ShareEditorials from around Pennsylvania
The Associated PressMONEY & JUSTICE DON'T MIX
Imagine you're appearing in court, about a matter that's very important to you. You've never seen the judge before. But the attorney for the opposition has given his Honor thousands of dollars in campaign donations, which helped the judge become a judge in the first place.
How confident would you feel that justice would be served?
In Pennsylvania, you can't. Since the commonwealth still elects judges in partisan elections, that means people who want to be judges have to raise campaign money _ though that's not the only problem with the system.
The laws governing when a judge recuses him or herself are weak and vague, and require only that judges recuse themselves when their "impartiality might reasonably be questioned," according to the state's code of judicial conduct.
Of course, many judges don't like to think their impartiality should be questioned, and get offended at the suggestion. And since judges aren't required to recuse themselves from a case involving a campaign contributor, we can't be sure that justice will always be served.
This is yet another reminder that the state ought to switch to a merit-selection system that at least somewhat insulates judicial selection from politics, as soon as possible.
The recent cases involving Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, who is a target in a grand jury investigation involving use of state workers in political campaigns, and Judge Charles Hayden, who recently threw out evidence against state Rep. Cherelle Parker, his Facebook friend, suggest that " as soon as possible" isn't soon enough.
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on merit selection next month, and Gov. Corbett supports the idea. But even if merit selection gathers momentum, it will require a constitutional amendment, which will likely take years to accomplish.
Meanwhile, Harrisburg's immediate action should be strengthening the recusal rules.
Tennessee recently introduced a rule prohibiting judges from hearing a case if campaign spending by lawyers or litigants might cause the judges' impartiality to reasonably be questioned, and goes further by requiring judges who decline a recusal request to provide a written explanation. The state also allows litigants to appeal the decision, taking it out of the hands of the judge in question. (In Pennsylvania, judges' decisions not to recuse can be overturned on appeal; this was the case with Judge Hayden. But it doesn't happen often.)
According to a poll by the national advocacy group Justice at Stake, 76 percent of Americans believe that campaign contributions can affect a judge's courtroom decisions. That's a problem: Americans need a justice system in which we can have faith.
Pennsylvania should do what it can to bolster our confidence.
_ Philadelphia Daily News
"CRACKER" PLANT DECISION COULD HAVE MAJOR IMPACT ON REGION
A highly anticipated business decision expected in a few weeks could provide a big economic spark to Western Pennsylvania that creates thousands of jobs and possibly spawns related, spinoff companies.
The decision involves the location of a natural gas "cracker" plant. Oil company Royal Dutch Shell's chemical division is eyeing locations in West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio for a plant to process ethane, called a cracker plant. The new chemical processing plant would cover hundreds of acres and involve a $2 billion investment. In addition to Shell, one other company reportedly is looking to locate a cracker plant in the region.
With such a massive investment, the three target states are aggressively competing for the plant, offering tax breaks and other inducements. West Virginia passed a law that would slash property taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars for any business that invests $2 billion toward building a cracker plant in the state.
Ohio and Pennsylvania have also made sales pitches to Shell officials. U.S. Sen. Robert Casey sent a letter to Shell in support of locating the facility in Pennsylvania.
The governors of West Virginia and Ohio have traveled to Shell headquarters, prompting some people to fear that Pennsylvania's effort and Gov. Tom Corbett are not aggressive enough. But considering the successful effort to bring Westinghouse to Cranberry Township, preventing it from being lured to another state, there is reason to believe that state officials will do whatever is possible to land Shell's plant.
Steven Kratz, of the state Department of Community and Economic Development, said Corbett is "personally involved and engaged in this project."
There has been speculation about what areas are best suited for the plant. Abundance of the "wet" or rich natural gas found in this area of the Marcellus Shale region and good access to both water and transportation top the list. Underground storage is also a factor.
Officials in Western Pennsylvania support the idea of using abandoned industrial sites along the Ohio River for a new cracker plant. A former steel mill site in Aliquippa is being touted as an ideal location for Shell's cracker plant, with its combination of the river and on-site rail lines.
The Pittsburgh region also offers top-notch universities that might appeal to Shell in terms of chemical engineers, skilled plant workers and possibly research options.
A cracker plant uses natural gas with ethane that is processed to produce the basic ingredient for plastics.
The $2 billion plant would create between 5,000 and 10,000 construction jobs. According to Kent Moors of Duquesne University's Institute for Energy and the Environment, the plant would create several thousand permanent jobs, with hundreds in the plant itself and hundreds more companies connected to the plant.
An article in a Pittsburgh newspaper reported that industry studies say each job at a cracker plant creates 5.5 jobs in other companies related to or supporting the plant. Other chemical plants, plastic manufacturers and makers of plastic pipe are most often mentioned.
