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How the Shapiro administration doubled the cost of broadband

The digital divide – the gap between communities with and without access to high-speed internet – is a prominent issue in Pennsylvania. More than 330,000 Pennsylvania households, businesses, and community institutions lack broadband. Unfortunately, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I), under Gov. Josh Shapiro’s leadership, has doubled the cost of broadband development with regulatory red tape –leaving many communities in the digital dust. L&I now faces dozens of broadband expansion projects awarded under the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority’s ...

One of these things is not like the other

The contrast between the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and the Republican National Convention (RNC) couldn’t be more stark. Even once you get past the overall feeling of joy as opposed to gloom, the differences are staggering. The DNC was a group of shiny, happy people while the RNC crowd bore a striking resemblance to the mob that stormed Frankenstein’s castle with pitchforks. First, let’s look at the speakers. The Democrats’ roster read like “Who’s Who” while the Republican’s list was more like “Who?”. The RNC’s star was Hulk Hogan; the DNC’s was Oprah ...

The doctor can’t see you now

The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, became law in 2010 and provisions from the legislation began in 2014. The overall goal of the law was to provide health insurance to an increased number of Americans. To accomplish this, Obamacare created an expansion of Medicaid to include able-bodied 18 to 64 year olds and also established a health insurance exchange with premiums subsidized by taxpayers. Obamacare has many provisions, many of which have been controversial. The law requires every adult to own health insurance, forces every health insurance company to include costly “essential ...

Regulations subvert ‘environmental justice’

Thirty years ago, more than 800 waste coal piles marred the Pennsylvania landscape, poisoning streams and emitting gaseous odors, including the rotten-egg smell of hydrogen sulfide. Then, as part of a statewide cleanup, power plants capable of burning low-quality coal began turning the waste into electricity. Indeed, some waste piles still smolder from spontaneous combustion, polluting air long after mining ceased. However, waste coal plants have reclaimed more than 7,200 acres and 1,200 miles of streams. Once barren landscapes and contaminated streams teem with wildlife because of ...

Powering Pennsylvania’s future

Pennsylvania is a global energy leader, producing more energy than ever before. And this is good news, considering the expected surge in demand for power. After a decade of relatively flat electricity demand, America could see an acceleration in load growth with new data centers, manufacturing facilities and electrification efforts. Look no further than the northeast region of Pennsylvania, where Amazon is planning to develop 15 data centers as part of a large-scale project. Multi-million-dollar projects like these not only bring a big economic boost but also require a significant ...

End of US democracy a threat to Earth?

If Donald Trump is elected President this November, many fear he will establish one man rule and will bring an end to our Constitutional Republic with its separation of powers, checks and balances, and all our cherished democratic freedoms. I am among those who share this fear. When we vote on November 5, I think we risk it all: freedom of expression and freedom of the press (“the media, the enemy of the people”), freedom of religion (“integration of Christian values into public policy”---Christian nationalism), freedom of assembly (military intervention at protests), freedom ...