No room for countywide mailing to confirm voters valid

Seeing red, green, blue, purple, orange... valid registered voters? In Fayette County, there's taxpayers' money to keep a ferry boat running, but not for purging the local voter registration database of invalid electors. There's taxpayers' monies available for fees for tourism promotion but not for checking whether individuals whose names remain on the voter registry have moved and no longer reside in the county.

It's the obligation of elected county commissioners who comprise the county voter registration commission to ensure an accurate voter registration database.

The Ferry Boat isn't a constitutional duty of the board of commissioners. Overseeing the accuracy of the voter registration list is.

No room in the budget of Fayette County for commissioners to ensure a valid registry of voters $50,000 plus for tourism and so-called regional economic development agencies

http://www.co.fayette.pa.us/fayette/lib/fayette/genfundbudgets/2007_adopted_general_fund_budget.pdf

Ferry Boat costs big bucks (counties tax monies go to maintenance)

http://www.pacounties.org/fayette/cwp/view.asp?a=2091&q=515924

http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Reports/County/LiqFuels/ctyFayetteCounty010207.pdf

Funds to encourage "ridership"

http://www.spcregion.org/pdf/TIP2007-10/fayco_projects.pdf

Meeting minutes

http://www.co.fayette.pa.us/fayette/lib/fayette/commmtgs_2007/february_22_2007.pdf

Bidders wanted for ferry service
April 25, 2007
The Fayette County commissioners voted Tuesday to seek bids for the five-year inspection and dry dock service of the Fredericktown Ferry, which transports passengers between Fayette and Washington counties ...

http://www.topix.net/city/fredericktown-pa/2007/04/bidders-wanted-for-ferry-service

Fayette lacks funds to cull registration roll
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 13, 2007

Before last fall's election, Fayette County Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink broached the topic of inaccuracies in the list of registered voters after hearing comments from candidates, party committee members and poll workers.

Beyond that, the election bureau scans obituaries in local newspapers and collects information from precinct judges about citizens who might have moved, Fayette Election Director Laurie Lint said.

The Department of State also advises that counties may implement an annual confirmation mailing program by sending a notice to all registered voters.

But Fayette commissioners have never found room in the general fund for that expense.

On her Net the Truth Online blog, Dee Young said she "almost jumped out of her seat" on March 22, when Fayette County Judge Steve P. Leskinen concluded after a four-day election challenge that the county should update its registration rolls.

Young, of Uniontown, has been questioning the accuracy of voter databases for more than a decade.

The political activist also served a term on the county's voter fraud committee before a 1999 grand jury issued its recommendation for a purge after the indictment of former U.S. Rep. Austin J. Murphy and two others for voter fraud at a personal care home.

Fayette's rolls again came under inspection this spring after incumbent Controller Mark Roberts challenged hundreds of signatures on the petitions of his Democratic primary opponent, Sean Lally.

Leskinen and Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Joseph F. McCloskey ruled that Lally had enough signatures to stay on Tuesday's ballot.

In an interesting snag, Leskinen refrained from ruling on several women's signatures because of the possibility they might have married or moved since they registered but failed to inform the county.

The Pennsylvania Voter Registration Act permits valid signatures by persons who have moved or married, or both, since the November 2004 election, even if they haven't filed a registration change, according to Leskinen's written opinion in the case.

The exception is if the citizen already has voted once since moving.

"I think that is unfortunate," Leskinen wrote. "I think that the database should be upgraded so that married names and addresses are updated more rapidly, but that requires the expenditure of money that the county evidently does not have."

Young, who resigned in 2004 after serving as Zimmerlink's administrative assistant for nine months, argues that a lack of resources is a poor excuse by the county.

"Because we cannot be assured that the database is indeed accurate, the potential exists for abuse," Young said in an interview.

After the grand jury's findings, county officials estimated a mailing program would cost $20,000...
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_507440.html

Related

Friday, March 23, 2007
Fayette Judge: county voter database needs update

http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/03/fayette-judge-county-voter-database.html

Thursday, March 22, 2007
Lally retains primary ballot access

http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/03/lally-retains-primary-ballot-access.html

Thursday, March 22, 2007
Names and Addresses of Voters Need Full Review

http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/03/names-and-addresses-of-voters-need-full.html

Southwestern Pa. counties lose residents, gain voters
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 13, 2007

If it weren't a trend throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania, Fayette County might have a bit of explaining to do.

After all, how does a county lose almost 3,000 residents since 2000, while its voter registration rolls balloon by more than 7,444 names?

But Fayette is not alone. Allegheny, Westmoreland, Indiana, Armstrong and Somerset are also among 35 counties statewide where there's an inverse relationship since the U.S. Census report of April 2000.

Election officials in the region say the swelling databases reflect the ease of registering at various state agencies and the restrictions placed on purging county rolls since the federal Motor Voter Act went into effect in 1995 and Help America Vote Act of 2002.

Fayette leaders insist they're following state and federal procedures to maintain their rolls, although they haven't budgeted for a direct-mail campaign that could identify problem registrations.

After a population upswing from 145,351 to 148,644 during the 1990s, Fayette's residency slipped to 145,760 through July 1, 2006, according to the March U.S. Census Bureau estimate.

The number of registered votes has ticked steadily upward, with 89,377 listed through the April 16 close of registration.

"I certainly want to keep them as accurate as possible, but there is a significant cost involved if you purge," said Commissioner Vincent Vicites.

Increases statewide

The registration figures continue to move up throughout the Keystone State.

Since April 2000, Pennsylvania has gained only 159,567 residents, but the Department of State reports a gain of 740,879 more voters as of last fall.

A county voter registration commission must mail a notice to any registered elector who hasn't voted or appeared to vote within a five-year period, according to state regulations. That name is then placed on an inactive list.

"The county (then) must wait for two federal general elections to remove the voter from the poll books," said Catherine Ennis, a state department spokeswoman. "If after nine years the voter does not respond and does not vote, he/she is removed from the poll books."

That leaves counties with a constantly changing population, like Indiana, with a slightly inflated list.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_507439.html

PA Tax Shifting Again

The Commonwealth Foundation.org and policy paper was referenced on PCN rebroadcast of a Thursday program featuring Matthew Broulette as one of the guests interviewed on the issue of PA school districts ballot question...

http://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/

The Act 1 Property-to-Income Tax Shift: What Voters Need to Know

On May 15, 2007, voters across the Commonwealth will be asked to vote on a property-to-income tax shift to pay for public education expenditures. The Property Tax Relief Act of 2006 (Act 1 of the Special Session) requires every school district—except Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton—to ask voters if they want to increase taxes on income earners in order to pay for property tax rebates for homeowners. Such a shift will result in a higher tax burden on some, and a lower tax burden on others.


Three Key Points

A majority "YES" vote on the Act 1 Ballot Question in a school district would trigger the following:

1. Each local school district income earner would pay a higher Earned Income Tax (EIT) or Personal Income Tax (PIT), depending on the tax type chosen by the local school board. The PIT includes a broader definition of income than the EIT. The higher school district income tax rate would be effective July 1, 2007.

2. Owner-occupied homesteads and farmsteads can apply for a school property tax rebate. Commercial and rental properties would be excluded. School districts must send out rebate applications to homeowners by December 31, 2007. Rebates for homeowners must be submitted by March 1, 2008.

3. Each homeowner would receive the same dollar amount rebate, regardless of their current school property tax bill or property value. (School property taxes will be reduced to $0 for those receiving a rebate amount that is higher than actual school property taxes paid.)

Earned Income Tax (EIT) vs. Personal Income Tax (PIT)


The EIT is a tax on compensation and net profits, including:

Salaries
Wages
Commissions, bonuses, stock options, and incentive payments
Fees
Tips
Net profits from the operation of a business, profession or farm

The PIT taxes compensation, net profits, and other kinds of income:

Compensation and net profits—everything that is taxed by the EIT
Interest
Dividends
Net gains or income from the dispositions of property
Net gains or income from rents, royalties, patents and copyrights
Income derived through estates or trusts
Gambling and lottery winnings

The Winners and the Losers


Under the property-to-income tax shift, there would be winners and losers in terms of net tax burdens. Some residents of the district would see a net reduction in their tax burden (a property tax rebate greater than their income tax increase), whereas others would see a net increase in taxes (an income tax increase above what they receive in property tax reduction). The higher taxes on some will be used to lower taxes on others.


