Funds for Industry Partnerships Would Help Sustain the Pennsylvania Dream

by Michelle Griffin Young, Executive Vice President, Government & External Relations, The Chamber 

The PA Department of Labor & Industry and leading regional workforce boards have been encouraging employers in key industries to come together in each region of the state into training consortia now called Industry Partnerships. These partnerships allow engaged employers to identify skill gaps, provide them with clear information on industry skill needs, and work with educators to design training to help incumbent and new workers acquire the skills needed in each business and industry.

What began as a concept focused on critical shortages in healthcare has become a national model program in a dozen states. Pennsylvania's industry partnerships have now engaged over 6,000 businesses and trained over 100,000 workers. This is what happens when the private sector works in partnership with the Commonwealth and takes a leadership role in area workforce boards.

As well as helping workers acquire skills-in-demand, Pennsylvania's Industry Partnerships have fostered 21st century career paths with portable and stackable credentials in industries such as: logistics and transportation, healthcare, construction, manufacturing, information technology and bio-medicine.

The Chamber of Commerce works hand-in-hand with the Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board, Inc. (LVWIB) and we have seen firsthand how this public/private partnership increases the Lehigh Valley's competitiveness. Based on extensive knowledge of employers and job opportunities in an industry sector, Industry Partnerships identify training and other services that have major positive impacts for businesses and workers--incumbent, low-income, and long-term unemployed--while also making the overall education and training system more effective. Since 2005, LVWIB has received over $5 million in IP funds from the PA Dept. of Labor and Industry, providing resources to train over 10,000 workers and involving more than 300 employers.

Revenue reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue indicate that the Commonwealth is receiving revenue which exceeds previous projections. This additional state income will enable the Governor and the General Assembly to increase spending on some very important programs that have either been reduced or eliminated in the 2012-2013 General Fund Budget. As we discuss prioritizing programs that are deserving of additional funding, The Chamber's members strongly support restoration of Industry Partnership funding, which is currently in the proposed 2012-2013 budget at a 90% reduction to its 2008-09 level.

For fiscal year 2011-2012, the Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board, Inc. received two Industry Partnership grants: $95,000 for Healthcare and $95,000 for Diversified Manufacturing for incumbent worker training targeted towards high priority occupations. LVWIB had requested funding for Energy, Logistics and Transportation, and Food and Beverage, but, unfortunately, did not receive separate funding for these industries. However, since LVWIB always looks for solutions for employers, L&T and Food/Beverage employers were folded into the Diversified Manufacturing Industry Partnership. LVWIB staff also worked with neighboring Workforce Investment Boards to identify potential resources for energy-related employers.

In his Budget Overview, Governor Corbett described a comprehensive workforce strategy that includes "Employer-Driven Training Initiatives" and highlights the importance of the Industry Partnership program as key to achieving "Performance-Based Training." To accomplish the goal of a workforce strategy that integrates a comprehensive job-matching system, employer-driven training and economic development focused on Pennsylvania's greatest resource - our workers - Industry Partnerships must be a cornerstone of that process.

Our legislators have a great opportunity to help workers develop the skills that local companies need to create solid and stable employment opportunities. An injection of funds for Industry Partnerships will help Pennsylvania maintain its leadership and, more importantly, help sustain the Pennsylvania Dream for decades.

Region's Choice: Reap the Benefits or Bear the Burden?

By Ed Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown

"A rising tide lifts all boats." This was spoken by John F. Kennedy in a 1963 speech at the dedication of a dam in Heber Springs, Arkansas.  He explained that the Greers Ferry project, and others like it, were investments not only in Arkansas, but in the nation's future.   After the dam was built and the lake filled, tourism boomed, businesses opened, and Greers Ferry Lake became one of Arkansas' leading destinations creating a broad economic impact in that region for decades to follow.

I tell this story because as was the case in 1963, I feel that we in the Lehigh Valley are at a similar turning point in the development of our region. 

