Outside Erie

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today outlined a plan that would encourage municipalities in New York State to consolidate.
According to a news release:

Simply put, our system of local government is broken. It has been outpaced by globalization, regionalization, and an ever changing marketplace. The density of local government in New York is astounding. There […]

Sure, Erie cannot compare with Pittsburgh in terms of scale.
But a story today in the Cleveland Pain Dealer explores why Pittsburgh is seemingly more ready to weather the recession than other cities in the Rust Belt.
The keys, according to the story:

Regionalize
Develop and use the waterfront
Develop educational leadership
Cooperate (by this, the piece means that corporations and […]

Lost amid the Election Day hubbub in Erie was news that voters in Maryland approved a ballot initiative that will soon pave the way for gamblers to play slots in the land of crabcakes.
This undoubtedly provides competition for casino operators in Pennsylvania.
And that competition could be coming quickly. Reports the Washington Post:
The governor was basking […]

I received a pair of phone calls on behalf of one of the major-party candidates encouraging me to vote on Tuesday at my former polling place in Millcreek Township.
Never mind that I’ve lived in Maryland for more than two years and voted here as recently as this year’s primary.
If I were to show up at […]

We’re continuing our closing arguments series by focusing on the race for the Pennsylvania 4th State House district between Rick Mitchell and Curt Sonney.
Mitchell is a Democrat. Sonney is a Republican and the incumbent.
If you are a supporter of either candidate, you are invited to state your case. But keep your comments focused on why […]

We’re continuing our closing arguments series by focusing on the race for the Pennsylvania 3rd State House district between John Hornaman and Jason Owen.
Hornaman is a Democrat. Owen is a Republican. Both hail from Millcreek.
If you are a supporter of either candidate, you are invited to state your case. But keep your comments focused on […]

Erie voters are faced with some significant decisions when they head to the polls on Tuesday.
And one of the most significant decisions is whether they will vote for incumbent U.S. Rep. Phil English or his challenger, businesswoman Kathy Dahlkemper.
I’m not going to offer an endorsement or tell you how I think you should vote.
The decision […]

It seems as though the only two people in America these days are Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.
Oh, wait, there’s Joe the Plumber, too. And Sarah Palin.
Ok, four people.
They dominate the news. They dominate commercials. They’re everywhere.
And it won’t stop until Nov. 4.
But with all of the hype over the Presidential election, it […]

In the firestorm following City Council’s controversial decision to table a vote that would have potentially brought more then $2 million in state money for downtown came this nugget from regular commenter Jim.
Jim spoke of what the decision could mean for future state funding for Erie:
This is symptomatic of what many have been complaining about […]

In neighboring Ohio — a state that faces almost all of the economic challenges that are facing Pennsylvania — the state’s Department of Education has set out to create a strategy for educating its youth for the modern work force.
The effort is worth following, for sure, since Ohio is both competing and working with Pennsylvania […]