Posted by Mark Koenig on Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Kaitlyn Foti of Montgomery News writes:
A Crestmont resident is helping carve out a path for fitness for her neighborhood.
Louise Twyman, 76, has spent the last year and a half working at getting the community and the township involved in creating a walking path through Rubicam Park.
(…)
There will be a kickoff rally Oct. 23 to help raise money and introduce the project into the community. State Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153, who [she] credits as being very helpful with the project, will be there to talk about the trail. Twyman … will be speaking as well before dedicating a park bench for First Baptist’s 100th anniversary.
The rally begins at 10 a.m., and will be held at Rubicam Avenue Park, at the intersections of Rubicam and Franklin Avenue.
Read the full article here.
Posted by Mark Koenig on Thursday, October 14, 2010
Daniel Rubin of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes:
It looks like the Pennsylvania legislature’s latest effort to make the roads safer will run out of gas Thursday because the House and Senate are caught in an episode of Alphonse and Gaston.
They were the hapless Frenchmen who first appeared in a New York Journal comic strip in 1901, constantly bowing and deferring to each other, never getting anything done.
“After you, Alphonse.”
“No, you first, my dear Gaston.”
For the better part of a year, the two legislative chambers have been sparring over bills that would restrict drivers’ use of cell phones, ban texting, as well as limit how many friends a young motorist can transport.
The House sent over two tough bills. The Senate combined and weakened them. The House groused. This summer, representatives from both bodies met to find language all could live with.
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State Rep. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat from Abington, has worked for several years to keep drivers’ hands on the wheel. He thought he’d have a bill before the governor by now.
“The dispute broke out in the media last week between the Senate Republican leader and the House Democratic leader over who was to do it first – I kid you not,” Shapiro told me Monday.
“The Senate leader said, ‘We’re not doing it first. You were supposed to do it first.’ This is silliness . . . to play games about who needs to go first, especially since we’ve gone first twice.”
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Tuesday, October 12, 2010
John L. Micek of The Morning Call writes:
Pennsylvania lawmakers have spent more than a decade trying to pass a ban on hand-held cell phone use by drivers. And now it appears they’re going to have to wait a little longer.The state House broke for an election-season recess Wednesday without reaching an agreement with the Senate on an issue that voters consider a no-brainer, but one that lawmakers have nonetheless failed spectacularly to get over the goal line.
“I really believe this is something that will stop accidents and save lives,” said Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, who has pushed the ban for the past several years. “There are very few issues here where that happens.”
According to those involved, the ban bill, which has been around in one form or another since the late 1990s, was derailed by a breakdown in communication between House and Senate leaders over whether and when a vote was to take place.
The bill now before lawmakers would make it a secondary offense for adults to use hand-held cell phones or send text messages while driving. The same use by teen drivers would be barred outright. Democrats in the House had sought an outright ban for all drivers.
Shapiro said there’s compromise language that could be approved by the Senate next week, when it also adjourns for the election-season break, and sent back to the House for final action in early November. Right now, though, inertia appears to rule.
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Monday, October 4, 2010
Thomas Celona of Montgomery Media writes:
Work to build a new home for the Fort Washington Fire Company is officially underway after Upper Dublin Township held a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 2.
The new firehouse, which will be located at 1245 Fort Washington Ave., will replace the company’s current main location, Station 88-A, which is located at 220 Summit Ave.
Members of the fire company, township officials, local legislators and community members gathered at the site for the ceremony to launch a construction project that has been in the works for years.
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“This has been a long and collaborative effort between the community, its residents, its elected leaders and, of course, the very brave men and women of the [Fort Washington] Fire Company,” state Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153, said. “As we put our shovels in the ground here today in the beginning of erecting the building, know it’s not just the walls and trucks and all the equipment that’s going to be housed in there. This will really be a symbol of the strength of our community.”
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Thursday, September 30, 2010
Carl Hessler of The Mercury writes:
A Montgomery County legislator believes strengthening a proposed law for pawnbrokers will assist law enforcement officials in recovering stolen items.
State Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153rd Dist., has secured the House Judiciary Committee’s unanimous approval for his amendment to proposed House Bill 2517 that would require pawnbrokers, in cases of either loan or outright sale, to collect and copy valid photo identification and to make a complete description of the property being sold by someone.
“Strengthening the law that regulates pawnbrokers will ensure that law enforcement have all the necessary tools to identify and recover stolen property,” Shapiro said. “Since 2006, the price of gold has more than doubled and jewelry has become a prime target of burglars. By making it more difficult for criminals to convert the stolen items to cash, we can prevent burglaries from happening in the first place.”
Shapiro worked with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Abington Police, the state police and the House Judiciary Committee to draft the amendment to the original House proposal which strengthens the state’s Pawnbrokers License Act.
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