Todd Elliott Koger For Pa. State Representative

2012 Pennsylvania Election: “A clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing!”

2012-01-26T15:23:00.006-05:00

On April 24, 2012, there will be a “clash between those who want justice and equality and the “gatekeepers” for the establishment/special interest groups who want to continue the current systems of political exploitation of African-Americans living in Pittsburgh.

The establishment has painted a picture of Pittsburgh to the world (it's art scene, job prospect, safety and affordability), as a city that has rebounded from both its industrial past and the current economic crisis to become a culture and intellectual hotspot.

To attract non-minorities they're telling the world that Pittsburgh isn't bogged down with the burden of taking care of blacks. That is, when examining the 2010 census data, Pittsburgh is one of the “whitest” cities of the 100 largest metro areas in the United States (87 percent of the population is non-minority). LOL!!! SMH TOO!!!

They want the world to think Pittsburgh resembles what America look like before the Civil Rights revolution.

The truth: Based on unemployment, income growth in the past 5 years, crime rates, cost of living, and the like, African-Americans haven't benefited from the turnaround. But, afraid of their own shadows, our "house niggas" leaders simply cannot defend us

So, in the coming days, when the “gatekeepers” argue there's been a lot of investment in areas with high levels of poverty and areas predominantly black (East Liberty). Remember, “big-box” stores or “mixed-used” development are focused on geographic rather than population.

That is, when the populace in question can't afford the new construction options (our people can't even afford to shop at Target), than a new populace replaces them and, ultimately, poverty just gets moved around geographically and so no real solution is attained. Look at the demographics of the people hanging around S. Highland Avenue and Penn Circle to the people a block away at S. Highland and Penn Avenue.

In short, the most dangerous people are those who have no stake in society. They expect us to be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, and co-exist in a white-black brotherhood (while our gas and electric gets shut-off during winter months, food is taken off our tables when they cut “food stamps” entitlements and/or change eligibility guidelines, and, our kids go without a proper education). But, through struggle we are always led to rediscover the lesson of the past.

We have a common oppressor.

A common discriminator.

We have to unite on the basis of what we have in common. And, the “gatekeepers,” whether placed there as a “hand-picked” leader identified by the local political party and/or the media, is just another “monkey-suit” wearing pawn in the “game” that keeps us in our situation.

There's nothing in our holy books that teaches us to suffer peacefully . . . .

As is the case in any jungle, every waking hour that we struggle we lived with both the practical and subconscious knowledge that if we relax, slow down, they won't hesitate to get us (make us their prey).

We must start listening during the “staged” community meetings and watching during “staged” protest marches. We need to better question the “gatekeepers” who called us there.

Who is really benefiting from this community meeting and protest march?

How come the “FIELD NIGGA” that the establishment has nightmares about never got a telephone call (wasn't invited to participate)?

I'M NOT RUNNING FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE, WE'RE RUNNING . . . “TEAM US – A DOLLAR AND A DREAM”

2012-01-20T08:27:00.003-05:00

Our loyalty should not be “a given” for any person, political party, or just because of our blackness. As a people we need to begin to understand that we can't keep being “played!”

There should be outrage over the demands of the establishment, special interest groups, the media, and any of their “hand-picked” candidates, telling us to “stop complaining” about race inequality. The simple truth, our so-called African-American leaders, in their “monkey suits” have lost their blackness – refuse to speak out!

The political table they have been sitting at (either in Harrisburg, in the Mayor's Office, or running around behind Tim Stevens for his various staged media events) is far more elegant than the living conditions and challenges that we as a people must face daily during this economic downturn.

Do our African-American so-called leaders really believe that their membership to the elite club within the establishment actually gives them rights or privileges undeserving of the rest of us?

Our future is bleak if we take no action. African-American unemployment is at its worst level in more than three decades (we make up just 12 percent of the nation's population but account for 21 percent of the nation's unemployed). Unemployment for African-American men stands at a staggeringly high 19.1 percent and the overall unemployment rate is expected to remain well above 10 percent until at least 2014.

Firearm homicide (epidemic levels) is the leading cause of death for African-American ages 1-44 (we suffer over 26 percent of all firearm deaths and over 55 percent of all firearm homicides).

The Pennsylvania Governor, Pennsylvania State Assembly, County Executive, City of Pittsburgh Mayor (and/or any of their African-American “gatekeepers”) could have helped ameliorate some of the pain African-Americans are feeling in the job sector (and/or as a result of gun violence), but their focus on the “largely white” information (high-tech) jobs, academia (boosting universities), the “green” economy and Marcellus Shale has done little to address the concern of real “black” people!

If we wish to see the concern's of real “black” people extended beyond a relatively small number of the token few . . . “TEAM US” must now challenge the establishment, special interest groups, and their “hand-picked” candidates (that they expect you will support because our lone “in the white man's pocket” African-American newspaper told you to do so).

What's interesting: Our lone African American newspaper, a few years back, endorsed racist Rick Santorum . . . .

Pennsylvania State Representative Joe Preston Controlled by Special Interest Money

2012-01-16T08:38:00.005-05:00

The impact of special interest money on Pennsylvania's election process has long been a concern for the vast majority of us. Voters want to know their elected representative is serving them, not the wealthy special interest that may support the politician financially.

Special interest groups are a collection of individuals or societies with shared interests and values who aim at determining the decisions made by politicians.

Special interest groups expect a good return on their political investments. It has thus created a dysfunctional legislature. Our government ordained by the people is fast becoming a permanent ruling class, in effect a surrogate plutocracy (a form of government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of wealthy special interests that arrange the continual reelection of representatives who govern as their surrogates).

Some office holders have treated their campaign committee as more or less open-ended slush funds.

JOE PRESTON RECEIVED $563,937 FROM SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS:

Candidates $111,396

Utilities $ 52,525

Lawyers & Lobbyists $ 52,500

Construction $ 35,925

Public Sector Unions $ 32,822

Telecom Services $ 26,942

General Trade Unions $ 19,550

Healthcare $ 16,000

Banks $ 14,200

Political Parties $ 7,910

Oil & Gas $ 6,825

Home Builders $ 6,250

Automotive $ 5,800

Miscellaneous Energy $ 5,450

NOTEWORTHY CONTRIBUTORS:

UTILITIES
First Energy Corp $ 10,025
PPL Corp $ 9,775
PECO Energy $ 7,850
Dominion $ 4,300
UGI Utilities $ 3,000
Duquesne Light $ 2,925
National Fuel Gas $ 2,775
Morgan K. Obrien $ 2,000
James Schwing $ 2,000
Energy Association $ 2,000
NISOURCE $ 1,750
Columbia Gas $ 1,500
Exelon $ 1,500
Sunoco, Inc $ 1,500
EQT $ 1,250
CPU Energy $ 800

TELECOM SERVICES
Verizon $ 7,867
Comcast $ 6,250
AT&T $ 3,000
Sprint Nextel $ 2,500
EMBARQ $ 2,175
Broadband Cable ASSOC $ 1,650

CONSTRUCTION
Robert Agbede $ 19,000
Michael Baker Corp $ 2,500
ATS-Chester $ 2,000
Robert J. Lewis $ 1,500

LAWYERS & LOBBYISTS
PA Assoc For Justice $ 10,250
S R Wojdak $ 3,250
Ma Lady & Wooten $ 2,450
Thorp Reed Armstrong $ 2,000
Pa Bar Assoc $ 1,800
Klett Lieber Rooney $ 1,550
K&L Gates $ 1,500
Wolf Block $ 1,500
CRISCI Assoc $ 1,500
George W. Jacoby $ 1,500
Eustace Uku $ 1,000
Renardo L. Hicks $ 1,000
Ray Middleman $ 1,000
Charlene R. McAbee $ 1,000
Buchanan Ingersoil $ 800
R. Dell Ziger $ 500

PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS
National Assoc Ed $ 10,075
AFSCME Council 13 $ 6,897
PGH Federaion Teachers $ 1,950
Assoc PA Faculties $ 1,750

GENERAL TRADE UNIONS
PA AFL-CIO $ 4,000
Communication Workers $ 2,000
Greater Pgh Carpenters $ 1,700

HEALTHCARE
PA Psychological Assoc $ 2,600
Betty O. Udekwu $ 3,000
Pa Anesthesiologists $ 2,000
Astrazeneca $ 1,400
PA Ophthalmology $ 1,250
Highmark $ 800

TRANSPORTATION
PA Automotive Assoc $ 2,500
James D. Campolongo $ 2,000
PA Motor Truck Assoc $ 2,000
PA Recreational Vehicle $ 1,500
Independent Auto Dealer $ 1,500

HOME BUILDERS
PA Manufactured Housing $ 4,000

RETAIL SALES
Retailers Assoc $ 4,000
Advanced Technology $ 2,000
Pa Chamber Bus. Indust. $ 1,500
PA Financial Services $ 1,500

REAL ESTATE
PA Assoc of Realtors $ 2,550

Current Pennsylvania Utility Law Promotes Shut-Offs and Limits Customer Options

2012-01-13T16:49:00.008-05:00

Utility companies have given Joe Preston $52,525 to protect their special interest.

Since Joe Preston passage of Act 201 (also known as Chapter 14 of the Public Utility Code) in 2004, electric terminations rose 78.6 percent.

The latest Biennial Report issued by the Pennsylvania Utility Commission "PUC" concludes that terminations for the electric and gas industries have risen to “record high levels” since passage of Chapter 14.

In addition to increasing shut offs, Chapter 14 reduces the relief available to utility customers by severely limiting the number of payment agreements that the utility can be required to provide.

Each year more households struggle to have utilities reconnected on affordable terms because, in most circumstances, Chapter 14 only requires utility companies to give a customer one opportunity to enter an installment payment agreement to catch up on bills.

Chapter 14 is due to expire in 2014, which is no relief to the increasing number of customers who need another chance now to reconnect heat service or prevent shut off.

Todd Elliott Koger urges customers with shut-off notices to contact their utilities whose employees, “are obligated by law to fully explain all available methods for avoiding a termination.”

The use of public utilities pervades the life of every individual. Each time a person walks into a heated room, eats food that has been either refrigerated or cooked, or uses a light that person is likely relying on some sort of public utility.

It is important for low-income households to gain protections from the threatened or actual disconnection of utility service. Joe Preston has promised every election to "get rid" of "Chapter 14" but has done nothing.

Chapter 14 was not established with the lives of poor people in mind. Todd Elliott Koger questions why Joe Preston, since November 2004 hasn't yet voiced "established" legal theory to repeal the legislation.

For example, prohibiting the imputation of debts of one person to a third party is a doctrine based upon straight contract law. However, Chapter 14 appears to unlawfully allow utility companies the ability to transfer the liability of unpaid utility service to any adult living in the household.

Terminated customers may, for a time, attempt to struggle by without utility service to the detriment of the health of the household and safety of the neighborhood (household fire and possible death).

Eventually, families are forced to move to obtain service and costs are imposed as schools and neighborhoods are disrupted and properties are run down.

And, the costs of moving and re-initiating utility service will be drawn either from public assistance or from family reserves for other necessities -- again implicating health and safety costs which will ultimately be borne by society.

Todd Elliott Koger Position Paper: Top Priorities 2010 Election -- Gun Violence Allegheny County, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

2010-04-04T18:33:00.002-04:00

As is always the case at rallies against violence, there will be eloquent and impassioned speeches about the need for self-esteem, the value of education and the importance of conflict resolution. What won't be in the offing are easy answers about how to deal with the plague of gun violence . . . .

The answer is simple. It starts with one man or woman, committed to a set of specific and result-oriented procedures and good faith, coming forward and requesting nothing more than the opportunity to do some good. The answer isn't as complex as local decision makers claim.

We don't need another politician who is visible only before election time, always followed by the media, meeting with the already self-disciplined and organized block watch groups or tenant councils. We need someone welcome by those normally "too hard to reach" because he or she produces tangible results and is trusted as a "homegrown" trying to do some good.

Sometimes just being there, available and willing to help a struggling individual secure a working refrigerator for his Mom, a child's bed for his kid, or curtains/mini blinds for the windows at the individual's girlfriend's apartment, will keep a troubled individual out of harm's way!

What's needed is a trusted advocate steadfast to the challenge of canvassing the most dangerous neighborhood [door-to-door, corner-to-corner, housing-project-to-housing-project] to redress those barriers that have systematically prevented inner-city residents from becoming productive participants in mainstream society.

In short, black fraternities and sororities arose from the hostility students experienced in the early 20th century and its support systems and social networks have shaped and nurtured our youth cultivating many of today's leaders. Through support suppression activities and a "bridge" to prevention, as well as neighborhood reclamation and restoration, job training and support service, one trusted black leader will offer a greater proportion of the region's most needy population opportunity to better interact with society.

Out of the 87 homicides, in 2009, in Pittsburgh, 62 (71 percent) were Black. 55 homicides, in 2009, were Black men.

Todd Elliott Koger is that trusted black leader!

Todd Elliott Koger Position Paper: Top Priorities 2010 Election -- Pennsylvania deserves a budget by June 30 . . . sooner would be even better!

2010-04-04T18:28:00.002-04:00

After last year's debacle -- the framework was adopted 101 days late and final details weren't completed until six months past due -- Pennsylvanians are out of patience and eager to see a budget delivered on time!

Reducing the size of the Pennsylvania Legislature raises interesting questions in these difficult economic times. This year, legislators were months behind schedule on their most important job of the year -- adopting a budget. In all of their futile attempts, the main topic of conversation was cutting programs and services.
Todd Elliott Koger a 2010 candidate for the Pennsylvania House (District 24) is ready for a political tussle over: (1) allocations for basic education; (2) whether and how Pennsylvania will tax methane from the potentially lucrative Marcellus Shale formation; and (3) future shortfalls due to federal stimulus funding ending in 2011 and increasing pension demands.

Getting started well ahead of the June 30 deadline is smart. But, just punting the budget to the Senate early to pass along blame for any intransigence is not the answer.

In short, Pennsylvania should enact a severance tax identical to West Virginia's: 5 percent on the value of sale, plus 4.7 cents per thousand cubic feet produced, rather than leasing additional state forest land for natural gas drilling.

The severance tax would produce $180 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1 and increase to nearly $530 million after five years, including 10 percent set aside for local governments (money to shore up a state treasury that faces a projected $5.6 billion gap in 2011 and 2012 resulting from spiraling public pension costs and the expiration of federal stimulus budget aid).

In addition, Pennsylvania has the largest full-time legislature among the 50 states. Pennsylvania also was first in the percentage of its state budget that is spent on its legislature. But, debate about reducing the size of the legislature generates interesting conversations, i.e. no one has done anything. . . .

Todd Elliott Koger Position Paper: Top Priorities 2010 Election -- 3, 992 Pennsylvania Households Using Potentially Unsafe Heating

2010-04-04T18:13:00.007-04:00

Since the passage of Chapter 14 in late 2004, both the rate and number of utility terminations have increased, jeopardizing the health and safety of those households without utility service, particularly in the cold winter months; and thousands of consumers have been denied payment arrangements because of restrictions placed on the PUC.

Act 201 of 2004, known as Chapter 14, went into effect on December 14, 2004, amending the Public Utility Code. Chapter 14 prohibits the PUC from establishing a payment agreement for customers who have defaulted on CAP (Customer Assistance Program) payments.

For non-CAP customers, Chapter 14 prohibits the Commission from establishing a second payment agreement if the customer has defaulted on the first.

In total, as a result of Chapter 14, the PUC has been unable to assist 71,516 customers (non-CAP and CAP customers) who were seeking payment arrangements.

Overall, the termination rate has increased by 86% from 2002 to 2007.

Chapter 14 must go! Joe Preston must go!

The poor and low-income residents of Pennsylvania should be horrified by the hypocrisy of Joe Preston. He was given lucrative campaign contributions from the utility companies in exchange for passage of Chapter 14.

5/13/09 UGI PAC (UGI Corp) $500

5/11/09 FirstEnergy Political Action Committee $1,000

4/27/09 James Michael Love (LOB) $500

4/16/08 NFG PAPAC $500

4/10/08 James Michael Love Energy Association of PA $1,000

4/4/08 N.Source Inc. PAC-PA $750

4/2/08 UGI PAC (UGI CORP) $1,000

3/3/08 FirstEnergy Political Action Committee $1,000

6/22/07 Equitable Resources, Inc. $1,000

6/22/07 NFG PAPAC $1,000

5/16/07 FirstEnergy Political Action Committee $1,000

10/27/06 NFG PAPAC $175

10/16/06 FirstEnergy Political Action Committee $175

10/6/06 Equitable Resources $250

6/15/05 Equitable Resources $250

12/31/04 UGI PAC (UGI CORP) $250

6/29/04 FirstEnergy Committee $500

February 2010 Rendell's/Joe Preston's Budget Proposal to Expand Pennsylvania Sales Tax: Notice to Lobbyists to Open Their Wallets Again!

2010-03-12T16:25:00.021-05:00

The February 2010 budget proposal by Govenor Ed Rendell/Joe Preston to expand Pennsylvania’s sales tax base has been popping up in some form or fashion over the past several years only to fail. The 2010 February budget proposal is just further notice to lobbyists to open their wallets again.

Please Note: Comparing recent expenditures with past lobbying efforts is difficult. Pennsylvania didn't enact its disclosure law until late 2006, long after most states. And, unless they provide gifts or lodging, those who try to influence state decision makers must report little detail other than the totals spent.

In early February 2009, when it became clear that the State budget was in crisis mode Natural-Gas Drillers opened their wallets. In short, Pennsylvania is the biggest natural gas producer that does not impose some type of tax on it.

That is, in February 2009, Govenor Rendell announced that he was pushing for a new tax on the odorless, colorless gas found deep below Pennsylvania soil. Rendell said the tax would bring in about $100 million in 2010, thanks to what he called the "Gold Rush" of new drilling for natural gas in the vast underground formation known as the Marcellus Shale. But by late August 2009, the Governor (to the surprise of many) said drilling executives had convinced him that imposing the tax would stunt the growth of the industry.

Thereafter, Rendell abandoned his push for the tax.

The Natural-Gas Drillers lobbyists would also win another victory during the prolonged budget battle, persuading lawmakers to open up thousands of additional acres of state forest land to drillers despite the concern of environmentalists. The Natural-Gas industry's argument: The State could bring in more revenue by leasing the land to drillers than by taxing the gas extracted.

The idea of leasing more land doesn't sit well with many House Democrats who are pushing legislation to put a five-year moratorium until the end of 2015 on leasing any additional state forest land. A bill sponsored by Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166, Haverton, would give the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources sole discretion after the moratorium ends to determine if more leasing can take place. Under D-166 the state must first evaluate the impact of drilling on the forests and water supplies before proceeding further.

The Natural-Gas Driller's lobbyists have successfully resisted the call for a severance tax in Pennsylvania - the tax the industry pays in every other state.

Under Gov. Ed Rendell’s/Joe Preston's proposed 2010-11 budget, Pennsylvania’s sales tax rate would drop from 6 percent to 4 percent, but would be applied to more categories (74 items that are currently exempt). The proposal faces an uphill battle, both in political and practical terms. To move forward with this proposal would represent a major shift in tax policy and Pennsylvania doesn’t move quickly on such major public policy initiatives.

The Question: Will Govenor Rendell/Joe Preston allow Natural-Gas Driller's lobbyists to succeed again (pressure Harrisburg to open up more of our precious forests simply because we have a budget deficit)?

Opponents say they aren’t taking the proposed shift in tax policy any less lightly despite the declaration of Joseph Scarnati, president of the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate, that it was “dead on arrival.”

The Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants reached out to its 20,000 members within days of hearing Rendell’s/Joe Preston's budget.

The Pennsylvania Bar Association President Clifford E. Haines shot off a letter to legislative leaders stating the industry’s opposition within a week.

National Federal of Independent Business members are also in the ears of state lawmakers.

