The Sanatoga Post

Archbishop Chaput

PHILADELPHIA PA – Yet another call to the Pennsylvania Legislature for passage of a school choice bill – a debate in which Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township‘s state House advocate, Rep. Tom Quigley, has been a key player – arose Thursday (Jan. 25, 2012) from Philadelphia, this time in the form of the weekly column from Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

Chaput, the spiritual leader of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and its more than 1 million Roman Catholic parishioners, in a statement distributed to the media challenged his flock to “get active and focused” in lobbying elected officials to support proposals that would help families pay for their students to attend alternative and private schools rather than public ones.

Chaput’s column makes several references to the use of Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) funds as the source of financing for a school choice or voucher program. Using EITC money has been championed by Quigley, but not yet become law. A bill with that provision died in legislative committee discussions last year. Members of both the state House and Senate are due to return for work in Harrisburg on Feb. 6 (2012).

Chaput blamed the recent announcement to close dozens of parochial schools in the archdiocese, including Sacred Heart in Royersford and St. Philip Neri School in East Greenville, in part on their supporters’ inability to date to force legislators’ hands. “Elected officials do listen, and they act when the noise gets loud enough,” he said, in promoting a lobbying campaign.

Here’s Chaput’s column in its entirety:

“Monday, January 29, begins Catholic Schools Week.  It’s a time to honor the unique value of Catholic education.  Here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we have a long record of dedicated service by the women and men who teach in our classrooms and run the “business” of Catholic schools.  That record includes the legacy of thousands of women and men religious and diocesan clergy.  In the single academic year of 1963-64, more than 4,100 religious and 1,600 laypersons taught more than 263,000 students enrolled in our schools.  Today, scores of our pastors make extraordinary commitments of parish funds to keep our schools open and excellent.

“Unfortunately, schools run on resources, not simply good will and heroic service.  Our schools can no longer count on unlimited Church support.  The resources simply don’t exist.  Many of our parishes are financially strained.  The archdiocese itself faces serious financial and organizational challenges that have been developing for many years and cannot be ignored.

“So where does that leave us?  We can honor Catholic Schools Week this year by actually doing something about the fiscal problems hurting our schools.  We need to press our lawmakers, respectfully but vigorously, to pass school choice.

“First, we need some clarity:  School vouchers do not mean “government support for religious schools.”  That argument is flatly false.  No vouchers go to any school, religious or otherwise.  Vouchers do, however, return the power of educational choice to parents, where it belongs.  In doing so, vouchers make all schools more accountable for the quality of education they deliver.  Parents get the voucher.  Parents choose the school.  This makes perfect sense.  And if a school offers a poor education for young people, parents will rightly vote with their feet — and their vouchers.  Of course, most Catholic schools do the opposite:  They offer a strong education, in a safe environment, with a focus on developing good moral character.  That’s why parents are so upset when they close.

“Some people argue that school choice legislation only helps families in poor areas. Helping the poor is obviously vital, and vouchers would accomplish that.  But vouchers would also assist many more families than the poor.

“If vouchers are approved, they will free up what’s known as EITC funds — Educational Improvement Tax Credit funds – along with other grant and scholarship monies for many thousands of other school families. In effect, the positive impact of vouchers translates to millions of dollars of additional educational resources potentially available to a wide range of school families each year – including Catholic school families.

“Now here’s an unhappy fact:  In 2011, the bishops of Pennsylvania made the passage of vouchers one of their priority legislative issues.  People like Bob O’Hara in our statewide Catholic bishops’ conference and Jason Budd in our archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education worked hard to mobilize Catholic support.  Their efforts failed – and not because they didn’t try, but because too few people in the pews listened.  Very few Catholics called or wrote their state senators and representatives.  Even fewer visited their offices to lobby as citizens.  Despite this, vouchers passed in the state senate, before stalling in the house.  One non-Catholic school choice activist – who has poured years of his time and millions of dollars of his own resources into fighting for vouchers as a social justice issue – was baffled at the inability of Catholics to mobilize around an issue so obviously vital to the public interest and so clearly helpful to the survival of their own schools.

“In the coming week I’ll be writing every state senator and representative in the territory of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to press them to support school vouchers.  And I’ll continue doing it until vouchers pass.  I hope my brother bishops and pastors across the state will do the same.  More importantly:  Our Catholic people need to do the same.  Elected officials do listen, and they act when the noise gets loud enough.  If nothing else, the crisis of Philadelphia’s Catholic schools is an unpleasant but finally very healthy wake up call.  The bill for our failure to pass school choice over the past decade has come due.  Now we’re paying for it.

