Saturday, May 18, 2013
Privatization debates in the Pennsylvania General Assembly could mean changes to where Pennsylvanians can buy six-packs.
- GOVERNMENT
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Saturday, May 18
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — A simple six-pack of beer is becoming a focal point of the most substantive legislative debate on Pennsylvania alcohol laws since Prohibition. A Tuesday afternoon Senate Law and Justice Committee on liquor privatization, headed by Chairman Chuck McIlhinney, R-Bucks, featured numerous testifiers discussing the already-private industry of beer sales. Chief among the concerns from the beer distributor industry and taverns is package reform, or allowing establishments who sell beer to sell different amounts. Under current law, beer distributors cannot sell less than a case, and bars or grocery stores with the ability to sell bottles cannot sell more than a 12-pack. The Senate, under McIlhinney’s…
Medicaid expansion continues to hang over Gov. Tom Corbett and budget-making lawmakers.
- GOVERNMENT
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Saturday, May 18
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG – Democratic leaders in the General Assembly say Gov. Tom Corbett has delayed long enough on a decision about expanding Medicaid in Pennsylvania. And if the governor won’t make a decision, they are ready to force his hand. “If Gov. Corbett is unwilling to do the right thing, my colleagues in the Senate must send a clear message that this is unacceptable. It’s time for a vote on Medicaid expansion,” said state Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia, on Tuesday. Hughes has filed a resolution to force the state Senate to vote on Medicaid expansion. If a majority of senators support the resolution, a proposal to force the state to accept the expansion would be busted out of committee and brought …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Nazareth residents will form a pool study group to help plan new municipal pool.
Nazareth residents who won’t have a municipal pool this summer for the first time in 74 years jumped in head first Thursday night at the first public forum on what a new Boro-Park pool should look like. Suggestions, statements and warnings flowed from the 40 or so people in attendance, as well as from moderators Ted and Susan Wallover of Wallover Aquatics of Lancaster, who will be designing the new pool, estimated to cost $5 million, and talked about the successful pool they designed about 10 years ago in Quakertown. Council President Dan Chiavaroli, meanwhile, announced that a pool study group made up of borough residents is being formed. He also said Wilson borough is offering Nazareth residents the chance to pay the same rates at Wilson…
Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan and County Councilman Lamont McClure face off against former executive Glenn Reibman.
Although it's been two years since Northampton County voters chose to keep Gracedale from being sold, the county-owned nursing home remains a hot issue. So much so that the three Democrats running to become the next county executive list Gracedale as one of their top priorities. Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, county Councilman Lamont McClure, and former executive Glenn Reibman are all seeking the Democratic nomination for executive in Tuesday's primary. We asked all three candidates to fill out questionnaires about themselves and the issues. Click on their names below to see how they responded. The three candidates also spoke about their positions—while attacking those of their opponents—in a debate last week. The winner of the primary …
A two-year seat was eliminated, leaving two board members to compete with a former board member and newcomer in Tuesday's primary election.
The race is on in Region III of the Nazareth Area School Board. In Tuesday's primary election, voters will decide among four candidates for two open school board seats. The race changed recently after a snafu caused the elimination of a two-year school board seat, thus putting one of the candidates who was only running for that seat into the four-year battle. School Board member Maurice Heller is running along with School Board member Dominic Villani, who replaced Christian Audenried, when he moved to fill a spot on the Nazareth Borough Council. Audenried's son Zackary is a newcomer in the race. Former School Board member Linda Stubits is also among the challengers. Nazareth Patch sent out questionnaires to the candidates but only Stubits …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Nazareth Borough Council has directed its board secretary to place advertisement for a part-time officer.
Nazareth residents, don't get your hopes up. The Nazareth Borough Council has asked its board secretary to advertise for the hiring of a part-time police officer. Councilman Jack Herbst, who heads the Police Committee, told the audience attending the recent Borough Council meeting that Police Chief Thomas Trachta recommended not hiring a part-time officer under consideration. But that does not mean that the Nazareth Borough Police Department's future is certain. The Police Committee is still awaiting a proposal from Colonial Regional Police before it decides the fate of its own police department. "We're reopening the process and leaving it open-ended," Herbst said. "We're putting in an advertisement accepting applications. We'll see them …
Two Upper Nazareth Township supervisors are being challenged by a newcomer for the GOP nod in the May 21 primary election.
Three candidates—two incumbents and one challenger—are on the ballot for the May 21 Republican primary election for two open seats on the Upper Nazareth Township Board of Supervisors. Supervisors Mike Rinker and James Augustine face a challenge from Steve Ytkin. The winners will run unopposed in the November general election. Patch sent a questionnaire to each candidate and are posting the answers in their entirety. Click on the name of the candidate to read his information.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Nazareth Borough Council is holding an 'informal meeting' at 7 p.m. Thursday regarding the future of the Boro-Park Pool.
Nazareth residents will have a chance to give their input into the borough's next municipal pool. Nazareth Borough Council is holding an "informal meeting" at council chambers at 7 p.m. Thursday to discuss the next steps now that the Boro-Park Pool will be closed for the 2013 summer season. Council President Dan Chiavaroli announced in a press release "that all borough residents who have an interest in our pool's future are strongly encouraged to attend and be heard." The council voted earlier this month to close its 74-year-old deteriorated pool permanently and also opted not to make a quick fix that might have it open for part of the summer. Representatives from Wallover Associates, the borough's pool consultant, and borough officials …
Former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, a Democrat, announced Tuesday that he's exploring another run for the Senate; Sestak narrowly lost to Pat Toomey in 2010.
A rematch between former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is in the works as Sestak announced Tuesday that he's exploring a run for the Senate in 2016. Democrat Sestak, a former Navy vice admiral, lost narrowly to Republican Toomey in 2010. Sestak, of Delaware County, has formed an exploratory committee—the equivalent of launching a campaign in terms of Federal Elections Commission paperwork, according to a Washington Post report. Can Sestak beat Toomey? Who would you vote for if the Senate election was held today? Tell us in the comments section below. Tuesday's announcement ends speculation that Sestak, 61, is raising money to challenge Gov. Tom Corbett. Sestak raised $460,000 in the first quarter of this year. A Sestak-…
New Nazareth Mayor Carl Strye Jr. is running as a write-in candidate on the Republican ticket in Tuesday's primary election.
Nazareth Mayor Carl Strye Jr. has spent a week now in the borough's big chair. In another week, he will face a possible challenge to his appointed seat. Strye is running in Tuesday's primary election as a write-in candidate on the Republican ticket. He needs to get at least get 10 write-in votes to get on the ballot in the November general election. But an unknown Republican candidate could actually beat Strye on write-in votes and get the November party nod. "There's a chance that could happen," Strye said Tuesday. "If it happens, it happens." Strye stated that he should have filed on the GOP ticket for mayor instead of running as a write-in. Councilman Jack Herbst is running unopposed on the Democratic ticket for mayor. Strye was …
Ben Miller
5:31 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013
Thank you very much for your answer, Nazareth Mom. You confirmed opinions that have been echoed by many of my friends. Personally, my family and I have stuck with the borough pool in recent years, but that's due to medical reasons with me. I think if Nazareth can get a significant amount of money in grants and funding, they should add those amenities. Rosemary also had an awesome idea of adding a… more ›