Pennsylvania Newspaper Association has questioned the constitutionality of imposing a tax on one industry but not another. Under Rendell’s/Joe Preston's proposal, the state’s already struggling newspaper industry would face new taxes on not only advertising, but circulation — a double whammy.

Philadelphia, which received legislative approval in August to temporarily raise the city’s sales tax rate from 7 percent to 8 percent over the next five years to address budgetary shortfalls, would also be hurt.

In closing, Pennsylvania should enact a severance tax identical to West Virginia's: 5 percent on the value of sale, plus 4.7 cents per thousand cubic feet produced. The severance tax would produce $180 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1 and increase to nearly $530 million after five years, including 10 percent set aside for local governments (money to shore up a state treasury that faces a projected $5.6 billion gap in 2011 and 2012 resulting from spiraling public pension costs and the expiration of federal stimulus budget aid).

Todd Elliott Koger a 2010 candidate for the Pennsylvania House (District 24) is ready for a political tussle over whether and how Pennsylvania will tax methane from the potentially lucrative Marcellus Shale formation.

Please Note: Joe Preston received the following funds from Natural-Gas:

5/13/09 UGI PAC (UGI Corp) $500

5/11/09 FirstEnergy Political Action Committee $1,000

4/27/09 James Michael Love (LOB) $500

4/16/08 NFG PAPAC $500

4/10/08 James Michael Love Energy Association of PA $1,000

4/4/08 N.Source Inc. PAC-PA $750

4/2/08 UGI PAC (UGI CORP) $1,000

3/3/08 FirstEnergy Political Action Committee $1,000

6/22/07 Equitable Resources, Inc. $1,000

6/22/07 NFG PAPAC $1,000

5/16/07 FirstEnergy Political Action Committee $1,000

10/27/06 NFG PAPAC $175

10/16/06 FirstEnergy Political Action Committee $175

10/6/06 Equitable Resources $250

6/15/05 Equitable Resources $250

12/31/04 UGI PAC (UGI CORP) $250

6/29/04 FirstEnergy Committee $500

See also:

"Fight against state tax on gas extraction gets expensive"

Sunday, January 17, 2010

By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In the last two years, energy companies with a stake in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying and making campaign contributions to legislators, congressmen and the governor, partly in hopes of postponing a tax on the extraction of natural gas.

They also are laying the groundwork for future political battles. Range Resources Energy Independence PAC, for example, donated $5,000 each to Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett and to Democratic Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, both gubernatorial candidates, in the waning months of 2009.

Range Resources, with drilling rights to more than 1.4 million acres, is one of the biggest natural gas players in Pennsylvania, and is one of the most frequent campaign contributors as well. The company’s political arm gave to state Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods; Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery; Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson; Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre; and Auditor General Jack Wagner, among others, in 2009. In turn, the biggest donors to the Range PAC are its top executives, such as Charles Blackburn (board of directors), John Pinkerton (CEO), Rodney Waller (chief of compliance) and Roger Manny (executive vice president).

Why all the cash? Energy companies view the Marcellus shale field, much of which is in Pennsylvania, as the next big natural gas bonanza, and have spent the past two years positioning themselves for the day when natural gas prices increase, making it a more profitable enterprise.

And the enterprise will remain more profitable so long as the Legislature and the governor are unable, or unwilling, to impose a tax on the extraction of gas.

The so-called “severance tax” was in the news again last week, as Gov. Ed Rendell announced the leasing of 32,000 acres of state forest land for drilling purposes, netting the state’s general fund $128 million. Five companies — Chesapeake Energy Corp. of Oklahoma City, Exco Resources of Dallas, Seneca Resources Corp. of Houston, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. of Houston, and Penn Virginia Corp. of Radnor, Pa. — submitted the highest bids.

After announcing the lease agreement, Mr. Rendell said he’d try again, in his 2010-11 budget proposal, to impose a severance tax, something in place in 28 other states. “It’s hard for the industry to cry poor mouth. Exxon just paid a high price to buy a [natural] gas company,” he said.

He said on Friday that an extraction tax could raise $100 million a year for the state.

Energy companies want to postpone or fight off the tax, citing a glut of natural gas in storage (which depresses prices), and the fact that companies already must pay an up-front lease price, as well as continued royalties, to landowners.

But the companies’ concerns go beyond the extraction tax.

“It’s all about education,” said Matt Pitzarella, spokesman for Range Resources. “While the industry has been in Pennsylvania for 150 years, modern natural gas development is very new. … At the end of the day, we have to do all that we can to ensure that [we] maximize this opportunity for the entire commonwealth, [and] take the steps to support the responsible growth of this industry.”

The PAC for Chesapeake Energy Corp. — which is the largest gas lessee in Pennsylvania — also appears frequently in the Department of State’s campaign finances records. It has contributed to Rep. Marc Gergely, D-White Oak; Rep. Dave Reed, R-Indiana; Mr. Scarnati, Mr. Corman, Mr. Onorato and Mr. Corbett, among others.

Other players:

• Anadarko, one of last week’s winning bidders, made several contributions in 2008, including a $500 contribution to Sen. John Wozniak, D-Johnstown.

• UGI PAC is the political arm of UGI Corp., an oil and gas firm out of Reading, Pa. The PAC has contributed to House Speaker Keith McCall, D-Carbon; Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Armstrong; Rep. Joe Preston, D-East Liberty; Mr. Turzai and many more.

• Exco Resources (another of last week’s winning bidders) committed $500 to Sen. Don White, R-Indiana; $500 to Mr. Corman, and $500 to Mr. Scarnati, among several others.

• Cabot Oil & Gas is the third-largest drilling lease-holder in the state, behind Range and Chesapeake. Cabot and its executives have given to Mr. Scarnati.

• Spectra Energy, a Houston company with a presence in Washington County, has given $1,500 each to the Democratic state senate campaign committee and its Republican counterpart, and the same amount to the House Democrats’ and House Republicans’ campaigns.

• Cecil Township’s CNX Gas, a division of Consol Energy, leases about 40,000 acres. Its political action group — which is combined with Consol’s, called the Consol Energy Inc. & CNX Gas Corp. PAC — has given $2,500 to Mr. White, $1,000 to Mr. Corbett, $1,000 to Mr. Rendell, $1,000 to Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon, and thousands more since 2008.

Direct campaign contributions are separate from lobbying expenses, which the state also tracks. Range, for example, reported spending $70,600 in “direct communications” with lawmakers in the third quarter of 2009, $65,000 in the second quarter, and $90,000 in the January through March quarter. (Fourth-quarter lobbying expenditures haven’t been filed yet.)

Chesapeake Appalachia spent $76,000 in the third quarter of 2009, $79,000 in the second quarter and $48,000 in the first.

Lobbying and umbrella trade groups — such as the Independent Oil & Gas Association, the National Fuel and Gas Association — also make direct campaign contributions.

Individually, none of the energy and gas companies give enough to rank among the top contributors in the state, and collectively, they are still well short of the largest donors, such as PACE, the Pennsylvania State Education Association’s political arm.

3, 992 Pennsylvania Households Using Potentially Unsafe Heating (Space Heaters and Kitchen Ovens) . . . Heating Assistance LIHEAP?

2009-12-18T19:47:00.011-05:00

The PUC said that 3,992 households statewide are using potentially unsafe heating sources such as space heaters and kitchen ovens, compared with 3,373 last year.

That is, on the heels of the season's first cold snap, the Pennslvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has released a report predicting that the number of local households without utility service for heating their homes this winter would be nearly 19 percent higher than at the beginning of last winter.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, potentially unsafe sources of heat include kerosene heaters, kitchen stoves or ovens, electric space heaters, fireplaces and connecting extension cords to neighbors’ homes.

The PUC's Cold Weather Survey said that 17,037 households lack utility heat, compared with 14,372 this time last year. That includes 948 households served by Dominion Peoples, 931 served by Equitable Gas and 829 served by Columbia Gas. The survey also included households with electric heat, and found that 906 households served by Duquesne Light and 265 served by Allegheny Power lacked power.

PUC Reports Show Increases in Terminations and Indicate Concerns for Low-Income Customers

Three documents recently released by the Public Utility Commission point to significant areas of concern for low-income utility consumers. The documents include:

The Second Biennial Report to the General Assembly and the Governor Pursuant to Section 1415;

4-year Average, 2007 & 2008 Cold Weather Survey Results – Electric & Gas; and

Terminations and Reconnections – Year-to-Date: 2007 vs. 2008 Through December.

Second Biennial Report:

Act 201 of 2004, known as Chapter 14, went into effect on December 14, 2004, amending the Public Utility Code. The PUC is required to monitor and evaluate the implementation of Chapter 14 and report its findings to the General Assembly and the Governor every two years.

The Second Biennial Report was released December 14, 2008 and includes much that does not bode well for low-income utility customers:

That is, there appears to be a serious concern that failure of utilities to fully implement Chapter 14 leads to unlawful or erroneous terminations, which present serious issues of health and safety for both the individuals directly involved and the surrounding community.

For the electric industry, the percentage of customers in debt has increased.

The Report states: It does not appear that the electric industry’s strategy of terminating a record high number of customers since the passage of Chapter 14 has been successful.

Looking ahead, the concern remains about the collections performance of the electric industry as rate caps are lifted for PPL on Dec. 31, 2009, and for Met-Ed, Penelec and Allegheny on Dec. 31, 2010.

The early projections for rate increases are cause for concern when combined with diminishing purchasing power for customers in our current economic climate. These factors may make it more challenging and difficult for the electric industry to manage its collections performance and costs.

Chapter 14 prohibits the Commission from establishing a payment agreement for customers who have defaulted on CAP (Customer Assistance Program) payments.

Through October 10, 2008, the PUC has turned away 24,144 CAP customers who wanted to have their payment arrangements reviewed.

The Second Biennial Report specifically states that: For CAP customers who fail to meet their obligations under CAP, there is no recourse other than to pay their arrearages and current balances in order to maintain utility service. This is arguably a losing proposition for them.

These customers are at the greatest risk because they are out of options.

There are low-income households who are payment-troubled and have not yet been placed into a CAP program. This represents a still significant number of such households since the passage of Chapter 14. Consequently, there is still room for CAP programs to grow.

For non-CAP customers, Chapter 14 prohibits the Commission from establishing a second payment agreement if the customer has defaulted on the first.

Since the passage of Chapter 14, the Commission has turned away over 47,000 non-CAP customers requesting a payment arrangement.

In total, as a result of Chapter 14, the Commission has been unable to assist 71,516 customers (non-CAP and CAP customers) who were seeking payment arrangements.

Since 2004, termination numbers for the electric industry have reached record levels, increasing 60.1 % during the period from 2004 to 2007.

Terminations for the gas industry increased 21% from 2004 to 2007.

Termination rates (calculated by dividing the number of terminations by the number of customers) for the electric industry have risen to record high levels since the passage of Chapter 14, increasing from 2.06 to 3.25 from 2004 to 2007.

Overall, the termination rate has increased by 86% from 2002 to 2007.

The declining economy is creating a “new poor” as diminishing purchasing power for consumers combines with higher utility costs.

The Second Biennial Report concludes that: It is likely that additional thousands of utility customers will face unaffordable utility bills in the years ahead.

Given the continuing trend of higher levels of service terminations under Chapter 14, the economy and the prospect of higher utility prices, greater numbers of Pennsylvania households may be faced with the risk of losing essential utility services in the coming years.

Additional funding and support for safety net program is critical to ensure that all Pennsylvania households receive essential utility services.

Cold Weather Survey:

The Cold Weather Survey, mandated by PUC regulations, is undertaken each fall; it involves a survey by all PUC-regulated natural gas and electric utilities of residences where service has been terminated throughout the year and not reconnected. Utilities attempt to contact these terminated households via certified letters, phone calls, and personal visits.

A total of 14,372 households normally using electric or gas heat were without service after completion of the survey (excluding vacant residences and households using potentially unsafe heating source or other central heating sources) – an increase of 4% from 2007 to 2008.

20,037 residences that were terminated now appear to be vacant, a 16% increase from 2007 to 2008.

3,373 households are using potentially unsafe heating sources, a 9% increase from 2007 to 2008.

Terminations and Reconnections – Monthly Report:

The regulated utilities are also mandated by Chapter 56 of Title 52 of the Pennsylvania Code to report terminations and reconnections on a monthly basis.

The latest report shows that the number of terminations by electric utilities in 2008 increased 26% compared to 2007.

The number of service terminations by gas utilities increased by 10% over the same time period.

A total of 331,220 utility customers had their electric, gas or water service terminated in 2008.

Summary and Necessary Actions:

Since the passage of Chapter 14 in late 2004 (immediately following Joe Preston's re-election in November 2004), both the rate and number of utility terminations have increased, jeopardizing the health and safety of those households without utility service, particularly in the cold winter months; and thousands of consumers have been denied payment arrangements because of restrictions placed on the PUC.

Spending for CAP and other low-income utility programs, including LIURP (Low-Income Usage Reduction Program), CARES (Customer Assistance and Referral Evaluation Services) and Hardship Funds must be increased and outreach to low-income consumers must be improved in order to enroll all those who are eligible, especially as the economy worsens and rate caps on electric generation prices are lifted.

Todd Elliott Koger advocates the following essential protections for low-income consumers:

FIRST

Chapter 14 and Joe Preston must go!

The poor and low-income residents of Pennsylvania State Assembly District 24 should be horrified by the hypocrisy of Joe Preston who parlayed his leadership position within a committee into an opportunity for lucrative campaign contributions from the utility companies in exchange for passage of Chapter 14.

Since its passage, Joe Preston wants you to believe that Chapter 14 protects paying customers from higher bills.

With few, if any, humanistic considerations, he mistakenly believes the only problem associated with the poor and low-income freezing to death isn't a human problem but rather a problem of energy industry profits.

He has been dehumanizing the poor and low-income as "deadbeats" leaching off "good customers."

However, poverty isn't about people being bad or making bad choices. It is about having corrupt and decadent social systems that make people unfathomably rich at the expense of the rest of us.

To illustrate and humanize this issue, one must look at who is really hurt by Chapter 14.

Chapter 14 and Joe Preston must go!

NEXT

The PUC should make it its policy and the policy of utilities to avoid service terminations wherever possible.

CAP payments should be required to be affordable.

Because low-income consumers have certain protections from service terminations during the winter months, the Commission should obligate the utilities to ask about household income at every opportunity so that incorrect terminations do not occur.

Utilities should be required to report to the Commission anytime they become aware of a death or serious injury at a residence without utility service.

In short, thousands of our neighbors are regularly waging a battle without the use of their central-heating system because their electric or natural gas service has been terminated.

Todd Elliott Koger urges consumers without utility service to know their rights and obtain information about programs available to help them restore and maintain utility service.

For example, consumers with a seriously ill resident in the household or a protection from abuse order may have additional options for service restoration.

Winter Shut-off Protection Began December 1:

Low-income utility customers who are unable to pay their bills are protected from service terminations from December 1 through March 31. Household income must be at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines.

Customers who receive termination notices after February 1 and meet income guidelines may be eligible for a LIHEAP Crisis grant to stop the termination.

Electric Utility Education Plans To Mitigate Rate Increases:

The PUC provided final approval of the rate mitigation education plans of PPL, PECO, UGI Electric, Citizens’ Electric, Wellsboro, West Penn Power, Pike County Light & Power, Duquesne Light Co., and the FirstEnergy Companies of Met-Ed, Penelec and Penn Power.

These plans are in response to the May 17, 2007 Commission Order, at Docket No. M-00061957, which directed all electric distribution companies (EDCs) to prepare and file a consumer education plan to mitigate potential electricity price increases that could follow the expiration of generation rate caps.

The intention is to prepare Pennsylvanians for removal of electric rate caps and to enable consumers to make informed decisions regarding their levels of electric use.

The plans are required to include specific education elements which inform consumers that:

Rate caps of their electric providers have or will expire on a certain date;

When rates change there may be significant increases;

Customers may be able to take steps to control the size of their electric bills;

Customers may benefit from utilizing energy efficiency, conservation and demand side response measures;

Information about these measures is readily available;

Customers may reduce the size of their electric bills, or receive service options more suited to their needs, by purchasing generation service from an alternative electric generation supplier;

Current information that will allow customers to make informed choices about competitive generation alternatives is readily available; and

Programs exist to help low income customers maintain their utility service, and information about them is readily available.

Consumers should call their utility. If they are unable to reach an agreement with the utility, the PUC may be able to provide assistance.

In conclusion, a Dec. 11, 2007, letter sent to electric and natural gas utilities under its jurisdiction, the PUC asked the utilities to join the PUC in reaching out and educating consumers.

The Commission’s “Prepare Now” outreach campaign appeals to consumers on limited or fixed incomes to call their utility about special programs such as Customer Assistance Programs (CAPs) and Low Income Usage Reduction Programs (LIURP) to help heat their homes and pay their energy bills.

The letter also stressed the importance of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the impact the program has on helping low-income consumers restore and maintain service.

Consumers on limited or fixed incomes should call their utility about special programs such as CAPs and LIURP to help heat their homes and pay their energy bills.

Every major utility offers a CAP, under which qualifying low-income customers pay discounted bills. Qualification in the CAP program is based on household size and gross household income. LIURP helps consumers lower the amount of electricity or natural gas used each month. The company may install energy saving features in your home to help reduce bills.

Consumers should call their utility to inquire about such programs.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) may have funds available to help eligible customers have service restored.

With a 3 percent increase on December 1, 2009, Pennsylvania legislators' annual salary may go above $80,000 . . .

2009-11-17T20:46:00.004-05:00

Historical sites will be shuttered, the wait for government services will be longer, swimming and camping seasons at state parks will be shorter, and hundreds of state employees will be looking for new jobs.

The governor's office announced yesterday that Friday will be the last day of work for 319 employees who are being laid off. They will be put on administrative leave until Dec. 4, allowing them to collect two additional weeks of pay.

Nonetheless, in 2006, Pennsylvania legislators raised a statewide uproar when they voted themselves raises of 16 to 33 percent. The Legislature later canceled its raised, but under a 1995 law, state officials continue to get cost-of-living adjustments every December. The salary increases are based on the rise in the Consumer Price Index (the inflation rate) during the pervious 12 months in the Philadelphia area, and that usually works out to 3 or 4 percent.

Because of this COLA law, a rank-and-file lawmaker's annual salary has risen from $69,647 in 2005 to $72,187 in 2006, to $73,614 in 2007, to $76,163 in 2008, to $78,300 in 2009. With a 3 percent increase on December 1, 2009 their annual salary may go above $80,000.

It is common sense to suspend the COLA for legislators during the current tough economic times. How can a lawmaker accept a pay increase during a year when so so much have been cut from the state budget and so so many others must now do with less or with nothing at all.

The national economic conditions are so dismal that for the first time in more than three decades the federal government will not make cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security payments.

In short, if Pennsylvania's elderly citizens are expected to go without a Social Security COLA this year, than Pennsylvania lawmakers should be expected to do the same.

Some citizen protesters, including Eric Epstein (Rock the Capital) and Gene Stilp (Taxpayers and Ratepayers United) want the Legislature to cancel the December 1 cost-of-living adjustment, but that seems unlikely.

No one should be rewarded for creating a large budget deficit and holding state citizens hostage for 101 days before finally adopting the 2009-20010 budget. Repealing the COLA law is an opportunity for legislators to do the right thing and put the interests of the state ahead of their wallet.

Please note: None of the staff cuts will come in the department's oil and gas program, where the state recently raised fees to pay for 37 new hires to do permitting and inspection work on hundreds of new wells tapping into the Marcellus shale, a deep rock formation underlying three-fourths of the state and attracting widespread drilling interest. Layoffs could have been avoided had the Rendell administration backed a severance tax on Marcellus drilling as part of the state budget. The revenue the state could have raised with a severance tax or fee -- which ever other major natural-gas drilling state already has -- could have gone a long way. Twelve of the 319 being furloughed work in state offices in Allegheny County and another 28 work in surrounding areas. The layoffs will save the state $16.7 million over the next 12 months.

