Recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Pennsylvania’s newspapers:
Moving primary logical
Altoona Mirror
Feb. 18
Pennsylvania is one-third of the way to becoming a more prominent player in the presidential primary nominating process, albeit not until 2024 at the earliest.
The Keystone State must not allow this opportunity to fail.
With the state Senate having voted unanimously last month to approve a bill that would move up by five weeks the spring primary balloting in presidential election years, the House of Representatives should follow the upper chamber’s lead, paving the way for the change to head to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature.
For anyone reflecting on past unsuccessful attempts to make Pennsylvania a more visible, formidable presidential-primary player, it should not be difficult to be critical of the timidity of the state lawmakers who allowed those opportunities to slip away unfulfilled.
Anyone harboring even an inkling of the spotlight that would be focused on this state with an earlier primary realizes how much Pennsylvania could shine in terms of meaningfully charting the nation’s direction, going forward.
The much earlier primary would demonstrate the commonwealth’s valuable insight in the formidable task of selecting the best nominees for the general election.
Under the current presidential-primaries setup, it is unfortunate that a small state such as New Hampshire - where the first primary election of the year is held following the Iowa caucuses - has the power to seriously undermine or destroy candidacies that might thrive if one or more of the bigger states were onboard to kick off the primary election season.
Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina harbor but a fragment of the nation’s electoral vote total, yet embrace a disproportionate potential influence on the primary season.
Having Pennsylvania’s size in the early balloting mix would produce a more realistic, fairer picture, early on, regarding the specific candidates.
Pennsylvania’s early voting might siphon some national interest and attention from the four smaller states. However, those traditional early states would continue to maintain a significant degree of importance.
The Senate’s primary-date-change proposal would move the presidential-year primary balloting to the third Tuesday of March from the fourth Tuesday of April, which this year is April 28.
Pennsylvania voters will be among the last in the nation to voice their preferences this year - especially Democrats, who will be choosing someone to do battle against incumbent President Donald Trump.
This year, on the third Tuesday of March, primaries will be held in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio. This year, the Keystone State primary will be the same day as balloting in Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Delaware and Rhode Island.
Despite the questionable primaries schedule that exists today, the current schedule is better than when presidential candidates were nominated by elite and influential party officials.
Nevertheless, there is a better way for Pennsylvania - the third Tuesday in March rather than the fourth Tuesday in April.
Pennsylvania lawmakers were remiss for not mustering the persistence decades ago to make a change like the one now moving through the Legislature.
They must not repeat that error.
Online: https://bit.ly/2SWD2LS
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Things are looking up at LVIA, but there’s more work to do
Easton Express-Times
Feb. 16
What a difference a decade makes. After years of advances and setbacks, Lehigh Valley International Airport is emerging from a holding pattern on growth.
Part of that malaise can be traced to the airport’s mismanaged land-grab in the 1990s for an ill-fated runway expansion, forcing the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority to pay a $26 million court award to landowners.
Throw in the 9/11 attacks, the recession of 2008-09, and the retrenching of the major airlines, and you have a one-step-forward, two-steps-back approach to delivering the level of airport service justified by the growth of the Lehigh Valley.
The latest numbers are telling. LVIA has had 27 straight months of increased passenger traffic. It’s poised to hit the 1 million annual passenger mark in 2020. The last time that many people flew in and out of LVIA was 2004.
The airport’s future was buoyed last week with the opening of a two-plane base by Allegiant Air, which will bring 66 new jobs and a $50 million local investment. Keeping two passenger jets stationed at LVIA means pilots and flight attendants can fly out of and return to the Lehigh Valley for the first time. Mechanics and ground staff will be added.
It also means Allegiant will be able to experiment with and add new destinations, both to vacation sites and to major hubs, where passengers can make connections. That lack of flexibility, coupled with noncompetitive fares, has diverted Valley residents to airports in Philadelphia, Newark and New York.
The demand is there. Market studies show people inside and outside the Lehigh Valley want to fly out of LVIA to Washington, D.C., Boston, Pittsburgh, Dallas and Austin, among other cities. Thomas Stoudt, executive director of the airport authority, says negotiations to expand the airport’s reach are continuing.
Allegiant, which has catered primarily to Florida vacation travelers, recently announced the startup of Allentown-Chicago flights. It also is expanding its network of bases around the country and has nine new destinations, including San Diego, Las Vegas and Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
These are welcome additions. Yet LVIA is still playing catch-up on infrastructure and other improvements that need attention.