“When vouchers stalled, yet again, in the Pennsylvania house last fall, a frustrated Catholic school teacher friend of mine said “Catholics are suckers.”  I don’t believe that.  But then, I’m new in town.  If we Philadelphia Catholics love our Catholic schools, and we obviously do, then the time to get active and focused is now.  We need to begin pressing our state lawmakers to pass the school choice legislation — including vouchers and expanded EITC credits – that’s currently pending in Harrisburg  And we need to do it this week, today, right now.  I plan to do that.  I hope you’ll join me.”

Related (to education tuition vouchers):

• Archbishop’s Column Pushes Again For School Choice
• School Voucher Users Must Pass Tests, State Suggests
• PA School Voucher Bills Seem To Run Out Of Time
• School Choice Voucher Action Anticipated This Week
• Pottsgrove Board Officially Opposes School Vouchers
• Local Rep. Quigley Favors Tax Credits In School Choice
• PA Senate School Choice Vote Possible Next Week
• Two Unions Break Ranks, Back State School Vouchers
• Idea: Pottsgrove Might Prosper With Own Charter School
• Choice Amendment Would Remove Vouchers’ 3rd Year
• Teacher Unions Say Budgets, Vouchers Top Their Agendas
• Poll Claims Public Opposes Tuition Vouchers
• Senate Education Chair Preps For Voucher, Choice Battle

Photo from Facebook

Jon Frey, right, president of the Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition, greets area residents last Tuesday at the Route 422 Forum

HARRISBURG PA — The regional agency pushing for vehicle tolls and the possibility of returning commuter rail service along the U.S. Route 422 corridor is, at least for now, refusing to release to the public information used in creating its plan, The Pennsylvania Independent online news servicereported Friday (Sept. 16, 2011).

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), which is responsible for the tolling proposal, argues it is not subject to the state’s right-to-know law and does not have to provide information so it can be independently verified.

In defiance of a state Office of Open Records ruling that information be disclosed, DVRPC has denied several right-to-know-law requests that seek data on current SEPTA train ridership. They were filed during the past two months by the Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition (PA-TEC), a citizen’s group opposed to 422 tolling, according to The Independent.

DVRPC is asking Commonwealth Court to review and reverse the Office of Open Records decision.

Coalition President Jon Frey told The Independent his group wants to verify the accuracy of a ridership projection for a DVRPC-proposed rail line between Norristown and Reading, which is tentatively planned to make stops in Lower Pottsgrove and Pottstown. Resumption of train service, which ended in the 1980s, would be financed primarily by toll revenue from nearby Route 422.

For now, “any DVRPC records are pre-decisional, deliberative and strategic, and therefore exempt” from the state’s right-to-know law, Candy Snyder, its communications director, replied. Anything that can be made public is already available, she said.

DVRPC Executive Director Barry Seymour was one of several panelists who spoke Tuesday (Sept. 13) during a forum on the 422 proposal held at Pop John Paul II High School in Royersford. It attracted hundreds of area residents, most of whom seemed to oppose tolling.

• Read a story by reporter Eric Boehm, titled “Planning board pushing 422 toll/transit plan shutting out public access” and published Friday by The Independent, here.
• Watch a video (above) with comments from local officials and guests who attended the forum, or see it at The Post’s YouTube user account.

Related (to U.S. Route 422 Corridor planning):

