Outside Erie

Lots of anger today over City Council’s decision last night to table a plan that would give the city $250,000 in upfront state money and up to $2 million more to help revitalize downtown.
Fellow GlobalErie blogger Jim Berlin (who has invested heavily in the redevelopment of Union Station) has a rant over on Berlin’s Wall.
And […]

We often hear complaints that Erie is bereft of investigative journalism.
Then we come across stories like Ed Palattella’s Sunday Erie Times-News piece on a payment from developer Greg Rubino to a former Erie Zoning Board member and are reminded that there are still some good reporters out there minding the shop.
As we’ve come to expect, […]

I’ve been wondering to myself how long it would take for folks to begin questioning the role former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan played in creating the current economic mess.
Greenspan was manning the controls for when a lot of the conditions that set up this crisis took hold.
Today, the New York Times answered my question.
I […]

The House of Representatives today approved the revised Wall Street bailout package.
U.S. Rep. Phil English, who voted no on the first package last week, again cast a “no” vote today.
Here’s his statement on his vote:
“The challenges facing our financial markets are real and Congress should have engaged in a deliberative process to craft a measured […]

If you care about the future of downtown Erie, you might want to clear your schedule at 5 p.m. today and head down to the Intermodal Transportation Center.
That’s because the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority is meeting at that time to play host to its first meeting as part of a process to create a master […]

Here is U.S. Rep. Phil English’s statement on today’s bailout bill vote:

“From the outset, it has been my strong belief that any rescue proposal necessarily include real consequences for bad actors, strong taxpayer protections and accountability and transparency of any tax dollars used. I believe that the bill considered today failed to meet these […]

Congressional candidate Kathy Dahlkemper has released a statement about the news today that Congress has rejected the bailout bill.
Her opponent, U.S. Rep. Phil English, voted no on the bill. We’ll post his statement if and when it’s available.
In the meantime, here’s what Dahlkemper had to say:
“Over the past few weeks, we have seen the biggest […]

Before Congress votes on the $700-billion bailout bill, some groups like the Sunlight Foundation are urging members to hold off on the vote for at least 72 hours so that they can properly read and digest its contents.
Such a move will also give the public a chance to see what the bill looks like before […]

Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama squared off Friday night in their first pre-election debate.
The first round was focused on foreign policy — with a healthy dose of questions about the financial meltdown.
What did you think? Did either candidate change your mind or solidify his position?
More importantly, what questions do you want asked in […]

Former New York Times writer David Cay Johnston — one of the country’s top journalists when it comes to covering U.S. taxation — today issued an impassioned plea to his fellow journalists to not blindly cover the government’s proposed bailout of Wall Street.
Johnston argues the plan shouldn’t get a rubber stamp from the press, which […]