Parking is still a sore spot, long after the elimination of an economy lot and shuttle service to the terminal. The security checkpoint between the terminal and boarding area is a bottleneck at peak times. Traffic on Airport Road and Route 22 is worsening with the addition of a FedEx distribution center nearby and funding delays to widen Route 22.
The airport authority is planning changes - expanding parking, which will probably mean a parking garage, and a $22 million terminal connector to get people through security more efficiently. It’s also looking to move the entrance/exit on Airport Road and convert the former control tower site to a hotel and retail space, according to Stoudt.
It’s taken a long time for the airport to shake off its economic baggage. The challenge now for the LVIA staff and county officials is to keep up with the demands of growth. The collaboration with Allegiant and proposed infrastructure changes look like a good start.
Online: https://bit.ly/2P7VbF4
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Funding plan for Pennsylvania State Police falls far short
Reading Eagle
Feb. 13
We have been strong supporters of Gov. Tom Wolf’s past efforts to fund state police while discouraging municipalities from relying on troopers for local law enforcement.
A growing number of Pennsylvania communities are opting for free coverage from troopers rather than incurring the cost of providing locally based law enforcement. That’s raising costs for state police.
Meanwhile, state leaders are reducing the amount of money state police get from the motor license fund. It’s the right thing to do, as more proceeds from the gasoline tax and driver’s license and registration fees should be spent on the state’s transportation infrastructure. But without a new funding source, state police are expected to struggle to have enough troopers on the job.
There is broad agreement on the need for strong funding support for state police and for transportation projects. But as usual, the difficulty lies in figuring out how to pay for it.
We favor a proposal along the lines of the first two that Wolf put forth on this issue. Assessing a per-capita fee on communities that rely on troopers for coverage serves the dual purpose of bringing in revenue for the state police and encouraging municipalities to make local arrangements for law enforcement.
Too many communities with sizable populations opt to avoid paying for police coverage even though relying on troopers could compromise public safety. Each state police station covers broad swaths of territory, and there’s no assurance a trooper will be nearby in an emergency. Some municipal leaders do this with the understanding that police in neighboring communities will step in to help in an emergency. It’s patently unfair.
Unfortunately Wolf’s past proposals failed to gain traction among lawmakers. So the governor is trying a different tack. His new plan calls for each municipality to pay a fee for state police. This applies to all communities, regardless of whether or not they have local police coverage. We understand that this might seem fair, as the state police provide some degree of service to every Pennsylvania community. But the governor and his allies have serious work to do for this idea to prove any more fruitful than past proposals.
Last week’s botched rollout of the plan did not help matters at all. The fees each municipality pays would be determined by a funding formula that’s difficult to grasp. A chart supplied by state police and posted online by the governor’s office was supposed to lend some clarity as to what the proposal would mean to each community. But it contained faulty numbers and other inaccurate information that led to some bizarre results.
For example, though Oley and Lower Alsace townships are only about 5 miles apart, have similarly sized populations and are covered by Central Berks Regional police, Oley is shown to have a per person cost of $60.77, which is 48 times higher than Lower Alsace’s $1.27 per person.
We’re concerned that communities such as Oley that have done the right thing and paid for local police coverage would be forced to rely on state police under this proposal. The cost of paying for both would be impossible to bear.
Another perplexing aspect of this plan is that the formula factors in the cost to run the state police station that covers the municipality. That means people covered by a station that houses a troop headquarters, such as Reading, would pay far more due to the cost of administrative expenses and special operations units based there. This makes no sense. Special services provided out of Reading are available to every community in the region served by Troop L, including the smaller stations in Hamburg, Frackville, Schuylkill Haven and Jonestown. Why would only people served by the Reading station have to pay for them?
Perhaps this proposal can be fixed during budget negotiations, as officials have suggested. But it would have been far preferable to start with a palatable plan delivered with a clear explanation of its impact. The administration should act without delay to accomplish this.
Online: https://bit.ly/2SGMjIL
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Eliminating library fines a good idea. What other fines and fees should be reconsidered?
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Feb. 19
Last week, the Free Library of Philadelphia announced that it will no longer charge fines for overdue books. The library used to impose a 25 cents a day fine for a late book and restrict library privileges once the amount owed reached $5. When Chicago eliminated overdue fines, its library saw a 240% increase in book returns.
