Concerned Citizens Make Bad Budget Better

Over the past five months, thousands of Pennsylvania citizens traveled to Harrisburg to rally and protest against the shortsighted budget proposal Gov. Tom Corbett offered at the beginning of February.

It’s a testament to our democracy that those concerned citizens, along with the hard work of advocacy groups and the persistence of Senate Democrats, were able to reverse many of the shortsighted decisions made by the administration.

The budget we passed today is a lot better than the one we were shown in February, without the drastic cuts to early childhood education and slashed aid to colleges.

It’s better, but it’s not good enough.

Last year, the administration vowed that it would find and eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars in welfare fraud to trim state spending.

That didn’t happen, unless your idea of welfare fraud is seniors getting in-home services to keep them out of nursing homes. To save money, the administration unilaterally changed regulations regarding the providers of these in-home services that will jeopardize the entire system. That’s not what Pennsylvanians meant when they said they want action on welfare fraud. To read my full statement on the budget, click here.

Coleman Scott Returns Home Before Olympics

Former Waynesburg High wrestler Coleman Scott returned to Waynesburg on Friday for a community send-off before his trip to London for the Olympics.

Everyone in the region is rooting for Waynesburg High grad Coleman Scott, whose wrestling career took him to Oklahoma State and, now, to the London Olympics.

Scott, who earned his spot on the U.S. Olympic Team in a wrestle-off in Times Square, returned to Waynesburg Friday as the community turned out to raise money and wish him well.

Southwestern Pennsylvania has a reputation for turning out tough athletes and there are few sports on the planet tougher than Olympic wrestling, with no team to hide behind and no room for an ounce of weight. What a thrill for everyone in the area if this three-time state champion goes on to conquer the world.

My chief of staff, Sharon Willison, presented him with a Senate letter of congratulations for making the Olympic team and making his communnity proud.

With the unfortunate changes coming to the system of serving our elderly neighbors, it’s good to know that our seniors have a lot of good friends in the community.

Seniors Have Great Support in the Area

Bob Willison was recently named Humanitarian of the Year by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Area Agency on Aging. The award was presented at the Senior Games Victory Celebration and Awards Banquet held June 28. More than 400 Senior Games participants and friends were recognized at the event including medalists, trophy winners and volunteers.

The Humanitarian of the Year award honors one outstanding individual for dedication and personal commitment to causes enhancing the well-being of older adults in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Area Agency on Aging is an affiliate of Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services (SPHS), which is a non-profit management services.

Between the Lines

I was in the stands last week when Briana Brickner sang the National Anthem before the Washington Wild Things game at Consol Energy Park. Briana is the daughter of Trish Brickner, who does great works finding people jobs and job training as the site administrator for the Donora CareerLink Center