In closing, what Pennsylvania really needs is a constitutional convention (the first since 1968) with a goal or reducing the size of the Legislature and giving voters greater control over state government.

Ties Between Western Pennsylvania Legislators and Their Office Landlords

2009-11-17T20:28:00.005-05:00

The following was reported by WTAE Channel 4 on November 17, 2009.

The so-called Bonusgate indictments in Harrisburg have put a spotlight on state lawmakers and their district offices.

Now, a Team 4 investigation has uncovered troubling ties between legislators and their landlords and asks the question, "With our ability now to e-mail and get things done on the Internet, why do lawmakers still have so many district offices?"

Team 4 investigator Jim Parsons found Pennsylvania's 254 legislators have more than 720 offices, an average of three offices for every lawmaker.

What follows is a transcript of Parsons' report:

Freshman state legislator Mike Reese of Westmoreland County got elected to the House last year on a platform of fiscal responsibility.

Mike Reese: "I believe that we have to reduce spending in Harrisburg. Each individual Rep has to do their part."

So, you might think Reese would close some of the district offices he inherited from predecessor Jess Stairs. Five district offices in all, tops in western Pennsylvania. Two of the offices are part-time and rent-free, but leases on the other three cost taxpayers more than $20,000 a year. In September, Reese said just 28 constituents visited this office in DryRidge. That's about one person a day. So he cut the office hours here.

Mike Reese: "So we moved it from 5 days a week down to three days a week."

Jim Parsons: "And does it even need three days a week, Mike?"

Mike Reese: "It's a great question."

Team 4 created an interactive map of 115 legislative district offices in western Pennsylvania. Take a look at the orange dots around Brownsville on the Fayette-Washington County line. Four district offices are clumped together, all within eight miles of each other. Two of them belong to Representative Peter Daley and two are offices for House Majority Whip Bill DeWeese. Both Daley and DeWeese have two other district offices apiece, besides the ones around Brownsville.

And on Brownsville Road in Pittsburgh, Representative Harry Readshaw's office is less than half a mile from Senator Jay Costa's office, where the rent is more than two dollars a square foot, the 3rd highest rent rate we found among lawmakers in our area. Costa also has other offices in West Mifflin, Homestead and Forest Hills.

Some lawmakers have four and five district offices, while others have one. And we couldn't find any who share office space with each other. So what's the policy? In the Senate, the Clerk's office allots square footage for offices based on square miles of the district. But in the House?

Jim Parsons: "Is there any formula from leadership that tells you how much office space you can have?"

Mike Reese: "Not that I know of."

Brett Marcy, Majority Leader's Spokesman: "What we found was there really wasn't a strict policy." There still isn't. First, the House Clerk told us there's no policy at all. Then, Majority Leader Todd Eachus' office claimed there's a $2,300 a month cap on leases for each lawmaker. But Representative DeWeese told Team 4 that's the first HE'S heard of such a policy.

Because legislators are allowed to make their own deals with landlords, Team 4 checked for relationships. And we found that 15 lawmakers in Western Pennsylvania have accepted campaign contributions from their district office landlords.

Barry Stout: "What a great day to be in Fayette County."

Senator Barry Stout's relationship with his district office landlord is even cozier.

It's his brother who signed the lease, as a principal of 519 Partners, owner of this building in Eighty-Four, Washington County. And when we checked to see who owns 519 Partners, we found that it's a company called TPS Partners. In his most recent annual ethics statement, Senator Stout reveals a personal financial interest in TPS, though he tells Team 4 he recently severed that financial tie.

Matt Brouillette, Commonwealth Foundation: "The fact that you have taxpayer money going to lawmakers themselves or family members, that's when you run into real problems."

State Senator Wayne Fontana handles things a bit differently. Fontana owns the building where his Beechview office is located. He charges taxpayers no rent here.

Wayne Fontana: "Yeah, they would have paid for 200 square feet. But I felt that would be a conflict if I did that so, you know, I didn't do it."

And State Representative Mark Mustio recently closed his Sewickley office, leaving only one office in Moon. Why don't more lawmakers do the same?

Mark Mustio: "We've done it a certain way for a long time. And if we change will we still be elected. Having four offices, elected official 'A' may say, 'Why do I want to mess that up?' But I think we have a responsibility to challenge ourselves."

The legislature vowed last year to post all of their contracts on the internet. The senate still hasn't put district office leases online. And the house has posted only a handful.

Reducing the size of the Pennsylvania Legislature raises interesting questions in these difficult economic times

2009-09-08T13:16:00.006-04:00

Reducing the size of the Pennsylvania Legislature raises interesting questions in these difficult economic times. This year, legislators are more than two months behind schedule on their most important job of the year -- adopting a budget. In all of their futile attempts, the main topic of conversation has been cutting programs and services.

Are Pennsylvania's lawmakers ready to even consider an idea that could cost them their job?

Whenever changing the size of legislatures is considered, debate usually focuses on three major themes: representation, efficiency and cost. Those who like larger legislatures argue that the more members, the fewer the constituents per district. With fewer constituents a lawmaker is more likely to have face-to-face dealings with them. Proponents also argue that the oversight of administrative agencies is greater among larger legislatures and there is a more effective division of labor and specialization.

Supporters of smaller legislatures correctly argue that larger legislatures obviously cost more. They also argue that fewer legislators does not mean less responsive legislators. Using modern communications, a lawmaker can easily reach, and be reached by, many more constituents.

Nonetheless, it has long been true that Pennsylvania has the largest full-time legislature among the 50 states, so the results of a new report on legislative staffers is no surprise.

That is, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Pennsylvania has 2,919 legislative staffers to support the work of its 253 legislators. Just two years ago, New York was ahead but now it has 168 fewer staffers than Pennsylvania. Third-place California is behind us by 813 legislative employees, despite its significantly larger population.

The conference of legislatures, which tallied the number of staffers, is the same organization that last year reported Pennsylvania also was first in the percentage of its state budget that is spent on its legislature.

But, debate about reducing the size of legislatures, is not something that happens rarely; in some states it happens regularly. In Pennsylvania the idea generates conversations but no one has done anything.

Although some members last year proposed cutting the size of the Pennsylvania state house from 203 to 161 members and the state Senate from 50 to 40, that went the way of similar, failed efforts.

Changing the size of one or both chambers of a legislature (in other states) for reasons other than population changes last occurred in 2003.

The New York Senate increased its size from 61 to 62; the North Dakota Senate decreased its size from 49 to 47, and its House from 98 to 94.

In Rhode Island, voters passed a constitutional amendment reducing the Senate from 50 to 38 members and the House from 75 to 50, but all lawmakers' salaries increased.

In these difficult economic times the only talk of cutting Pennsylvania's $332-million-a-year Legislature is coming from frustrated citizens, some public-interest groups and Post-Gazette columnist Brian O'Neill.

Pa Lawmakers (House) Paid Themselves First (state workers must wait another week)

2009-08-06T13:10:00.007-04:00

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported the following on August 6, 2009.

Lawmakers pay themselves first

But state workers must wait another week to get paid

By Tracie Mauriello, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

State workers will have to wait another week to be paid for days they have worked since July 1, but House Democratic lawmakers have checks in hand.

They paid themselves first.

Their paychecks were issued Tuesday as they voted on a $27.3 billion budget, which Gov. Ed Rendell yesterday chopped to $11 billion through line-items vetoes. He left intact funding for such items as public safety, state parks and employees' pay.

Some 77,000 state workers will have to wait a week or more for their checks to be processed, while lawmakers have their money.

The money was available even before the governor signed the straw budget because the Legislature has a reserve fund to fund its operations in case of a budget impasse in which the governor cuts off funding, as Mr. Rendell did yesterday while retaining full funding for his own office.

Rep. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe, criticized the Democrats' pay move.

"They're paying themselves when we have all these valuable state services that aren't being funded [in the governor's partial budget]. I think what they're doing is even worse than the 2005 pay raise," which outraged many Pennsylvanians.

At least one House Democrat -- Matt Smith of Mt. Lebanon -- says he won't cash his check until state workers are paid, too.

Legislative leaders have always had the ability to pay members but decided not to until a budget bill was passed.

"By tradition, once we pass a budget bill that gets employees paid, members also get paid," said Brett Marcy, spokesman for House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne.

Senate Democrats have not been paid and caucus spokesman Charlie Tocci could not say yesterday when they would get checks.

Republicans in the House and Senate, meanwhile, will wait until state workers get their checks, spokesmen for the caucuses said.

"We were not even going to consider that discussion until after state workers received their checks," said caucus spokesman Steve Miskin. "We've been at the forefront fighting for state workers and they should never have gone through this instance of not being paid."

Republican lawmakers have argued that tax dollars never stopped flowing during the impasse, so the governor could have authorized payments to workers.

Some state workers have applied for food stamps and loans to make ends meet, while others have turned to food banks.

"We agree that it's unfortunate and regrettable that state employees and their families were caught in the middle of this, and that's why we passed this bridge budget yesterday," Mr. Marcy said.

Pennsylvania Legislature: Another Surcharge (Natural Gas)

2009-07-25T21:25:00.011-04:00

It seems as though there are a ton of added charges, taxes, fees (and any other name you can think of for charging money) on your utility bills.

So first, a simple statement: PLEASE READ YOUR UTILITY BILL!

As is the case with any service provider, be they a credit card company or the local gardener, make sure you understand what you are being charged for.

There are nearly three million gas customers in PA, who are served by a variety of gas utilities. A 2005 study conducted by NEADA found that 47% of LIHEAP recipients had foregone medical care because of high energy bills and 24% resorted to the dangerous use of a stove or oven to heat their homes.

Our legislature (Joe Preston) once asked "how natural gas utilities recover cost if they cannot make a profit from commodity pricing." Natural Gas Industry Hearing, March 22, 2007.

However, utilities make money on pipes and equipment that they install. That is, they make a profit on distribution, not on what they distribute.

And, Joe Preston (D-Allegheny) and Tim Solobay (D-Washington) now have suggested that residential customers pay an additional monthly surcharge to replace natural gas utilities pipes and equipment.

Surcharges, say most consumer advocates, can lead to overcharges and excessive earnings by utilities.

The role of Joe Preston and Tim Solobay is to ensure all consumers have access to the lowest reasonably price gas.

The cost of gas line replacement projects should be included in the utility’s general rates, which would get more scrutiny from the PUC.

18 charged with stealing $500,000 in LIHEAP funds

2009-07-25T19:07:00.004-04:00

The arrest 18 people in Philadelphia who were ripping off a public assistance program of more than half a million dollars emphasizes the need for legislation that would eliminate the potential for fraud and abuse in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

The Philadelphia’s District Attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the case, pointed to poor administration and a failure of supervision and oversight over the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides grants to help low-income residents meet their heating bills.

Grants were awarded to people who used invalid Social Security numbers and fake addresses – meaning that tax dollars were stolen by people who were not eligible for benefits.

The arrests of twelve Department of Public Welfare (DPW) employees on fraud charges was just the latest in a series of embarrassing revelations regarding lax oversight by the department leading to cases of fraud and wasted tax dollars.

Auditor General Jack Wagner has urged the Department of Public Welfare to immediately implement all of the recommendations he made two years ago to eliminate the potential for fraud and abuse in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Wagner renewed his call one day after the Philadelphia district attorney, relying in part on information uncovered by the Department of the Auditor General, charged 18 people – including 16 state and city employees – with stealing more than $500,000 of LIHEAP funds and related crimes.

The Department of Public Welfare, which administers the LIHEAP program, has refused to provide Wagner’s auditors with documentation to prove that it had implemented the Department of the Auditor General’s recommendations.

LIHEAP is a vital safety net that helps keep thousands of Pennsylvania families warm during the winter.

With the nation mired in its greatest recession in a generation, LIHEAP is more valuable than ever. DPW must prove that it has taken necessary action to fix LIHEAP, to assure needy families that funds will be available this winter, and to assure taxpayers that their hard-earned dollars are not being wasted or stolen.

LIHEAP provides financial grants and cash assistance to low-income families to help pay their winter heating bills. The federal government and Pennsylvania provided $280 million in LIHEAP funding for the 2008-09 winter heating season.

Wagner’s special performance audit, released in June 2007, made 25 recommendations after auditors found systemic weaknesses in LIHEAP programs in six counties -- Allegheny, Lancaster, Perry, Lehigh, Philadelphia and York.

Auditors determined DPW’s inadequate policies and procedures, insufficient supervision and inadequate oversight resulted in potential applicant and employee fraud and abuse. More than 1,000 cases of potential fraud and abuse were identified in the six counties, including more than 300 in Philadelphia County, 23 of which were cited specifically in the audit.

Auditors found applications containing invalid Social Security numbers or Social Security numbers of deceased people, as well as applicants filing multiple applications using different Social Security numbers or different addresses and applicants receiving excessive benefits.

Wagner referred over 900 LIHEAP applications to the Office of Inspector General for criminal investigation; OIG referred some of these cases to the Philadelphia district attorney.

At a press conference announcing the results of her investigation, Abraham said that the way LIHEAP was administered “practically assured that both fraud and theft would flourish. There was a total failure of supervision and oversight.”

The Department of the Auditor General contacted DPW in July 2008 to conduct a follow-up of the LIHEAP audit. Wagner said his auditors requested a written, detailed summary explaining the status of DPW's efforts in implementing each of the recommendations. DPW sent a letter responding to the request, but has failed to provide specific information on how it has addressed each of the 25 recommendations.

Every dollar wasted is a dollar that will not be available to families who need assistance. There are serious deficiencies in the administration of LIHEAP and the Department of Public Welfare must provide evidence that they are addressing the problems as soon as possible.

The LIHEAP special performance audit is available to the public at www.auditorgen.state.pa.us.

In addition, known as the Home Energy Assistance in Time of Need, or HEAT ON Act, Senate Bill 352 suggested needed changes to maximize the benefits for eligible low-income households and ensure that funding is allocated in a timely and expedited fashion.

SB 352 suggested additional oversight that Auditor General Wagner deemed to be needed under the current system and directs the Department of Public Welfare to take appropriate actions if it discovers any false, misleading or inaccurate statements by applicants, participating energy vendors or state employees.

The legislation suggested several accountability provisions to ensure that funding goes to those most in need. Specifically, the bill provided provision:

•Expand the LIHEAP program year from October 1 through April 30 of the following year. The current plan began on November 5, 2007 and closed on March 21, 2008 for both the cash and crisis components;

•Require the Department of Public Welfare to verify a LIHEAP applicant's income with the Department of Revenue;

•Require the Department of Public Welfare to ensure all households receiving assistance are provided "budget billing" by their energy suppliers;

•Prohibit the Department of Welfare from discriminating in any aspect of the administration of the LIHEAP program on the basis of the heating fuel used; and,

•Require an annual audit of the LIHEAP program.

Pa. Legislature Employees Still Getting Paid, But No Timesheets Kept . . .

2009-07-24T17:41:00.004-04:00

The following was reported by WTAE Channel 4 on July 24, 2009.

Friday was payday for Pennsylvania's 80,000 employees -- but for the second straight week, workers only got a partial salary payment because of the state's ongoing budget impasse.

Thousands of employees in the state Legislature are still getting full paychecks because the state Legislature has built up a $200 million slush fund -- but Team 4 investigative reporter Jim Parsons has learned there's no record kept of the hours those employees work.

Pennsylvania's Legislature costs taxpayers more than $300 million a year. Most of that money pays the salaries of 3,000 legislature employees. A Team 4 investigation found that those workers fill out no time sheets for their paychecks.

"You have to have a way of documenting who is working, how much time and how you're paying it," Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said.

Recently, Team 4 submitted a public records request to the state House of Representatives. Chief clerk Roger Nick sent a letter saying the House "does not possess time and attendance records that track an employee's daily record of attendance." Team 4 got the same answer from the clerk of the Senate.

That's not the way it works in Allegheny County. For example, Parsons got the time and attendance records for workers in the county's Department of Administrative Services. It includes the date and number of hours worked for each day of the week.

"It should be consistent across the board, no matter what department you're working in," Onorato said.

Team 4 found plenty of state workers in Pittsburgh from the executive branch who must file time sheets.

"There shouldn't be a disparity," a state employee told Parsons.

"I don't think it's a positive factor. I think everyone should be accountable," another state worker told Parsons.

Onorato -- an accountant and a potential 2010 candidate for governor -- said the state Legislature employees should have to account for their time worked.

"It is efficient, and taxpayers want efficiency right now," he said.

Team 4 requested an interview with Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner for this report. His office declined, saying Wagner has no authority to audit the Legislature.

Pennsylvania Lawmakers, Relative Lobbyists Conflict Of Interest?

2009-07-23T18:15:00.008-04:00

The following was reported by WTAE Channel 4 on July 23, 2009.

Pennsylvania has no rule barring state lawmakers from having immediate family members who are lobbyists and no rules that forbid them from talking business at home, but critics maintain that’s too cozy of a relationship when decisions are being made about how to spend tax dollars.

Team 4 investigative reporter Jim Parsons raised that question to three local legislators with lobbyist relatives and found all three voted in favor of more than $300 million in appropriations for their relatives’ lobby clients.

But the lawmakers argue no conflict of interest exists because they have their own personal set of ethics rules prohibiting their relatives from lobbying them.

The following report by Parsons first aired July 23, 2009, on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

State Rep. Randy Vulakovich, of Shaler, has a son who is a registered lobbyist in Harrisburg.

When asked by Parsons if it would be a delicate balancing act, Vulakovich replied, “No, it’s not. It’s just not a problem for me.”

The wife of Indiana County state Rep. Dave Reed is a lobbying in the state capital, and until recently, so was the wife of state Sen. John Pippy, of Moon Township.

“She wouldn’t lobby me and I wouldn’t talk about health care policies with her,” said Reed.

Pippy said “There’s no preferential treatment ever.”

Parsons reported that in October 2007, Pippy gave a $500,000 ceremonial check to officials at St. Clair Memorial Hospital.

At the time, his wife Katherine was listed as a registered lobbyist for the hospital.

Also in October 2007, Pippy secured a $250,000 grant for the Pittsburgh Zoo, another client of his wife’s lobbying firm.

In 2007 and 2008, Pippy voted in favor of a capital budget bill that included more than $300 million for some of his wife’s clients, such as UPMC, Norfolk Southern Railroad, the National Aviary, Point Park University and the Port Authority of Allegheny County.

Pippy's wife quit her lobbying job recently to take on another career.

Pippy told Parsons he never discussed business with his wife.

The following is a transcript of an interview Parsons conducted with Pippy prior to his wife’s resignation.

PIPPY: You don't want to have any appearance of that at all. You just don't want to have to deal with it.

PARSONS: Well, you don't want to have an appearance, but can you understand why some people might think there's an appearance here?

PIPPY: Well that's why it's so important to say that there is no lobbying going on.

Pippy said he and his wife previously agreed that she would not lobby him or anyone else in the state senate, but other lobbyists with his wife's firm -- representing the same clients -- could.

PARSONS: Let me ask you this, have you ever been lobbied by Randy Vulakovich's son?

PIPPY: Yeah, Randy comes in.

Lobbyist Randy Vulakovich is listed as representing the same clients as Kathy Pippy, including Saint Vincent College.

Last year, the state legislature approved a capital budget bill that included $15 million for a new science pavilion at the college.

Lobbyist Vulakovich is the son of the state representative of the same name, who voted in favor the appropriations bill.

PARSONS: Saint Vincent College got $15.6 million dollars in that bill. Why did a private Catholic university get $15 million?

VULAKOVICH: Well, they lobby for that. I know that my son lobbies for them.

