When I was first elected in 2005, one of the first calls that I received was from a property owner who was fed up with how bad the house next to her looked. It was an eyesore in the neighborhood and although the community had tried to get someone to make improvements to the property, the owner was a...

2010 is coming to a close. As we think about all the preparations we do this time of year for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the New Year, we look back on the year that was. My year was so full — with both good and not-so-good things. I started the year becoming city council presiden...

A new community is coming to the Northside, with construction on the Columbus Square development in Manchester set to begin early next year. I was happy to support a $250,000 grant from the House Democratic Caucus that will benefit this project by Manchester Citizens Corporation and Fourth River Dev...

I am pleased to report that an anti-blight bill I authored was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 28. This bill (H.B. 1322) passed the House 181-19 in July. It is designed to reduce the number of abandoned properties in Pennsylvania communities by changing state law on "adverse ...

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Over the past few years a new and seemingly endless resource has been revealed right below our feet, and now it has become a prominent topic in the media, in communities and in homes throughout the state. I am of course referring to the natural gas reserves held in the Marcellus Shale formation that...

The LIHEAP Cash program, which provides grants to low-income individuals and families to heat their home, opens for applications Nov. 1. Grants range from $200 to $1,000 and are based on household size, income and main source of heat. You need not have an unpaid bill to receive home heating energy a...

We index the five most recent newsletters from each elected official.  If you don't see what you're looking for here, try searching for it by using the search bar at the top of this page. From the Office of Council President Darlene Harris -May 2011: Legislation would better city living conditions -...

As a Pennsylvanian concerned with providing a quality education to all of our children and even as a member of the state House Education Committee, I was largely unaware of the severe challenges of homeless children in accessing education until recently. I have been pleased to work with a remarkable...

It’s nice to come home after a long day of work to a calm house and a peaceful neighborhood. We hear from people in our district that sometimes neighbors are not extending courtesies to one another. In the office, we get phone calls about weeds growing through fences into the next yard, garbage stre...