Winners:

*Homeowners with household income below the "break-even" point
Suburban homeowners working in Philadelphia. They will get a property tax rebate, they will also get credit for EIT/PIT increase based on what they pay in Philadelphia Wage Taxes.
Losers:

Renters. All renters will pay higher income taxes, and will get no property tax rebate (nor will their landlords, as rental properties don't qualify for the rebate).
Homeowners with household income above the "break-even" point.
Small businesses. Since small businesses (non-corporations) pay taxes on profits/owner's income at the individual income tax level, they will see a tax increase. Business properties get no property tax rebate (except for home-based businesses).
Break-Even Point:

The break-even point between winners and losers among homeowners will vary by district, depending on the amount of the rebate and the amount of the income tax increase. According to the available data (click here) on the Act 1 ballot measure, the median household income break-even point is $43,238.

Any homeowner with a household income above the break-even point will pay more in higher income taxes than they will receive in a property tax rebate. Any homeowner with a household income below the break-even point will will receive are larger school property tax rebate than they will pay in higher income taxes.

The Commonwealth Foundation has compiled data (see "Act 1 Property-to-Income Tax Shift (May 15 Ballot Question), by School District") on the various property-to-income tax shift proposals, including the break-even point for all Pennsylvania public school districts. The data come from the April 2007 survey of school districts by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, the tax study commissions for each district, and information from the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee...

http://www.manp.org/government-affairs-news/archives/policypoints-quick-facts-from-the-commonwealth-foundation

Speak My Way or Else

This religious controversy over what people choose to say for inclusion on a Starbucks coffee cup is in direct opposition to the right of freedom of speech guaranteed to all in the United States.

I think I'll suggest several quotes made by the Founding Fathers.

"The Way I See It"

http://www.starbucks.com/retail/thewayiseeit_default.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1

Letters to Starbucks

http://www.starbucks.com/retail/thewayiseeit_letters.asp

World Net Daily

Starbucks markets more 'anti-God' coffee cups
Company welcomes national dialogue despite boycott threat by some patrons
Posted: May 9, 2007
8:38 p.m. Eastern
By Joe Kovacs
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Coffeehouse giant Starbucks is standing by its campaign to put thought-provoking messages on its coffee cups despite a national uproar and threat of boycott over a message some felt was "anti-God."

Controversy erupted this week after a customer became steamed reading a quote that stated:

"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure."

The quote was written by Bill Schell, a Starbucks customer from London, Ontario, Canada, and was included as part of Starbucks' "The Way I See It" campaign to collect different viewpoints and spur discussion.

A WND story posted Sunday afternoon publicizing the cup became a hot topic on national radio shows this week including Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham.

One reader, Ken Peck of Lakeland, Fla., has since purchased a coffee with another message he felt was a slam against his Christian faith, and snapped a photograph of it.

The message reads:


Heaven is totally overrated. It seems boring. Clouds, listening to people play the harp. It should be somewhere you can’t wait to go, like a luxury hotel. Maybe blue skies and soft music were enough to keep people in line in the 17th century, but Heaven has to step it up a bit. They're basically getting by because they only have to be better than Hell. -- Joel Stein, columnist for the Los Angeles Times.
"There's absolutely no reason to put that out on a cup," Peck told WND. "From a marketing standpoint, it blows me away. I don't put a picture of Christ of my business card."

Peck says the issue has energized him to push for a boycott of Starbucks in favor of other local coffeehouses in Polk Co., Fla.

"Everyone I've shown the cup to has been flabbergasted, whether they have a faith in Christ or not," he said.

Seattle-based Starbucks, meanwhile, is making no apologies about the God-related messages, nor its campaign.

"We are committed to this program," Starbucks communications manager Tricia Moriarty told WND, noting that quotes about matters of faith make up only a small fraction of the printed quips.

"We cover topics such as theater, film, the environment, food and sports," Moriarty said. "The cups are not pro- or anti-religion per se."

When asked if there were any scenario that would prompt the company to remove a certain cup from its campaign, she said she could not comment on a hypothetical situation, saying only, "Certainly, we have no plans to remove any of them."

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55627

Joe Hardy Opposes Hotel Tax

Current county commissioner Joseph A. Hardy III opposes the implementation of a hotel tax, and has announced he would abstain from a formal vote due to Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa. A spokesman for Hardy noted - according to the article - the effect a grant program would also have on competing businesses. We agree.

Now if Hardy would only get it concerning Keystone Opportunity Zones and the unfair advantage tax-exemptions give to one business over another...

Hardy says he opposes hotel occupancy tax proposal
By:Amy Zalar
05/09/2007
Updated 05/10/2007 12:06:05 AM EDT
Republican Fayette County Commissioner Joseph A. Hardy III voiced opposition to the proposed hotel occupancy tax at Monday's candidate forum, saying he wasn't against the tax because his daughter owns Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa, but rather because it is another layer of taxes that unfairly impacts businesses.

Speaking at a candidate forum for all seven county commission candidates, Republican and Democrat, Hardy read from a prepared statement when asked if he would support the tax that would add up to 3 percent to the cost of hotel rooms in the county.

Fayette is one of only three counties in the state that do not assess the tax.

"If this issue comes before the Fayette County commissioners I will not vote for it," Hardy said, explaining that the reason is not because he or Maggie Hardy Magerko owns Nemacolin, but because he opposes the tax and others like it...

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18319625&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

Zimmerlink outlines need for solid education
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
05/10/2007
Updated 05/11/2007 12:06:04 AM EDT

...Hardy, who drew the number one and sat in the first seat, answered questions about a hotel occupancy tax and the perceived negative image of Fayette County. Hardy said he is against the hotel tax, which would add up to 3 percent onto the cost of a room, not because his daughter owns Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa in Farmington, but because it is singles out certain businesses. He said he believes the negative image of the county is mostly a thing of the past...

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18321917&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

Hardy's hotel tax stand detailed
By Steve FerrisHerald-Standard
05/11/2007
Updated 05/11/2007 12:03:43 AM EDT

Fayette County Commissioner Joseph A. Hardy III is opposed to a 3 percent hotel room tax, but would abstain from voting on it if the commissioners consider imposing the levy, a spokesman said Thursday.

Jeff Nobers, vice president of corporate communications for Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa, which Hardy founded and is now run by his daughter Maggie Hardy Magerko, and Trey Matheu, the resort's director of operations, discussed the tax issue with the Herald-Standard editorial board.

The Fayette County Tourism Alliance is supporting the tax, which they said could generate more than a half-million dollars annually, and would relieve the county from making a $20,000 annual contribution to the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau.

Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties make annual payments to the LHBV to promote tourism in the counties.

Nobers and Mathew said they believe the tax would cut into the hotel's group sales and possibly result in job layoffs or cutbacks.

Matheu, who is also a member of LHVB board of director, explained that the resort classifies its customers into two categories '- transients and groups.

Transients rent individual rooms during the prime season from May to October and groups rent a number of rooms for corporate events and meetings during the off-peak season from November to March.

Matheu said all hotels and resorts compete for transient business, but Nemacolin competes with more regional resorts and facilities for the group business.

He said transients for the most part won't mind paying the tax, but he said groups are often looking for the best price and the tax could hinder efforts to draw them to the resort.

This is crucial for the resort because the group business has grown from 50 percent of its total business two years ago to 60 percent today, Matheu said.

Because of an upsurge in group business, he said, the resort's compliment of year-around employees has grown to 800 from 500 to 600 a few years ago.

During the May-October peak time period, the addition of seasonal workers drives the number of employees up to 1,200, said Nobers.

Matheu said the number of year-around employees could be affected if the tax was imposed.

He said the resort also promotes the region to attract visitors, but might "pull back" from those efforts if the tax is adopted and the resort starts losing business.

Nobers said the resort directs it guests to county attractions such as Fallingwater, white water rafting at Ohiopyle State Park, Woodlands Zoo and the Christian W. Clay Winery.

He said it is a misconception that Nemacolin hoards the tourists it draws. "We aren't this vacuum," Nobers said.

In addition to using hotel tax revenues for tourism promotion through the LHVB, Somerset and Westmoreland counties established separate tourism grant programs.

The grant programs provide money to tourism-related groups or businesses that have to use it for marketing or capital improvement projects.

"That, to us, is sort of illogical," Nobers said. "The grant side of the tax is our biggest objection."

Nobers said that giving revenue from taxes to private businesses to help compete against other local businesses is not a good idea.
Limiting the use of the tax revenue for marketing and promoting regional tourism makes sense, Nobers said.