Allentown's Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ), provides a tremendous opportunity for the entire Lehigh Valley.  Some see this legislation in a positive light, others in a negative.  Some Lehigh Valley municipalities are concerned about the effects of this new program. While we are trying to attend to those concerns quickly and fairly, I don't want us to lose sight of the big picture.  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has given the Lehigh Valley a chance to reinvigorate our largest urban core.  As a region, we can either reap the benefits of this opportunity to renew Allentown or we can bear the burden of squandering it.

Will everyone reap the benefits?  My answer is yes, because Allentown's success is critical to the entire region. It is estimated that over 55,000 people work in the city every day and more than ONE BILLION dollars of annual earned income is generated by individuals who work in Allentown and live elsewhere. Allentown is an economic driver for our regional economy. If Allentown prospers, the entire region prospers, if it declines, the region will decline and our economy will stagnate.   

Allentown officials have presented a plan ensuring that our surrounding municipalities and school districts will not lose their current Earned Income Tax (EIT) from their residents working within the NIZ area. The City's latest proposal not only addresses concerns about current tax income but also shares the city's success with the surrounding municipalities and school districts. The City will develop a Baseline Payment Fund to assure that every taxing body in the region receives its current EIT payments for the life of the NIZ. 

In addition, to make sure the surrounding municipalities share in the upside of future development projects within the zone, all NIZ developers of commercial office projects will be charged $1 per square foot for occupied office space created in the zone. This fee will be assessed on a yearly basis to create a Regional Development Fund. That fund will share revenue with municipalities and school districts annually (much like the casino-revenue-sharing arrangement in Northampton County) and will be distributed according to the percentage of each municipality's residents working within the NIZ area. The creation of this fund will also help address the concern that there would be an unusual movement of office tenants from neighboring communities. It will apply to all of the municipalities, regardless of their position in or outside of any lawsuit.

Finally, let us remember the main intent of the Neighborhood Improvement Zone is to generate new economic development and increase regional employment opportunities.  It is estimated that the arena project alone will create more than 1750 construction jobs and 240 permanent jobs upon completion. Kevin Lott, a construction worker from Hellertown representing 470 Lehigh Valley carpenters, told the Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners last week: "It's been three years that have been very, very difficult. We really need this work...I have guys losing their homes. It destroys families." The NIZ offers a tremendous opportunity to help reverse this trend.  If we as a region can collaborate and strike a mutually beneficial agreement, we can get down to the business of offering thousands of desperately needed construction jobs to the Valley's unemployed workers.

Beyond job creation, there are other economic benefits to the Valley if this project succeeds: new commerce, increased tourism, and the ability to attract educated workers as well as new companies to the area.  An 8,500 seat multi-purpose arena will improve the quality of life in the region by increasing our options for leisure activities, our pride in the Lehigh Valley and, ultimately all of our property values.

Will the city's offer of collaboration to share in the benefits of the NIZ be accepted or will the redevelopment of Allentown be delayed indefinitely and the benefits of the NIZ wasted?  No one wins if no one is talking. If Allentown declines, many of the downtown jobs held by non-City residents will cease to exist.

If this region is to succeed, we must come together, pursue our common interests, and invoke the necessary changes that will benefit us now and for generations to come.

The Valley's tide has come in, let us not cling to the shore and miss our opportunity to rise to greater heights as a region.

Save the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund

by Greg A. Weitzel, Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation for the City of Allentown and Christopher M. Kocher, President of Wildlands Conservancy, Lehigh Valley’s local Land Trust

As advocates for parks, recreation and conservation in our community, we were disheartened to learn that the state's proposed budget looks to permanently eliminate the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund.  If approved by our legislators, this measure would represent the largest cut of conservation funding in state history!

The Keystone Fund was es¬tablished in 1993 with overwhelming bi-partisan and general public support.  Although 67% of voters approved of the Keystone Fund, in addition to the Senate vote of 48-0 and the House vote of 196-3, the Governor's proposed budget seeks to divert proceeds from this dedicated fund into general government operations, leaving zero Keystone dollars for future state-wide recreation, park and conservation projects.    

No state funding program has had a greater impact on local communi¬ties than the Keystone Fund.  This fund has helped support the development and rehabilitation of more than 2,600 community parks and natural areas; the creation of hundreds of miles of state, county and local trails; and the protection of more than 145,000 acres of critical open space.