Vulakovich said he doesn’t allow his son to lobby him and said he wasn’t in favor of the money for Saint Vincent, but still voted for the bill because it funded dozens of projects he did support.

“That's why when you see these things, you make your decision on if there is more good than bad, and if you weed out what you thought was all bad and leave in what was all good, it's not going to be the same good/bad for somebody else, and that's part of the compromise that you make,” said Vulakovich.

Representative Reed’s wife Heather also represents Indiana Regional Medical Center.

“We have generally had the policy that we don't talk about political issues. We have had the policy from the very beginning that I would not submit any projects on behalf of Indiana Regional Medical Center because of the possible conflict of interest between my wife and myself,” said Reed.

Heather Reed's lobbyist disclosure statement lists an affiliation with a lobbying firm from Virginia. Alan Mauk Associates lobbies for the medical center in Washington, while Reed, who is an employee of the hospital, lobbies for it in Harrisburg and Washington.

Alan Mauk also lobbies for Indiana County Development Corporation, which last year got a $750,000 state grant to buy this 30-acre property along Route 119.

PARSONS: Did you have something to do with obtaining that grant?

REED: Yes.

Reed said that it is not a conflict of interest because even though his wife works with Mauk Associates on behalf of her employer, she's not paid by that firm.

“Yeah, she had no financial gain in any way from Alan Mauk and Associates,” said Reed.

University of Pittsburgh law professor Tom Ross, an expert on ethics, believes the state has a problem.

“There's a serious conflict of interest there. I know that my spouse makes her living by trying to influence legislation that benefits her private clients? And I happen to be one of those legislators?” said Ross.

But Ross doesn’t expect lawmakers to change the lobbying rules on their own.

“Until we have sort of a larger sense of outrage about this, politicians themselves don't seem very interested in taking the initiative on their own,” said Ross.

Public outrage about the legislature pay raised issue in 2005 did bring about better public record keeping by lobbyists, but the legislature stopped short of passing new rules prohibiting a family connection between lawmakers and lobbyists.

Parsons reported that all three lobbyists he spoke with said they would support such a ban.

Full Time PA Legislators Get Conflict of Interests Income . . .

2009-03-25T18:09:00.010-04:00

The following was reported by WTAE Channel 4 on March 25, 2009.

Pennsylvania's state Legislature continues its string of bad news that started with the midnight pay raise fiasco several years ago.

After that, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency debacle, then the indictments in Bonusgate, and last week, the conviction of Sen. Vince Fumo on corruption charges.

Now, a Team 4 (WTAE) investigation advised that many of our full-time legislators in Harrisburg get outside income from private interests -- and sometimes, those interests can conflict with the public's.

Remember, we pay our state lawmakers a minimum of almost $80,000 each to represent us full-time -- but the Team 4 (WTAE) investigation found a majority of lawmakers report income from at least one other source.

And in reading through this annual financial interest statement for each state lawmaker, we also discovered something else: More than one-third of state senators and a quarter of House members sit on legislative committees that oversee the industries from which those same lawmakers reported receiving income, owning stock or serving on a board of directors.

Critics say that's a conflict of interest. But there's no law against it.

Like many of his colleagues in Harrisburg, state Rep. Ted Harhai moonlights. He works for PFBC, which is headquartered in the same Monessen building where Harhai's district office is located.

In fact, PFBC's owner, Doug Farnham, also owns the building -- so he's not only Harhai's boss, he's also his landlord, with taxpayers picking up the rent of $19,000 a year for the district office.

In a 2007 interview with Team 4 (WTAE), Farnham praised Harhai for helping to obtain public financing to develop the building.

Parsons, from 2007: "How helpful has Ted Harhai been?"

Farnham, from 2007: "Sen. Stout, Rep. Harhai, amazing help."

And while Harhai works for a coal industry company, he also this year became chairman of the House Subcommittee on Mining.

Tim Potts, Democracy Rising PA: "Excuse me? If that isn't a conflict of interest, what is?"

But it's all legal in Pennsylvania.

Reform activist Tim Potts says Harhai may be allowed by law to serve two masters, but that doesn't make it right.

Potts: "Public officials are supposed to deal with citizens business at an arm's length. We expect that. We need that, because, otherwise, how can we trust the decisions that this man is making?"

Parsons: "Jim Parsons from Channel 4 (WTAE), let me ask you a quick question."

Harhai: "No questions."

Harhai refused to answer our questions on camera, even though we called him first to ask for an appointment.

WTAE also asked Rep. Nick Kotik for an on-camera interview about his paid position on the board of directors here at the William Penn Association. It's a fraternal organization that sells life insurance and annuities to its members, and as a member of the state House of Representatives, Kotik sits on the Insurance Committee.

When Kotik refused Team 4's (WTAE) request for an on-camera interview, They showed up at a public meeting of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, where Kotik is a board member.

Parsons (WTAE): "How can taxpayers expect you to represent their interests with the insurance industry, when the insurance industry is paying you to represent theirs?"

Kotik, D-Coraopolis: "Oh, that's not -- let's do this after. I've got to get into a meeting."

Parsons (WTAE): "Well, I've already asked you for an interview. You said no. That's why I'm here."

Kotik: "I have to go in for a meeting now."

Kotik never did answer our questions on camera.

Not every lawmaker ducked us about a potential conflict of interest. State Sen. Wayne Fontana is a licensed real estate broker and also sits on the Senate Urban and Housing Committee, which passes laws affecting the real estate industry.

Fontana, D-Brookline/Beechview: "I feel like I bring some expertise to that, when it comes to legislation and those kinds of things, and I can be an advocate for landlords or tenants or whatever the case may be because I understand."

Potts: "You can call professionals in. You can ask professionals to lend you their expertise. You don't have to have it yourself, especially when it creates that kind of opportunity for abuse."

Barry Kauffman, Common Cause: "The public has a right to -- and ought to have an interest in -- what those relationships are, and how the game is being played."

Some examples of how the game is played -- and remember, it's all perfectly legal:

Bucks County Sen. Robert Wonderling sits on the Game and Fisheries Committee and lists himself as a paid employee of a company that landed a software contract with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Uniontown Rep. Tim Mahoney opened a new district office last month in Chalk Hill, Fayette County. Rent checks are going to one of the men Mahoney lists as a business partner in his annual statement of financial interest. Mahoney tells Team 4 (WTAE) the company was recently disbanded.

For years, taxpayers have been sending rent checks for Lackawanna County Sen. Robert Mellow's district office to a company owned by his wife. But Mellow never reported that until he got a divorce and assumed 50 percent ownership in the company. He didn't have to report it under the state's ethics law.

Rep. Mark Longietti sits on the House Local Government Committee and also is solicitor for Delaware Township, Mercer County, which applied for and received a state grant last year.

Lancaster County Sen. Michael Brubaker is owner of Team AG, a company that advises agricultural firms about government regulations. Brubaker also is Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Mechanicsburg Rep. Glen Grell lists himself as an attorney of counsel with Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney, a law firm with no fewer than 35 registered lobbyists in Harrisburg. There's no law against that either, even though Rep. John Maher tried and failed last month to get it outlawed.

Rep John Maher, R-Upper St. Clair: "If I can't force the house to do the simple thing of saying that legislators should not be paid by lobbyists, how much hope is there for any further progress?"

Kauffman is hopeful. He's calling on legislative leaders in Harrisburg to schedule a special session on government integrity.

WTAE spoke by phone with Sen. Rob Wonderling. He says he didn't know his employer, Bentley Systems, landed a contract with the state.

Grell tells us he is no longer employed by Buchanan Ingersoll.

Harhai and Kotik told us by phone they don't believe they have even an appearance of a conflict of interest because of their outside income.

Fontana reported on his SFI that he owns the building in Beechview where his district office is located. Team 4 (WTAE) checked with the Senate clerk's office and learned that Fontana is not charging the state any rent for that office.

Racist Joke About Malkin Incident (Fox Sports 970) Inappropriate!

2009-03-21T23:55:00.010-04:00

Pittsburgh Penguins standout and NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin should answer to the NHL for his disgraceful hit to the head of Kings forward Wayne Simmonds in the waning seconds of the Penguins' 4-1 victory over the Kings Friday at Pittsburgh.

Malkin got his left shoulder into Simmonds' face as Simmonds was pursuing the puck, and the blow clearly dazed Simmonds for a few seconds. It was a needless, senseless play seconds before the end of a game that had been decided -- and it's exactly the kind of shot to the head that the NHL claims it's intent on ending.

Wayne Simmonds is a professional ice hockey player, currently playing as a right wing for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is one of a small number of black players in the league. A right-handed shooter, Simmonds was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, 61st overall.

It's inappropriate to recite the racist joke that the men at Fox Sports 970 decided to share about the Malkin incident Saturday evening. In short, they thought it was hysterically funny to make a racist joke about the NHL being racist, the color of the puck, and the like. It obviously likens Wayne Simmonds to a hockey puck and played on a long-standing African-American racist slur.

To Pittsburgh's absolute shame and regret no one made a fuss about how inappropriate the racist joke was. As a city we should do something more! But, what?

Apparently, Fox Sports 970 wanted tongues furiously wagging, enraged emails, letters and phone calls pouring in. Now they will put forth the predictable defense calling this a parody, a free speech right, and harmless spoofery.

George Lopez, D.L. Hughley and Eddie Murphy all talk about race in their jokes. However, they understand the fine line between what is funny and what is truly offensive. People who don't get this go into entertainment purgatory and pay for their sins. Can you say Don Imus?

Will Simmonds get any justice?

Similar to the drawing, from famed cartoonist Sean Delonas (a cartoon likening the author of the stimulus bill, perhaps President Barack Obama, with a rabid chimpanzee graced the pages of the New York Post), the Fox Sports 970 racist joke was rife with violent imagery and racial undertones.

Nonetheless, the most important question? Does the NHL apply equally to grunts and superstars.

No consideration should be given to the fact that the Penguins are in the thick of a playoff race. Malkin should have considered that before he delivered that very dangerous blow to Simmonds' head.

First known as "970 The Burgh," today, WBGG-AM calls itself "Fox Sports Radio 970." It is one of the premier destinations for Pittsburgh-area sports fans, serving as a flagship for the Steelers, Penguins and University of Pittsburgh Radio Networks.

Pennsylvania Electric Bills -- 60 percent Increase

2008-05-12T12:14:00.001-04:00

Household finances tight? Then sit down.

Pennsylvanians could be staring at increases in their home electric bills of 40, 50 or even 60 percent by the time decade-old rate caps expire in the next couple years.

Those are estimates from the state's utility consumer advocate, Sonny Popowsky, who was asked by Gov. Ed Rendell to project what the bigger bills could look like for more than 4 million residential customers.

This is what Popowsky came up with:

-Allegheny Power: 63 percent increase

-Metropolitan Edison: 54 percent increase

-Peco Energy: 8 percent increase

-Pennsylvania Electric: 50 percent increase

-PPL: 37 percent increase

Popowsky's estimates are particularly striking because some of the utilities, notably Allegheny Power, Pennsylvania Electric and Metropolitan Edison, have avoided predicting what kind of increase their customers should expect.

Asked if he thought anything can be done to avoid the increases, Popowsky said, "No."

"I think it's inevitable that we'll see rate increases," he said. "The question is, how big will they be?"

The caps, which froze electric rates at 1990s levels, were imposed on utilities as part of a deregulation designed to deliver lower bills in a competitive marketplace. Once those caps expire, utilities can bill customers for the true price of the power they buy.

Some utility officials caution that the expiration of their rate caps is far enough away - Jan. 1, 2010 for PPL; Jan. 1, 2011 for the other utilities - that no one knows what the price of electricity will be then. A few utility rate caps, such as Pittsburgh's Duquesne Light, have already expired. Allegheny Power is scheduled to phase in the total increase over the next three years.

Once the caps expire and the utilities can pass along the full wholesale price, the size of the increase will be in inverse proportion to current utility bills. For instance, Peco's increase is expected to be smaller because its bills are already relatively high.

Legislation addressing rate caps and electricity costs has bounced around the General Assembly for at least the past year. Power companies, business groups, electricity marketers, utilities, environmentalists and others have lobbied on the bills, creating a crossfire of competing interests that often slows legislative action to a grinding pace, if not a halt.

Popowsky wants utilities to be required to seek out the lowest-cost electricity on the wholesale market, which would mean giving them a freer hand to buy electricity in contracts than they have under current law.

Some legislators want to keep electric rates as they are now, increasing only with the rate of inflation. Others say utilities must be allowed to charge full wholesale prices, but the big increases should be phased in over several years.

Under one bill that the House passed in February, the state would hire a company to manage conservation and efficiency programs and meet goals for electricity savings in each utility territory across the state.

There are also competing plans in the Legislature to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives to encourage alternative and cleaner energy production, as well as efficiency and conservation projects.

Most of the money in both would go to energy businesses, while a smaller slice would help people pay for new furnaces, solar panels or other home projects that can cut electric bills.

That kind of help is sorely needed, some residents say.

Salvatore Trentacoste, a resident of the Pocono Mountains town of Reeders, said he spent $8,700 last year to buy a more efficient home heating system, including a propane furnace.

He got a meager $350 tax credit back from the federal government.

"If the government wants people to conserve energy, they've got to do more than they're doing, because nobody's going to be bothered," Trentacoste said.

The changes helped: He spent about $1060 on electric bills from October through April, compared to $2000 the previous winter.

But that doesn't include the $1.85 per gallon he spent to fill up the propane tank - a cost that rose to an average of $2.60 per gallon in March, according to federal statistics.

At the very least, people should keep energy efficiency in mind when they go shopping for a new appliance, Popowsky said.

"Those are the kinds of things that people need to think about more, unfortunately," he said.

$15 Million Pennsylvania Taxpayers Pay -- State Vehicles

2008-05-12T12:08:00.004-04:00

Pennsylvania taxpayers pay more than $15 million a year to maintain, service, insure and fuel about 3,650 vehicles used full time by state employees, a newspaper reported.

The annual cost of vehicles used by cabinet officers, deputy secretaries, chief counsels, bureau directors, state troopers and others totals about $15.6 million, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reported Sunday.

Some employees are also allowed to use their state cars for personal use, said Gov. Ed Rendell's spokesman Chuck Ardo, who was assigned his own state vehicle last week.

"Many of those who drive state cars travel extensively as part of their duties," Ardo said. "While some travel less extensively, they are out routinely on state business. Many others who are assigned state cars are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

But Barry Kauffman, the executive director of the public watchdog group Common Cause Pennsylvania, said the number was excessive.

"It seems there needs to be an effort afoot to totally re-evaluate the policy on state cars," Kauffman said. "It's just beyond my ability to understand why we need to have 3,650 employees with permanently assigned cars."

Two state legislators, Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, are asking Auditor General Jack Wagner to do an audit of the use of state cars.

"It appears ... there are people who may have the use of a state vehicle for what is essentially a short commute to their place of employment in Harrisburg and are permitted to use the vehicle for their personal use," they said in a letter to Wagner. "That's what we're trying to determine."

The Rendell administration said that, since 2003, the size of the state fleet has declined. The fleet had 16,544 vehicles in 2004-05, compared with 16,307 this year.

The administration also said the mileage limit for vehicle replacements has been extended from 65,000 miles in 2003, when Rendell took office, to 100,000 for passenger cars and to 120,000 for commercial and sport utility vehicles.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's 2008 Voter's Guide: Todd Elliott Koger For State Rep.

2008-04-11T09:01:00.003-04:00

The following information is now listed on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's 2008 Voter's Guide.

Biographical Information

Home Municipality: Wilkinsburg
Current occupation: Science Teacher
Education/Degrees: Duquesne University School of Law 87-90; B.A. Cal U; A.S. CCAC
Experience/qualifications: Law Clerk; Allegheny County Planner; Wilkinsburg Civil Service Commission
Community Involvement: WTAE Gold Medal Award (Community Service)
Web Site: www.toddelliottkoger.blogspot.com
Email: kogerfriend@gmail.com

Do you favor property tax reform, and if so, by what methods?

Todd Elliott Koger: HB 1275, The School Property Elmination Act, is still in the Appropriations Committee. On March 25, 2008, Joe Preston told the Post-Gazette Editorial Borad that he "wasn't aware of 1275 . . . ? " In the end, the taxpayers have again paid the price for the ridiculous political gamesmanship of this dysfunctional legislature. They promised tax relief in 2006, but only just offered tax rebates for the senior citizen voting block (for the primary election). We have a Democratic governor and House, if the Democratic leadership (Preston) would be willing to support HB 1275 it certainly could solve the problem.

Please state your views on privatizing the state liquor stores; expanding casino gambling beyond slot machines; and regulation of smoking in public places like restaurants and bars.

Todd Elliott Koger: Key lawmakers insist they are nearing a deal to snuff out more public smoking in Pennsylvania, but delayed voting on new indoor smoking limits. They want to attract enough votes to clear the Legislature while protecting children and workers from secondhand smoke. But the surgeon general's reports have stated there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke.

The political gamesmanship here is similar to Mr. Preston's vote in favor of Act 201 in 2004, a utility-friendly bill that made it easier to cut off customers with delinquent bills -- even in the dead of winter. Just before each primary, Preston suggests that he wants to amend the utility bill.

We have been played by politicians year after year, and the rate of homicides among black males is alarming. The leadership (Preston) hasn't been there on property tax reform, the smoking ban, nor gun violence issue, I pledge change if elected. I want to inspire young black males to see "honest" change.

Do you support the state's current plan to raise money for highways and transit through higher turnpike tolls and tolling Interstate 80? If not, what alternative do you support?

Todd Elliott Koger: On October 13, 2006, Mr. Preston suggested the following to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board -- "Other transit systems have found a way to operate without Saturday service" -- as a response to $32.5 million deficit facing the Port Authority. Mr. Preston prefers Port Authority raising the base fare, cutting service and/or laying off employees, although he says he supports dedicated funding.

Likewise, most state regulators have taken a more active stance in blocking takeovers they view as potentially damaging to customers, i.e., the purchase of Duquesne Light, as well as the Pa. Turnpike and Interstate 80 (leasing) -- Macquarie's sweet spot as far as infrastructure investing.

And, although Dominion Gas made more than $5 billion in profits last year, Preston is sponsoring legislation to impose customer charges to help gas utilities bear the cost of replacing deteriorated lines.

Should the size of the Legislature be reduced? By how much?

Todd Elliott Koger: Rep. Matt Smith, a Democrat from Mt. Lebanon, and Randy Vulakovich, a Shaler Republican, have introduced a bill they say could save $66 million. That would make tax relief easier but, like most money-saving ideas in Harrisburg, it has slim chance of success.

We have the second-most-expensive statehouse in America. And as a percentage of the total state budget, no state spends more money on its lawmaking body than Pennsylvania. First among states in legislative spending as a percentage of general government spending (0.53 percent). Second in total legislative spending. Third in legislative spending per citizen, $23.01. Second in size of permanent legislative staff, 2,947. And, the walking-around money that leaders dole out, that account grows each year ($215 million a year ago.)

In the past 14 months, lawmakers introduced more than 3,500 bills, but only 118 laws were enacted and 39 of those were budget bills. I support the Smith and Vulakovich bill that will cut 20 percent of the total state budget.

Koger, Prater Holiday Makes Issue Preston's Utility-Friendly Bill

2008-04-10T09:58:00.005-04:00

Chris Potter wrote the following article for the Pittsburgh City Paper on April 10, 2008.

Say what you want about state Rep. Joseph Preston, but you can't say he's been able to take his job for granted.

The 24th House District includes Wilkinsburg and some of the poorest neighborhoods in the East End, including Homewood, Lincoln-Larimer, Garfield and East Liberty. Not surprisingly, discontent with civic leadership often runs high, and while Preston has been in office for a quarter-century, he barely won re-election in 2006, edging out challenger Ed Gainey by fewer than 100 votes.