• On 422 Toll Plan, DVRPC Fights Information Requests
• Notebook Worthy (U.S. Route 422 Forum Edition)
• Drivers will subsidize new rail line in 422 tolling plan (The Pennsylvania Independent)
• Agendas Abound Tonight At 422 Forum In Royersford
• Quigley Seeks Crowd As Source Of Comments On 422
• State Road Tolls A Future Funding Solution, Official Agrees
• Report Expected To Suggest Law For Road Toll Authority
• I-95 A Big Problem; 422 A Solvable Problem (With Tolls)
• Even With Tolling, 422 Might Be Free (For A Few Miles)
• County Candidates Brown, Castor Oppose 422 Tolling
• Quigley, Other Reps Questioning 422 Tolls Proposal
• 422 Toll Proposal Wins Some PA Commission Backers
• Exec Highway Group To Hear Rt. 422 Tolling As ‘Model’
• 422 Questions Answered, For Your Viewing Pleasure
• In 422 Tolling, Planners Say, Studying Doesn’t Make It So
• Former Reporter Asks Commissioners To Support 422 Tolls
• Online Survey Seeks Opinions On Local Road Congestion
• 422 Plus Project Plays Offense With FAQs Debut
• Peering Into The Future? Gov’s Bridge Proposal And 422
• Another Township Endorses 422 Master Plan
• Neighboring Limerick Supervisors Endorse 422 Master Plan
• Understand 422 Plan Endorsement, Lower Pottsgrove Advised
• Lower Pottsgrove Holds On 422 Plan Endorsement
• Engineers Claim PA Roads Worse Now Than In 2006
• Tuesday Session Tackles Funding For 422 And Elsewhere
• Tolls, Lower Pottsgrove Station Part Of 422 Plan
• Pending Decision May Affect Route 422 Projects
• Last Day For Your Say On Route 422 Plan
• Notebook Worthy (Aug. 24, 2009)
• Consultants Express Interest In Studying 422
• Don’t Like 422 Tolling? Website Wants Your Alternative
• Truckers Alerted On Highway Partnerships Bill
• In 422 Debate, Time A Hindrance And Help
• Notebook Worthy (June 29, 2009)
• Growth, Planners Say, Is 422’s Growing Problem
• Tech Used To Draw For 422 Meetings
• Route 422 Toll Meetings Next Week
• 422 Repairs, Delays Start Tuesday
• 422 Proposal, Like Traffic, Creeps Ahead
• Got A Route 422 Idea? Time To Air It
• Train Service On The Front Burner Once More

Audience members wait patiently for the start of Tuesday's forum on U.S. Route 422 tolling

ROYERSFORD PA – It’s been three days since hundreds of local residents packed into Pope John Paul II High School in Royersford for Tuesday’s (Sept. 13, 2011) highly hyped forum about proposed tolling on U.S. Route 422 between King of Prussia and the Berks County line. There have been thousands of words written about it, and an almost endless stream of images and video footage. For those who missed them, see the resource list at bottom.

For those who want a different perspective, here are jottings from a reporter’s notebook:

Those question cards just didn’t cut it

Aides to the several state representatives who sponsored the forum positioned themselves in the aisles of the school auditorium as the crowd streamed in. They were ready to hand out cards on which audience members could write their questions for panelists, which would then be read aloud by host Rep. Mike Vereb.

What the aides weren’t ready for was audience anger.

It quickly became clear to them that people had arrived at the high school intending to speak, to make their voices heard, to earn some personal peace by saying their piece. Some would have talked off the cuff. Some came with prepared statements; at least one was several pages long.

A few confronted the aides directly as the cards were distributed. “I don’t want this,” one man said to a female assistant, who held out a card and smiled as graciously as possible. “I want the sign-up sheet. I’ve got something to say. When do I get the chance?,” he growled. “This is supposed to be a public meeting. The public gets to talk at a public meeting.”

He wasn’t alone in the sentiment. If the pols in attendance learned anything new Tuesday, it may have been that they need to hold a second forum – somewhere down the road, as plans with 422 unfold – at which voters, drivers, riders, business owners and other citizens of all stripes can air their praise for or contempt of tolling, even if the purpose it serves is only cathartic.

The panelists had their say. The people seemingly still want theirs.

Seymour and Hoeffel: Daniels in the lions’ den

Their opinions were unpopular, and they knew it. They would be two against the multitude, and they knew that too. There they were anyway: Barry Seymour, executive director of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, to explain and advocate for collecting tolls on 422 as a means to pay for its improvement.

Neither is a stranger to controversial topics – they’ve separately faced plenty of disgruntled folks before in different venues – and they appeared comfortable in the role again. One audience member, a woman waiting for the proceedings to start, was overheard using the word “stoic” to describe Seymour. Hoeffel was derided for being too chatty; his answers to questions occasionally ran longer than the crowd had patience for, and it jeered and grumbled.

At the panelists' table, before the show began: from left, Seymour, Huskey, Kampf, Toepel

Curiously, Seymour and Hoeffel were seated at the LEFT of the on-stage table facing the audience; three of the area’s four state representatives – Tom Quigley, Marcy Toepel, and Warren Kampf – were seated at its RIGHT; and newspaper editor Stan Huskey of The (Norristown PA) Times-Herald was seated at CENTER. No one involved in the forum seemed able to answer whether that positioning was planned, or simply chance.