The move may seem like a minor change, but in fact, it provides a rich opportunity for more scrutiny into the fines and fees that are imposed throughout other areas of government. That could have significant impact on the many people throughout the region who struggle to make ends meet — even those who are not living in poverty. According to a new study conducted by University of Washington and commissioned by PathWaysPA, a Philadelphia family of four had to earn $70,000 in 2019 to meet a standard of self-sufficiency; 60% of Philadelphia households earn less than $60,000. When so many families start the year in the red, rethinking the impact of fees and fines is a wise move. Some examples:
Losing a photo ID in Pennsylvania could be the same as losing a $50 bill — the equivalent of seven hours of work in a minimum wage job. The fee to replace a four-year driver’s license is $30.50 and to replace an identification cared is $31.50. If you don’t have a passport, you’d need to prove your identify with your birth certificate. Obtaining a copy costs $20.
Recognizing that these fees are a barriers to obtaining ID, Gov. Tom Wolf waived the birth certificate fee for people seeking help for substance use disorder in 2018 and for people in homelessness in 2019. Why not provide that opportunity for more people?
The Register of Wills is in charge of probating, or opening, deeds after someone dies. Probating a property valued at $50,000 to $200,000 costs $475 — a sum of money that many Philadelphians don’t have. When a property is not probated, the next of kin is unable to sell the house or apply to some home repair programs. They are also vulnerable to deed theft. Philadelphia’s new Register of Wills, Tracey Gordon, ran on “comprehensive probate reform” and said she’s open to creating a fee waiver for low income people. We’re anxious to see her plan.
Probably no entity nickel-and-dimes Philadelphians more than the criminal justice system. Even with District Attorney Larry Krasner’s reforms, cash bail is imposed in the Philadelphia court system every day. An arrest can lead to a hefty tab because of computer fees, prosecution fees, booking fees, and fines. City Hall, Defenders Association, DA’s office, and the First Judicial District should get together and review these.
A better scrutiny of all fees could turn up opportunities for logical fee increases — like the fee for a residential parking permit. A parking permit for four cars costs only $100 a year — $4 less than the cost of a SEPTA monthly TransPass. While other fees should be reevaluated, there is no reason that parking in Center City should be so cheap.
Online: https://bit.ly/2vMrUcw
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What is the future of hemp industry?
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Feb. 18
Growing a new industry isn’t as simple as having an idea. It’s not even as simple as having a product.
An industry is bigger than a business. It’s about suppliers and manufacturers and distributors. Even with enough supply and healthy demand, if any of the cogs in the middle break down, things can go wrong in a hurry.
And welcome to hemp in 2020.
In 2019, it was a different story. Hemp was having a field day. After years of being guilty by association with its stoner cousin, marijuana, hemp was going straight.
The 2018 federal Farm Bill - passed in mid- December - legalized it for the first time in more than 60 years. Pennsylvania pulled its restrictions on how many hemp permits could be issued and how many acres could be planted. That resulted in 324 growing permits and more than 4,000 acres of hemp.
Business was open, and business was booming. Cannabinoids were hot. Signs for CBD were everywhere, and it was showing up in products from candy to lotion and everything in between, and CBD isolate is extracted from hemp.
In May 2019, a kilogram of the extract was selling for $6,000, making it an attractive business to give a try.
And that’s what everybody did. Despite CBD showing up everywhere, hemp was being grown even faster. By January, the price dropped 73%. A New Stanton processor, Commonwealth Alternative Medicinal Options, had agreements with local farmers. It has now closed its doors. A Kentucky processor also has declared bankruptcy.
A new business has a 33% failure rate in the first two years, according to magazine Entrepreneur, so one in three CBD-related businesses could find themselves short-lived. But an industry is harder to quantify - and even harder to seed from scratch the way the state has tried.
It is even harder to grow an industry overnight that has been nonexistent since the Great Depression.
That just doesn’t work. Pennsylvania and the feds both sat on hemp for years, treating it like a dangerous explosive that had to be carefully monitored, then almost simultaneously removed all their locks and chains. The bottom dropping out of the market was as predictable as a Wile E. Coyote cartoon.
Hemp still has applications. It still has uses. But the lucrative CBD market of a year ago isn’t reliable, and hemp fiber doesn’t have the same returns.
What remains to be seen is whether the people who got into a booming business will stick around to build a slower, steadier industry.
Online: https://bit.ly/2vKyIr0
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