanya Roy of South Abington Township.

    Some of the words spelled correctly in round 3 of the bee included papilionaceous, mynheer and mycetophagous.

    The remaining 41 spellers will take to the stage this morning until a field of finalists is set for tonight’s showdown on ESPN. The finals are scheduled to begin at 8:30pm at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in suburban Washington, D.C.

Harrisburg Sets Spring Rain Record

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The soggy spring was one for the record books in the state capital.   It is officially the wettest spring ever for Harrisburg.

Matt Steinbugl, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College, says they measured 20.79 inches of rain in March, April and May. Steinbugl says that’s more than 9 inches above average, and beats the previous record by more than two inches.

The old record was 18.18 inches set in 1983.

Steinbugl says the area was in a consistent active weather pattern through most of the spring. Annual rainfall in Harrisburg averages about 41.45 inches, so the city has already seen half of its annual average in the first three months of the year. Meteorological summer began on June 1st.

Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency says Get Ready for Storm Season

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Hurricane season planning is not just for people who live on the coast line. The   Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency is reminding state residents they need to have a plan as well.

While the state rarely gets a direct hit from a hurricane, it does see tropical storms and tropical depressions with large amounts of rain, damaging winds and even the possibility of a tornado. These conditions can lead to flooding and power outages.

PEMA Director Glenn Cannon says it’s important to have a plan in place for your family and an emergency kit that could sustain them for at least 72 hours. 

Cannon says that kit should include flashlights and a battery operated radio, extra batteries, a first aid kit and manual, emergency food and water, a manual can opener, essential medications, cash and credit cards, important documents and sturdy shoes.

Cannon says you should also develop a family plan that identifies a place to meet and a way to communicate if you get separated.

Tornado planning should include the identification of a safe shelter. People who have a basement should know the safest place to take cover.  People without a basement should identify an interior room at the lowest level that provides protection. People in mobile homes should know where the nearest sturdy building or storm shelter is located.

Cannon adds many Pennsylvanians vacation at the shore and they should be prepared if they find themselves in the direct path of a hurricane. He says they should monitor weather forecasts, know where the evacuation routes and shelters are located in the town they’re visiting and keep their vehicle fueled and ready.  

You can learn more about hurricane and summer storm preparation at www.readypa.org.