Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania Catherine Baker Knoll made a special trip to Tyrone yesterday for the quarterly South Central Counties Boroughs\u2019 Association dinner\/meeting.
\nFollowing the meal at the Bull Pen Restaurant, Knoll discussed the opportunities for growth in Northern Blair County, and the vision she sees for the future.
\nTopping her list of speech topics, Knoll touched on the reopening of the paper mill.
\n\u201cI know you\u2019ve recently had a wonderful boost to the region with the reopening of the former Tyrone paper mill \u2013 the new American Eagle Paper Mills,\u201d said Knoll. \u201cThis is a tremendous success story for Tyrone and certainly for the county and I am so glad that Gov. (Ed) Rendell was able to get you that $3 million grant for the mill\u2019s reopening.\u201d
\nKnoll said one of the biggest challenges Pennsylvania faces is creating jobs and business growth that will sustain the communities,
\nShe said the commonwealth\u2019s \u201cfriction free\u201d government has dedicated countless programs and organizations to help Pennsylvania business succeed. She said she and Gov. Rendell have been working hand-in-hand to offer much more.
\n\u201cOn March 4, the governor presented his budget to the General Assembly and on March 25, he presented a a detailed plan for moving Pennsylvania in a new direction \u2013 making sure that Pennsylvania experiences lasting economic success,\u201d said Knoll. \u201cIt is a responsible and proactive plan, one that is focused on building a new Pennsylvania.\u201d
\nAccording to Knoll, Rendell\u2019s economic stimulus piece of his plan invests $2 billion in economic and community development programs for all across the commonwealth. Knoll said these investments are crucial to Pennsylvania\u2019s future.
\n\u201cThe governor believes, as I do, that in order for Pennsylvania to compete with our neighbors and with the rest of the world for jobs and business, we must make substantial investments in site preparation, infrastructure, construction, housing and business growth,\u201d said Knoll. \u201cTo compliment the state\u2019s funds, we\u2019re going to leverage at least another $5 billion in private sector investments.\u201d
\nKnoll said the plan calls for \u201csubstantial\u201d investment to improve the business climate, spur private sector growth, revitalize the housing, and rebuild infrastructure. She said over the years, Pennsylvania has lost thousands of potential jobs and hundred of opportunities because it simply didn\u2019t have a business climate.
\n\u201cIt is absolutely essential that we use the limited funding that we have, especially in the face of our grim fiscal situation, to have the greatest possible impact on the lives of Pennsylvanians,\u201d she said.
\nKnoll said everyone recognizes the need for a strong, prosperous economy, and that Pennsylvania cannot afford to wait for change to happen. She said in Pennsylvania, we have a choice and that she hopes we will choose to effect change and put the commonwealth on the path to lasting economic success.
\nThe state budget has yet to pass, and this is something Knoll spoke about. She said Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation not to have a budget passed at this time.
\n\u201cAs president of the Senate, it pains me to have to admit that fact,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s embarrassing. But I know we will get there \u2013 soon.
\n\u201cEarlier this week, the state House of Representatives took an important bipartisan step towards implementing Governor Rendell\u2019s Plan for a \u2018New Pennsylvania\u2019.
\n\u201cThey approved substantial new investment in public education and the mechanism for a historic reduction in local property taxes; restoration of some of the most severe cuts in social-service programs; and new revenue sources to help fund key programs. This was an important first step,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cLet me say that again \u2013 it was an important first step.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania Catherine Baker Knoll made a special trip to Tyrone yesterday for the quarterly South Central Counties Boroughs\u2019 Association dinner\/meeting. Following the meal at the Bull Pen Restaurant, Knoll discussed the opportunities for growth in Northern Blair County, and the vision she sees for the future. Topping her list of speech topics, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}