Legislation pending in Harrisburg (Senate Bill 719) would double film tax credit spending to $125 million. The sponsors, as per usual, make fantastical claims of job creation and economic benefits.
Why then do filmmakers need to be continually propped up by taxpayers? …
Boating, jet ski and swimming season begins in earnest ‘round these parts around Memorial Day. And the dangers of “low-head dams” have been in the news recently.
“Low-head dams” are those which have no above-water superstructure. Not only can they become virtually invisible to recreationists on the upstream side of these structures, the dynamic forces of the water on the immediate downstream side of the dams can be almost impossible to escape.
Thus, there are growing efforts around Western Pennsylvania to remove some of these dams.
That’s all well and good. But those same boaters, jet skiers and swimmers must also take responsibility. Warning signs are posted along stream and waterways warning of these dams’ locations. And basic swimming sense dictates that you don’t attempt to swim in volatile water pools around these dams.
Still, tragedies happen. Some are linked to reckless behavior. Others are linked to ignorance. Still others are the result of honest mistakes. Public policy makers must take such things into account. But the public must also take responsibility for its actions. Be careful out there. …
There’s talk (yet again) of increasing Amtrak passenger train service between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. There’s currently one daily train. There’s talk of adding two more.
But at what cost?
Published reports says studies show it would cost from $3.75 million to $6 million to add one train in addition to capital improvements that, 12 years ago, were pegged at $100 million.
Of course, the multimillion-dollar question remains if such an expansion would be cost-effective. …
A most interesting public policy issue has been playing out in neighboring Beaver County where the county coroner is fighting efforts by The Times newspaper to obtain year-to-date records on drug overdose deaths.
The newspaper is preparing a series on the opioid epidemic and how it’s affecting the county. But that’s a difficult task when a government office won’t release pertinent public records.
The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records has ruled that such material indeed is a matter of public record. But the coroner has been in court fighting that notion.
It appears that the coroner’s refusal to release this public information centers around the newspaper’s use of a drug overdose victim’s name in a story about criminal charges being filed in that death.
But the worst thing that can happen is for public officials, no matter what their rational, to improperly keep such information from the public. That will only serve to exacerbate the epidemic of opioid abuse.
Any public official who refuses to release such public information is a part of the problem, not a part of any solution. …
Pennsylvania gun rights activists rallied in Harrisburg on May 22. Among other things, they’re arguing for a “constitutional carry” provision that would eliminate the need for concealed carry permits.
That is, as The Associated Press reports it, anyone eligible to own a gun would be able to carry it secretly with no additional government incumbrance.
It’s pretty difficult to mount a cogent argument against constitutional carry, considering what the Pennsylvania Constitution says. From Article I, Section 21: “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.” …
Please, please, please take more than a passing moment this Memorial Day weekend to remember those who gave their last full measure and made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve, protect and defend our freedoms and liberties.
Fly Old Glory. Attend your local Memorial Day parade. Tend to a veteran’s grave. For as Calvin Coolidge reminded, “The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.”
Colin McNickle is a senior fellow and media specialist at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