Some regional and state officials move beyond regional cheerleading and slip into hyperbole, saying a cracker plant _ or two _ in the region would reindustrialize Southwestern Pennsylvania. More than a few people view the arrival of one or two cracker plants as a true game-changer for the region. It's exciting to consider the possibilities.
The combination of construction jobs, a $2 billion investment, thousands of potential supply chain and spinoff jobs, plus the possibility of building up a plastics industry in the region are powerful incentives for state and regional officials to bring Shell's cracker plant to Southwestern Pennsylvania. With plenty of brownfield sites in the region, a cracker plant would be a nearly ideal fit here and could trigger a major economic boost to a region with a proud manufacturing history.
_ Butler Eagle
FOX HUNTS IN BUCKS: `TALLY HO' HAS TO GO
We'd guess most Bucks Countians had little if any familiarity with fox hunts _ maybe they saw one in a movie once _ until two stories appeared recently in this newspaper. In the stories, we learned fox hunts are not a pastime enjoyed by aristocrats in England _ they've been banned there, actually _ but do occasionally take place in Bucks County's public parks with the county commissioners' approval.
More importantly, we learned that a hunt held in Warwick Township's Dark Hollow Park on New Year's Day resulted in the foxhounds attacking a woman and her dog out for an afternoon walk.
Now, the victim of that attack, Judy Cox, along with the Warwick supervisors (her husband John is one of them), have asked the county commissioners to stop issuing permits for fox hunts on county public lands. The permits are issued in a two-step process: The Pennsylvania Game Commission authorizes hunts within the state; each county then issues a permit for hunting on its land.
It turns out the confrontation Judy Cox had with the foxhounds _ she was left with numerous scratches and bruises, and her dog required veterinary treatment for multiple bites _ wasn't the first time the hounds have attacked the wrong prey. Over the years, the dogs have reportedly gone after cats, sheep and other dogs, at least a couple of which did not survive the encounter. Cox told the supervisors this week that fox hunting in the suburbs is "extremely dangerous."
_ Bucks County Courier Times
RESOLVE ALLENTOWN NIZ QUESTIONS
Allentown's hockey arena is still a work in progress, but a public funding mechanism to help pay for it _ Allentown's Neighborhood Improvement Zone _ has already generated its first major faceoff. Two, actually.
The diversion of earned income tax from outlying municipalities to Allentown, to help pay off the arena bonds, has suburban officials crying foul _ and they have a point. They say they're unsure how to structure their own budgets because of the new law, which allows the NIZ to collect all state and local non-property taxes to benefit the 130-acre zone in downtown Allentown.
State Sen. Pat Browne, who put together the NIZ bill and helped get it passed, says it is projected that only new earned income tax generated in the NIZ will go to Allentown; other municipalities will still continue to collect the earned income taxes they previously received.
Some clarity is needed here, quickly. If there's a difference between the intent of the law and its effect _ some municipal and school officials seem to be saying you can drive a Zamboni through the information gap _ then the law is flawed.
Earned income tax _ in most cases 1 percent, shared by towns and school districts _ typically flows to the municipality and district where an employee resides. Allentown's NIZ carves out an exception, and Mayor Ed Pawlowski and city council have made a case for specific, targeted regional revenue sharing. These incentives to rebuild downtown Allentown begin to level the playing field for reinvestment between cities and outlying areas.
Some whining from the suburbs was to be expected, but administrators working on projected budgets need something concrete to work with, not vague projections of a city-suburb split. For example, does Allentown get the EIT revenue only for new jobs created by new development in the NIZ? Or for all new hires in the NIZ, regardless of employer? Does anything change over time?
Discerning tax collectors would like to know. Browne is planning to meet soon with officials from Hanover, Lower Macungie and South Whitehall townships to discuss the law.
There's no wiggle room, however, on the issue of Browne's wife, Heather Browne, working for two firms that have development interests in the Allentown NIZ. It's wrong. It's the type of conflict of interest that makes taxpayers roll their eyes, confirming their suspicions about cozy relationships between government and development interests.
Neither the Brownes nor Heather Browne's employer, Pugliese Associates, see any conflict in her working as a lobbyist for East Penn Real Estates and Lehigh Gas, whose owners are pursuing building projects in the NIZ.
No conflict? It's time for everyone involved to step back and take another look.
The best way to kill public support for Allentown's NIZ _ a worthwhile effort and a key to the city's survival _ is to drag its credibility into the dust with tax uncertainties and cronyism. If anyone needs a precedent, refer back to the urban renewal projects of the 1960s and 1970s.
_ The (Easton) Express-Times