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Equipping first responders for age of synthetic opioids is race against time

When I started my career in law enforcement, I took an oath to serve and protect my community. Now, as executive director of the PA Chiefs of Police Association, I see that oath being lived by my fellow law enforcement colleagues throughout the state. Our members represent every type of community throughout the Commonwealth – from rural areas to the suburbs to urban cities. While each region is different and presents its own set of unique circumstances for law enforcement to work under, one issue that is raised as a problem for each type of jurisdiction is the opioid crisis. It is ...

Pennyslvania direly needs tax reform

Each year, April 15th reminds us of the costliness of government spending – and why lawmakers must reduce this financial burden on hardworking taxpayers. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is on a collision course with higher taxes. Due to years of spending growth, Pennsylvania faces a $4.8 billion structural deficit. Lawmakers’ options for addressing this deficit are limited: They can either cut spending or increase taxes. Yet, Gov. Josh Shapiro seems to be embracing a riskier third option: ignore the problem and hope it goes away. Instead of reining in spending, Shapiro’s 2025–26 ...

Trump’s tax cuts helping the poor more than the rich

Since the Republican Congress began debating the bill that eventually became the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, leftists have accused the legislation of being a huge tax cut for the wealthy – funded by middle- and lower-income Americans. In reality, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed into law in 2017, has particularly benefited working- and middle-class Americans while increasing the total tax burden paid by millionaires and billionaires. In 2021, The Heartland Institute released a study, “Measuring the Effects of the Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Personal Income ...

State needs cyber charter reforms

A $400 per month fuel stipend for every employee who comes into the office to work. Concessions, parking, and tickets to a major league baseball game for the whole family. Gift cards for groceries, Amazon, Target, Domino’s, and Dunkin’. Lavish budgets for commercial shoots, TV advertising, and expensive swag. Perks for a fancy tech company? Line items for a Fortune 500 company? No. These are just a few examples of what Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools are spending money on--money they receive from school districts. These are tax dollars that home and business owners pay to ...

The efforts to shrink the government

The purpose of government is to “maintain order and stability, ensuring citizens can live safely and productively, while also protecting individual rights and freedoms within a framework of law and justice.” (AI Overview) Our agencies were created to serve us. The personnel staffing them are experts in their fields. There are entities doing everything from predicting the weather to warning us about devastating diseases and finding cures and/or vaccines. They take care of the elderly and children, help the disabled and veterans, protect us from attacks from foreign governments and ...

Homer City project a ‘game-changer’

Eleven days after the massive smokestacks and cooling towers of Pennsylvania’s largest coal-fired power plant came down in a dramatic fashion in this Indiana County village, causing both emotional and economic distress and a sense of hopelessness, Homer City Redevelopment announced that an even bigger natural gas power center would be built in its place. The Homer City Energy Campus will be a series of natural gas plants that will power a massive data center campus. The emotion coming from hometown boy Shawn Steffee was palpable -- not just because the build will resurrect Homer ...