Not all the scenes took place on stage

It’s been said politics is a blood sport without the mess of blood. Whether that’s true or not is for others to decide. Political forums like the one held Tuesday do indeed have their moments of conquest and vanquish, of drama and theatrics, of earnestness and hard work.

Which is which?

Clockwise, from left: Campion; Neafcy and Castor, and the Rev. Okon

Scene One: County Commissioner Bruce Castor, an outspoken tolling opponent and Hoeffel detractor who is running for re-election, arrived at the forum and stopped to say hello to Limerick (PA) Township Board of Supervisors’ Chairman Tom Neafcy. “I just came to see what would happen,” Castor said.

Scene Two: Gilbertsville resident Sue Campion operates a courier business that makes daily runs to locations all across the 422 Corridor. Tolling would increase her costs. She arrived at the forum with a hand-crafted sign that made her an instant celebrity. Every television cameraman in the place at one time or another trained an unblinking eye on its demand: “No new taxes on my ability to conduct business.”

Scene Three: Once the forum began the Rev. Alan Okon Jr., president of the high school, looked his usual priestly self: black slacks, black shirt and white cleric’s collar, black sport coat. He offered a warm welcome from the podium to audience members, many of whom likely were visiting his facility for the first time.

During the hour before, however, he was dressed in shirt sleeves and touching all the bases. He checked with the sound crew, the video crew, the lighting crew to ensure their needs were met. He shook hands with every state rep as they appeared, as well as House Deputy Press Secretary Tricia Graham, and asked if he could be of help. And he smiled easily, even though he also had to simultaneously prepare for the unexpected closing of his school the following day, due to a teachers’ strike.

You might have sworn he had Help From On High to remain stress-free.

Other coverage:

• Read a story by editor Teresa McMinn, titled “What Are You Prepared To Do To Fix 422?” and published Tuesday by The Pottstown Patch online news service, here.
• Read a second story by McMinn, titled “What’s The Future For Route 422?” and published Tuesday by The Patch, here.
• Read a story by reporter Evan Brandt, titled “Crowd gives 422 tolling plan unwelcome reception” and published Wednesday by The (Pottstown PA) Mercury newspaper, here.

Related (to U.S. Route 422 Corridor planning):

• Notebook Worthy (U.S. Route 422 Forum Edition)
• Drivers will subsidize new rail line in 422 tolling plan (The Pennsylvania Independent)
• Agendas Abound Tonight At 422 Forum In Royersford
• Quigley Seeks Crowd As Source Of Comments On 422
• State Road Tolls A Future Funding Solution, Official Agrees
• Report Expected To Suggest Law For Road Toll Authority
• I-95 A Big Problem; 422 A Solvable Problem (With Tolls)
• Even With Tolling, 422 Might Be Free (For A Few Miles)
• County Candidates Brown, Castor Oppose 422 Tolling
• Quigley, Other Reps Questioning 422 Tolls Proposal
• 422 Toll Proposal Wins Some PA Commission Backers
• Exec Highway Group To Hear Rt. 422 Tolling As ‘Model’
• 422 Questions Answered, For Your Viewing Pleasure
• In 422 Tolling, Planners Say, Studying Doesn’t Make It So
• Former Reporter Asks Commissioners To Support 422 Tolls
• Online Survey Seeks Opinions On Local Road Congestion
• 422 Plus Project Plays Offense With FAQs Debut
• Peering Into The Future? Gov’s Bridge Proposal And 422
• Another Township Endorses 422 Master Plan
• Neighboring Limerick Supervisors Endorse 422 Master Plan
• Understand 422 Plan Endorsement, Lower Pottsgrove Advised
• Lower Pottsgrove Holds On 422 Plan Endorsement
• Engineers Claim PA Roads Worse Now Than In 2006
• Tuesday Session Tackles Funding For 422 And Elsewhere
• Tolls, Lower Pottsgrove Station Part Of 422 Plan
• Pending Decision May Affect Route 422 Projects
• Last Day For Your Say On Route 422 Plan
• Notebook Worthy (Aug. 24, 2009)
• Consultants Express Interest In Studying 422
• Don’t Like 422 Tolling? Website Wants Your Alternative
• Truckers Alerted On Highway Partnerships Bill
• In 422 Debate, Time A Hindrance And Help
• Notebook Worthy (June 29, 2009)
• Growth, Planners Say, Is 422’s Growing Problem
• Tech Used To Draw For 422 Meetings
• Route 422 Toll Meetings Next Week
• 422 Repairs, Delays Start Tuesday
• 422 Proposal, Like Traffic, Creeps Ahead
• Got A Route 422 Idea? Time To Air It
• Train Service On The Front Burner Once More