Another problem with distributing grants from the tax revenue, Nobers said, is that a board would be created to select grant winners and that could lead to political problems with who gets the money.

"The grant program opens the door to a lot of problems, Nobers said.

Matheu said he believes as much as 42 percent of Nemacolin's group business would be at risk if the tax would be adopted...

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18327618&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

Related and surprising analysis results

http://traveltax.msu.edu/guide/index.htm

Harry Browne on taxation

Big Tourist Draw Plan: Fayette Chamber of Commerce Wants New Hotel Tax

Tax others more, please. That will grow the tourism industry in the area.

That's basically what a spokeswoman for the local Fayette area Chamber of Commerce wants by virtually demanding implementation of a county hotel tax.

Visitors to our beautiful area are sitting ducks. If they have to visit because of business purposes, they might be able to write off some of the charges. Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa wouldn't be affected by an increase in costs to customers since that business caters to those more well-set.

But all other local hotels will be impacted. How can those businesses possibly support an increase in any taxes? They justify it by saying: everybody else is doing it.

Right. Get the local officials to buy into the concept that taxing people more is the way to economic growth. What's sad - most elected officials are all too willing to jump on board into areas where they are not constitutionally authorized and they remain unaccountable. They tax you more, spend the money on things they shouldn't be doing, and you wonder why you're having to work 2 or 3 jobs per family household to make ends meet.

And those grants we potentially would get from the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau... more taxpayers' monies directed to private business which shouldn't be getting the grants in the first place.

It isn't government's role or constitutional duty to prop up one private business over another. In this case, the local government would be turning over taxpayers' monies, which it takes from somebody, in this case guests in hotels or bed and breakfasts and they'd allow another agency to divvy up the monies back to the area.

The LHVB would determine who in the area is a worthy candidate for the tax pool.

We can't even hold elected officials accountable for how that money would be spent.

Not that this kind of thing doesn't happen around the state. It does, and it's sick.

These people think taxpayers' money is a bottomless well of gold. If the LHVB which would get 98 percent of the new hotel tax monies determines its own costs go up, that will mean less for divving up back to Fayette.

Really, Fayette shouldn't even be paying $20,000 to LHVB of local taxpayers' monies in the first place. What do they do that Fayette can't do to promote itself by having a reputation as a great place to visit with many interesting things to offer?

Years ago, when Fayette determined to opt into the LHVB objections fell on deaf ears because of local party politics.

The tax-shifting game is sick.

Don't implement any new taxes in the county. Enable the county to get out off the public dole - the "poverty" ridden mindset.

It's this kind of thinking that has held Fayette back for decades and decades, and it isn't going to change if any one of the candidates for commissioners supports the new hotel tax, and happens to get elected, or re-elected, in November.

The Internet has also changed the face of promotion of an area. All the county has to do is keep maintaining a decent website, and include highlighting area historical and tourist attractions. In fact, area businesses can easily promote themselves using the World Wide Web.

In addition, how much overlap is there in promotion of historical sites such as Fallingwater, Fort Necessity Battlefield, and Albert Gallatin's estate, Friendship Hill, which use federal taxpayers' monies to keep afloat?

Tax an issue for Fayette election
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
05/06/2007
Updated 05/06/2007 12:03:49 AM EDT
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
Despite the ability to impose a hotel room tax that could generate more than a half-million dollars annually and save the general fund a payment of $20,000 a year to a tourism agency, Fayette County is one of only three counties across the state that has not levied the tariff.


Muriel Nuttall, executive director of the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, said the Fayette County Tourism Alliance is advocating implementation of the tax.
On the verge of the May 15 municipal primary that features all three Fayette County commissioners seeking re-election, the Fayette County Tourism Alliance, composed of members from the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, the National Road Heritage Corridor and the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, has decided to bring the issue to the forefront.

Questions about the hotel tax will be among those asked of the five Democrats and two Republicans seeking party nominations at a candidate forum slated for 7 p.m. Monday at the State Theatre Center for the Arts. The Fayette Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the forum.

Nuttall said the topic has been "approached" by the county commissioners but never came back to their floor for a vote. "It's kind of a necessity. We have to get things going," Nuttall said. "We have amazing tourism destinations. This is a huge piece of that."

Legislation in late 2000 authorized the 45 Pennsylvania counties that did not levy a tax on hotel rooms to do so up to 3 percent of the room rate, and since that time the only counties that do not have the tax are Fayette, Fulton and Perry. Nuttall said Fulton and Perry are not tourist destination counties, while Fayette County clearly is because tourism is either the number one or number two industry in the county.

Nuttall said neighboring counties served by the LHVB have implemented the tax and have been able to not only stop paying an annual contribution to the tourism bureau, but have been able to distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars generated by the tax for tourism-related purposes within the counties.

"It's a win-win," Nuttall said. "The county gets the $20,000 back because the money isn't taken out of the general fund, and it is not a tax that is levied on the residents of Fayette County. Anywhere you travel, you pay it," she said. Nuttall added that as an example, in New York state the tax is about 12 percent.

"Anyone that travels anywhere, you pay it. If people stop and look at a hotel receipt, it's on there and many places it is much higher," Nuttall said.

Nuttall said because tourism is either the number one or number two industry in the county, it seems "very strange" that the county isn't imposing the tax. "It's a pass-through tax that is only paid by someone staying in a hotel or bed and breakfast," Nuttall said.

Nuttall said although the general consensus in Fayette County seems to be that fewer people will stay here if the tax is implemented, that has not been the case in Somerset and Westmoreland counties. "In Somerset and Westmoreland counties, overnight stays have increased every year since they implemented the tax," Nuttall said.

Nuttall said the county collects the tax and gets to keep 2 percent of whatever is collected, with the remaining 98 percent going to the county tourism agency. In the case of Fayette County, the LHVB is the official tourism promotion agency for the region comprising Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties...

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18306273&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

Tribune-Review article

Fayette County officials finally will check out lucrative hotel tax
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, May 1, 2007


Despite a change in state law six years ago, Fayette County remains one of only three counties -- and the last in Western Pennsylvania -- without a local hotel room tax that could create a tourism grant program for its popular sites and parks and save $20,000 in the county's annual general fund.
While a tourism professional estimates the maximum 3 percent fee might snatch as much as $650,000 a year from out-of-towners, much like neighboring Somerset County, discussion about a room levy hasn't been a burning topic during the four-year terms of Fayette County Commissioners Angela Zimmerlink, Joe Hardy and Vincent Vicites.

With the primary election coming, the government affairs council of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce has decided to put the issue under the noses of the seven county commissioner candidates.

Chamber officials recently informed the five Democrats and two Republicans that the room tax will be one of the subjects at a candidates' forum Monday evening at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown.

Although an occupancy tax bloats the cost of a night's stay, some hosts said they believe the charge would be negligible while benefiting several of Fayette's festivals and historical locales.

When Westmoreland and Somerset county commissioners enacted 3 percent room taxes in 2002, the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau began earmarking hundreds of thousands of dollars from each county for specific structural improvements and marketing campaigns for tourist spots.

Since then, those counties have stopped their annual payments to the bureau for tourism promotion, while Fayette County continues to give $20,000 in taxpayer funds and can't contribute to a grant program.

Before, Westmoreland gave the bureau $30,000 a year, and Somerset donated $21,500.

Now, both counties keep 2 percent of the annual hotel tax money for administrative purposes.

Susan Fleming, a bureau board member who owns the Cottages at Fayette Springs with her husband, said she supports the tax because of the limited amount of funding for property renovations at tourism sites.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_505457.html

Tourism Promotion Organizations and Agencies get millions in taxpayers' dollars

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Oct. 31, 2006
GOVERNOR RENDELL ANNOUNCES $11 MILLION FOR PA’S 47 TOURISM-PROMOTION AGENCIES
Funding to support local and regional efforts to attract visitors to PA

HARRISBURG — Governor Edward G. Rendell today awarded $11 million in matching funds for the state’s 47 Tourism-Promotion Agencies (TPAs) to help them attract more travelers to the commonwealth and support one of the state’s top industries.

“Tourism creates jobs, enriches communities and helps Pennsylvania grow its economy,” Governor Rendell said. “Through aggressive tourism development, every region of Pennsylvania is more equipped than ever to provide visitors with the best possible experience.”

The base grants will be used by local TPAs to develop promotional materials, advertisements and other marketing activities.