In addition, over the last 19 years, the Keystone Fund has helped improve facilities in our national award-winning state park and forest systems; enabled more than 200 local libraries to expand and renovate their facilities; and helped preserve and protect more than 490 Pennsylvania historical landmarks, structures and museums. 

Wildlands Conservancy and the City of Allentown have received Keystone grants totaling more than $10 million dollars to complete numerous park, conservation and land acquisition projects right here in the Lehigh Valley.  Examples of some local projects include the renovation of the Cedar Creek Parkway, the acquisition of Camp Olympic, the restoration of Trout Creek and numerous regional and local trail development projects.  

Without Keystone funding support, these important projects that protect our natural environment and enhance our communities might not have been completed. However, the Keystone Fund is not a handout. Every dollar awarded from the fund has triggered more than two dollars in local and private investments. That means that the Keystone Fund has helped leverage more than $20 million dollars to help improve our community and the natural resources of the Lehigh Valley.   

In addition, Keystone Fund investments, in turn, generate hundreds of millions of dollars in state-wide economic activity, including increased purchasing, rising property values and creating much needed construction jobs.  This is a big reduction for a state budget that is supposedly focused on jobs and economic welfare.  

If the state budget proposal is approved, the end of the popular Keystone Fund would setback park, recreation and conservation policy by more than 20 years. We should be increasing, not decreasing, funding for the programs that protect Pennsylvania's rich natural resources, create low cost recreational opportunities, and stimulate community revitalization.  

There is no doubt that our national, state, county and local governments are facing a financial crisis and cuts need to be made to balance budgets and restore fiscal discipline.  However, completely eliminating the Keystone funding is not the answer.  Cutting this program only creates an ever increasing backlog of environmental and conservation problems that will continue to impact the very health and quality of life in our communities.  

Our mountains, forests, fields, farmland, parks, greenways, trails, rivers and streams -- support our economy, create healthy communities where people want to live, and provide low cost, close-to-home recreation for our families, which in turn enrich our lives.  

We encourage you to find out more by going to conservationadvocate.org and join with us by reaching out to your state legislators and encourage them to do the right thing for the environment and our communities. They need to reject this proposed budget transfer and provide full and dedicated funding for the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund.  

 

Greg A. Weitzel is Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation for the City of Allentown.  He is also Chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee for the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society and can be reached at Weitzel@allentowncity.org or 610-437-7750.

Christopher M. Kocher is the President of Wildlands Conservancy, Lehigh Valley's local Land Trust.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association and can be reached at ckocher@wildlandspa.org or 610-965-4397, ext. 123.

Kamran Afshar, 2012 Economic Outlook

Car Sales Revving Up

Lehigh Valley, Monroe gain clout under reapportionment

A column by Senator Pat Browne
16th Senatorial District

Pennsylvania's Senate and House of Representatives districts are redrawn every 10 years based on U.S. Census data. The Pennsylvania Constitution requires these boundary changes to ensure state residents receive equal representation in state government. 

Under the new reapportionment plan, each state Senator will represent approximately 254,000 citizens and each member of the House of Representatives will represent approximately 62,500 citizens.

The state legislative districts are drawn and approved by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, a bi-partisan, bi-cameral panel and do not need to be approved by the House or the Senate or signed into law by the Governor. The Legislative Reapportionment Commission recently approved the final maps showing the new realignment of Pennsylvania's state legislative districts.

The Lehigh Valley and Monroe County areas saw significant change with the release of the new districts. 

Starting with the Senate, the Legislative Reapportionment Commission was able to address the criticisms of the 2001 district realignments. For one, Monroe County, which was divided among six state Senators -- none of whom lived within the county lines -- will be represented by a single Senator come 2013. To make this possible, the 45th Senatorial District was moved from Allegheny County to Monroe County. With Monroe County experiencing some of the greatest growth in the state over the past 20 years and Allegheny County seeing its population numbers decrease it was natural to shift a seat from the west to Monroe. The new 45th Senatorial District will include all of Monroe County and will extend into part of Northampton County. 

While I regret losing my portion of Monroe County, I truly believe the consolidation under a single senatorial district is not only merited, but long overdue for those residents.