ROYERSFORD PA – Make no mistake: Jon Frey, a Philadelphia resident who represents a group called the Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition, doesn’t like the idea of imposing tolls on vehicles driving U.S. Route 422 between King of Prussia and the Berks County PA line. “The best course of action is to scrap the current (tolling) proposal and start fresh,” he says in an e-mail to The Post.

Quigley distributed this flyer for his event tonight

But Frey thinks the public needs to make up its own mind and hear from experts and government officials on the tolling issue. So his organization and several others are urging area residents to attend a forum on the topic scheduled to begin tonight (Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011) at 7 p.m. in Pope John Paul II High School, 181 Rittenhouse Rd., Royersford PA.

• For an earlier Post story on this event, read “Quigley Seeks Crowd As Source Of Comments On 422,” here.

The recommendation to charge drivers fees to travel a 25-mile segment of the east-west highway, and use the resulting dedicated revenue to pay for road improvements and possibly even mass transit there, was made more than a year ago by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC).

State Rep. Tom Quigley, whose 146th District includes Lower Pottsgrove and Limerick townships and the borough of Pottstown, is sponsoring the forum. Quigley’s no fan of tolling either, he made clear this spring during a roadside press conference in Oaks, where he was joined by several other House representatives from the area.

Those willing to consider 422 tolling argue Quigley has stacked the forum’s deck. Two advocates scheduled to speak tonight are Barry Seymour, DVRPC executive director, and Joe Hoeffel, out-going Montgomery County commissioner and former DVRPC board chairman. Four other panelists – state Reps. Marcy Toepel (R-Montgomery), Warren Kampf (R-Montgomery and Chester), and Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery); and Stan Huskey, editor of The (Norristown PA) Times-Herald newspaper, oppose the concept.

Frey has an agenda too, he admits. His group contends passenger rail service in southeastern Pennsylvania needs to be expanded, and its particular emphasis is on reinstating service to SEPTA‘s Fox Chase-Newtown rail line. “Using tolls to fund transit sets a bad example,” he wrote to The Post last week (Sept. 7). “It avoids the transit funding issue, and could mean no funding for transit in areas without tollable roads.”

• Read Frey’s letter to The Post in its entirety, which includes several reasons why he opposes 422 tolling, here.

“This is an interactive event and audience participation is encouraged,” according to Quigley. Those who are unable to attend but would like to submit a question for tonight’s panelists should call his district office, located on East High Street in Sanatoga, at 610-326-9563.

Other advance coverage about the forum:

• Read a story by reporter Evan Brandt, titled “Drivers invited to forum tonight on 422 tolls” and published Tuesday in The (Pottstown PA) Mercury nespaper, here.

Related (to U.S. Route 422 Corridor planning):

• Agendas Abound Tonight At 422 Forum In Royersford
• Quigley Seeks Crowd As Source Of Comments On 422
• State Road Tolls A Future Funding Solution, Official Agrees
• Report Expected To Suggest Law For Road Toll Authority
• I-95 A Big Problem; 422 A Solvable Problem (With Tolls)
• Even With Tolling, 422 Might Be Free (For A Few Miles)
• County Candidates Brown, Castor Oppose 422 Tolling
• Quigley, Other Reps Questioning 422 Tolls Proposal
• 422 Toll Proposal Wins Some PA Commission Backers
• Exec Highway Group To Hear Rt. 422 Tolling As ‘Model’
• 422 Questions Answered, For Your Viewing Pleasure
• In 422 Tolling, Planners Say, Studying Doesn’t Make It So
• Former Reporter Asks Commissioners To Support 422 Tolls
• Online Survey Seeks Opinions On Local Road Congestion
• 422 Plus Project Plays Offense With FAQs Debut
• Peering Into The Future? Gov’s Bridge Proposal And 422
• Another Township Endorses 422 Master Plan
• Neighboring Limerick Supervisors Endorse 422 Master Plan
• Understand 422 Plan Endorsement, Lower Pottsgrove Advised
• Lower Pottsgrove Holds On 422 Plan Endorsement
• Engineers Claim PA Roads Worse Now Than In 2006
• Tuesday Session Tackles Funding For 422 And Elsewhere
• Tolls, Lower Pottsgrove Station Part Of 422 Plan
• Pending Decision May Affect Route 422 Projects
• Last Day For Your Say On Route 422 Plan
• Notebook Worthy (Aug. 24, 2009)
• Consultants Express Interest In Studying 422
• Don’t Like 422 Tolling? Website Wants Your Alternative
• Truckers Alerted On Highway Partnerships Bill
• In 422 Debate, Time A Hindrance And Help
• Notebook Worthy (June 29, 2009)
• Growth, Planners Say, Is 422’s Growing Problem
• Tech Used To Draw For 422 Meetings
• Route 422 Toll Meetings Next Week
• 422 Repairs, Delays Start Tuesday
• 422 Proposal, Like Traffic, Creeps Ahead
• Got A Route 422 Idea? Time To Air It
• Train Service On The Front Burner Once More