Preston was arguably saved by the presence of a third candidate, William Anderson, who peeled off more than 500 anti-incumbent votes. A similar split-the-opposition dynamic may take place this time around: Anderson is challenging Preston once again, and this time there are three challengers in the race. Preston also has superior financial resources: Even after spending more than $22,000 last year, his campaign still had more than $15,000 left over in the bank. His rivals -- Anderson, Lucille Prater-Holliday and Todd Eliot Koger -- had not reported any contributions as of press time.

To those who criticize the lack of progress in the district, Preston's response is, "These things take time."

While acknowledging struggles in his district, Preston points to the resurgence of development in long-dormant East Liberty as proof that that change is happening, however slowly. "Eight years ago we planted the seeds" for the East Liberty renewal, he told a crowd gathered at the Hill House for a Just Harvest candidate's forum on April 3. And he pledged to extend development into Larimer and Homewood. "It's about effectively doing it and not talking about it," he said, calling himself the "only local official who's never had a press conference."

But if Preston is shy about taking credit, few of his rivals are willing to give him any.

During his own presentation to the Just Harvest crowd, Anderson stressed a need to avoid gentrifying the neighborhood, seeking to preserve and improve the community for those who already live there. "Instead of tearing down our communities," he said, "vacant properties in our community could be job creators," especially for area youth. Anderson, who owns an automobile body shop in Homewood, also said he'd also seek to raise the state's minimum wage, and overhaul the school system.

Prater-Holliday, meanwhile, says she "doesn't intend to sit at a table and wait for a crumb, as our current representative does." She's campaigning on a reform platform to reduce the size of the legislature and prevent further legislative pay hikes.

Both Holliday and Koger have also made a campaign issue of Preston's vote in favor of Act 201 in 2006, a utility-friendly bill that made it easier to cut off customers with delinquent bills -- even in the dead of winter. (Preston has since sought to amend the utility bill and to wrest more heating-assistance money from the federal government to help low-income families pay their bills.) "I think Mr. Preston sold out to utility companies," Koger says, flatly.

Koger adds that voters "have been played by politicians year after year" on issues like property-tax reform and anti-gun measures. "The rate of homicides among black males is alarming," he says, but the legislature has done little to stop the problem. Koger believes some failed gun-control measures were unconstitutional anyway. "The leadership hasn't been there on the gun-violence issue," he says, pledging to change that if elected.

Both Anderson and Koger have delinquent taxes on properties they own, and Anderson has twice been convicted of drug charges. Still, in a race where Prater-Holliday speaks at length about her own financial troubles getting prescription drugs, such issues may not register as much. (Koger, for example, explains his tax debt by saying "I don't make $70,000 a year like Mr. Preston. I'm struggling barely above minimum wage.") Preston himself was charged with harassment by a former staffer last year; his conviction was overturned, but that hasn't stopped Prater-Holliday from listing "lawmakers who commit domestic violence and other crimes" as a public-safety issue on her campaign Web site.

And Preston is fighting fire with fire. During his own Just Harvest appearance, Preston began by asserting "I don't make sly remarks about others" -- and ended by slyly inviting constituents to drop by his house, "where the taxes are paid."

Koger: He wants to "inspire the young black males to see honest change."

2008-04-02T11:54:00.002-04:00

Rich Lord wrote the following on April 1, 2008, for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Mr. Koger . . .

He said he wants to win in part to "inspire the young black males to see honest change."

He'd start by pushing for "a constitutionally correct way" to track handguns. He said he wants to bring job-creating development -- but not the kind that is "further isolating the most needy" by hiding troubled neighborhoods behind pretty facades.

He has taught middle school science for the Duquesne City Schools since last year, and prior to that clerked in a law office. He attended the Duquesne University School of Law from 1987 through 1990 . . .

"I think I have experienced some of the things that the most needy have experienced."

Todd Elliott Koger "I want to help the most needy. . ."

2008-03-31T10:43:00.002-04:00

Justin Vellucci wrote the following on 3/17/08 for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Rep. Joseph Preston Jr. faces three challengers in the April 22 Democratic primary -- each a self-styled reformer attempting to use the promise of change to knock the longtime incumbent out of office.
Preston, who won re-election two years ago in the 24th District by just 93 votes, is campaigning on his experience as well as citing how officials have triggered a recent surge of development in and around East Liberty.

"It's not about giving away money. It's really about working with an area that's been neglected for years and stabilizing it," said Preston, 60, of East Liberty, a former personnel consultant who has served in the state House since 1983. "East Liberty is alive and well."

Preston's opponents say the district is not thriving and Preston is out of touch with his constituents.

"The priorities and values of our district are not reflected in the current leadership," said Lucille Prater-Holliday, 51, of Wilkinsburg, a human resources contractor and chairwoman of the Wilkinsburg Civil Service Commission. "I feel I am the candidate that can bring the change that is needed."
Prater-Holliday says she wants to focus more on domestic issues such as crime and education.

Todd Elliott Koger and William Anderson also call themselves candidates who can bring about change in how Homewood and other communities are represented in Harrisburg.

"I want to give back," said Koger, 46, a lifelong Wilkinsburg resident, science teacher and former law clerk. "I want to help those that are the most needy. That's me, all my life. I consider myself a lifelong public servant."

Koger, who ran against Preston as an independent in 2006, said he wants to tackle gun violence and repeal a state law that allows utility companies to shut off gas and electric service during winter months.

Anderson, a lifelong Homewood resident, echoed similar goals as well as opposition to the Mon-Fayette Expressway, a desire to fight the predatory lenders that triggered the recent mortgage crisis and concerns over development that resembles gentrification instead of revitalization.

"The only way I feel I can turn my community around ... is to be the representation I'm looking for," said Anderson, 35, who runs his own auto body shop in Homewood.

Anderson's background could add a wrinkle to the race.

In 1998, he pleaded guilty to dealing drugs and was sentenced to two years' probation -- something Preston says could keep him from serving if elected.

Election winners may not take office if they have been convicted of what the state constitution deems an infamous crime, said Rebecca Halton, deputy press secretary for the Department of State. The state House would determine if a winning candidate is qualified and whether to seat him.

Rep. Jake Wheatley, who serves in Harrisburg despite pleading guilty in 1992 to charges of larceny and assault and battery, declined to comment.

Anderson said he is not hiding from the mistakes of his past.

"Only people that don't know me are stigmatized by that," he said. "The gloves are off, but I'm not going to lower myself to that type of politics, that type of campaign."

The district includes East Liberty, Homewood and neighboring areas including Aspinwall and Wilkinsburg.

Todd Elliott Koger Answers Questions (Post-Gazette "My Homewood") 3/27/08

2008-03-31T10:24:00.005-04:00

The following is taken from "My Homewood" a Post-Gazette Online Journal (3/27/08).

Three of the four 24th District candidates visited the PG Tuesday: Lucille Prater-Holliday, Todd Elliott Koger and Joe Preston. William Anderson was absent.

I had two questions from you folks, my readers.

1) What can be done from the legislator's position to develop support for HBCCO's Arts & Culture Goals and Objectives as this relates to its Strategic Plan?

Mr. Preston, the incumbent, noted that he has already been working with HBCCO and that his office has funded arts and culture events and initiatives such as the Trolley Museum and the Homewood Avenue mural below the East Busway station.

Mr. Koger said that he was not familiar with HBCCO's strategic plan, but that "any organization with a viable scope of services and positive outcomes" deserves support.

Ms. Prater-Holliday said "We need to do everything in our power to make sure that we provide funding for arts and culture programs for our children."

2) This question was on behalf of those who have expressed an interest in rehabbing a house in Homewood and using it as an investment property: Are there programs that do not require you to reside in the home you want assistance in repairing? If not, what initiative might you propose to create one?

Mr. Koger said, "There should be leadership to guide them through the process to help them identify the funding."

Ms. Prater-Holliday referred to Mayor Ravenstahl's iniitiative to demolish vacant and abandoned homes. If I heard her correctly, she mentioned the figure of $700,000 being spent to have homes torn down, and said that money would be better utilized for rehabbing properties. I say "if I heard her correctly," because I have not been able to find any other mention of that dollar amount in regards to the demo project, and perhaps she said "several hundred thousand dollars."

Mr. Preston gave the longest and most complex answer, pointing out that many of the vacant homes are estate properties that are hung up in probate court, where the estate settlement process can take six years. He also said that he had spoken with Councilman Burgess Monday about vacant homes (the councilman confirms this), and "we can't depend on people on the outside to do things for us."

I listened hard, honest, but I could not tell that any of the candidates answered the question. But so far, the short answer to the question, "Are there programs that do not require you to reside in the home you want assistance in repairing?" is "No."

2008 Current Wave Gun Violence Allegheny County, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

2008-01-31T09:10:00.001-05:00

" As police arrested one suspect and sought another in the shooting death Monday of a 12-year-old Perry South girl, authorities announced an intensified effort to combat a sharp upswing in gang violence." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 31, 2008.

Todd Elliott Koger, Candidate Pa. State Representative District 24

"NO QUESTIONS ASKED INNER-CITY OMBUDSMAN PROJECT"

A RESULT-ORIENTED GRANT APPLICATION/PROPOSAL TO STOP THE CURRENT WAVE OF GUN VIOLENCE.

INTRODUCTION:

"As is always the case at rallies against violence, there will be eloquent and impassioned speeches about the need for self-esteem, the value of education and the importance of conflict resolution. What won't be in the offing are easy answers about how to deal with the plague of gun violence." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 28, 2007.

VISION:

Unemployment, poverty, declining physical structures, single-parent households, violent crime, drug-related activity, poor health, and hunger are all among the problems suffered disproportionately. The target communities have a high incidence of (1) violent crime evidenced by a high rate of calls of police service; (2) drug-related activity as evidence by sales and known crack houses; (3) economic deprivation evidenced by substantially high unemployment, food stamps dependency and public assistance; and, (4) an elevated high school dropout rate. As the litany suggests, the needs are great.

The answer is simple. It starts with one man or woman, committed to a set of specific and result-oriented procedures and good faith, coming forward and requesting nothing more than the opportunity to do some good. The answer isn't as complex as local decision makers claim. To start it will take little more than donated office space, a telephone, computer, and possibly a van. That is, our youth are not faring well! This project should have started yesterday. . . .

We don't need another politician who is visible only before election time, always followed by the media, meeting with the already self-disciplined and organized block watch groups or tenant councils. We need someone welcome by those normally "too hard to reach" because he or she produces tangible results and is trusted as a "homegrown" trying to do some good.

"Stomp the Yard," a coming of an age movie, celebrates how human spirit, brotherhood, and trial and struggle can work together to produce a positive change in the life of a young man with a hard-luck background. The film evokes strong discussion of the importance of education, tradition and contemporary culture. It depicts the college experience as a medium that can positively enhance and transform the lives of youth.

The "no questions asked" vision is to use the initial draw to camaraderie to promote close association and mutual support among youth in Pittsburgh's poorest neighborhoods. Using the success of Greek life at black colleges and universities as a model, one man or woman with a vision can instill principles of fellowship, good character and uplifting of humanity into the lives of our hardest to reach residents. In short, black fraternities and sororities arose from the hostility students experienced in the early 20th century and its support systems and social networks have shaped and nurtured our youth cultivating many of today's leaders. Through support suppression activities and a "bridge" to prevention, as well as neighborhood reclamation and restoration, job training and support service, the demonstration project will offer a greater proportion of the region's most needy population opportunity to better interact with society.

Sometimes just being there, available and willing to help a struggling individual secure a working refrigerator for his Mom, a child's bed for his kid, or curtains/mini blinds for the windows at his girlfriend's apartment, will keep a troubled individual out of harm's way!

"What's needed is a trusted advocate steadfast to the challenge of canvassing the most dangerous neighborhood [door-to-door, corner-to-corner, housing-project-to-housing-project] to redress those barriers that have systematically prevented inner-city residents from becoming productive participants in mainstream society."

PROGRAM SUMMARY:

1. One individual (man or woman) will serve as the lead applicant as part of a partnership grant application for the program, but other public and private partners whose mission is to provide job preparation and training, placement assistance, employment opportunities, and related social services and supports for youth with special needs (to help them enjoy the dignity and benefits of work and a better quality of life) will be identified and recruited to collaborate and make the project a success.

2. At a minimum to participate youth will be required to do nothing more than complete an application specifically developed to collect relevant information related to this opportunity, and every unemployed youth (and targeted communities) will be identified and approached at least once or twice. The completed applications will be screened (any ambiguity clarified with the applicant) and a second meeting scheduled immediately to determine the applicant's true interest and assess actual needs.

3. Educational and job training services and support activities are planned to provide instruction (life and workplace skills) necessarily to balance employment, family and personal needs. That is long-term vocational success is contingent upon the ability of an individual to manage the demands of whole-life activities. Attitude skills, communication, critical thinking, motivation, personal/social skills, leisure planning, self-presentation, life management skills and the use of community resources (supports and infrastructure that will be needed to maintain employment and family) are planned topics to be addressed in this component.

4. Job readiness activities will focus on preparing participants to meet employers' expectations and the region's labor market demand. Hiring trends, career exploration, networking, interview strategies, leadership skill development, job retention and career development/advancement strategies are planned topics. The educational and job training plans will be individualized to meet the expected diverse educational and cultural backgrounds, and skills level of the participants. Once sufficient private and/or public funds are identified participants will begin to receive minimum wage pay (during the academic and support services educational phase of the program) as positive reinforcement.

5. Leadership development activities will be incorporated into the daily schedule. Technical and tactical proficiency; communication, professional ethics; planning; use of available systems; decision making; teaching and counseling; conflict resolution; supervision; and team development, are planned topics to be addressed in this component. In addition, each participant will be required to identify a community need that can be addressed through a group volunteer activity.

6. Counseling and support services are the primary objectives of the program. As an Ombudsman the lead applicant will keep current about community resources available to assist any youth identified. He or she will share information with, and make referrals regularly to, community-based partners which provide the needed services. In particular, these services include drug and alcohol treatment, food banks, emergency shelters and transitional housing, medical services, psychological counseling, services for abused women and children, and more.

7. Case management will be provided to instill principles of fellowship, good character and uplifting of humanity into the lives of the participants. The lead applicant will develop provision to allow daily case management/counseling contact with each participant, and intensive case management services will be provided on an as needed basis (when a participant is absent or displays any behavior that raises questions regarding the individual's motivation to continue).

8. Job coaching contacts are planned for any participant actually placed into employment to reinforce academic, leadership, job readiness, and life skills learned in the classroom.

9. On-the-job training is planned to provide the participants with work experience to facilitate an informed decision when choosing a career. In addition, the training is structured so that participants will develop confidence and realized the fruit of their labor. Planned partnerships with the region's business community will guarantee 100 percent placement of those completing the program. That is, the program will teach marketable job skills, and help neighborhood youth gain a positive and productive life (giving hardest to reach residents a beginning means of achieving a future for them and their families).

The following outline indicates the job development and placement objectives.

Identify job opportunities and secure employer commitments.

Prepare participants for job interviews, including checking references.

Match participants to jobs and arrange interviews.

Conduct follow-up job coaching, documenting results.

Conduct follow-up interviews to ensure successful placement and an employee/employer match.

10. Special provision to Map blight and decay is also planned. Many neighborhoods continued to be plagued with areas of blight and decay, often exemplified with streets of run-down and abandoned housing. Creation of affordable housing represents a major step toward a stable society.

STAFFING RATIONALE:

An established nonprofit partner will agree to perform, in a good faith and professional manner, the servicing, administration and supervision of the Project. It will immediately hire the lead applicant as the Executive Director to develop an implementation plan (i.e., within weeks he or she will develop a program manual, personnel policy, and the like), and when funding permits hire a profession and capable support staff.

The Executive Director will be responsible for the administration, management and overall operation of the program. He or she will be responsible for setting up the administrative office and training center. The office will have regular business hours, and will be located on a public transportation route. The hours will be posted and advertised. Phones will always be answered, and every concern will be immediately addressed, and the participant's success will be measured by more than just enrollment, but the overall empowerment the individual will provide to his or her family, the group, and their neighborhood as a whole.

All personnel and sub-recipient personnel whose salaries are paid in whole or in part by the funding provider will keep accurate time records. The records will be kept current and readily available for inspection. Authorized time sheets will accompany each request for funds. These time sheets will coincide with the time logs in the administrative nonprofit's files. All personal files will be protected under local, state, and federal privacy laws.

At the end of the first month of actual operation, the Executive Director will implement a "hand-on" leadership training session for any staff (based upon his or her professional study of other programs). In addition, the local university and college community will be lobbied to provide specialized staff training (lectures, classroom instruction, and special workshops).

Funding permitted a deputy administrator will also be hired for fiscal management within the first month. If not, he or she will be hired within three weeks of actual operation to implement a fiscal plan having the ability to generate accurate and timely fiscal information, and to submit such reports as required by the Executive Director, nonprofit partner, and/or any funding source.

The fiscal plan will maintain a set of accounts of original entry under a system of sound internal accounting and administrative control to the extent necessary to document all transactions and to evaluate and permit audits of the system. Such provisions will provide control and assurances as to safeguarding all assets and funds received against loss from unauthorized use or disposition. The fiscal plan will have provision and responsibility for implementing the development of private funds and/or partnerships with government and community-based organizations in a manner sufficient to achieve matching private funds for a second, third or fourth year.

A long-range plan will be established by the midpoint of the first year. The premise: It is understood that everything can't be completed and accomplished at once. Making a coordinated plan is essential. Particular goals will be targeted initially and as time goes areas will be emphasized and other areas of past success will be maintained. Within the first month of actual operation, the deputy will develop a plan for performance evaluation. Included in the plan will be provision for immediate modifications and/or revisions concerning performance when problems have been identified. Therefore, at the end of each fiscal year and/or long-term period, the program will have a measurable performance standard from which to be held accountable for success and failure.

OVERSIGHT OF PROJECT:

Those providing funds for this project will be responsible for the administration of their individual contract. With respect to substantive decisions related to the carrying out of contract activities, including the modification or termination of any contract, the relevant funding provider will act at the direction of its own administration.

A designated administrator of the funding provider will maintain oversight of all work performed by the administrative nonprofit partner and/or any designated subcontractor. The funding provider will additionally provide guidance and cooperation vis-a-vis linkage with its social service network.

The administrative nonprofit partner, by quarterly written report, will inform any funding provider of the implementation of planned activities. Quarterly financial reports will be submitted within 30 days following each quarter, until such time as all funds have been expended or the period of availability has expired. Additionally, brief narrative quarterly progress reports will be submitted within 30 days following each quarter. The progress report will provide detailed account of activities undertaken during that quarter (any obstacles encountered during the project's implementation and how these obstacles were addressed, will be identified along with the next quarter's goals). With the Third quarter report, during a full program year, the administrative nonprofit will include an assessment of the program sustainability at the conclusion of the contract, and the level of funding required, if any, to continue program operation into a second, third or fourth year. A draft final report which summarizes project activities and employment outcomes and related results of the program will be submitted no later than the expiration date of the funding. The final report will be submitted no later than 60 days after the funding expiration date.

The funding provider will furnish the administrative nonprofit partner with its procedure for "request for payment." The administrative nonprofit partner will use such procedure to itemize all personnel, project management, and consultant services expenses for the period of the cost report. The Executive Director of the project will list each invoice for personnel, project management, and consultant services, the date of, and period covered by each invoice and the applicable funding source share of that invoice as outlined in the approved cost allocation plan. All invoices must be totaled and that amount must agree with the contracted amount requested for that period of time.

Additionally, the Executive Director will complete a "Contract Status Report" to accompany each "Request for Payment." The administrative nonprofit partner understands that project management expense incurred will not be approved by the finding source unless the request satisfies all requirements described within. "Request for Payments" which do not fulfill all requirements will be returned to the Executive Director for correction. The funding source will not make any corrections. The administrative nonprofit partner agrees to make certain that all "Request for Payments" are complete and accurate prior to submission.