Another adjustment, this time in Northampton County, was shifting Easton back into the 18th Senatorial District where it had been until the 2001 redistricting.

As for the 16th Senatorial District, which I represent, it has been consolidated under the new reapportionment plan and will consist solely of municipalities in Lehigh County. My new district, starting in 2013, will include: the City of Allentown; the townships of Heidleburg, Lower Macungie, Lower Milford, Lowhill, Lynn, North Whitehall, South Whitehall, Upper Macungie, Upper Milford, Upper Saucon, Washington and Weisenberg; and, the boroughs of Alburtis, Coopersburg and Macungie.

I have greatly enjoyed and been privileged to represent parts of Northampton and Monroe County since joining the Senate in 2005. I believe, though, that the changes made in all three counties will benefit the residents of each and meets the goal of combining municipalities that share many common interests.

On the House side of the plan, one of the major changes involves the addition of a new district in the Lehigh Valley, specifically in the city of Allentown.

The 22nd State House District would be moved from Allegheny County to the City of Allentown. Currently, Allentown is split between four House Districts. Under the final approved plan, the city would be represented by just two seats: the 22nd and the 132nd districts. 

This move not only reflects the population growth experienced by the city, but will potentially provide Allentown a less fractured voice in Harrisburg. This change will be a true benefit for the city and for the Lehigh Valley region in general.

The final reapportionment plan was approved on December 12, 2011 and filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. A 30-day window in which grievances and challenges are able to be filed with the courts started following this approval. If no challenges are successful, the reapportionment plan will be approved by the courts and finalized. 

To view the final maps, visit the Commission's website: www.redistricting.state.pa.us/.

Marcellus Shale Development: Let’s Get It Right

by David M. Sanko, Executive Director, Pa. State Association of Township Supervisors

Over the past two years, there has been much discussion about the impact of natural gas development in Pennsylvania. In recent weeks, this has reached a fevered pitch as state government leaders try to finalize a new law before the end of the year. There are many moving parts and issues on the table. Emotions have run high on all sides, and occasionally, facts and sound science have become the casualties. There have been compromises and accommodations all through the process, but the cake remains unbaked! 
 
As elected officials, everyone in this process shares a collective responsibility to Penn's Woods and its people. That includes the members of the General Assembly, the governor, and members of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, which represents 95 percent of the land mass of the commonwealth. In this current sluggish economy, PSATS certainly welcomes the jobs and economic development opportunities that natural gas development brings, as well as the opportunity to reduce our national dependence on foreign oil. However, PSATS is also interested in preserving the quality of life of Pennsylvanians and our environment. That said, we support the benefits of exploration and production of our commonwealth's natural resources as long as they are done safely. 
 
Much has been offered about House Bill 1950 and Senate Bill 1100, the two primary bills before the General Assembly that deal with the issue of natural gas development. Both bills, in their original form, were unacceptable to PSATS. In fact, they were unacceptable to ALL local government associations because they sought to strip local government of any role in this process, and we said so. Both bills have been amended, and each one now has parts that are more reasonable and represent a positive step toward maintaining appropriate and traditional local control. Each, however, also has substantial flaws that prevented PSATS from endorsing either.
 
As we move toward the final days of debate, I thought it important to share PSATS' guiding principles and motivations from a local government perspective. 
 
To summarize, we support enhancements to current law to better protect our environment (land, water, and air). We support the creation and enhancement of pipeline standards to provide for the safe transport and distribution of these resources. We support the development and enhancement of public safety mechanisms and emergency response plans that will ensure the maximum protection of Pennsylvanians. We support market development programs to encourage greater use of natural gas. We support the distribution of a local impact fee where a significant majority of the revenues remain in affected communities, enabling them to deal with development-related costs today and in the future and to avoid local property tax increases. And most importantly, we oppose the total elimination of local control, including land use. Instead, we support the maximum possible retention of local decision making authority to provide for the reasonable development of natural resources consistent with law.
 
In the last century, in the "race to embrace" coal, timber, oil, and steel, Pennsylvania didn't necessarily "get it right" when it came to responsible development of those natural resources. In a new century, we have a new opportunity to "get it right this time." Shame on everyone if we miss THAT boat.

