When writing the other day about the Erie County Community College and what it was supposed to be, I had not yet seen the proposal submitted by the county. It’s now on the county website with all of the associated studies and resolutions, somehow, I missed it when looking for it a short while ago. […]
Are Erie’s Community College Proponents Aware of Nationwide Enrollment Declines?
Community colleges nationwide are facing serious declines in enrollment and have been for almost ten years as adult learners are returning to the workforce due to the improving economy, but adding to that is a demographic change where fewer students are graduating from high schools and by 2025 it’s expected that drop will accelerate. Combined […]
What Exactly is an Erie County Community College Supposed to Be?
Ready, Fire, Aim. Do you remember the GEIDC? The Greater Erie Industrial Development Corporation was given an unsecured loan for $3 million dollars by Erie County because county council and the county executive were convinced, we needed a big rail terminal. It turns out we needed no such thing and the money was lost when […]
Did You Know Pennsylvania Exports More Electricity Than Any Other State?
Pennsylvania is our country’s leading exporter of electricity according to the United States Energy Information Administration. Electricity routinely flows among the Lower 48 states and, to a lesser extent, between the United States and Canada and Mexico. From 2013 to 2017, Pennsylvania was the largest net exporter of electricity, sending an annual average of 59 […]
You Can Protect Lake Erie or Fill it With Wind Turbines, But Not Both
Right now, local media and politicians are worried about reduced federal funding for protecting Lake Erie from pollution, like agricultural runoff which threatens our drinking water and contributes to toxic algae blooms. What no one is reporting, is a bill just introduced in the PA legislature to lease up to 10,000 acres of the Lake […]
Shinola is Creating Jobs in an Old Manufacturing City, Could This Work in Erie?
Detroit, Michigan has suffered a massive decline from those years of automotive dominance and prosperity, but they’re building things again in smaller companies and creating hundreds of jobs in the process. Shinola may be an example of the kind of thinking we could apply in Erie County to rebuild our reputation for producing high quality […]
Green Jobs Disappear When Tax Subsidies End
Our county executive, Kathy Dahlkemper, often touts the benefits of wind energy to Erie County citing the many green jobs it will create, but Ontario is a great example of what really happens. It’s a learning experience for those willing to learn. Short term jobs An Ontario factory producing wind turbine blades is closing, ending […]
Totally Unnecessary Billion Dollar Lake Erie Power Line Project Still Moving Ahead
The ITC Lake Erie Connector received a “Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity” from Canada, one more step in the necessary approval process before beginning construction of a project no one needs. The news release states: The ITC Lake Erie Connector is a proposed 1,000 MW, bi-directional, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) underwater transmission line that […]
