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Back Mountain wins D31 Junior title

Man sentenced for assaulting girlfriend, children

<p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p><br><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wolf </div></div><div class=\metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_wolf.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wolf </caption0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Baker_Lisa_Senator_mug_toned.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Baker </div></div><div class=\metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Baker_Lisa_Senator_mug_toned.jpg</photo1><caption1>Baker </caption1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_John.Yudichak.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Yudichak </div></div><div class=\metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_John.Yudichak.jpg</photo2><caption2>Yudichak </caption2></div></div>
<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; One day after he vetoed the Republican budget, Gov. Tom Wolf met briefly with GOP leadership Wednesday to try to iron out their differences.</p><p>&#8220;They mapped out discussions moving forward and the governor expressed his hope that Republicans will get to work and start having serious conversations,&#8221; said Jeff Sheridan, Wolf&#8217;s press secretary of the 30-minute meeting. &#8220;The next meetings will take place Monday between staff.&#8221;</p><p>Late Tuesday night, Wolf said the GOP budget fails to address the core issues facing Pennsylvania, including a structural budget deficit, an underfunded school system and rising property taxes for seniors and middle-class families. He said the Republican budget is &#8220;unbalanced and built on one-time revenues that lead to a $3 billion deficit.&#8221;</p><p>According to the Associated Press, the administration has said the immediate effect of not having a budget would be minimal because state agencies can tap surpluses and nonstate funds to continue operations. Programs involving public health, welfare and safety will continue to operate as usual, officials said.</p><p>Wolf issued a statement to the citizens of Pennsylvania, who he said &#8220;sent us here to do serious work and to address the problems facing this commonwealth.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;This includes enacting a budget that contains fair and adequate education funding in part by implementing a commonsense severance tax, providing property tax relief to Pennsylvania families and seniors, fixing the structural deficit, and providing a sound plan to create jobs across this commonwealth,&#8221; Wolf said. &#8220;This budget does not accomplish these essential tasks, so I cannot, in good faith, give it my approval.&#8221;</p><p>State Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, said the GOP budget of $30.1 billion is the largest budget in Pennsylvania history, and it calls for no increase in state taxes.</p><p>&#8220;While it does not contain all of the funding restorations and spending additions advocacy groups have been seeking, most taxpayers will find it hard to accept that this level of spending starves state government,&#8221; Baker said. &#8220;Gov. Wolf&#8217;s decision to veto the entire budget is unfortunate.&#8221;</p><p>Baker said despite some serious budget crises over the years, it has been 40 years since a governor vetoed an entire budget. She said many of the programs and spending amounts in the budget are not in dispute.</p><p>&#8220;If the governor had approved the bulk of the budget, as his predecessors did, that would provide assurance to program administrators and service providers and to the individuals and groups who depend on them that there is no uncertainty and no prospect for interruption or disruption,&#8221; Baker said.</p><p>Since this is the first budget for the Wolf Administration, Baker said it is impossible to say how long the process will take, or when a settlement will be reached, or which elements will be included in the final package.</p><p>Republican leaders contend their plan balanced the budget and added money to education without raising taxes.</p><p>Wolf emphasized that he remains committed to working with Republicans to come to a negotiated solution. In an emailed statement, Wolf reiterated that he will not accept a budget that completely ignores key issues that he set out in his budget address, including adequately funding public schools with a &#8220;commonsense&#8221; severance tax, reducing property taxes, eliminating the structural deficit, and creating jobs in Pennsylvania.</p><p>&#8220;Throughout this process, I have strived to work with Republicans. I have made concessions and I have kept an open mind,&#8221; Wolf said. &#8220;In return, Republicans have simply said no to my plan that will get Pennsylvania back on track, fix our schools, provide property tax relief, and address our structural deficit. In fact, when asked what their counter-offer to my commonsense severance tax proposal was, Republican leaders said, &#8216;Nothing, yeah nothing.&#8217; That is completely unacceptable. It is not how to negotiate in good faith.&#8221;</p><p>State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, said following the Senate&#8217;s 30 to 19 party line vote in favor of the Republican-sponsored $30.1 billion state budget, the budget proposal neglects property tax reform, job creation and environmental protection while relying on one-time revenue gimmicks.</p><p>Yudichak said it&#8217;s time for Pennsylvania to impose a responsible and fair severance tax on natural gas extractions.</p><p>&#8220;Last year, 90 percent of our school districts raised property taxes,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have to put an end to taxing people out of their homes and make property tax reform an integral part of any budget agreement.&#8221;</p>

Talks in Pennsylvania budget standoff will resume Monday