INCOME AND EXPENSES BUDGET:

(To be completed by the administrative nonprofit partner)

FUNDING SCHEDULE:
(To be completed by the administrative nonprofit partner)

CONTACT INFORMATION:
(To be completed by the administrative nonprofit partner)

SAMPLE DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY OF A TARGETED COMMUNITY:

The number of violent crimes in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 209.

The number of murders and homicides was 6.

The violent crime rate was 1.1 per 1,000.

POPULATION:

Total Population 19,196
Square Miles (land) 2.30
Population Per Square Mile 8,335.09

GENDER:

Male 8,439
Female 10.757

AGE:

15 or younger 3,863
16-24 2,093
25-44 5,759
45-64 4,442
65+ 3,039

RACE AND ETHNICITY:

White 5,615
Black 12,768
American Indian/Alaska Nat. 72
Asian 156
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 12
Some Other Race 105
Two or More Races 468
Hispanic or Latino 216

INCOME:

Median Household Income $26,621

Per Capita Income $16,890

PER CAPITA INCOME BY RACE:

White $24,169
Black $13,923
Native American $9,129
Asian $20,599
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander $5,560
Some Other Race $6,314
Two or More Races $14,432
Hispanic or Latino $13,381

HOUSING:

Total Housing Units 10,696
Renter-Occupied Housing 5,346
Rent as a Pct. Revenue 26.8
Median Rent 407

SCHOOL ENROLLMENT:

Population 3 years and over 4,706
Preschool/Kindergarten 495
Grades 1-12 3,146
College 1,065

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT:

High School Graduates 4,163
Some College/Associate's 3,935
Bachelor's Degree 1,807
Master's, Doctorate Degree 1,152

Todd Elliott Koger Candidate Pa. State Rep.: Immigrants' Rights

2006-10-28T09:41:00.001-04:00

Public Session for Immigrants’ Rights

Todd Elliott Koger, candidate for state representative (District 24) ask that you join PFOI to protect Immigrants, Tuesday, October 31, 2006, at 10:00 A.M.. Pittsburgh City Council Chambers, 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, Pa 15219.

To speak call: 412-255-2138.

First, a simple but often-forgotten note, in federal law, there is no such thing as an “illegal immigrant.” A person who is legally in the United States either is here as a legal immigrant or has a “non-immigrant VISA,” meaning a tourist, student or temporary worker VISA. In short, immigrants have the same rights as the rest of us. They must be treated, exactly the same as any other person. The bottom line: there are just a few exceptions: immigrants can’t become president or vice-president, and green-card holders’ can’t vote.

At issue, however, is the status of illegal aliens on the state and local level.

Congress recently passed legislation authorizing the construction of a multibillion dollar fence along the U.S. - Mexico border and appropriated money for detention centers and an additional 1,500 border agents. But, at the same time, other immigrant-friendly “rational middle ground” proposals (compromise between mass deportation and amnesty) have stalled in Washington, including legislation that will give millions of illegal aliens already in the United States a chance to become a citizen.

There is a deliberate tactic designed to advance an “enforcement first” political agenda at the state and local level that PFOI and others, will address this Tuesday, October 31, 2006, at 10:00 A.M., at the Pittsburgh City Council Chambers, 414 Grant Street.

Enforcement first advocates want to change the sequencing of border security, interior enforcement, and guest worker plans. Their strategy (partisan maneuvering) aims to force passage at the state and local level of enforcement laws in lieu of federal action. Among the policy goals of the “enforcement first” initiative PFOI protest are as follow: (1) new state laws for employment eligibility verification and denial of business licenses; (2) new state laws mandating local law enforcement agencies to identify and turn over to Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) all aliens who pass through local jails and state prisons; (3) prohibition of aliens access to social services; and (4) outlawing of “sanctuary cities” through penalties in state funding. Their plan is to elect pro-enforcement officials.

What PFOI suggests an alternative policy, to foster cooperation between state and local officials, law enforcement, the human service system and the region’s immigrant communities are needed. Without cooperation an entire segment of Pittsburgh (Allegheny County) becomes alienated from the system. That is, non-citizens, even during the recent wave of gun-violence, will be reluctant to report incidents of crime or come forward as witnesses for fear of exposing themselves to immigration related charges. Consider this, while domestic-abuse survivors are typically terrified or reporting abuse under any circumstances, in households with undocumented non-citizens, the fear is compounded by the chance that they or someone they love could be deported.

Direction and inspiration at the state and local level to foster cooperation should come from our concern for those who are most affected by the “enforcement first” initiative and partisan maneuvering. When the discrimination is truly a remnant, PFOI will be able to put down their signs and petitions and call it a day. Nonetheless, until then, don’t expect PFOI to be quiet and what they say will reverberate far beyond Pittsburgh city council chambers.

KDKA's Voter's Guide: Unequal Time, Censorship

2006-10-26T14:04:00.001-04:00

PLEASE NOTE: FOR UNEXPLAINED REASONS KDKA FAILED TO LIST TODD ELLIOTT KOGER AS JOE PRESTON'S OPPONENT IN THEIR VOTER'S GUIDE FOR TWO DAYS.

LAST NIGHT MR. KOGER COMPLAINED.

THEREAFTER, KDKA FORWARDED ITS CANDIDATE'S QUESTIONNAIRE.

TODAY, KDKA PROVIDED THAT LISTED BELOW VIS-A-VIS AN EMAIL.

Mr. Koger:

Thank you for your submission for our 2006 voter guide. We appreciate your cooperation

Since the guide is a part of our website, we reserve the right to review all responses and edit for clarity and content.

Before we publish your responses, though, we wanted to make you aware that our voter guide is meant to give candidates the opportunity to present their platforms to potential voters, not as a forum to criticize their opponents. We do provide a link to your own campaign website.

That said, we have decided to omit some of your responses which specifically reference Mr. Preston.

I'm forwarding the revised version for your approval. If you would like to add any other comments, please feel free to send them directly to me at and I will see that they get posted. Otherwise, if you approve our revisions as listed below, I can publish your page immediately.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Pollard
KDKA Website Manager

Campaign Message (WILL NOT BE INCLUDED FOR REASONS DISCUSSED ABOVE):

Before Act 201 passed, utility and power companies donated $4,650 to Joe Preston. Next, Mr. Preston rushed from committee Act 201 -- made it easier for the utility companies to terminate service.

Q:

What do you think is the most important issue facing Pennsylvania?

Your Original Response:

I am a democrat running as an independent. Finding a permanent solutions for the fiscal problems of school districts (school property tax relief) is important. However, in district 24, specifically, a trusted advocate steadfast to the challenge of canvassing the most dangerous neighborhoods -- door-to-door, corner-to-corner, housing project-to-housing project -- to redress the complaints, concerns and needs of inner-city residents. Lethal gun-violence is tearing our great city apart. Every murder is a senseless loss for a family and the wave of violence is an intolerable epidemic for the region as a whole.

In district 24 the approach of nightfall is dreaded. Our fear is punctuated by sound of gunfire, screams and wailing. However, missing from Mr. Preston's is sadness, anger or outrage over the rising body count, or how close gun-violence is to our schools. In fact, when thugs began selling drugs in front of Mr. Preston's office, rather than address the issue, he moved his office!

Edited Response:

I am a Democrat running as an Independent. Finding a permanent solution for the fiscal problems of school districts (school property tax relief) is important. However, in District 24, specifically, a trusted advocate steadfast to the challenge of canvassing the most dangerous neighborhoods -- door-to-door, corner-to-corner, housing project-to-housing project -- to redress the complaints, concerns and needs of inner-city residents. Lethal gun-violence is tearing our great city apart. Every murder is a senseless loss for a family and the wave of violence is an intolerable epidemic for the region as a whole.

In District 24 the approach of nightfall is dreaded. Our fear is punctuated by sound of gunfire, screams and wailing. However, missing is sadness, anger or outrage over the rising body count, or how close gun-violence is to our schools.

Q:

Should there be a constitutional convention to reduce the size of the Legislature?

Your Original Response:

Many residents of District 24 have formed certain perceptions about our leaders and system of government that represents an overall lack of trust. That is, public confidence plays a significant role in the ability to advocate. Perceptions influence and even shape behavior. We must reform our current system of government. For example, on April 17, 2006, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board decided: "It's time for an unapologetic Joe Preston to go!" On October 13, 2006, Joe Preston continued to demonstrate a lack of remorse telling the editorial board that he, in fact, will not return the pay raise. Thus, democratic community leaders requested that I run as an independent against Joe Preston.

Edited Response:

Many residents of District 24 have formed certain perceptions about our leaders and system of government that represents an overall lack of trust. That is, public confidence plays a significant role in the ability to advocate. Perceptions influence and even shape behavior. We must reform our current system of government.

Q:

What is the best way to handle the pay of legislators, executive branch members and judges?

Your Original Response:

Legislators, the executive branch and judges are already paid too much. In fact, since Joe Preston rushed from the committee, without any public hearing, legislation (Act 201) that made it much easier for the utility companies to terminate the gas, electric and water service of poor, low-income customers and reversed the longstanding state moratorium on shutting off heat and electric during winter, a moratorium should now be applied to legislators’ pay. Nonetheless, after needed reform, pay could be tied to the rate of inflation. But only, if funding for public transit operation is additionally tied to the rate of inflation. Democratic community leaders requested that I run as an independent against Joe Preston.

Edited Response:

Legislators, the executive branch and judges are already paid too much. Nonetheless, after needed reform, pay could be tied to the rate of inflation. But only, if funding for public transit operation is additionally tied to the rate of inflation.

Rep. Joe Preston Tells Post-Gazette: "Other Transit Systems Have Found a Way to Operate Without Saturday Service"

2006-10-17T16:46:00.002-04:00

Joe who? For decades we looked to state Rep. Joe Preston to become more accountable. But as the years have drifted by, he drifted further and further away. A good example: On October 13, 2006, Mr. Preston suggested the following to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board "Other transit systems have found a way to operate without Saturday service" as a response to $32.5 million deficit facing the Port Authority. In short, it appears that Mr. Preston prefers Port Authority raising the base fare, cutting service and/or laying off employees, although he says he supports dedicated funding. That is, to evoke public anger (pitting riders against workers) he has adopted spin that suggests Port Authority "must learn to make do with less and balance their operating budgets with service cuts and/or fare hikes."

Port Authority announced $36 million as the projected deficit for 2006-07. Because the federal government does little to subsidize urban public transit operations, the deficit burden falls on the state and local government. Governor Rendell has proposed raising the authority's subsidy 2 percent for next year, generating about $2 million. But such doesn't change the fact that the legislature must provide dedicated, predictable long-term funding. Hopes for such funding sit partly with a nine-member transportation reform and funding commission that the governor formed through executive order. The commission is looking at highways, bridges, aviation and rail freight programs as well as transit. However, its final report isn't due until November 15 (after the Nov. 7, General Election).

The familiar spin that Mr. Preston offered to the editorial board is commentary attempting to force the state's transit systems and their union employees to accept competitive bidding in their labor agreements. To impress reluctant legislators like Rep. Preston the Port Authority has reduced management personnel and administrative expenses and has made an effort to reduce the annual deficit in all the areas which are within their control. That is, Port Authority's operating costs have grown by 1.9 percent per year, well below the rate of inflation. In fact, the cost of bus service per passenger mile is 26 percent less than the average of comparable systems and the general administrative costs per unit of service were 40 percent less. Thus, Port Authority costs per vehicle hour and vehicle mile of service are considerably less than other transit agencies of similar size.

However, funding for public transit operations in Pennsylvania does not keep up with inflation. Had the state's General Fund operating subsidy grown by the rate of inflation over the past 14 years, more than $500 million would have been available to Pennsylvania transit systems, including $125 million to Port Authority (far more than would have been needed to offset current operating deficits). In short, there are two main funding streams for public transit operations in Pennsylvania. One is called the General Fund for Mass Transit Operating Assistance Budget Line Item. In 1995 this fund provided around $247 million for public transit operating assistance statewide. In 2004, the same fund provided around $270 million ( a 1 percent annual increases in funding over a 10-year period). The other funding system is called the Public Transit Assistance Fund. It is supplied by such sources as a $1 fee per tire on new tire sales, a $2 per day fee on car rentals, a 3 percent tax on motor vehicles leases, and 1.22 percent of the state sales and uses tax capped at $75 million. This funding stream has grown by only 1.3 percent over the past several years. Groups such as Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (33 congregational and organizational members) have called for dedicated funding because public transit is an essential public service, much like our education system and the construction and maintenance of our highway system. Like public transportation, those services are subsidized, and for a good reason. They benefit society as a whole. Public transportation is no different.

For almost 43 years the Port Authority has been providing comprehensive public transportation services safely and effectively to the poor and low-income of District 24 (one of the Nation's most difficult transit environments). Every year, we worry about whether we can depend on our bus being there when we need it to "connect us to life." Eliminating Saturday service as Rep. Preston suggested to the Post-Gazette editorial board is "just out of the question." Reliable convenient schedules, clean comfortable equipment, and economical fares for the 68 million rides provided annually (240,000 on the average weekday) will only come to pass with dedicated and predictable funding streams. If public transit budgets are to be balanced by reducing (non-peak) Saturday services, then potential new riders will stay in their cars and increase traffic congestion, and the costs of maintenance of our road and highway system.

Todd Elliott Koger, candidate for State Representative (District 24), requests that you take action during Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network's Public Action, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Thursday, October 26, 2006, at Petra International Ministries, 235 Eastgate Drive (Old East Hills Shopping Center). More than 1500 or more concerned residents from this region will be present.

http://koger.7p.com

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Time For an Unapologetic Rep. Joe Preston To Go!"

2006-10-15T08:50:00.001-04:00

On April 17, 2006, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board decided: "It's time for an unapologetic Preston to go!"

On October 13, 2006, Joe Preston continued to demonstrate a lack of remorse telling the editorial board that he, in fact, will not return the pay raise.

It's this simple: Mr. Preston is one of the lone symbols of this controversy who still believes a nod-nod, wink-wink from the Governor, local political leaders and the media can protect him from any further public ridicule.

In short, Mr. Preston has recently demonstrated unprecedented arrogance suggesting an attitude and confidence that are embarrassing.

Possibly nothing more than just election year theatrics, at one point his Consumer Affairs Committee had the majority of us believing landmark legislation (HB 2880) calling for cable choice and competition was poised to advance to the floor of the House for a vote. Although an apparent majority of the public, education, and government access channels, and pertinent union membership groups testified during statewide public hearings that they approved the proposed legislation, last week Joe Preston pulled the bill from consideration. The proposed streamlined franchising process would better benefit customers by ushering in a myriad of TV choices and lower prices. Since 1995 cable rates have increased more than 86 percent. Since 2001 cable prices have increased four times faster than the rate of the consumer price index.

In the months before Act 201 passed two years ago, utility and power companies donated $4,650 to Preston's reelection campaign. And, after accepting lucrative campaign contributions from the utility and power companies, Joe Preston wrapped a "moral responsibility" cloak around Act 201 (Responsible Utility Customer Protection Act), and rushed from committee legislation that makes it much easier for the seediest financial interest in the country to terminate the gas, electric and water service of poor, low-income customers. That is, his leadership reversed a long-standing state ban on shutting off heat during winter. Note: Throughout the entire process, there was not a single public hearing on the measure.

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority board, under Mr. Preston's leadership voted to raise rates this year and next (third and fourth consecutive years). The increase affects around 65,000 city households that get their water from the authority. Another 30,000 households in the city's southern neighborhoods, which are served by Pennsylvania American Water Co., will also see their rates rise, because those rates are pegged to the authority's. The hikes also hit commercial and industrial users, who pay less than households, and health and educational institutions, which pay more. The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, which levies a separate charge based on water usage, increased rates 10 percent effective Jan. 1. Although voters had shot down a referendum to build two new stadiums officials proceeded with the plan anyway and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority paid $550,000 to build sewer lines for the new Steelers stadium and surrounding area on the North Side. In addition, two former Authority employees were paid $210,000 to settle whistle-blower lawsuits. Former executive director John Hanna claimed in his federal lawsuit that he had been fired for testifying before a federal grand jury that was investigating authority operations and for refusing to approve payments for a faulty sewer project at PNC Park. Dr. Michael Stallard's lawsuit claimed he was pressured to approve work that was not completed properly and fired after he protested payments. Finally, the Authority is paying Adam Filippo & Associates $90,750 to learn how customers feel about water and sewer service. At least $500 of that money was spent to treat the authority's business customers to lunch at the Duquesne Club, Downtown, during a February focus-group session. Seventeen people dined at the club.

But, in many of Joe Preston's District 24 neighborhoods the approach of nightfall is still dreaded. Our fear is punctuated by sound of gunfire, screams and wailing.

Cable Choice and Competition Act Withdrawn to Allow Comcast Free Ticket

2006-10-13T02:27:00.001-04:00

There is a sobering reality present in Pennsylvania today, which incumbent Joe Preston and the people who blindly support him may have yet to fully comprehend – there is so much more to politics than what State Representative Joe Preston has offered District 24.

Possibly nothing more than just election year theatrics, at one point Mr. Preston's Consumer Affairs Committee had the majority of us believing landmark legislation (HB 2880) calling for cable choice and competition was poised to advance to the floor of the House for a vote. Two years ago he had surprised his constituents by quickly advancing from the committee, without a single public hearing, Act 201 (legislation that made it much easier for the seediest financial interest in the country to terminate the electric, gas, and water service of poor and low-income customers).

Nonetheless, on this occasion public hearings were held statewide to gather input and make things appear legitimate. And, together with Raymond Bunt, Jr. (R-147th District) and more than 80 additional cosponsors, the nearly flawless legislation (only lacked language to outlaw corporate redlining) was presented as an answer to the antiquated franchise system put in place decades ago. The redundant town-by-town franchises processes currently in place dramatically delays' consumer choice and, in fact, increase the cost of doing business, i.e., constituents not cable companies actually foot the franchises revenues.

Cable companies with long-standing franchises (Comcast) argued against the legislation, and opposition centered on a big lie: "municipalities won't get their franchise fees." Telecommunications firms (Verizon) and consumer agencies argued the proposed streamlined franchising process would better benefit customers by ushering in a myriad of TV choices and lower prices. And, although an apparent majority of the public, education, and government access channels, and pertinent union membership groups testified that they approved the proposed legislation, last week Joe Preston pulled the bill from consideration.

Since 1995 cable rates have increased more than 86 percent. Since 2001 cable prices have increased four times faster than the rate of the consumer price index.

JOE PRESTON MUST GO!

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Under Joe Preston's Leadership City Water Rates Rise (Third and Fourth Consecutive Years)

2006-10-13T02:18:00.001-04:00

JOE PRESTON MUST GO!

That is, on February 11, 2006, Rich Lord of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the following:

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority board voted to raise rates this year and next, in moves it said would hike the average household's monthly water and sewer bill by $5.

Authority Executive Director Greg Tutsock said the increases would allow the authority to weather jumps in chemical, utilities and labor costs, and continue working on improvements demanded by federal and state regulators. They may also help it reduce its reliance on debt, which devours half its revenue.

The authority's minimum monthly rate, for the first 1,000 gallons of water use, will rise from $13.88 to $14.42 on March 1, and to $14.67 on Jan. 1. Rates for each additional 1,000 gallons will rise from $6.46 to $6.99 in March, and to $7.50 next year.

For a typical household, using 5,000 gallons, that's a 12.5 percent hike by next year. That comes on top of rate increases of 19 percent in 2004 and 17 percent last year.

The increase affects around 65,000 city households that get their water from the authority. Another 30,000 households in the city's southern neighborhoods, which are served by Pennsylvania American Water Co., will also see their rates rise, because those rates are pegged to the authority's.

The hikes also hit commercial and industrial users, who pay less than households, and health and educational institutions, which pay more.

