By State Senator Wayne Fontana
Americans are fed up with this nation’s gun violence epidemic. It is intolerable.
Horrific accounts of deranged mass murderers using military-grade assault weapons to indiscriminately spray bullets into crowds of innocent people has become part of the regular news cycle. Lives are lost, families are destroyed and communities paralyzed.
By State Senator Vincent Hughes
Frustrated by years of resistance from legislative Republicans to raise worker wages, Gov. Tom Wolf announced plans to lift the state’s salary threshold below which Pennsylvania salaried workers automatically receive overtime pay. The governor’s action is hard on the heels of efforts by my colleagues and I to address worker pay and make our wage and salary system equitable.
Op-ed by State Senator Lisa Boscola
Since my first experience with map drawing back in 2001, it was apparent that partisanship plays too large a role in our redistricting effort. The recent decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court discarding the congressional maps merely serves to reaffirm this position.
The General Assembly has long had the tools to fix the issue once and for all by taking the politics out of map drawing. It is why I am a proud prime sponsor of SB 22. This legislation provides for the creation of an independent commission to draw our lines every 10 years. This has never been a partisan issue for me, but a practical one.
Op-ed by State Senator Judy Schwank
My first job in college was working in a university demonstration garden. I had dreamed of being a horticulturist since I was 10 years old, and this was the first time I would get to work in my chosen field.
I was beyond excited when my manager, who was also my professor, called me into his office. I had so many ideas for the garden and was thrilled for an opportunity to share them.
Op-ed by State Senators Lisa Boscola and Pat Browne
Citizens of Pennsylvania will have an opportunity to cast their vote for an important ballot question which could lead to real property tax reform. We are urging citizens to vote yes.
Due to its legal language and structure, ballot questions are often written in confusing and hard-to-understand and this one is no different. However, the underlying issue is pretty straight forward. By voting yes, voters will approve a constitutional amendment to expand the homestead exclusion from one-half of the median assessed value of all homestead properties in a taxing district to up to 100 percent of the assessed value of each homestead property.
Op-ed by Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione
For transit workers, the news hasn’t changed much and it certainly hasn’t gotten better. It’s the same story, year after year: “SEPTA
bus driver taken to hospital after men throw liquid on her,” “Man charged with assault in punching, beating of SEPTA bus driver,” “Bus driver shooting sparks calls for safety.”