In order to promote regional tourism, this program provides up to $2 in state funding for every $1 raised locally by single-county TPAs and up to $2.25 for TPAs crossing county lines. As part of Governor Rendell’s support of regional cooperation, $550,000 of the $11 million in grants is earmarked for cooperative marketing projects in which at least two TPAs work together. Pennsylvania’s matching funds grant program is the oldest and one of the largest in the nation.

http://www.state.pa.us/papower/cwp/view.asp?A=11&Q=457726

Fayette's Website

Home Tourism
WE WELCOME YOU TO FAYETTE COUNTY

Whether you are a first time visitor, a return visitor or a resident of Fayette County, take time to discover and experience Fayette County's history, recreation and many attractions

Right Here in Fayette County

Fayette County government does not have its own Tourism Department.
Fayette County has designated Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau its TPA - Tourism Promotion Agency. The Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau as been Fayette County's TPA for a number of years and receives $20,000 per year from the County's General Fund to provide marketing and information to promote tourism in Fayette County.

http://www.co.fayette.pa.us/fayette/cwp/view.asp?a=2275&q=516631

Related

http://www.laurelhighlands.org/

http://search.freefind.com/find.html?query=fayette+county&id=7648459&pageid=r&mode=ALL&n=0&_charset_=utf-8&bcd=%C3%B7

Let's see what the Fayette Chamber of Commerce has on its site.

http://www.faycham.org/index.html

Government taxing tourists for local development = higher costs

Maybe some government officials just don't get how taxation impacts everybody. They get in office, and all of a sudden, they have the power of taxation and voila, somehow, they need more money to run government services rather than cut back on unnecessary services that private business does more cost effectively.

They have the power of the purse, spending your money, claiming it's all for you. Somehow, they then turn around and claim they've spurred economic development with your money. In actuality, higher taxation costs you more in the end.

Any time government taxes something, the cost of doing business increases. That cost is passed on to the consumer. The higher cost of one thing - such as a hotel room - impacts another and another economic activity.

Let businesses thrive by lower taxation. Watch how the economy grows.

In this instance, local government can impose a hotel tax - so gee, they'll find something they can spend the so-called extra tax revenue on to provide you with local government services.

Instead of just getting out of the way of local business and creative innovation, government has to intrude because then officials can claim they've helped spur economic development. Actually, what they'll do by imposing the hotel tax is increase cost of doing business in Fayette County.

That increase in cost of doing business has a wave effect, with the cost of business rising throughout the state.

What will commissioners do with the extra tax monies? Pay for things they shouldn't be involved in anyway, such as a running a Ferry Boat, helping maintain a Castle, and using your tax dollars to create business parks which still remain less than fully occupied. Some of the parks include areas also known as Keystone Opportunity Zones, property where local taxes are fully waived for a 10 to 13 year period to attract what, new companies and new employees.

Meanwhile, other businesses are taxed and must pay not only their own fair share, but also pay the tax burden for somebody located in a tax-free zone. Unbelievable.

Where have the former, current, and candidate commissioners been on justifying even one person's loss of a home or business in the county for failure to pay taxes while others don't have that threat because they're in a KOZ?

Former Chief Justice John Marshall said " The Power to tax involves the Power to destroy."

Watch Fayette decline in population even further. We're down to about 145,760 residents now, according to the article...

Fayette County officials finally will check out lucrative hotel tax
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Despite a change in state law six years ago, Fayette County remains one of only three counties -- and the last in Western Pennsylvania -- without a local hotel room tax that could create a tourism grant program for its popular sites and parks and save $20,000 in the county's annual general fund.
While a tourism professional estimates the maximum 3 percent fee might snatch as much as $650,000 a year from out-of-towners, much like neighboring Somerset County, discussion about a room levy hasn't been a burning topic during the four-year terms of Fayette County Commissioners Angela Zimmerlink, Joe Hardy and Vincent Vicites...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_505457.html

Related

Scope and application of Chapter 38—Hotel Occupancy Tax—statement of policy.

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/061/chapter38a/chap38atoc.html

Butler County

A copy of Ordinance 2001-1, Hotel Room Rental Tax (Revised), is also available for download here...

http://www.co.butler.pa.us/butler/cwp/view.asp?a=1498&q=608478&butlerNav=|33534|33540|&butlerNav=|33534|33540|

McCain Feingold campaign finance law bad for us

It's about time Senator John McCain took heat on this from his own. Unfortunately, not enough of his own voted no on the legislation. President George W. Bush didn't veto it, either. What don't they understand about the Bill of Rights? It applies to them - Congress shall make no law...

Romney criticizes McCain's campaign finance law
By Glen Johnson, AP Political Writer | April 30, 2007

BOSTON --Mitt Romney, who leads the Republican presidential field in fundraising, is strongly denouncing the campaign finance reform law co-authored by one of his chief rivals.

The former Massachusetts governor is vehemently opposed to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, saying the revised regulations controlling presidential fundraising impinge on free speech.

His criticisms underscore a major political difference with one of his campaign rivals, Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Romney has also recently criticized McCain on other issues, including immigration.

BCRA is the formal name for the "McCain-Feingold" law, a piece of legislation that reshaped election financing and bolstered McCain's upstart political status when President Bush signed it into law in 2002.

"I favor transparency," Romney told The Associated Press on Thursday between campaign stops in New Hampshire. "Let people make contributions and report it on the Web site, so you know who's contributed to whom, but McCain-Feingold has not worked. It's hurt my party, it hurts First Amendment rights. I think it was a bad bill."

On Wednesday, the same day McCain formally announced his candidacy, Romney said in an Internet posting: "The American people should be able to exercise their First Amendment rights without having to think about hiring a lawyer."

One of the law's authors, Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., said Romney's complaints are rooted in politics.

"The law has been ruled constitutional by every court that has looked at it," said Meehan, who worked with Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., on a bill that was merged with McCain-Feingold. "Mitt Romney's criticisms are clearly motivated by his campaign against John McCain."

Other critics say Romney's complaints don't square with his past calls for campaign finance reform, including a 1994 proposal to publicly fund elections by imposing a 10 percent tax on the contributions to candidates choosing to finance their campaigns privately.

A McCain spokesman dismissed Romney's criticism.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/30/romney_criticizes_mccains_campaign_finance_law/

Tax-Free Homes Question for County Commissioner Candidates

Who among area candidates for county commissioner would make a motion to decertify unfair tax-free Keystone Opportunity Zones? In one area of Fayette County, a Keystone Opportunity Zone has already been designated which contains zoning for residential, single family homes. Fay-Penn Economic Development Council owns the property, and apparently has been in negotiations with a developer to construct houses in the $400,000 range, and up, in the tax-free zone.

Faced with the KOZ designation ending in 2013, it's reasonable to wonder whether Fay-Penn would seek an extension of the KOZs for a longer residential development process.

So among the primary questions to the commissioner candidates in Fayette County - should a resolution be presented to you, would you authorize an expansion or extension of KOZ for the area of the county which contains residential zoning?

Party loyalty at issue in Fayette election
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, April 30, 2007

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_505276.html

For background material on Fayette Keystone Opportunity Zones and Crystal Springs development plans

Wakeup

http://dirtline.tripod.com/wakeup/id16.html

PA Freshmen salary commission proposal negligence

PA legislators need somebody else who can read and understand the PA Constitution to advise them on its meaning! The idea to establish a panel to determine salary and benefits package for them is ludicrous and obscene. thumbs down Mr. King and Galloway. And these are two freshman legislators.

Just follow the PA Constitution. It's in there already...

Legislative pay panel sought
By Alison Hawkes, For the Herald-Standard
04/26/2007
Updated 04/26/2007 12:04:20 AM EDT

HARRISBURG - Bucks County Reps. Chris King and John Galloway are calling for the establishment of an independent commission to establish the salary and benefits package for legislators.


The two freshmen lawmakers are presenting their case today at the House Legislative Reform Commission, which is taking testimony from the public at the Philadelphia Convention Center for phase two of its work.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18261682&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468520&rfi=6

Was Rudy Misquoted?

Brit Hume on Fox News says former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has stated he didn't make the quote attributed to him by The Politico. This is big news if true. It appears someone from the Politico asked Rudy a question, and the Politico reports Giuliani's response...

Giuliani warns of 'new 9/11' if Dems win
By: Roger Simon
April 24, 2007 08:29 PM EST
Updated: April 25, 2007 01:28 PM EST

MANCHESTER, N.H. —- Rudy Giuliani said if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, America will be at risk for another terrorist attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001.