Quigley also distributed this flyer for his Sept. 13 event

ROYERSFORD PA – Crowd-sourcing will soon be put to work in a battle by Tom Quigley, the state representative from Pennsylvania’s 146th District, against a proposal to impose vehicle tolls on U.S. Route 422 from King of Prussia PA west to the Berks County line.

Crowd-sourcing is a currently popular term that sometimes describes gathering information and opinions from an assembled constituency (a “crowd” that serves as an authoritative “source”) with which to build and make a case on a specific topic. The process usually happens online, where people comment – often in strident tones – at social media forums like Twitter and Facebook.

Quigley, whose district includes Lower Pottsgrove and Limerick (PA) townships and the borough of Pottstown, is taking the concept a step further. He’s holding a forum Sept. 13 (201l; Tuesday) beginning at 7 p.m. in Pope John Paul II High School, 181 Rittenhouse Rd., Royersford PA, to let local residents air their thoughts on 422 tolling in person.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

The proposal to charge drivers fees to travel a 25-mile segment of the east-west highway, and use the resulting dedicated revenue to pay for road improvements and possibly even mass transit there, was suggested more than a year ago by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). Quigley and several other House representatives made their opposition clear during a roadside press conference this spring.

In an e-mail distributed Wednesday (Aug. 31), Quigley said he rejects “any tolling proposal that does not gather input from the people who would be most affected by tolling. I am hosting this forum to give my constituents the opportunity to ask questions and voice their opinions and concerns.”

Joining Quigley at the event as panelists are state Reps. Marcy Toepel (R-Montgomery), Warren Kampf (R-Montgomery/Chester), and Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery); Stan Huskey, editor of The (Norristown PA) Times-Herald newspaper; Barry Seymour, DVRPC executive director; and Montgomery County Commissioner and former DVRPC Board Chairman Joe Hoeffel.

“This is an interactive event and audience participation is encouraged,” Quigley wrote. Those who are unable to attend but would like to submit a question for the panelists should call his district office, located on East High Street in Sanatoga, at 610-326-9563.

Related (to U.S. Route 422 Corridor planning):

• Quigley Seeks Crowd As Source Of Comments On 422
• State Road Tolls A Future Funding Solution, Official Agrees
• Report Expected To Suggest Law For Road Toll Authority
• I-95 A Big Problem; 422 A Solvable Problem (With Tolls)
• Even With Tolling, 422 Might Be Free (For A Few Miles)
• County Candidates Brown, Castor Oppose 422 Tolling
• Quigley, Other Reps Questioning 422 Tolls Proposal
• 422 Toll Proposal Wins Some PA Commission Backers
• Exec Highway Group To Hear Rt. 422 Tolling As ‘Model’
• 422 Questions Answered, For Your Viewing Pleasure
• In 422 Tolling, Planners Say, Studying Doesn’t Make It So
• Former Reporter Asks Commissioners To Support 422 Tolls
• Online Survey Seeks Opinions On Local Road Congestion
• 422 Plus Project Plays Offense With FAQs Debut
• Peering Into The Future? Gov’s Bridge Proposal And 422
• Another Township Endorses 422 Master Plan
• Neighboring Limerick Supervisors Endorse 422 Master Plan
• Understand 422 Plan Endorsement, Lower Pottsgrove Advised
• Lower Pottsgrove Holds On 422 Plan Endorsement
• Engineers Claim PA Roads Worse Now Than In 2006
• Tuesday Session Tackles Funding For 422 And Elsewhere
• Tolls, Lower Pottsgrove Station Part Of 422 Plan
• Pending Decision May Affect Route 422 Projects
• Last Day For Your Say On Route 422 Plan
• Notebook Worthy (Aug. 24, 2009)
• Consultants Express Interest In Studying 422
• Don’t Like 422 Tolling? Website Wants Your Alternative
• Truckers Alerted On Highway Partnerships Bill
• In 422 Debate, Time A Hindrance And Help
• Notebook Worthy (June 29, 2009)
• Growth, Planners Say, Is 422’s Growing Problem
• Tech Used To Draw For 422 Meetings
• Route 422 Toll Meetings Next Week
• 422 Repairs, Delays Start Tuesday
• 422 Proposal, Like Traffic, Creeps Ahead
• Got A Route 422 Idea? Time To Air It
• Train Service On The Front Burner Once More