It's not about the map

by State Senator Lisa Boscola

Reapportionment is a strange word for a bizarre process that is complicated, confusing and highly suspicious.  Today, it remains one of the most controversial and frustrating exercises in democracy.  Only one thing is certain: reapportionment and redistricting are guaranteed by the United States Constitution to drive voters crazy and drive politicians out of office.  
 
In the next few weeks, the redistricting process will end for Pennsylvania and 49 other states.  There will be no closing ceremonies to extinguish the Olympic flame of political games.  From sea to shining sea, redistricting always ends the same way: like professional wrestlers playing a dysfunctional game of musical chairs.
 
Before our U.S. Constitution abruptly stops the music, let me try to dispel some of the worst misconceptions and misgivings voters have about reapportionment.  Let's start with what we "know" about a process that we will never fully understand.
 
#1 Reapportionment is a strange word only politicians use.
 
Did you "reapportion" all of your clocks when Daylight Savings Time started at the beginning of November?  Did you "reapportion" the oven temperature and cooking time so your Thanksgiving turkey was ready when your guests were ready to eat?  Don't worry, neither did I.
 
Reapportionment is one of those words you rarely use.  A normal person rarely even hears the word "reapportionment" used in an actual conversation -- maybe a handful of times during his or her lifetime.  As a result, reapportionment only seems to occur when politicians in Harrisburg start arguing about it. That is, after all, how news is made -- and how voters generally find out about their state legislators behaving badly.  So, voters are conditioned to associate this strange word solely in the context of power-hungry politicians full of evil motives and bad intent committing dirty politics in broad daylight.
 
#2 Reapportionment always starts with a mathematical calculation performed at the federal level.
 
We all know the very first words spoken at the birth of our country: "We, the people . . ."  All of the numbers and data collected by the Census Bureau every ten years really is the very definition of "America" -- its people.  But, don't get "lost in the sauce" of all those population figures.  The only number you really need to remember is 435.  That's the number of seats in the United States Congress.  Reapportionment always begins and ends with counting to 435.
 
Reapportionment follows census data like a recipe to serve up 435 new slices of political power (seats in Congress) to voters in all 50 states.  Instead of merely shuffling the cards, so to speak, after each decennial census, reapportionment opens up a shiny new deck of 435 cards that are dealt out to voters in all 50 states.
 
The "magical," mathematical calculation involved is an algorithmic formula called "the method of equal proportions."  While this method has been used in every census since 1940, different methods have been employed over the past 200 years.
 
Under the method of equal proportions, each state is first assigned one congressional seat.  Then the mathematical calculation is used to allocate the remaining 385 congressional seats -- one at a time -- among the 50 states until all 435 seats are assigned.
 
#3 Redistricting means never having to say you're sorry -- because the constitution made you do it.
 
If reapportionment is a math formula, redistricting is always a roll of the political dice for state legislators.  Redistricting means drawing new election districts.  The US Constitution requires all 50 states to "re-draw" election districts within their borders every ten years to conform to the latest US census.  Those new election districts -- for 18 US Congressmen, 50 State Senators and 203 State Representatives -- do not even exist until they all "fit" within the brand new map of Pennsylvania.
 
Pennsylvania voters will lose another seat in Congress this year based upon the 2010 census data.  Since 1970, the number of congressmen representing our Commonwealth in Washington has steadily declined from 27 seats to just 18 seats.
 
Following the 2010 census, ten states lost clout (seats) in Congress.  Most states (32) stayed the same.  But, eight states gained more clout by picking up the 12 seats that those ten other states lost.  Generally speaking, "sunbelt states" continue to gain new seats in Congress as population growth flows mainly "out west" and "down south."
 
 
 
#4 The very first "gerrymander" was discovered in Massachusetts in 1811.
 
Most voters learn how to recognize a gerrymander before they're even old enough to vote.  So, after 200 years of being able to spot one when we see it, why aren't these treacherous gerrymanders extinct by now?  How many more of these diabolical creatures do we need to kill before they're finally exterminated?
 