But if a Republican is elected, he said, especially if it is him, terrorist attacks can be anticipated and stopped.

“If any Republican is elected president —- and I think obviously I would be the best at this —- we will remain on offense and will anticipate what [the terrorists] will do and try to stop them before they do it,” Giuliani said.

The former New York City mayor, currently leading in all national polls for the Republican nomination for president, said Tuesday night that America would ultimately defeat terrorism no matter which party gains the White House.

“But the question is how long will it take and how many casualties will we have?” Giuliani said. “If we are on defense [with a Democratic president], we will have more losses and it will go on longer.”

“I listen a little to the Democrats and if one of them gets elected, we are going on defense,” Giuliani continued. “We will wave the white flag on Iraq. We will cut back on the Patriot Act, electronic surveillance, interrogation and we will be back to our pre-Sept. 11 attitude of defense.”

He added: “The Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us.”

After his speech to the Rockingham County Lincoln Day Dinner, I asked him about his statements and Giuliani said flatly: “America will be safer with a Republican president.”

Giuliani, whose past positions on abortion, gun control and gay rights have made him anathema to some in his party, believes his tough stance on national defense and his post-Sept. 11 reputation as a fighter of terrorism will be his trump card with doubting Republicans...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0407/3684.html

Giuliani: Republicans will keep you safe
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani “flashed his combative side” on a stop in New Hampshire yesterday, Newsday reported this morning.

At issue, apparently, was a questioner “who said there were ‘no rights’ left for Americans in the fight against terror.

”’That’s hardly no rights!’ Giuliani shot back, saying the war on terror demanded tools like the Patriot Act and warrantless wiretapping,” the newspaper reported. ”’You live in a country that has more rights than any in the history of the world. You have more freedom than anyone in the world has ever had, and no one has taken that from you.’”

According to the online site Politico, Giuliani also said “if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, America will be at risk for another terrorist attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001. But if a Republican is elected, he said, especially if it is him, terrorist attacks can be anticipated and stopped...

http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2007/04/25/giuliani-vs-obama/

Democrats fire back at Giuliani on 9/11 warning
Reuters
Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:57AM EDT


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic White House contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton criticized Republican Rudolph Giuliani on Wednesday for suggesting a Democratic president would put the United States at risk of another September 11-type terrorist attack.

The former New York mayor, who leads the 2008 Republican White House race in national polls, said in a speech in New Hampshire on Tuesday night the United States would be safer and fight terrorism more aggressively under a Republican president.

A Democratic president, he said, would "wave the white flag on Iraq" and take the United States "back to our pre-September 11 attitude of defense," the Politico.com quoted Giuliani as saying.

While the United States ultimately will prevail in the fight against terror, he said, "the question is how long will it take and how many casualties will we have? If we are on defense, we will have more losses and it will go on longer."...

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2535987220070425

Campaign Finance Law Draws Supreme Court Skepticism

Fox News reporting on Supreme Court's consideration of constitutionality of McCain-Feingold...

Court Eyes McCain-Feingold Limits on Ads
By FREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
(04-25) 14:32 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

A majority of the Supreme Court appears to be skeptical of the landmark McCain-Feingold campaign finance law's restrictions on pre-election issue ads that mention a candidate by name.'

The law prohibits interest groups from running corporate-funded radio and TV ads that mention a candidate's name within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election.

In arguments defending the law Wednesday, attorney Seth Waxman said that advocacy groups could still run the ads as long as they are financed with funds from political groups that comply with federal limits and disclosure requirements.

"What do you make of the fact that so many advocacy groups say that's impractical?" asked Justice Samuel Alito, whose vote could be pivotal because he took the place of Sandra Day O'Connor. She was one of five justices to uphold large portions of the campaign finance law in 2003.


Waxman responded by pointing out that one of those groups, the ACLU, never mentions a specific candidate by name and therefore hasn't been affected by the restriction.


But Chief Justice John Roberts, who has also joined the court since the 2003 ruling, wasn't moved by that.


"Just because the ACLU doesn't do that doesn't seem particularly pertinent to me," he said.


Last year a lower court relaxed the law's restrictions on issue ads that are run by corporations, labor unions and other special interest groups in the final weeks of a campaign.


That court sided with Wisconsin Right to Life, an anti-abortion group that had sought to run ads during the 2004 campaign, asking voters to contact the state's two senators, Democrats Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, and urge them not to filibuster President Bush's judicial nominees.


But because Feingold was up for re-election, the group could not run the ads in the final stretch of the campaign, under the law named for Feingold and Sen. John McCain.


Wisconsin Right to Life argues that McCain-Feingold unfairly restricts its free-speech rights. In its decision in December, the lower court ruled that groups may mention candidates by name in ads as long as they are trying to influence public policy, rather than sway an election.


The McCain-Feingold provision in question was aimed at preventing the common practice of issues ads that stopped short of calling for the election or defeat of a specific candidate, but that would cast a candidate in a positive or negative light. By doing so, sponsors of such ads had been able to circumvent limits on contributions in federal elections.


Wisconsin Right to Life argues it was not trying to influence an election, but rather rally people to lobby senators on an issue before the Senate...

The consolidated case is Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, 06-969, and McCain v. Wisconsin Right to Life, 06-970.



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/25/national/w143246D34.DTL&type=politics

Gore advisor to British Government on Global Warming

Isn't it interesting. Former Vice President Al Gore will be an advisor to British on global warming...

Film on Global Warming Is Challenged
Wednesday April 25, 3:22 pm ET
By Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer
Scientists Demand Changes to Global Warming Skeptic's Film


LONDON (AP) -- A group of British climate scientists is demanding changes to a skeptical documentary about global warming, saying there are grave errors in the program billed as a response to Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth."

"The Great Global Warming Swindle" aired on British television in March and is coming out soon on DVD. It argues that man-made emissions have a marginal impact on the world's climate and warming can better be explained by changing patterns of solar activity.

An open letter sent Tuesday by 38 scientists, including the former heads of Britain's academy of sciences and Britain's weather office, called on producer Wag TV to remove what it called "major misrepresentations" from the film before the DVD release -- a demand its director said was tantamount to censorship.

Bob Ward, the former spokesman for the Royal Society, Britain's academy of science, and one of the letter's signatories, said director Mark Durkin made a "long catalog of fundamental and profound mistakes" -- including the claim that volcanoes produce more carbon dioxide than humans, and that the Earth's atmosphere was warmer during the Middle Ages than it is today.

"Free speech does not extend to misleading the public by making factually inaccurate statements," he said. "Somebody has to stand up for the public interest here."

Durkin called the letter "loathsome."

"This is a contemptible, weasel-worded attempt to gag scientific criticism, and it won't work," he said. "I don't believe they're interested in quality control when it comes to the reporting of science -- so long as it's on their side."

Durkin acknowledged two of the errors highlighted by the scientists -- including the claim about volcanic emissions -- but he described those changes as minor and said they would be corrected in the expanded DVD release.

But the scientists do not want the DVD released without edits to completely remove the material they object to -- something Ward said would fatally weaken the film's argument.

"The fact is that it's a very convincing program, and if you're not very aware of the science you wouldn't necessarily see what the errors are," Ward said. "But the errors are huge. ... Without those errors in, he doesn't have a story."

Ward has also complained to Britain's media regulator, which said it was investigating the matter. British broadcast law demands impartiality on matters of major political and industrial controversy -- and penalties can be imposed for misrepresentations of fact.

The decision to broadcast Durkin's documentary on Channel 4 was an unusual move in a country where the role of man-made carbon emissions in heating the globe is largely taken for granted and politicians regularly spar over which party has the greenest environmental policy.

As for the former vice president, Gore has been hired as an adviser to the British government, which plans to send copies of his film to schools around England...

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070425/global_warming_film.html?.v=1

Fayette's Unnamed Companies Needs

Some 42 companies in Fayette County need workers. Please identify.

Honest appraisal: Panelists reflect on Fayette workforce
By James Pletcher Jr., Herald-Standard
04/25/2007
Updated 04/25/2007 12:31:22 PM EDT

Most of the participants in a workforce and housing summit Tuesday agreed that Fayette County is a great place to live.


But it has its problems, among which are illegal drugs, inadequate housing, workers with too few skills and work ethics and an apathetic populace.

Fay-Penn Economic Development Council hosted its first Fayette County Workforce and Housing Summit at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. There were 13 panelists representing business, education, health care and industry who talked about the problems they have in recruiting and keeping employees and a need for more medium-range housing and rental units.

