Allegheny Almanac

Freshman Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper developing clout in first term

Kathy Dahlkemper stands behind Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, on health care. 

Dahlkemper recently passed significant legislation helping small businesses. See related article.

Local government jobs boost Warren County employment

see full report in PDF form from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

Unemployment is down 0.7 percent locally, thanks to 600 jobs added by local government and private service industry jobs.

An additional 400 jobs in local government here helped bring the September unemployment rate down to an unadjusted 7.3 percent, down from an unadjusted rate of 8.5 percent in August. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Warren County in September was 8.0 percent. For August, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.7 percent.

The significant improvement in unemployment, however, does not exactly present a cheery picture for job seekers in Warren County. In August there were 22,400 residents in the total work force. In September that number shrunk to 22,000, a more than 16 percent drop in workers living here.

Manufacturing jobs were reduced in September from 3,400 to 3,300 while local government grew from 1,100 to 1,500. Service providing jobs outside of government grew from 2,900 to 3,100. All figures reported by the Dept. of Labor and Industry are rounded off to the nearest 100.

Total service industry jobs (including local government) now dwarfs the manufacturing segment by a factor of 4. In September, the Dept. of Labor and Industry noted there were 12,800 service industry jobs in the county, not including those working in agriculture.

Of the total 16,100 non-farm jobs in the county, 13,600 were non-government in September.

The 8.0 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Warren compares favorably with neighboring communities, as well as state and national unemployment rates. The unemployment rate nationally for the same period was 9.8 percent and the state figure was 8.8 percent. Bradford was at 10.9 percent, Erie 9.9, Forest County 11.8, Meadville 11.0, and Oil City unemployment for September was 9.5 percent.

One year ago, the unemployment rate for Warren County was 5.4 percent.

--Chris Lareau

Congressman Thompson opposes turning Interstate 80 into a toll road

October 30, 2009 3:55 PM

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Representative Glenn `GT’ Thompson, R-Howard, last night received a copy of the third application by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and Rendell Administration to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for tolling authority of Interstate 80. Both previous applications were rejected.

Act 44 tasks the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission with providing annual lease payments to PennDOT in exchange for operating I-80 as a toll road. This new application attempts to alleviate concerns addressed by FHWA in a September 2008 memo, which blocked the joint application from moving forward.

“Act 44 has been a dice roll from the beginning. The Governor knew this, the Legislature knew this, and the Turnpike Commission knew this. All were complacent, as they sat back and allowed the Turnpike to borrow and spend almost $2 billion since July 2007, without any guarantee of repayment.

“After an initial review of the financial analysis, it expressly states that I-80 traffic patterns have uncertainty to them once tolls are placed on the Interstate. Any diversion, which is not addressed in this application, will have an effect on revenues and will jeopardize future highway and bridge funding,” Thompson said.

Thompson has said for some time that tolls on existing interstates are a double tax. Pennsylvania already has the highest state imposed diesel fuel tax nationally at 38 cents per gallon and the second highest state imposed gasoline tax at 31 cents per gallon. For every $1.00 in fuels taxes sent to Washington, the Commonwealth receives $1.15 back.

Additionally, and perhaps most egregiously, Act 44 does nothing more than double the size and scope of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. “This is the same Turnpike Commission that has been the backdrop for several scandals and a slew of indictments. Act 44 is a cover-up of years of mismanagement of taxpayer funds and the perpetuation of an antiquated and corrupt Turnpike Commission,” added Thompson.

“This is not fair to the taxpayers in Pennsylvania—not just along the I-80 corridor, but in the Commonwealth as a whole,” said Thompson. “This is about good government, not politics as usual in Harrisburg, the taxpayers in Pennsylvania deserve better. I have been in close contact with the Federal Highway Administration and plan to meet with them to voice my opposition. I look forward to working with my colleagues here in the House, who recognize the multiple flaws in this plan and remain committed to keeping I-80 toll free.”

news source: Congressman Thompson