PA Welfare Secretary Joins Obama Administration

Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare Secretary is stepping down and headed to Washington, where she’ll take a job in the Obama Administration.
Estelle Richman will be the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s chief operating officer.
Governor Rendell heaped praise on Richman during a Capitol press conference, speaking for more than fifteen minutes about her accomplishments at DPW.

"It’s just the tip of the iceberg. In the interest of time, I didn’t read you all of the accomplishments DPW has made under this great woman. I believe that Estelle Richman has been, and I think the record will show, the most effective secretary of the Department of Public Welfare in the history of the commonwealth."

However, Richman has come under constant fire from House Republicans in recent months.
They’ve pointed to a report issued by Auditor General Jack Wagner’s office that found wasted dollars “and the potential for fraud” in DPW initiatives.
Rendell says critics are “wrong,” and that Richman turned the department around and increased efficiency during her tenure.
Richman says Secretary Shaun Donovan has asked her to coordinate efforts among HUD’s various departments.

"In the past, each of the what he calls ‘the Os’ –chief financial officer, chief procurement officer, chief policy officer, chief IT officer – have all pointed individually to the office of the secretary. And there hasn’t been a very integrated way that group works with the programmatic deputies to give HUD a single focusing mission."

Rendell is nominating Deputy Secretary Harriet Dichter to take over the department.

Dominion puts money toward Health Care needs

Dominion Energy has given a large amount of money toward a philanthropic cause for the second time in six months. The company is to distribute $1 million across 14 states, including $100,000 in Pennsylvania, to provide free health care money to assist with prescriptions, dental service and diagnostic tests. That money will be divided between 16 grants within the state. Dominion Foundation Executive Director Jim Mesloh says the money mostly came from Dominion employees by sacrificing "Dominion Days" this year, when employees take trips to Kennywood and have other various events. Last December, Dominion gave $1 million to help food banks and food pantries.

New Bill Stops Traveling Games

Despite Governor Ed Rendell’s administration-wide ban on out-of-state traveling last fall, it was recently discovered through a WTAE investigative report that Pennsylvania Gaming Board members had traveled to other sections of the country as well as abroad after the ban was enacted. Local lawmakers are looking to remedy the situation.
State Representative Mike Vereb and Senator Jane Orie today announced a joint legislation to require all government branches and state agencies to submit a list of all out-of-state travels and associating costs, including attendees and receipts. That list would then be submitted to the Pennsylvania Treasurer’s Office, who will then organize a web site to publish these reports for public viewing.
Senator Orie says the money was not coming from taxpayer dollars. However, the money could have been used elsewhere, such as going toward reducing property taxes. She says those members plainly violated the governor’s orders, and traveled to Illinois, Florida, California and Nevada. Internationally, they went to Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Italy. They spent lavishly on hotel rooms and meals, and Senator Orie says it’s inappropriate and uncalled for. She says she hopes that her proposed bill will restore public trust in state agencies and government.

To see WTAE’s investigative report, click here.

PLCB Implements Employee Training Program

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has been taking some heat for an employee training program that costs $173,000 and is being portrayed in some media as a sort of charm offensive involving basic courtesies. Board chairman Patrick Stapleton says the training is a lot more involved and will benefit over 3000 employees in administrative offices and more than 620 stores.

Stapleton says the contract with Solutions 21 in the West End of Pittsburgh (one of several bidders) is actually a bargain compared to what's spent in the private sector for best business practices in customer service and product education training.

It's been several years since PLCB employees have had such training, says Stapleton, and internal surveys and over 3000 customer surveys indicated that improvements might be timely in keeping sales up and revenues coming into the state. Yearly PLCB sales amount to $1.8 Billion.

State Loses Funds to Track HIV

Pennsylvania is one of eight states no longer participating in a national program that helps track the spread of HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said those states did not meet requirements to remain in the program. Pennsylvania had participated since 2005. Pennsylvania Department of Health spokeswoman Holly Senior says the state will continue to track the number of people who have HIV, but will no longer have the kind of detailed data that the CDC program provided. The CDC program can distinguish new infections from old ones, helping researchers better track the virus. The monitoring system recently indicated that the annual infection rate in the United States was 40 percent higher than previously thought.

Lawmaker Calls Gaming Board "Incompetent"

State Senator Jane Orie of McCandless says the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is "incompetent" and beholden to political interests. That's why she says Don Barden was granted Pittsburgh's casino license despite his history of financial problems. Now Barden is seeking to transfer the license to a new ownership group.

Orie and fellow State Senator Vince Fumo are proposing several changes to the way the Gaming Control Board operates. They want to make board members full-time employees, and bar them from earning any outside income. Board members would also have to be confirmed by a 2/3 majority in the Senate. Currently, they are appointed by the governor and legislative caucuses.

Another amendment would bar casino applicants from borrowing the $50 million license fee. Orie says that would have put Barden out of contention. Licensees would also be required to that would allow construction work at casino sites to continue even in the event of financial problems. Construction of the Pittsburgh casino is currently on hold.

Orie and Fumo are also proposing that more documents relating to the licenses be made public. And they want to prevent gaming lobbyists from making political contributions. Gaming license holders are already barred from making those gifts, but Orie says a loophole allows them to funnel payments through lobbyists.

The Gaming Control Board is meeting Thursday in Harrisburg to decide whether to transfer the Pittsburgh casino license to a new ownership group led by Neil Bluhm of Chicago.