The consensus was that while the county continues to have an unemployment rate among the highest in the state, it lacks job seekers with necessary skills even for entry-level positions.

Employers also find that people they hire lack basic work ethics, such as showing up on time, working when they want rather than when required and not calling their employer to tell them when they won't be at work on a given day.

In terms of housing, the panelists said there are not enough rental properties for both entry-level and upper-management workers. There also is a dearth of ready-to-move-in housing for people across all income ranges. Some of the employers offered personal stories of spending months trying to find a home through newspaper advertisements, local real estate firms and word of mouth.

Other issues they named were a lack of events aimed at young professionals, concerns about personal safety, public transportation and a Fayette County community Web site listing general information...

Leo T. Krantz, Fay-Penn chairman, said the purpose of the summit was to "discuss good news. It's a fact we are having workforce problems and housing problems and that shows we are expanding,'' he said, adding that "10 or more new technology companies have opened in Fayette County in the last four years.''

"This is the first time we have brought a group of employers together to discuss their needs,'' said Mike Krajovic, Fay-Penn president. Krajovic added that in February, Fay-Penn polled 42 Fayette County companies who said in the next 12 to 18 months "they will need to hire 1,900 workers...

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18255721&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

Desperately seeking able, willing workers
By Michael Cope
Daily Courier
Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Help wanted: Welder. Nurse. Electro-optical systems engineer.
Despite a steady 5 percent unemployment rate, a panel of nine executives assembled Tuesday at the 2007 Work Force & Housing Summit said there are hundreds of jobs to fill in Fayette County.

But there are few skilled, responsible workers.

"The purpose of this summit is to discuss good news," said Leo Krantz, chairman of Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, which sponsored the event at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. "The fact that we have a work force problem shows that progress is being made in our county."

According to a Fay-Penn study, 42 companies in Fayette County will hire 1,900 workers during the next 12 to 18 months -- primarily the blue-collar manufacturing jobs that support middle-class families.

The poll reached just a tiny percentage of the 2,900 companies operating in the county.

"The people who command this subject are the managers facing these recruiting problems," said Michael Krajovic, president of Fay-Penn.

Nine panelists representing a cross-section of local industry -- trucking, construction, hospitality, technology -- disparaged the local work force.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailycourier/news/s_504533.html...

Unequal taxation are KOZs

It will not be a surprise to learn promoters of the idea of housing in Keystone Opportunity Zones in PA desire another, longer extension of the legislation to give them a longer time period to purchasers to live tax-free. Mark the date 2013 on your calendar. Sometime around then, we'll see state Rep. Tim Mahoney propose a new plan for economic development that includes an expansion of KOZs.

Remember, developers and owners, Fay-Penn, have had every governmental grant available to them since 1998/99, when the three local taxing bodies adopted KOZs.

Where are the high-paying jobs? Where are the new employers, not just the recycled businesses that close down in one area of the county to reopen in the KOZ?

Keep watching.

Fayette County woos new companies, but where will workers live?By C.M. Mortimer
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, April 8, 2007


In recent years, Fayette County has had success wooing new companies in technology, defense and homeland security industries. Economic development officials say the county needs more workers with the right skills to keep growing.
But Fayette needs quality housing -- condominiums, townhouses or starter homes in good neighborhoods -- to attract workers, their families and top managers.

"Fayette County is at the point where it needs to be looking at the type and quality of growth. We have to get rid of the beggar mentality," said Michael W. Krajovic, president of the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, the agency charged with adding employment opportunities in the mostly rural Southwest Pennsylvania county.

Enter Elliott Edelstein, a Monroeville housing developer who believes parts of Fayette County could become the next Cranberry -- the Butler County community that is one of the fastest-growing in the state and home to 3,000 businesses.

Edelstein's Crystal Springs Investors is trying to develop 229 acres in Springhill Township and build 280 single-family homes, which would make it the largest housing development in Fayette County in years. His group has an option on 625 acres nearby.

The kicker: the land in question is in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, where generous tax breaks are available. Originally intended to spur economic development -- not housing -- when it was created in 1998, the state program would give a homeowner forgiveness from property taxes and state and local income taxes through 2013.

Edelstein has been negotiating with Fay-Penn, which owns the land. He estimates it will take about $11 million to develop the site in the southwestern portion of the county and close to the fast-growing Morgantown, W.Va., area. Planning and zoning approvals are in place, leaving financing as a final hurdle, officials said...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_501709.html

ADHD and Ritalin

The following notice concerning Block's book is not an endorsement, for your information. See our further coverage at Citizen Mom

http://dirtline.tripod.com/citizenmom/id22.html

ADHD: Fix it without drugging your kids
Doctor asks: 'Doesn't your child deserve more than a label and a drug?'
Posted: April 12, 2007
3:43 p.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com


If your child is among the millions of American kids who are taking Ritalin or similar drugs, or if he or she has learning problems or has been diagnosed with ADHD-ADD, this life-changing package – called "The ADHD Kit" – is for you. Exclusive to WorldNetDaily's online store, it has practical, proven and easy-to-follow information that has helped thousands of families around the world.

Millions of American children, mostly boys, are diagnosed with new diseases like ADD and ADHD that didn't exist a generation ago. To "treat" them and make their behavior more acceptable, we force them to take dangerous psycho-stimulant drugs.

"Dangerous"? Yes. Between six and nine million American children are taking Ritalin, the most popular treatment for "attention-deficit" and "overactivity" problems at school. But Ritalin is the trade name for Methylphenidate, which the Drug Enforcement Administration classifies as a "Schedule II" substance. "The controlled substances in this schedule," the DEA cautions, "have a high abuse potential with severe psychological or physical dependence liability, but have accepted medical use in the U.S."

Thus, reports the New York Times, "pediatricians and child psychiatrists are increasingly turning to pharmacology as the treatment of choice for depression, attention disorder, severe anxiety, obsessive disorder, manic depression and other conditions." Twice as many boys as girls are being given these psychiatric drugs.

Dealing with the real problem

Dr. Mary Ann Block, D.O., is a renowned expert on treating ADHD-ADD without drugs. Her approach is to look for and treat, whenever possible, the underlying causes of the health and learning problems instead of covering the symptoms with psychiatric drugs.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55166

PA Constitutional Convention Bye Bye Almighty God?

Although I'm opposed to a PA Constitutional Convention, for a variety of reasons continuously expressed herein, if one were held, I couldn't help but wonder if any one of the delegates would dare to admit to being an atheist?

Why an atheist couldn't even mount a campaign for election as a delegate because he, or she, would be pilloried and demonized.

What's the difference between someone who might want to alter our Constitution of PA to exclude mention of Almighty God and someone who might want to alter our Constitution of PA to implement citizens' initiatives and referendum?

The Founding Framers inserted the reference to Almighty God and excluded direct democracy (contrary to their concept of representative government).

If there is room to change one, why isn't there room to change the other?

Just some thoughts as May 1 is just around the corner. Learn your history.

PA Public Education Should be Abolished

Though I object to a PA Constitutional Convention being called and held, for reasons I've expressed here throughout, in the event of such a convention being held, the first item I suggest for elimination is:

The Public School System.

Article III Section 14

The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.

Has anybody really thought about the implications of maintaining a system of public education to SERVE THE NEEDS of the Commonwealth.

To serve the needs of the state.

It's no wonder the Pennsylvania educational system run by money-grubbing administrators many of whom make more than the state legislators is in such a shambles.

The focus isn't on the child becoming all of the individual the child can be, but on the child serving the needs of the state of Pennsylvania.

But seriously, if an election of delegates to the convention were held, does anyone believe a candidate espousing elimination of the public monopoly over education - failure that it is - would have any chance of endorsement?

I doubt it. The public is too dependent on the system of education funded through taxpayers' monies.

To sideswipe such a candidate, the political machine in every district would groom a "citizen" to look, talk, and act like a regular citizen and win the delegate spot.

Don't think it can happen? How naive. Ever wonder why the same type of school board directors end up in office. Not one ever calls for consolidation of school districts, merging of districts into a county-wide system which would be more cost-efficient. Not only that, look into the hirees of any school district and you'll surely find relatives and associates of school board directors employed in some capacity.

The most egregious is when positions are created specifically to rehire a retiree as a consultant or some such usually at astronomical salaries for less than one-year of full time employment.

Sick public school system - needs to go.

