Message From Sen. Solobay: $600K For Southpointe Improvements

Washington County’s economy is rapidly expanding and the release of a grant for the Southpointe II Business Park will help provide the foundation for continued growth.

The governor’s office last week approved the release of a $600,000 grant to extend the infrastructure at the business park. The hard work of local officials and cooperation through all levels of government convinced the administration to invest here.

State and local officials will soon draft a formal agreement for the grant, and the hope is to keep the project on track for a 2012 completion.

Local officials are developing a new phase of the business park that will provide access and infrastructure improvements for future building sites.

Washington County was recently cited by the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics as having the third highest job gains in the nation with 4.3 percent growth between 2010 and 2011 even as the state and nation have been slow to recover job losses from the Great Recession.

We’ve been fortunate in the discovery of natural gas resources in the region, but we won’t sit back and depend on luck. Reinvesting in infrastructure that will attract diverse private investment is the best way to ensure economic growth.

Volunteers Needed to Help PA Veterans

In conjunction with Pennsylvania’s court system, state and national veterans groups are looking for volunteer mentors to assist former servicemen and servicewomen who come into contact with the criminal justice system. The volunteer push is intended to support the state judiciary's expanding number of Veterans Courts.

Judges in those courts assign mentors to provide support and guidance to veterans caught up in the court system who are struggling with drug/alcohol, mental health and other difficulties. Pennsylvania currently has eight Veterans Courts in operation. Three additional counties have announced plans to form Veterans Courts, and at least four more courts are expected to open in 2012.

As part of the recruitment drive, it was announced that an online training program—believed to be the first of its kind in the nation—has been launched to enhance access and increase the number of people wanting to become trained as mentors.

Texting Ban Goes into Effect March 8

Now that Gov. Tom Corbett has signed the bill, a ban on texting while driving in Pennsylvania will go into effect on March 8, 2012. That will give time for drivers and local police departments to adapt to the new law and it will, hopefully, let the message sink in that this dangerous and distracting behavior won’t be tolerated on the roads.