Top private sector water users include Del Monte Food, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the West Penn Allegheny Health System. None responded to requests for comment.
To minimize the impact on households, the authority board raised some fees on businesses. It will now charge when it helps to design piping for new buildings larger than a duplex; make contractors pay for temporary meters for construction projects; and bill more for special water lines for fire sprinklers.

"We wanted to really make the increases as minimal as possible," Mr. Tutsock said.

The hikes will bring $4.6 million to the authority this year and $4.7 million next year, he said. That should allow it to reduce its dependence on borrowing, he said. It owes $622 million, a burden called "not healthy" by a consultant.

The authority is under orders from federal and state environmental regulators to improve sewer lines to stop sewage from flowing into the rivers when it rains. It expects to spend $300 million on those improvements over coming years.

Yesterday the board approved two contracts, totalling $4.9 million, with consultants on that effort.

In a submission to regulators in May, the authority indicated that its water rates were the second-highest among a dozen large public water suppliers in the area.

That analysis did not include sewer rates, which are included in water bills.

City households will still pay less than residents of some suburbs served by Pennsylvania American. Mt. Lebanon residents, for instance, pay a total of $8.18 per thousand gallons.

The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, which levies a separate charge based on water usage, increased rates 10 percent effective Jan. 1.

Water authority board Chairman Joe Preston, a state representative from East Liberty, led the charge for the increase, which passed on a voice vote. He wished staff and consultants in attendance a "Merry Christmas" at the meeting's end.

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Note: On March 13, 1999, John Bull wrote the following for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority will spend $550,000 to build sewer lines for the new Steelers stadium and surrounding area on the North Side.

"I'm sure the ratepayers are in strong, adamant opposition," complained city Councilman Gene Ricciardi, a board member who voted against the plan. "This is a raid on the ratepayer."

Ricciardi, a staunch foe of new stadiums, said he is against the sewer expenditure because voters shot down a referendum to build two new stadiums but officials proceeded with the plan anyway.

The authority routinely pays for sewer and water line construction and relocation as an incentive for city economic development and housing developments, but Ricciardi insisted that it shouldn't in this case because it would benefit "million dollar athletes."

But supporters contended new sewers will benefit the entire 25-acre parcel that will house new stadiums for the Steelers and Pirates, and the expected construction of stores, restaurants and businesses that will accompany the stadiums.

"This will benefit not just the Steelers, not just the Pirates, but the entire city of Pittsburgh," said John Hanna, the authority's acting executive director.

The board voted 2-1 for the plan. Members Ann Davis and Joe Preston voted yes.

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/19990313water5.asp

In addition, on June 8, 2004, David M. Brown, Pittsburgh Tribune-review, wrote:

You might think that a government agency with a monopoly wouldn't have to pamper its customers with a pricey lunch at the exclusive Duquesne Club.

The people who run the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority don't agree. They're paying Adam Filippo & Associates $90,750 to learn how customers feel about water and sewer service.

At least $500 of that money was spent to treat the authority's business customers to lunch at the Duquesne Club, Downtown, during a February focus-group session. Seventeen people dined at the club.

Jim Roddey, a member of the state oversight board looking into the city's finances, questioned the study.

Finally, two former Authority employees were paid $210,000 to settle whistle-blower lawsuits. Former executive director John Hanna claimed in his federal lawsuit that he had been fired for testifying before a federal grand jury that was investigating authority operations and for refusing to approve payments for a faulty sewer project at PNC Park. Dr. Michael Stallard's lawsuit claimed he was pressured to approve work that was not completed properly and fired after he protested payments.

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Todd Elliott Koger Offers Fresh, Common Sense Ideas (Candidate Pa. State Assembly)

2006-08-18T05:16:00.002-04:00

Do you know a relative, friend or neighbor who recently experienced a utility shut-off? If so, than, Joe Preston must go!

In the months before the law passed, utility and power companies donated $4,650 to Preston's campaign, according to state records. During each of the previous two years, industry donors gave him less than a third of that.

And, after accepting lucrative campaign contributions from the utility and power companies (Allegheny Power, ARIPPA PAC, Columbia Gas, Dominion, Duquense Light, FirstEnergy Corp, PPL Corp, and the like), Joe Preston wrapped a "moral responsibility" cloak around Act 201 (Responsible Utility Customer Protection Act), and rushed from committee legislation that makes it much easier for the seediest financial interest in the country to terminate the gas, electric and water service of poor, low-income customers. That reversed a longstanding state ban on shutting off heat during winter. Note: Throughout the entire process, there was not a single public hearing on the measure.

That is, pursuant to Act 201 utility companies can now demand the balance due, a reconnection fee, and two months payment in advance. In other words, Joe Preston adopted the agenda of big business and they reciprocated with cash. All the sordid details of Mr. Preston's cosying up to the utilities in exchange for legislation that allows termination of service on all weekdays (including Fridays) even during winter months, must come out.

The residents of District 24 want to know exactly whose interests was served by leaving the poor and low-income without heat, electric and water in their homes during months when the mercury dips into the teens or lower, and wind can be howling and brutal?

By the end of December, gas companies had cut service to about 13,750 Pennsylvania homes, which is almost double the average number of homes who lost gas service during each of the previous four years, according to the Pennsylvania Utility Corporation. Another 3,795 homes in the state are relying on "potentially unsafe heating sources" like electric space heaters, kerosene heaters and kitchen stoves, the commission reported.

As per the May 2006 Primary (more people voted against Joe Preston than voted for him), it is plain and clear District 24 believes Joe Preston has become a part of the culture of corruption and cronyism in Harrisburg. The one-two punch of increased rates and the end of the moratorium of winter service terminations is shocking and, in many cases, life threatening.

TODD ELLIOTT KOGER OFFERS FRESH, COMMON SENSE, IDEAS THAT WILL STRENGTHEN THE ECONOMY OF OUR COMMUNITIES, PURSUE PERMANENT SOLUTIONS FOR THE FISCAL PROBLEMS OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS (SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX RELIEF), AND REDUCE THE SIZE OF STATE GOVERNMENT.

Last July's now repealed pay raise for lawmakers, judges and state administrators led to the defeat of a Supreme Court Justice in November and 17 incumbent legislators in the May primary. How the legislature passed the pay raise -- in the middle of the night, skirting a constitutional prohibition on mid-term raises -- angered people as much as the raises themselves. In the 24th District, Joe Preston's has further outraged residents because he has tailored legislation (Act 201)and his votes to the greed and special interest of big business.

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Pa. Pay Raise, Act 201 Utility Terminations, No Lobbyist Disclosure Law, Bond Issue Transactions. . .

2006-08-18T05:01:00.001-04:00

Did you know? Pennsylvania is the only state in the union that does not have a lobbyist disclosure law that monitors what lobbyists give to whom in the legislature in return for what kind of action.

$44,741

$38,080

$71,666

$26,100

$140,431

A lobbyist disclosure law is intended to make public the efforts of lobbyists and check the integrity of our elected representative. Such a law's effectiveness depends upon the toughness of its limits and the degree of openness that it requires.

Lack of such protection has resulted in some serious questions about the leadership and the attentiveness of our state representatives. The great slots legislation debate of 2003-04 came and went without a full accounting of what lobbyists spent to influence Act 71.

In the wake of the legislative pay raise fiasco, lawmakers have been especially intent about having a reform vote on their scorecard. Somehow, however, they went on summer break without enacting a new disclosure law to replace the one scuttled by the State Supreme Court four years ago.

For politically connected firms, routine Bond issue transactions have generated enough in attorney's fees to make Joe Preston blush.

But, hopefully, the pay raise and Act 201 issues will spur additional interest in the harmful acts of political malfeasance associated with the "pinstripe patronage" that attends every Bond issue.

Pennsylvania's track record on such matters is shameful. The Turnpike and other state agencies don't use competitive bidding for legal work.

Interestingly, Mr Preston gets the majority of his special interest money from the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association/Law PAC. The law firm Klett, Lieber Rooney & Schorling has also given Preston money.

Note: Klett Rooney received the most legal work (1.5 million) from the state Turnpike Commission over the past four years. This law firm with direct political connections to Mr. Preston has represented the Turnpike on two personal injury cases, two construction litigation cases and four cases on zoning and land use.

Klett Rooney (and Arthur Rooney II) donated about $128,300 to state Senate candidates and party committees from 1998 through 2004. Overall, the law firm contributed about $942,100 to state judicial, legislative and gubernatorial candidates and to political action committees.

An audit by the research arm of the state General Assembly in 1997 found that the Turnpike's Bond counsel fees were higher in most cases than those in six other toll states studied.

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State Rep. (District 24) Joe Preston Hypocrite -- Utility Terminations, Act 201, Campaign Contributions

2006-08-18T04:43:00.002-04:00

The poor and low-income residents of Pennsylvania State Assembly District 24 should be horrified by the hypocrisy of Joe Preston who parlayed his leadership position within a committee into an opportunity for lucrative campaign contributions from the utility companies.

Joe Preston wants you to believe that Act 201 protects paying customers from higher bills. With few, if any, humanistic considerations, he mistakenly believes the only problem associated with the poor and low-income freezing to death isn't a human problem but rather a problem of energy industry profits.

In short, Mr. Preston wants the voters of Aspinwall, East Liberty, East Hills, Lincoln-Lemington, Lincoln Park, Highland Park, Homewood, Point Breeze, and Wilkinsburg to gloss over the plight of those without heat and electric. He is dehumanizing the poor and low-income as "deadbeats" leaching off "good customers."

However, poverty isn't about people being bad or making bad choices. It is about having corrupt and decadent social systems that make people unfathomably rich at the expense of the rest of us.

To illustrate and humanize this issue, one must look at who is really hurt by Act 201. According to 2002 data from Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) of Pennsylvania, of the low-income households that received assistance, 80 percent of those households had either an elderly or disabled family member or a child under five.

A report issued by State Representative Dwight Evans estimated that statewide at least 20,000 households went without utility service. Additionally, the Philadelphia Inquirer on September 19, 2005, said that number multiplied as a result of utility companies exercising their rights under Act 2001.

Todd Elliott Koger believes District 24 needs a representative who will lead the fight to guarantee a future where our poor and low-income elderly, disabled, and children have heat and electric when they sleep at night, food to eat, health insurance, good schools, and all the necessary things to live meaningful life.

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Pa. State Rep. Joe Preston Lip Server: Kingsley Community Center Funding

2006-08-18T04:23:00.001-04:00

Former 2004 Candidate for District 24, Ed Gainey says the new Kingsley Association community center in East Liberty was promised 2 million dollars by Joe Preston. The funding never materialized.

Family Feud

Writer Brentin Mock, Pittsburgh City Paper February 5, 2005

“I could sit here and ramble off things at a young age that I did,” says 33-year-old Ed Gainey, who is challenging State Rep. Joseph Preston Jr. for the 24th Legislative District seat (covering Wilkinsburg, East Liberty, Highland Park, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington, Homewood and parts of Aspinwall and Point Breeze). They include the New Pennley Place housing development at the eye-irritating corner of Penn and Negley Avenues; new Lincoln Park housing developments; and the East Liberty redevelopment plan that landed Whole Foods and Home Depot.

Gainey’s point, however, is that Preston assisted none of these projects while Gainey served as special projects manager under Mayor Tom Murphy and worked with East Liberty Development Inc.

The two politicians were once close: Gainey worked as Preston’s legislative aide for six years. In fact, they were close enough that “my own daughter said I treat [Gainey] better than her,” Preston says.

Preston’s office “hasn’t missed a beat” since Gainey left in 2002, he says. But Preston calls the challenge by his former aide unfortunate. He also says Gainey is linked with 12th Ward Dem Chairman Doc Fielder as part of an “old wave” of politics -- a decades-old black political machine in the East End led by Fielder and fellow ward leader Chuck Frazier. Preston was once associated with them as well, but feels they are no longer “progressive” or “aggressive” enough. Preston, a 20-year incumbent who’s also 23 years older than Gainey, says he is the “new wave” of politics.

Gainey says the new Kingsley Association community center in East Liberty was promised funding by Preston. Preston promised key Kingsley development players that he could get $2 million from the state’s capital budget for the new center two years ago, Gainey maintains. That money never materialized. Gainey meanwhile, says he was able to secure $1.4 million from the city for Kingsley, where he held his press conference to announce his run.

Says Gainey: “If I’m able to work with a city that’s broke and receive some kind of funding to secure new investments in our community, then I believe our state rep should be able to do the same thing.”

Preston says he never promised money for the Kingsley but has been working for the funds while battling the stingy administration of former Gov. Tom Ridge for it.

Preston was one of Rendell’s chief campaign managers for Western Pennsylvania. His more friendly relationship with the current governor, he believes, should help the money materialize. Preston adds that he has helped finance the Veterans Administration Hospital, a new YMCA and YWCA, and the new Carnegie Library in Homewood, all in his district.

Says Preston, “If Kingsley is the only reason [Gainey is running] … then there’s really no room to talk about anything else.”

Preston recently caught flak from the black community for legislation he introduced to rename the Downtown State Office Building after former mayor and Pennsylvania governor David L. Lawrence. The New Pittsburgh Courier ran an editorial last year saying that Preston had more pressing concerns in the district -- economic development. Preston calls that editorial “racist”; a white constituent suggested that bill, he notes. “My district is multicultural and I try to develop rapport among people of all colors,” he adds.

Preston says no one has contributed more to the 12th Ward than he has. He calls himself a ward “family member.”

“When one person in the family determines who sits at the table and who doesn’t,” he concludes, “then we’re losing the democratic process.”

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Who is TEK, Todd Elliott Koger Candidate Pa. State Assembly District 24

2006-08-18T04:04:00.002-04:00

The people of Pennsylvania's State Assembly District 24 want and deserve change. For decades we looked to Joe Preston to become more accountable. But, as the years have drifted by, Mr. Preston had drifted further and further away. Mr. Koger's is about bringing common sense principles back to Harrisburg.

Todd Elliott Koger, is a product of Duquesne University School of Law. He has a B.A., Political Science California University of Pennsylvania; and, an A.S., Labor Education CCAC. He is a former Allegheny County planner (Human Services). He was selected Who's Who Among Students of American Universities and Colleges; given the California University Distinguish Service Award and California University Progressive Leadership Award; and presented WTAE's, Channel 4 Gold Medal Award (Community Service).

There's a long-standing observation that the poor and low-income always get the government they deserve. In District 24, that has meant for a long time "NOTHING!" The incumbent, over and over, term after term, with little oversight has provided no accountability to his constituents. The result: an ethically challenged representative controlled by special interest that treats the poor and low-income like "deadbeats" or worse.

But, how can Mr. Preston side with special interest while families in District 24 struggle? How can he call his constituents "deadbeats" when there are four or five houses on each block that are fatherless homes?

The bottom line: Joe Preston is a gimmick, a package to be sold. And, Todd Elliott Koger "keeps it real!" He's from the "cut." No one can call him a "sell-out." Mr. Koger has nothing, but he is known in District 24 as someone who always "keeps his head up."

Todd Elliott Koger is a trusted advocate steadfast to the challenge of canvassing the most dangerous neighborhoods (door-to-door, corner-to-corner, housing project-to-housing project) to redress the complaints, concerns and needs of his constituents.

District 24 doesn't need another politician who is visible only before election time, always followed by special interest, meeting only with the already self-disciplined and organized block-watch groups or tenant councils. We need someone welcomed by those normally "too hard to reach" because he will produce tangible results and is trusted as a "homegrown" trying to do some good.

The registered voters of Aspinwall, East Liberty, East Hills, Lincoln-Lemington, Lincoln Park, Highland Park, Homewood, Point Breeze, and Wilkinsburg have asked Todd Elliott Koger to challenge Joe Preston. Mr. Koger has accepted the call and will appear on the November 7, 2006, General Election Ballot.

Mr. Koger understands well what is expect of a State Representative. For example: he believes Members and staff of the State Assembly must often assist constituents in their dealings with administrative agencies by acting as facilitators or ``ombudsmen.'' Members may properly communicate with agencies on behalf of constituents:

to request information or status reports;
to urge prompt consideration of a matter based on the merits of the case;
to arrange for appointments;
to express judgment on a matter (subject to ex parte communication rules); and/or
to ask for reconsideration, based on law and regulation, of an administrative decision.

The State Representative should always make clear to administrators that action is only being requested to the extent consistent with governing law and regulations.

Todd Elliott Koger's Op-Ed Article: We gathered to say

2006-08-18T03:41:00.001-04:00

The protests outside Three Rivers were a plea to help resolve endemic poverty in our city -- which could result in real chaos.

We gathered to say: Pittsburgh, please listen

The following is an Op-Ed article written by Todd Elliott Koger and featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

This was to be a good day!

On this the 15th day of January 1995, an unseasonable 65-degree thaw had liquefied our worries into warmth and excitement. Hosting a professional football conference championship game added hopes and plans for the next couple of weeks for those who live here.

Check! Not all who reside here projected warmth, excitement and hope. Some, as shown by the Coalition of African Americans for Justice protest outside of Three Rivers Stadium, had different plans and concerns for the next couple of weeks.

Forget the basic facts that you have come to learn about our beautiful city. Sure it surprises visitors with booming banks, thriving hospitals, expanding universities and more than 600 advanced technology companies.

Word! These new industries cannot provide as many jobs as the factories and mills that dominated the city's past.

A glorious face-lift. A wonderful outlook for the future. Steeped in historical tradition, the city is poised for expansion. Pittsburgh is a city where some can put down roots and then reach for the sky.

But not all of us can put down roots and reach for the sky. Some of you forget about the blend of Lysol and body order at homeless shelters. Some of you forget about the bent spine of our fixes-income grandparents living on the edge of town. Some of you forget about the blare of TV soap operas in our housing projects, drowning out the cry of the badly diapered babies on linoleum floors. Some of you even forget the shrieks of friends and family at community funeral homes when teen-age murder victims are mourned.

Pittsburgh still suffers beyond its face-lift.

It suffers because some lack jobs. And worse yet, some lack responsible parents. It suffers because of the problem some of you have with the color of your neighbor's skin. And worse yet, because of the gang color of a person's gear.

Let's revisit the young women in the housing projects. Pittsburgh suffers when our young sisters drag their toddlers into a medical van for vaccination shots that are a year late. Why? Because bureaucratic red tape of social-service agencies that make them run from here to there, and do this or that for nothing, puts other children at risk of disease.

Such is also the case with the loss of Pittsburgh's small-town safety and previous immunity to violent crime. Now there's an epidemic: Homicide disease," caused by the spread of gang and drug activity, the increasing availability of guns, a growing fear of retaliation that led to a lack of cooperation with the police, more community tolerance of violence, a decline in values, an increase in alienation.

Word! Young people and blacks are the disproportionate perpetrators and victims of violent acts. And, while this disease may be kiling only a small percentage of the community's young people, it is threatening the health of the entire body.

It's not Pittsburgh apartheid. Such would be exaggeration. Further, the poor 'hood is not exclusive to blacks. Take an expressway from town and disappear into desolate 'hoods and encounter the civilization of menace. Pittsburgh, a dual city! The glass wonder of PPG Place is a faded memory. Here in the 'hood lives lie abandoned as far as the eye can see.

It used to be that when Pittsburgh talked about its poor, you were talking about the working poor. Today the nonworking poor are those isolated and not able to maintain social mobility now that good-paying jobs (blue collar) have disappeared.

The avenue for recourse is normally to telephone, write and knock on doors. But when politicians refuse to answer, this makes you angry and bitter. The angrier you get, the more you display your dissatisfaction.

The protest at Three Rivers Sunday was an eyesore. But Pittsburgh -- your poor citizens need assistance. They need immediate assistance. It was rage that set Los Angeles ablaze in 1992. Pittsburgh's political leaders had better realize that in many ways, the city is filled with volatile tinder that a social explosion is waiting to happen.