POTTSTOWN PA – Pennsylvania Rep. Tom Quigley thinks giving first-time offenders a break in sentencing for comparatively minor crimes “is valuable,” but if they don’t learn from their mistakes the legislator who represents Lower Pottsgrove, Limerick and Pottstown in the state House wants to ensure justice is served.

"Five-finger discount" in action

The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday (June 21, 2011) approved Quigley’s proposed law to treat repeat violations of retail theft as more severe for individuals who have completed an accelerated rehabilitation program. The proposal would close a loophole that became apparent during a recent court case, and which was pointed out to Quigley by detectives in the Limerick (PA) Police Department.

The proposal now goes before the full House for consideration.

The rehab program is the state’s way of giving first-timers their break. It’s often used in driving under the influence violations, and amounts to a probationary sentence that usually involves a fine, temporary loss of a driver’s license, or other lesser punishments. It can be used, too, in cases that involve shoplifting, the theft of goods from a retail store.

Once individuals complete rehabilitation, charges against them can be dismissed as though they never happened. For repeat offenders, the first-time crime normally is resurrected so harsher punishments can be imposed.

Where retail thefts were involved, though, language about thieves who participated in rehab wasn’t sufficiently clear, according to a Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling in a case called Commonwealth v. Graeff. More severe punishments might not apply to them, the court determined. Quigley’s proposal would address that problem, he said.

His House Bill 1603 would allow prosecutors to charge defendants who participated in rehabilitation but continue to break Pennsylvania’s retail theft law with a second-degree misdemeanor. “Retail theft is not a victimless crime,” Quigley noted. “Businesses lose billions of dollars annually to retail theft, and it’s paying customers who absorb those costs.”

The State Capital in Harrisburg.

HARRISBURG PA – State legislators are re-evaluating their positions on school choice, the controversial proposal that in some form might allow parents to send their children to private schools using public money, because right now their are so many competing options, Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township’s state representative, Tom Quigley, told The Pennsylvania Independent online news service Monday (June 20, 2011).

Quigley introduced one of those options just a few weeks ago. Now the choices for school choice are being reviewed and contemplated by his elected colleagues in both the House and Senate, and “the next 36 to 48 hours will be very, very critical” for the voucher bills, the chairman of the House Education Committee said.

Most recently, Chester County Rep. Curt Schroder introduced legislation Monday that allows every child — including home-schoolers — to be eligible for a $5,000 voucher for tuition at a private or parochial school. The bill would not determine the value of the voucher based on the student’s district and would not restrict voucher eligibility based on income. That separates it from similar proposals unveiled this year, The Independent reported.

• Read a story by reporter Eric Boehm, titled “Next two days will determine outcome of school choice battle” and published Monday by The Independent, here.

Related (to education tuition vouchers):

• School Choice Voucher Action Anticipated This Week
• Pottsgrove Board Officially Opposes School Vouchers
• Local Rep. Quigley Favors Tax Credits In School Choice
• PA Senate School Choice Vote Possible Next Week
• Two Unions Break Ranks, Back State School Vouchers
• Idea: Pottsgrove Might Prosper With Own Charter School
• Choice Amendment Would Remove Vouchers’ 3rd Year
• Teacher Unions Say Budgets, Vouchers Top Their Agendas
• Poll Claims Public Opposes Tuition Vouchers
• Senate Education Chair Preps For Voucher, Choice Battle

Traffic on U.S. Route 422 in Sanatoga

OAKS PA – With U.S. Route 422 serving as a backdrop for a Thursday (June 9, 2011) press conference, some area legislators – including state Rep. Tom Quigley, who represents Lower Pottsgrove, Pottstown and Limerick – made it clear they were not convinced that imposing tolls on the highway’s drivers was an answer for its financial future, WFMZ-TV Channel 69 reported.