That's really what tests voters' patience and drives voters' outrage.  How many more times are those politicians going to say that a gerrymander is not a gerrymander -- even when it's right in front of their nose?  Voters are very intelligent.  They instinctively suspect that back-stabbing, ruthless, power-grabbing intentions and political maneuvering might explain why those new lines on the new map were obviously drawn in places where they don't belong.  Most of the time, the voters are right.
 
But, just because you and I can recognize a living, breathing gerrymander when we see it, you still can't kill it.  Only the Supreme Court can kill a real gerrymander -- and only when it violates our constitutional voting rights as Americans.
 
Unless the Supreme Court steps in to squash the ugly critter, a gerrymander will only die if you remove it from its natural habitat of democracy.  I won't be surprised if political scientists uncover archaeological evidence to suggest that gerrymanders could survive a nuclear war, just like roaches.  Don't despair.  In a few short weeks, gerrymandering will once again be prohibited in Pennsylvania for another ten years.
 
#5 Computer technology has made redistricting more precisely inconsistent, erratic and unpredictable -- but, in a very efficient manner.
 
We've come a long way from when political hacks used colored pencils to settle old political scores.  But, just because they now use the newest 2010 TIGER/line Shapefiles for Pennsylvania released by the U.S. Census Bureau doesn't mean redistricting is easier or even "better" today than it was 100 years ago.  There are just tinier devils hidden in tinier details.
 
Most voters really don't care if the state legislature uses the latest geospatial 3-D satellite technology or an old Ouija board to draw the new redistricting map.  As long as it makes some sense to voters that election districts must change when the population of voters change, the map may look ugly, but it's not going to haunt anybody in their dreams.
 
However, voters tend to get irritated when every redistricting map always looks exactly like a kindergarten drawing of a hippopotamus riding a bicycle eating an ice-cream cone.  No matter what the constitution says, the map will always be controversial.  No matter how precise the census numbers may become, redistricting will always be a brutal, nasty and messy process -- just like democratic elections.
 
So, why can't we just input US census data into a computer, push a button and have it spit out a perfect map, unsoiled by the hands of dirty, scheming politicians?  For the same reason, I'm afraid, that we don't just use some sophisticated software to simply "compute" who is most qualified to be your Mayor, your Tax Collector or your voice on the local school board.  No computer ever made has come with a built-in, inalienable right to vote -- which we all have as American citizens.
 
#6 There is no such thing as a "safe district."
 
That's the conventional wisdom, sure.  A "safe" district means that a sitting Senator or House member has such an electoral advantage over any prospective opponent that it's almost mathematically impossible to derive how they could possibly lose.  That's called "packing," by the way.
 
But, packing any district with "too many" Democrats or "too many" Republicans is always dangerous.  It may provide a false sense of security in upcoming general elections, but it usually provides for a very contested primary election.
 
That may seem counter-intuitive to most voters, but let me refresh your memory.  The two most powerful Senators in Pennsylvania were defeated after creating what they perceived to be a "safe district" following the 2001 redistricting process.
 
Senate Majority Leader Chip Brightbill was one of the five members of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission ten years ago.  If anyone had the power to create a "safe district," you would assume that someone who held the deciding vote on approving the final map could possibly be accommodated within certain legal constraints.  But, both the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Pro Tempore (Senator Bob Jubelirer) were soundly defeated in the Primary elections of 2006.
 
There is no such thing as a "safe district," nor should there be.  Pennsylvania's 50 State Senate districts belong to the voters of Pennsylvania.  A seat in the state legislature or in the US Congress is an honor and a privilege, not some "piece of property" for anyone to claim they "own."
 
#7: It's really and truly not all about "the map."
 
If you ever sat in the passenger seat watching your spouse mutilate a road map or misread simple directions while going 65 miles an hour along your way to getting lost, you know that the map is usually not the real problem.
 
However, the map is what everyone is fixated on.  Voters ultimately judge whether the redistricting process was fair or "fixed" with their own eyes.  Just as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, so does evidence of a perceived political advantage for one party over the other.  It may not be an accurate Rorschach test, but voters usually project what they expect to see onto the map -- and actually seeing the map only confirms their expectations and deepens their distrust of scheming, ruthless politicians.
 