In the past, civil-rights legislation and affirmative-action programs have benefited primarily the more advantaged and the educated poor, as opposed to the truly disadvantaged. Welfare has enabled some to survive. But it certainly is not the answer to these problems. When you are a welfare recipient and you've been out of work for a long time, you develop the feeling of low self-efficacy. This is the feeling that you cannot accomplish the goal you set for yourself. This is different than low self-esteem.

If Pittsburgh is committed to addressing its poverty needs -- the problems that led to the protest -- the commitment must be long term, not short term.

While there is an obvious need to continue sanctions against racial discrimination, an effective long-term strategy for social justice must include race-neutral policies that can draw support in today's political climate.

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Todd Elliott Koger's Op-Ed Article: Hope for Pgh's 'boyz/'hood

2006-08-18T03:18:00.001-04:00

Todd Elliott Koger has a plan: Go door-to-door, corner-to-corner, housing project-to-housing project, to help inner-city residents.

Hope for Pittsburgh's 'boyz in the 'hood

The following is an Op-Ed article written by Todd Elliott Koger and featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Bust this: Recently, with hyped intensity, the boys in the 'hood started biting the scene in gangland. That's right, you're down with it: They began copying gangsters' violent, senseless behavior. Homeboy killing homeboy -- or anyone else who happened to be in the path of their nine (9mm gun). they had the usual beefs: money owed, turf wars, OPP (other people's property -- wife, girlfriend, etc.).

But really. Is the recent burst of gunfire, and resultant bodybags, so unexpected?

The Man wants you to think that it is just a provocation associated with the misinterpretation of big-screen portrayals of the inner-city life of the black man ("Boyz N the 'Hood" and "New Jack City" especially). Even some so-called black leaders have had the gall to corroborate such foolishness. All this got the usual response from Downtown: A few street dealers were arrested and labeled midlevel drug suppliers while the TV cameras rolled. As if that were sufficient to force the illegal business elsewhere.

Right. The handful of drugs seized shouldn't have even made the evening news. Maybe the police achieved their political objective, but in reality all they did was quiet the thunder of the coming storm.

You can't expect to shun the poor and disenfranchised off to the 'hood forever. It's surprising the drive-by shootings have just arrived. You know the score in Pittsburgh: (1) bypassed by expressways and opportunity (no jobs); (2) ignored and forgotten (no respect); and (3) suffering out of sight (domestic frustration).

Maybe no one Downtown realizes how bad things can get. Maybe no one realizes that "New Jack City," although in its infancy, has arrived.

The options in the 'hood remain the same: a minimum-wage job with no benefits; unemployment, because young males here who have not paid unemployment contributions receive only three months of Thornfare; or drug dealing (for some, this brings in as much as $1,500 a week).

And on the serious tip -- that is, honestly speaking -- don't think that everyone in the drug business is making a bundle. For many, the dangerous life only provides what they would normally receive on welfare. Why do you think many black males drift from one young mother to another? Because the additional welfare checks guarantee a roof over their heads, chicken wings in their bellies and a better alternative to the dangerous life of selling drugs.

No, they're not the "cannots" the liberals describe -- healthy young brothers who lack skills to work. Some of them are college graduates. And they're definitely not the "will nots" conservatives describe -- too lazy to take existing jobs or too lazy even to try to find them. Unfortunately, the damned life of selling drugs and bearing arms (to protect the illegal hustle that removes them from poverty) is their only alternative.

Even minimum-wage jobs flipping burgers, cleaning floors or, in the case of the girls, waiting tables, are out at the mall in the suburbs. Without a hustle, many of the homeboys don't have reliable transportation to get there -- or the "dope gear" (expensive clothing) required for an interview.

In short, our city and surrounding communities are becoming killing fields. And don't think it's just an East End thing: In reality, the "New Jack" curse embraces more than race, more than even drugs. It reflects the fact that out of bigotry and fear, our own leaders leave our brothers and sisters in such desperate hopelessness that they destroy their own lives and have no respect for the humanity of anyone else.

Without working parents to set an example, realizing that success -- "getting paid" -- requires hard work and discipline is teenagers fail to see the connection between the glamour and excitement of drugs and the accessibility of a handgun.

The majority's answer is loud: more police, more death sentences, more mandatory sentences. For whatever reason, bureaucrats think only in terms of retribution, punishment and incarceration. But they'll never stop the killings by building prison cells and locking up our young.

And then there's the sellout crowd -- the tokens gone bad -- that wants us to believe that not all blacks are poor and disenfranchised, that we have a choice. But how soon do those fortunate enough to have a friend to make them a token in the Man's world forget that surrendering is their only real option for staying there?

Some believe that the way to impose structure on these undisciplined lives is through athletics -- they'll show up regularly, on time, in uniform, and train hard. The coaches can act as mentors, discussing the pressures of drugs and gangs and teaching them how to cope with school. Unfortunately, many sports leagues have relocated, like the jobs, to the suburbs.

"New Jack" is for real, Pittsburgh. Understanding it rather than trying to control it is the answer. What's needed is a trusted advocate steadfast to the challenge of canvassing the most dangerous neighborhoods -- door-to-door, corner-to-corner, housing project-to-housing project -- to redress the complaints, concerns and needs of inner-city residents. One trusted ombudsman could redress those barriers that have systematically prevented inner-city residents from becoming productive participants in mainstream society.

We don't need another politician who is visible only before election time, always followed by the media, meeting with the already self-disciplined and organized blockwatch groups or tenant councils. We need someone welcome by those normally "too hard to reach" because he or she produces tangible results and is trusted as a "homegrown" trying to do some good.

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Todd Elliott Koger's Op-Ed Article: Living on the margins of society

2006-08-18T02:59:00.001-04:00

Picture yourself 40 years from now. Some of your closest friends and colleagues have gathered to help you celebrate your retirement. After dinner, the toast and testimonials begin, with each guest offering a personal reflection on your life and career. What will these people be saying about you?

Living on the margins of society

The following is an Op-Ed article written by Todd Elliott Koger and featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Picture yourself 40 years from now. Some of your closest friends and colleagues have gathered to help celebrate your retirement. After dinner, the toast and testimonials begin, with each guest offering a personal reflection on your life and career.

What will these people be saying about you?

With the current state of black America just surviving 40 years is an accomplishment. Murder remains the leading cause of death among urban black males between the ages of 16 and 24. A black child born in America today has less chance of surviving to adulthood than a child born in a place as troubled as Panama. And for most of those who do survive, because of the continued socio-economic ills affecting our race, there will be nothing to celebrate, no job to retire from. The gathering would more likely be to bury another who has failed to survive the demanding challenge of life in black America.

And if the recent Supreme Court rulings limiting minority set-asides and the right of employees effectively to sue for discrimination is the direction the American system is heading, the indeed America will need a "Marshall Plan," as suggested by the national Urban League, to rebuild our cities and develop the human resources of our people, who have been traditionally shunted off to the margins of society.

America also will need a revitalization of the civil-rights movement. To accomplish this, we will need someone like Thurgood Marshall, the tenacious young civil-rights attorney who challenged segregation in education in Brown vs. Board of Education, and who later went on to a renowned tenure as an affirmative-action advocate on the highest court of the land.

As racial tension becomes more pronounced (Howard Beach, Bensonhurst and most recently, the Charles Stuart situation in Boston), encounters with racism on the job, in shopping centers, on the housing market, in the criminal-justice system, in social settings and in the media will further aggravate our precarious existence.

So, what is the actual state (need) of black America?

Our civil-rights advocates are again being assassinated; we are nearly three times as likely as our white counterparts to be unemployed; 47 percent of our low-income males drop out of high school; and black males are disproportionately represented in prisons.

But is a suggested $50 billion deduction from the defense budget for a domestic Marshall Plan a guarantee of better education, housing and health care -- services desperately needed in the black community to end the cycle of economic injustice? Sure, this is a better use of funds than providing endless support to the defense establishment and indirect dividends to the wealthy. But is money the only way to achieve racial parity?

In the '90s, a renewed pride is needed in the black community -- a pride that should not be confused with the current trivial discord associated with being labeled black rather then Afro-American. Black pride needs to be revitalized to the degree achieved by our civil-rights leaders of the '60s. Pride enabled those leaders to overcome insurmountable odds. It was pride that brought leadership, determination and stamina to black communities and established positive role models for our young.

If black pride was at the level today that it was in the'60s, America wouldn't have the excuse of "black apathy" as a leading cause of our situation. Our young would understand their situation. They would avoid getting involved in such social ills as crime, drug involvement and teen parenting. And, most important, they would stay in school, graduate and go on and earn college degrees.

Remember some years back when you (those who are old enough to remember) wanted to lead like Dr. King, be educated like George Washington Carver, and write like George Schuyler? Today, our young are without such ambition. Rather, they hope to be infamous like the neighborhood drug dealer, free and not responsible like their older siblings and friends who have dropped out of school.

If our race is ever to reach parity with the majority race, a renewed pride is needed, a renewed understanding that we must prepare ourselves not just to be equal, but to be superior.

We cannot depend upon the system to change and begin to accept our customs and culture. We live in a multiculture society and ours, unfortunately, will always be only a minority way of life. It is the majority's game and they made the rules. But we can learn to play the game better and improve on it.

First we must renew our objectives and as always, the answer/remedy lies with the success of our past -- black pride.

Our chosen leaders must set the example. They must be willing to risk their careers and reputations by personifying such pride for our struggle. They must not forget the black American dream of racial equality. They must not settle for token handouts that only further their own personal interest.

http://koger.7p.com

Todd Elliott Koger's Op-Ed Article: A missed opportunity

2006-08-18T02:19:00.001-04:00

So it is up to you (parents and teachers) to refer your unemployed and disadvantaged youth to the appropriate offices, to guarantee that their applications are completed properly and to follow-up with the agency to ensure that the application was properly processed.

A missed opportunity.

The following is an Op-Ed article written by Todd Elliott Koger and featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Just a few years ago when I was searching for a way to help finance my college education, I discovered the Summer Youth Employment and Training program, which provided the opportunity to earn an income over the summer months while gaining valuable work experience.

At $4 an hour, I was earning more money than some of my older siblings. I was able to give a little money back to my struggling parent, who had sacrificed so much over the years to rear a family of 10. I wasn't a Michael Jackson or an Eddie Murphy. I couldn't remove the family from the inner-city. But I could now provide for myself and I took one more burden off my parent's back.

Now I am a college graduate. In fact, I am a law student. But more ironically, as an employment and training planner, I developed the 1989 SYETP Plan for Allegheny County. Unfortunately, I didn't make the final decisions.

Yes, this year, as in the last couple of years, the number of participants and the number of possible work hours will be reduced (from an estimate 2,200 participants in 1988 to a planned 1,650 participants in 1989, and from 40 possible work hours for eight weeks when I participated to only 28 hours of work for six weeks in 1989).

Management will cry about funds having been cut. The contracted program operator will cry, "Not as many students applied." And those poor, unemployed and disadvantaged students will be left again with a summer of idle time -- time that offers opportunities to be lured into drugs, crime, etc.

Management will be correct. Job-training funds have been reduced with the improvement of the local economy. And the minimum-wage increase has created another fiscal obstacle. However, aren't we funding the development of professionals? Isn't it our responsibility to tap other available funding sources when the need continues?

But that's too logical for Allegheny County. We knew for some time not that SYETP funds were going to be reduced, but we sat content for months with out traditional alternative of cutting the number of participants and possible working hours.

And maybe the program operators are right with their usual argument that youth are no longer interested in the SYETP because of the reduced number of working hours. But the bottom line is that the unemployed, disadvantaged youth is once again the victim, for the SYETP offers valuable supplemental training that normal private-sector employment neglects.

Not only does the SYETP provide opportunity to earn a summer income and gain valuable work experience, but it also remediates deficiencies in basic skills (reading and math), provides labor-market information and the opportunity for exploration of various occupations. Thus the students forced to seek jobs in the private sector because they can work more hours and make more money sacrifice the opportunity to facilitate their other needs through provisions of the SYETP.

Aren't we paying the program operator to implement the program in the most effective manner? Isn't it more prudent to cut costs in areas that don't result in a direct reduction of service -- administrative costs? We pay SYETP officials extremely well for 12 months to plan a program that lasts approximately six weeks. Yes, there are many tasks to be completed during this planning period, but the program design does not change that drastically from year to year. Is 12 months of planning really necessary? If so, isn't it reasonable to expect the program operator to use some of the time developing private funding sources to guarantee maximum servicing?

Allegheny County recently received $160,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry to implement a new SYETP demonstration. The new component -- Summer Training Employment Program (STEP) -- will provide the county an opportunity to serve 100 of the SYETP participants with more intense remediation, life skills opportunities training and school support activities. However, instead of designing the STEP demonstration in a manner sufficient to offset 1989 SYETP funding reductions, the county's model was excessively staffed, fiscally inefficient and not appropriately situated to serve those most in need.

Another example of the programmatic flaws of the STEP design is the rejection of a plan to implement the project at one central site. Having one central site would have reduced the number of administrators, the salary expense, travel cost and training-conferences cost. (There are required training conferences in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.; having excessive staff increases the cost of having them trained.)

You the public can demand more efficient and effective servicing. You can prevent the yearly excuse that our youth are no longer interested -- especially our disadvantaged college students. We pay SYETP officials extremely well to operate this program, but they are not producing the appropriate numbers, and no one is going to force them to either.

Actually, other youth JTPA programs operated by the county use the same excuse -- lack of interest. One youth program in particular -- ironically, it is operated by the same agency that manages the SYETP -- has a full-time paid recruiter and still manages to use that excuse.

So, it is up to you (parents and teachers) to refer your unemployed and disadvantaged youth to the appropriate offices, to guarantee that their applications are completed properly and to follow-up with the agency to ensure that the application was properly processed. Don't give SYETP officials an excuse this year. While your children sit idle each summer, the salaries of those officials continue to increase that much more. Let's give today's youth the same opportunity I had.

http://koger.7p.com

Pa. State Representative Joe Preston's Anti-Catholic Statements

2006-08-18T02:05:00.001-04:00

On June 9, 1999, Joe Preston said school vouchers would enable certain religious schools to pay for the lawsuits involving pedophilia. It was reported that he specifically referred to certain religions hit hard by lawsuits saying that "millions of dollars of certain faiths" were used to pay for court settlements.

PA LEGISLATOR BRINGS BIGOTRY TO VOUCHER DEBATE

June 10, 1999

A state representative from Pennsylvania, Joseph Preston, Jr., said yesterday that school vouchers would enable certain religious schools to pay for the cost of lawsuits involving pedophilia.

Rep. Preston specifically referred to "certain religions hit hard by a lot of lawsuits," saying that "millions of dollars of certain faiths" were used to pay for court settlements. "I don’t want to see our money to be able to go for those different lawsuits for certain people who do not act appropriately," he said.

When questioned about which religion he was referring to, Rep. Preston got angry and said he was referring to different "systems" who have made court settlements. However, it was widely understood by those at the press conference that the lawmaker was targeting the Catholic Church.

Catholic League president William Donohue spoke to Rep. Preston today. Here is what transpired:

"I spoke to Rep. Preston today and found him to be rude and dishonest. When I asked him to explain himself, he accused me of being defensive about my group, thus acknowledging what everyone knows—his bigoted remarks were aimed at Catholics. He then contended that he was referring to certain ‘systems,’ not religions.

When I asked him to identify those systems, he could not do so. "I am writing to every member of the Pennsylvania legislature requesting that Rep. Preston be censured for his remarks. In addition, we will do everything we can to inform the voters in his Pittsburgh district that they are represented by an anti-Catholic bigot.

"The Catholic League applauds the quick and unequivocal response to this matter that was made by Pennsylvania Education Secretary Eugene Hickok. We look for the state legislators to do likewise. There is no place for bigots in our democratic system."

Source http://www.catholic-league.com/99press_releases/pr0299.htm

http://koger.7p.com

Contribute Funds To Todd Elliott Koger's Campaign State Rep.

2006-08-18T01:47:00.002-04:00

Money doesn't win elections; the candidate and his message do, but the only way anyone will hear Todd Elliott Koger's message is if his campaign has the resources to tell voters about it. Thus, any contribution is vital because major funds from outside contributions and big business are funding Joe Preston's campaign. Your donation, no matter the size, will allow Todd Elliott Koger to be competitive in this grassroots campaign.

To contribute funds to Todd Elliott Koger's campaign, please send your check or money order payable to:
"Todd Elliott Koger & Friends"
Candidate for State Assembly, District 24
c/o Kellie O. Dillard Treasurer
515 Kelly Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pa 15221

Federal law prohibits contributions to the campaign from the general treasury funds of corporations, labor organizations of national banks (including corporate or other business entity credit cards); any person contributing another person's funds; foreign nationals who lack permanent resident status; and federal government contractors.

Thank you for you interest in the campaign; your assistance will be greatly appreciated. We have a wide variety of activities to accommodate those with lots of time or just a precious few moments -- whatever you are willing to offer, we will be happy to put your skills to good use.

Mr. Koger is available to speak to your organization, civic group, church, neighborhood, and the like.

http://koger.7p.com

Host a fundraiser for Todd Elliott Koger candidate for Pa. State Representative

2006-08-17T21:33:00.001-04:00

Host a fundraiser.

Why should you host a fundraiser?

Hosting a fundraiser allows all of your colleagues, neighbors and friends to develop and enhance a personal relationship with the campaign in a casual and friendly setting. Hosting a fundraiser is an integral and traditional part of the electoral process. Running for public office is an expensive proposition and candidates need the help of supporters to get elected.

How do you invite the candidate to your fundraiser?

Write an invitation letter to the candidate or telephone the campaign. The invitation and/or telephone call should be sent out as far in advance as possible. The candidate's schedule will be booked very fast.

Should others help you plan the fundraiser?

Form a small event committee to develop a potential donor list and help with the logistical issues and planning of the fundraiser. By getting your event committee to invite their own network to your event, you can raise dollars from people you might otherwise be unable to reach.

Who should you invite as guests to your political fundraiser?

Invite neighbors, friends and business associates who support the candidate. He will appreciate a large turnout.

Where should you host a political fundraiser?

Most fundraisers are held in private homes or a business office. Of course, where you host a fundraiser depends largely upon the size of the event and the ambiance that you want to create.

What happens at a fundraiser?

A fundraiser is a simple reception. Allow ample time for the guests to arrive before the candidate. Introduce the candidate to your guests and provide time for the candidate to address the group as a whole. Thereafter, collect the political contribution checks from your guests.

http://koger.7p.com

Todd Elliott Koger For Pa. State Representative

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18 charged with stealing $500,000 in LIHEAP funds

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Full Time PA Legislators Get Conflict of Interests Income . . .

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For politically connected firms, routine Bond issue transactions have generated enough in attorney's fees to make Joe Preston blush.

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Todd Elliott Koger's Op-Ed Article: Living on the margins of society

Living on the margins of society

Todd Elliott Koger's Op-Ed Article: A missed opportunity

A missed opportunity.

Pa. State Representative Joe Preston's Anti-Catholic Statements

PA LEGISLATOR BRINGS BIGOTRY TO VOUCHER DEBATE

Contribute Funds To Todd Elliott Koger's Campaign State Rep.

To contribute funds to Todd Elliott Koger's campaign, please send your check or money order payable to:"Todd Elliott Koger & Friends"Candidate for State Assembly, District 24c/o Kellie O. Dillard Treasurer 515 Kelly AvenuePittsburgh, Pa 15221

Host a fundraiser for Todd Elliott Koger candidate for Pa. State Representative

Host a fundraiser.

To contribute funds to Todd Elliott Koger's campaign, please send your check or money order payable to:
"Todd Elliott Koger & Friends"
Candidate for State Assembly, District 24
c/o Kellie O. Dillard Treasurer
515 Kelly Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pa 15221