But it wouldn't need a convention to get rid of it. Just an overwhelming public outcry from the taxpayers - we're still waiting.

Food & Drug Administration To Regulate Alternatives

Happened upon an item that should concern all of us who are interested in taking responsibility for our own health as much as possible, including being informed about vitamins, herbal products, and even the kind of water we consume.

World Net Daily reports

FDA looks to regulate natural substances as drugs, with prescriptions from doctors

The Food and Drug Administration says vitamins, supplements, herbs and other natural substances, including water when it is used to "treat" dehydration, should be classified as drugs, and opponents have only until April 30 to express their concern about the proposals under Docket No. 2006D-0480...

The site links to a form to comment by the deadline which is Monday, April 30th.

The Healthy News Service also provides an informative article with the same link to the comment form, and mailing address for comments...

Another site, newstarget, posts an article Health freedom action alert: FDA attempting to regulate supplements, herbs and juices as "drugs" which outlines what is happening and contains action items.

That article references Jon Barron's informative piece which includes the link to the FDA document in pdf.

www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/06d-0480-gld0001.pdf

What to say if you want to comment on the FDA's Draft Guidelines?

We're trying to obtain an educated and well-informed comment for your information, and ours.

Check back soon.

Form link

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/comments/COMMENTSMain.CFM?EC_DOCUMENT_ID=1451&SUBTYP=CONTINUE&CID=&AGENCY=FDA

FDA's Latest 'Guidance Document' on Complementary & Alternative Medicine


Published on Thursday, April 19, 2007
by Healthy News Service
WHY NOW? Why did the FDA create this document? There are a couple of theories. One is that the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) asked the FDA to "harmonize" with their way of thinking. Another idea is that importation of products (which is a major concern to the FDA) will soon be a top issue. Functional foods could also be a target (as forewarned by the FDA December meeting on functional foods - read about our response and presentation). Regardless of the why, we do know that the health freedom community was not consulted in the preparation of the document. Furthermore, the clumping of food, products, medical devices, and therapies makes for an awkward, confusing, and unconstitutional "way of thinking" and does not represent what is best for the consumer.

THE IMPACT The draft guidance, when finalized, will represent the agency's current thinking on the regulation of complementary and alternative medicine products by FDA. Though it does not change the law, it does represent a potential major expansion on how foods, therapies, and products could be regulated. Of further concern, is that this document could be used by health freedom "opposition" and regulators to pressure Congress to change legislation. The language in the document gives us great concern and we cannot allow an agency such as the FDA to finalize the document in its present form.

ACTION The comment period expires on April 30. It has been our experience that citizen letters to the FDA during the comment period rarely have an impact on the FDA's decision-making process. This is important to know, since the appropriate response to this situation is not to just be busy (as in writing letters to the FDA) but to be effective. What the FDA has told us is that they want to hear from practitioner groups and trade associations. Remember, that the FDA officials are not elected and generally the wishes of the public fall on deaf ears.

The two things that are most likely to influence the FDA's actions as it pertains to the issues outlined in this document are: Members of Congress who have a variety of mechanisms for shaping the authority of the FDA. State Attorneys General who can threaten legal action if the agency tries to usurp the authority of the states in regulating health care activities within their states.

In consideration of the above, we are taking these actions: We are alerting our Congressional friends about this issue, and asking them to take appropriate action. We will notify you when it is time to write to these elected officials and make your wishes known. We have commissioned an extensive, legal response to the guidance that has the kind of technical detail the FDA bureaucracy wants (or actually DOESN'T want) to see as they strive to give this document the force of law. We are planning to communicate with the proper officials in each state to notify them of the potential for federal interference in state regulatory activities. If you do write the FDA, please send a copy of your concerns to your representatives in Congress. These elected officials DO care about your opinion and your voice matters. Go to www.healthfredom.net to contact Congress.

SUMMARY We believe the CAM Regulation Guidance would set the tone of the FDA in regards to functional foods; alternative medicine therapy, devices, and products; as well as dietary supplements and could help set the stage for future legislation that would restrict access. While public comments to the FDA by individuals are a course of action, we want you to be aware that fighting FDA's "way of thinking" will need a stronger course of action and we are prepared to follow though. We have fought the FDA before and have been successful.

There are numerous issues facing the health freedom community that need attention where your action can make a big different: a draft bill to restrict access to individualized/compounding medicine, the right of the practitioner to practice being threatened by individual states, and Rep. Dingall wanting to "kill" dietary supplements because they are a "snake" to be killed.

Please know that we are working diligently on the important issues facing the health freedom community. It takes both time and money and your financial support is greatly appreciated.

SUBMIT COMMENTS If you would like to submit your written comments to the FDA, please use one of the following methods

MAIL: Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305) Food and Drug Administration 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061 Rockville, MD 20853

EMAIL: Click here

NOTE: No matter which method, be sure to refer to Docket No. 2006D-0480

http://healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=9084

Feds eye control of vitamins, supplements – even water!
FDA looks to regulate natural substances as drugs, with prescriptions from doctors

Posted: April 24, 2007
9:30 p.m. Eastern
By Bob Unruh © 2007 WorldNetDaily

The Food and Drug Administration says vitamins, supplements, herbs and other natural substances, including water when it is used to "treat" dehydration, should be classified as drugs, and opponents have only until April 30 to express their concern about the proposals under Docket No. 2006D-0480.

The government agency under the direction of Andrew C. von Eschenbach, who became commissioner in 2006, also has put its "Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration" on a fast track for implementation.

But parents' groups, natural remedy interests, food and herb businesses and others are horrified. A group called Gentle Christian Mothers alerted its constituency in no uncertain terms.

"Please Read!!! The FDA is trying to regulate all things that are considered by them to be treatment for disease. They want to regulate vitamins, herbs, alternative therapies (things like hot stone therapy), even down to juices and holy water," the warning said. "It might mean having to go to a doctor or medical professional for vitamins."...

The FDA's "draft guidance" on the issue first appeared in December, but federal officials said it was printed in the Federal Register on Feb. 27, prompting the growing storm of protest.

The FDA has reported that approximately one-third of all adult Americans have reported participating in or using some form of "complementary and alternative medicine" and officials estimate nutritional supplement sales total about $5 billion a year in America.

On the NewsTarget website, self-described "Health Ranger" Mike Adams posted one of the alerts.

"What this means to consumers, according to the proposal as outlined in FDA Docket number 2006D-0480, is that things like vitamins and herbs would be controlled by the FDA, and could possibly require prescriptions from a naturopath, herbologist or some other physician, all of which would require you to pay a health insurance company and contribute to the already back-breaking cost of healthcare in America," he wrote...

"This move by the FDA is designed to once and for all destroy the 1994 DSHEA law that has made supplements 'legal' while eliminating nutritional supplements and natural medicine from the United States, ensuring monopoly profits and control by drug companies and the FDA," he said.

"Under these proposed guidelines, FDA 'experts' (the same corrupt officials who re-approved Vioxx after it killed over 50,000 Americans) will decide whether herbs, supplements, vitamins or simple devices like massage stones are to be regulated as drugs and medical devices," Adams continued. "If the FDA experts, in their infinite wisdom, decide that these things are to be reclassified, they will essentially be outlawed, stripped from the shelves, and regulated out of existence. Anyone who dares to manufacture, promote or sell such products may be branded a criminal and rounded up by armed FDA agents who have a well established history of suppressing natural medicine."

"This is not a drill. It really is time to be alarmed," he said. "Nothing else I've written about this year is as important as this sinister plot to destroy natural medicine and force the American population to resort to dangerous prescription medications sold at monopoly prices under a system of medical tyranny."

For example, he cited wording directly from the FDA plans: "…if a person decides to produce and sell raw vegetable juice for use in juice therapy to promote optimal health … [and] if the juice therapy is intended for use as part of a disease treatment regiment…, the vegetable juice would also be subject to regulation as a drug." ...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55370

Link to comment form

Docket Management Comment Form
Docket: 2006D-0480 - Draft Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration; Availability

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/comments/COMMENTSMain.CFM?EC_DOCUMENT_ID=1451&SUBTYP=CONTINUE&CID=&AGENCY=FDA

Who hyped Lynch's rescue?

Jessica Lynch talks to Fox 'n Friends about the falsification of reports of her rescue. 4 years later she is having to set the record straight - there was no Rambo type rescue of Lynch. The news was hyped and untrue.