Quigley openly questioned if, over a period of several years, money initially dedicated to 422 from its tolls wouldn’t be used to fund other legislative projects. He was joined at the media event by four other House representatives whose districts cover from Montgomery, Chester and Berks counties.

• Watch a video, above, of Quigley during the by-the-highway press conference, for see it at the legislator’s YouTube account.
• Read a news story by reporter Kimberly Davidow, and watch an accompanying video, titled “Lawmakers, Drivers Sound Off On Possible 422 Tolls” and published Thursday by WFMZ-TV, here.
• Read a related (and brief but opinionated!) commentary from a Montgomery County political blog, The Scoop, titled “Who Really Wants 422 Tolled,” and published Thursday, here.
• Read a new brochure that describes traffic problems and potential solutions along U.S. Route 422. It was released Monday (June 6) by the 422Plus Project, which advocates tolling as a highway repair revenue source.

Related (to U.S. Route 422 Corridor planning):

• Quigley, Other Reps Questioning 422 Tolls Proposal
• 422 Toll Proposal Wins Some PA Commission Backers
• Exec Highway Group To Hear Rt. 422 Tolling As ‘Model’
• 422 Questions Answered, For Your Viewing Pleasure
• In 422 Tolling, Planners Say, Studying Doesn’t Make It So
• Former Reporter Asks Commissioners To Support 422 Tolls
• Online Survey Seeks Opinions On Local Road Congestion
• 422 Plus Project Plays Offense With FAQs Debut
• Peering Into The Future? Gov’s Bridge Proposal And 422
• Another Township Endorses 422 Master Plan
• Neighboring Limerick Supervisors Endorse 422 Master Plan
• Understand 422 Plan Endorsement, Lower Pottsgrove Advised
• Lower Pottsgrove Holds On 422 Plan Endorsement
• Engineers Claim PA Roads Worse Now Than In 2006
• Tuesday Session Tackles Funding For 422 And Elsewhere
• Tolls, Lower Pottsgrove Station Part Of 422 Plan
• Pending Decision May Affect Route 422 Projects
• Last Day For Your Say On Route 422 Plan
• Notebook Worthy (Aug. 24, 2009)
• Consultants Express Interest In Studying 422
• Don’t Like 422 Tolling? Website Wants Your Alternative
• Truckers Alerted On Highway Partnerships Bill
• In 422 Debate, Time A Hindrance And Help
• Notebook Worthy (June 29, 2009)
• Growth, Planners Say, Is 422’s Growing Problem
• Tech Used To Draw For 422 Meetings
• Route 422 Toll Meetings Next Week
• 422 Repairs, Delays Start Tuesday
• 422 Proposal, Like Traffic, Creeps Ahead
• Got A Route 422 Idea? Time To Air It
• Train Service On The Front Burner Once More

Rep. Tom Quigley

HARRISBURG PA – State Rep. Tom Quigley, who represents Lower Pottsgrove and Limerick (PA) townships and the borough of Pottstown in the Pennsylvania House, thinks a proposal to expand the state’s existing Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program provides legislators with their best chance for compromise on the issue of school choice.

Quigley is quoted extensively by The Pennsylvania Independent online news service in an article published Tuesday (April 26, 2011), which describes how House members are promoting EITC as a school choice proposal that is smaller and less costly, because it relies on tax credits rather than tax dollars.

Rather than create a new voucher program, as the state Senate is proposing, the House plan would let students from families that earn $75,000 or less annually qualify for tax credit-funded scholarships to attend private or faith-based schools.

• Read a story by reporter Eric Boehm, titled “House GOP moving narrower school choice proposal,” and published Tuesday by The Independent, here.

Related (to education tuition vouchers):

• Local Rep. Quigley Favors Tax Credits In School Choice
• PA Senate School Choice Vote Possible Next Week
• Two Unions Break Ranks, Back State School Vouchers
• Idea: Pottsgrove Might Prosper With Own Charter School
• Choice Amendment Would Remove Vouchers’ 3rd Year
• Teacher Unions Say Budgets, Vouchers Top Their Agendas
• Poll Claims Public Opposes Tuition Vouchers
• Senate Education Chair Preps For Voucher, Choice Battle