If House and Senate conferees aren’t close to a new state budget by Monday, Gov. Ed Rendell will ask the House to enact a $27.1 billion proposal the Senate has already approved, and then he will use a line-item veto to eliminate three-fourths of its expenditures. Read the full Post-Gazette article here.
Jul
28
Conference committee begins work tomorrow on Pa. budget
A six-member, House-Senate conference committee will hold its first meeting tomorrow but it likely will be days, or even several weeks, before a budget for fiscal 2009-10, which began July 1, will be completely worked out. Read the full article from the Post-Gazette here.
Jul
09
Frank proposes home loan plan for jobless
Congressman Barney Frank wants to prevent unemployed homeowners from losing their houses by giving them government money to pay their mortgages. The Newton Democrat, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, will hold a hearing in Washington today on his proposal to spend $2 billion to prevent foreclosures on borrowers who don’t qualify for other… Continue reading »
Jul
06
Main, Elm Street funds threatened by proposed cuts in Pa. budget
Neighborhood advocates are alarmed by a proposed axing of Main Street and Elm Street funding in the coming state budget. As lawmakers hash out a budget that could be $3 billion leaner, the shears are pruning what’s considered to be nonessential and outside the protection of entitlement and federal mandate. Read the full Post-Gazette article… Continue reading »
Jul
01
Pittsburgh’s recovery plan OK’d
The passage by Pittsburgh City Council of a new plan under Act 47 for distressed municipalities sets up another challenge: finding $10 million to $14 million a year to shore up the pension fund. Whether that comes from new levies approved by Harrisburg, the long-term lease of city parking garages, fees on hospitals and colleges… Continue reading »
Jul
01
City council poised to approve curfew center
Pittsburgh City Council tentatively voted today to spend $500,000 to open a curfew center for the first time in five years, despite the fact that a fiscal plan passed yesterday apparently limits it to one year of funding. “This is an alternative to sending them to Shuman Center, where they will be locked up,” said… Continue reading »