Setting the Record Straight
Web Exclusive
By Julie Scelfo
Newsweek
Updated: 3:42 p.m. PT April 24, 2007
April 24, 2007 - Jessica Lynch became a national hero in 2003 after she was dramatically rescued by a team of Special Ops soldiers from an Iraqi hospital where she was believed to be a prisoner of war. Her story was compelling not only because she was a 19-year-old supply-unit clerk who had stumbled into an attack during convoy travel with her unit, but because she was portrayed by military authorities as having valiantly fought back against her attackers even as her unit was surrounded and her comrades were killed and injured. The legend quickly unraveled, however, after Lynch returned to the States, recuperated from her substantial injuries (broken arm and leg bones, damage to her back and kidneys, and a six-inch laceration to her head) and began to speak out about what had really happened.

Today, Lynch testified before a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing probing the source of misleading information about Lynch and about the death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan. NEWSWEEK's Julie Scelfo spoke with Lynch, who turns 24 on April 26, about her experiences...

NEWSWEEK: Why did you decide to testify?
Jessica Lynch: Mainly it was about me just getting out the truth. I’ve spent the past four years trying to tell everybody the real truth, and not the stories they put together. They were false, ya know?

What was the greatest misinformation about you?
The whole Rambo story, that I went down fighting. It just wasn’t the truth.

So what really happened?
I didn’t even get a shot off. My weapon had jammed. And I didn’t even get to fire. A rocket-propelled grenade hit the back of our [Humvee], which made Lori [Piestewa], my friend, lose control of the vehicle, and we slammed into the back of another truck in our unit.

Who is to blame for spreading the misinformation?
Well, I think really the military and the media. The military, for not setting the record straight and the media for spreading it, and not seeking the true facts. They just ran with it instead of waiting until the facts were straightened out.

What do you hope Congress achieves with today’s hearing?
I hope it [helps] the Tillman family get the accurate information that they deserve. They need to know what happened to their son and why they were lied to.

Do you feel like this is a pattern, misinformation from the military?
Well, it kind of seems like that’s the way it’s been happening. I hope they can learn from mistakes and correct this and not let other family members and soldiers have to deal with the things that my family and I went through.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18297391/site/newsweek/?from=rss

Tillman, Lynch accounts slammed
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon lied to create heroes from Iraq and Afghanistan, former Army private Jessica Lynch and the brother of former NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman told a House committee Tuesday.
Kevin Tillman, who served in a Ranger unit with his brother, and Lynch testified as part of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's investigation into inaccurate accounts of the battlefield actions of Lynch and Tillman...

Early versions of Lynch's capture and rescue, quoting unnamed U.S. officials, said Iraqi soldiers shot and stabbed Lynch, who fought back until she shot off her last round of ammunition and was captured. That made her seem like "little girl Rambo," Lynch said Tuesday.

In truth, she said, she was hurt too badly to fight. The narrative that described Tillman's actions, for which he was awarded the Silver Star, "was utter fiction," Kevin Tillman said...



http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-24-tillman-lynch_N.htm?csp=34

Secrets in time of war

The following letter-writer's thoughts - published in the Tribune-Review's Daily Courier - are well worth a reading.

Woods talks about the embedded reporters sanctioned to be present in Iraq while the war is being conducted. The writer broaches the incident wherein Geraldo Rivera, engaged in an on-the-spot report, draws a sketch of the location of U.S. troops. Thereafter, according to the writer, Rivera was sent packing.

The writer suggests a potential for bias favoring how the war is being conducted when embedded reporters get to know the troops.

On the other hand, this bias from friendships may also turn into stories glorifying troops rather than telling the stories around them. Gretchen R. Wood, Daily Courier, Saturday April 21, 2007

The writer suggests there could be repurcussions on the reporters when they report the truth about the war or the troops.

Sometimes even if a journalist does tell the unfortunate truth about the agenda of a military unit, the unit can retaliate against the reporter by cutting him off from any future information. Gretchen R. Wood, Daily Courier, Saturday April 21, 2007

I recall watching as Geraldo etched the location of our troops in the sand. It was a wonder to me that the man wasn't charged in mere minutes with giving away military secrets and aiding the enemy. If it were one of us bloggers who came upon info that revealed the location of troops in a time of war, we'd have already been scooped up as an enemy combatant. Geraldo got a pass primarily because it would've been really bad publicity to charge him with providing such info that could potentially jeopardize our troops.

At any rate, there is a difference between providing even sketcy details of location of troops, and providing accurate information regarding the amount of injured and killed.

Even so, if there is more of a steady diet of the costly side of the war and none about how many deaths have been prevented by the presence of our military and the conduct of the war, the "news" about the war cannot be said to be balanced.

It is probably a matter of where one is coming from politically as to whether one thinks the war is being covered fairly.

I agree, everything should be revealed as far as deaths of our military men and women. Nothing should be covered up. But whether one agrees or disagrees with the war, some things simply have to remain secret from the public until after the war has ended. Revealing locations of troops can't in any way be conducive to the object of winning the war. That's the goal - whether one "supports" the war, or not.

Objectivity & embedded reporters
By Gretchen R. Wood
Saturday, April 21, 2007

In April 2003, Fox News war reporter Geraldo Rivera did a television report during which he drew a map in the sand identifying where he and the 101st Airborne Division were situated in Iraq.

On March 24, 2003, Joe Eddins, chief photographer for The Washington Times, wrote about an incident in his Marine unit during the Iraq war in which two men drowned after being ordered to swim across a canal in full battle gear without a safety line.

John Burnett, a NPR correspondent based in Austin, Texas, was one of several journalists embedded with a Marine unit in Iraq. He became pressured by the unit commanders to focus on the men's acts of valor and courage rather than the events surrounding those acts.

When the government instituted the notion of "embedded reporting" during times of war to allow reporters to travel with troops, it was viewed as a way to allow the media to report on wars -- even if they were tightly controlled.

On the surface, the program made good sense: Journalists lived and traveled under protection with military forces and to witness firsthand the horrors of war, even though military officials carefully edited or censored what could and could not be reported

This was a big change from reporting during the Vietnam War, when journalists could report what they wanted with little restriction, and during the attack on Grenada, where the media was shut out. It almost seemed like a balance between the two, giving journalists a chance to report and the government the authority to censor what it felt necessary.

Today, some of the restrictions on journalists include that they are not permitted to report details of a mission or the location of a unit unless given permission, nor can they report U.S. casualties until 72 hours have passed from the time of the incident or it can be confirmed that the soldiers' families have been contacted.

These all seem like obvious rules, all geared to protect our own troops in battle. If a journalist fails to comply with these rules, there are consequences for their actions.

After Rivera's report it was determined that he potentially jeopardized the safety of the entire unit. His mission was canceled and he was sent home shortly thereafter.

A negative point to the embedded system is that while living with their military units, journalists undoubtedly form friendships and close bonds with their fellow comrades. This can develop into a strong bias influencing journalists to become less inclined to write stories that would shine poorly on the unit regardless of how true they may be.

Sometimes even if a journalist does tell the unfortunate truth about the agenda of a military unit, the unit can retaliate against the reporter by cutting him off from any future information.

On the other hand, this bias from friendships may also turn into stories glorifying troops rather than telling the stories around them.

Burnett and the other journalists reluctantly obliged to follow their commanders' orders and told stories about the heroic acts preformed by the unit. When a photograph of the unit preparing for battle became a color spread for Time magazine, a press officer appreciatively commented on it, saying, "Money can't buy this kind of recruitment campaign."

So in the end how effective is embedded reporting? Who is it really benefiting? Americans? Or the American government? Only without a biased journalist and resistance of military pressure can the American public really know the truth of their county at war. Which is the intention of war reporting after all, isn't it?

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailycourier/guestcolumn/s_503328.html

Related

Ashleigh Banfield slams war news coverage
World Net Daily
April 25, 2003: NBC reporter Ashleigh Banfield slammed her colleagues in television news over coverage of the war in Iraq, saying the realities of the conflict never reached American viewers.

Banfield, in a speech at Kansas State University, lashed out at "cable news operators who wrap themselves in the American flag and go after a certain target demographic."

The dig was a veiled swipe at Fox News Channel, whose war coverage included a patriotic tinge. Canadian-born Banfield hosted "MSNBC Investigates" on the No. 3 cable news network, MSNBC. While MSNBC's ratings improved during the war, the network still came up short in the ratings game behind No. 1 Fox and CNN.

http://celebrate10.wnd.com/?q=node/32

http://celebrate10.wnd.com/?q=node/32