Most incumbents would give an awful lot to avoid redistricting altogether.  Change always means uncertainty when it comes to political survival.  I've served in the state legislature since 1994.  I have yet to meet a single State Senator or State Representative who "drew their own district" or had one tailor-made exactly to their liking.
 
That's because there are too many variables involved in the redistricting process.  Dividing the residents of Pennsylvania into 50 senate districts of equal population is just the beginning of the political calculus involved in redistricting.  Once you get beyond crunching those numbers, state and federal courts demand "maintaining contiguity" and "compactness," which numbers alone cannot fully describe.
 
Minority representation must also be protected in those districts where minorities make up the majority of the voters.  Each district must also maintain existing "communities of interest" without splitting local subdivisions or violating the natural borders of local geography.
 
#8 Change may be inevitable, but redistricting is unavoidable.
  
No one likes redistricting, but any redistricting is better than no redistricting.  Is the process influenced by partisan politics?  Of course, it is.  That's why incumbents traditionally "choose" to retire before the map changes and Cinderella's carriage turns back into a pumpkin.
 
The reapportionment of congressional districts in Pennsylvania starts with a complicated calculation performed by the US Census Bureau.  But, a simple majority vote in the House and the Senate, followed by the Governor's signature, is all it takes to carve congressional districts in cement for the next ten years.  Even though there are currently 19 members of the US Congress from Pennsylvania, the new redistricting map will only contain 18 congressional districts.  That means somebody loses -- and, unfortunately, it's usually the voters who lose a voice on their behalf in Congress.
 
On the other hand, the number of state House districts (203) and state Senate districts (50) remains fixed by Pennsylvania's state constitution.  Unless and until a constitutional amendment reduces the size of the state legislature, there will always be 253 legislative seats subject to redistricting by a five-member "Legislative Reapportionment Commission" appointed every ten years.
 
#9 Everything is connected to everything -- especially those things what the map does not reveal.
 
Cynical voters tend to see scheming, treacherous and ruthless motives behind every redistricting map they've ever seen -- no matter which party happens to be holding all the Crayons.  Despite all the hype about legislative redistricting being "one step short of actual violence," the process actually demands compromise and accommodation.
 
Ten years ago, I went to court because the city of Easton was cut out of the 18th district and put into the 24th district.  Ten years later, the new map (if approved) will put Easton back into the 18th district with the city of Bethlehem.  Does that mean I feel "vindicated"?  Or simply realize that the more things change, the more things stay the same?  Both, of course!
 
Unless you are a devoted (or obsessed) conspiracy theorist, don't try to connect all the dots using your secret de-coder ring.  There will always be an "obvious" anomaly somewhere on the map that "stands out," like a monkey wrench sticking out of Mona Lisa's forehead.  Instead of looking at what stands out, try to see what was left out and what's not there.  There is always a ripple effect involved in redistricting.  As soon as you move the boundaries for one district, the boundaries for every other district -- especially neighboring districts -- must be moved, as well.  That's why the constitutional requirements for all of a state's election districts take sheer precedence over the individual wishes of any incumbent seeking to ensure an unfair political advantage over possible opponents.
 
#10 Redistricting will always be a Rubik's Cube of brutal, political reality.
 
Even with all of its obvious defects and drawbacks, it serves a vital purpose to protect and preserve the democracy we have all inherited called, "the land of the free and the home of the brave."
 

Banks making more loans to businesses

Mixed Signals from KAA Lehigh Valley Purchasing and Employment Index

An index utilized by Kamran Afshar Associates to guage business sentiment in the Lehigh Valley rose sightly in October over its July level. However, all the individual indicators that make up the index, except for "past expenditures," dropped. Compared to July, local businesses surveyed in October reduced their plans for future hiring and plans for future expenditures.  
 
The October Purchasing and Employment Plans Index for the Lehigh Valley rose to 56.1 (adj) from 55.2 in July '11.  The index is 5.4% above its October '10, level, all due to actual and planned expenditures.
 
It should be noted that the index is a whopping 18.3% above its October '09 level. 
 
The index is not reflecting recessionary tendencies.   However, it is showing very little indication of any significant improvements in hiring.