web1_innovation-2-2.jpg

Basement of former Woolworth’s store in Wilkes-Barre to become high-tech innovation center

County and Wilkes-Barre City officials pledge to try to resolve dispute to extend Coal Street

<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Jenkins Township Supervisor Stan Rovinski told Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Katie McGinty when he was in parochial school, the nuns used to give test answers to students.</p><p>That might have been a slight exaggeration, but Rovinski told the story at a roundtable discussion at Michael&#8217;s Restaurant on River Street where McGinty gathered several people from the community to share their concerns.</p><p>With that input, McGinty, 52, hopes to be able to provide answers to those concerns if elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016.</p><p>McGinty is running for the Democratic nomination in the April primary against Joe Sestak and Joe Fetterman. The winner will earn the chance to unseat incumbent Republican Pat Toomey in November.</p><p>McGinty and about 10 people sat around the table discussing issues like education funding, health care, jobs and more. She is holding these discussions across the state, emphasizing she wants to park her ideology at the door and listen to people&#8217;s concerns so she can &#8220;earn my keep&#8221; in Washington.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m pitching for a job here,&#8221; McGinty said. &#8220;When you sit down, even for a couple of minutes, with people, you learn what&#8217;s needed in their towns and you start coming up with ideas and solutions.&#8221;</p><p>McGinty plans to &#8220;kick butt and take names&#8221; when she&#8217;s elected and said she will always &#8220;shine the spotlight&#8221; on hardworking people.</p><p>Saying she is a proven leader with a long track record of creating positive change&#8206;, she reiterated what her campaign website states: that in government and in business, she has been a change agent overcoming the odds to create jobs, protect the environment, deliver affordable health care and support good schools.</p><p>McGinty served as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Gov. Ed Rendell. She ran for governor of Pennsylvania in 2014. When Gov. Tom Wolf was elected, he named McGinty as his Chief of Staff to help lead the new administration. Shortly after, McGinty decided to run for the U.S. Senate.</p><p>&#8220;I have the experience and the track record for this job,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The people want someone who gets things done. I&#8217;ve done that.&#8221;</p><p>McGinty said she has also learned the benefit of compromise through bipartisanship and she won&#8217;t be afraid to work across the aisle in Congress to affect positive legislation.</p><p>&#8220;You have to find the common ground,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Some people like to be obstructionists. I like to find the common ground and work from there.&#8221;</p><p>McGinty favors expanding Medicaid and preserving Social Security. She wants to fund universal pre-K education and see a reduction in college costs. She believes the best way to get more people back to work is through improving and fixing the country&#8217;s infrastructure, like bridges and roads.</p><p>Rovinski wants to see the federal government provide funding that will allow family members to stay home to care for loved ones, rather than placing them in nursing homes or personal care facilities. He also suggested finding more funding for municipalities to help repair sidewalks and streets in small towns.</p><p>Dick McLane, a representative of Pride Mobility Corp., told McGinty the company manufactures devices for people with disabilities. He said the federal government should help families afford the sometimes high costs of those devices.</p><p>McGinty is aware of issues in health care, saying costs are &#8220;out of control.&#8221; She said she will work to reduce the high cost of prescription drugs, making that industry more competitive and, thereby, lowering costs to consumers.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s why I&#8217;m here today,&#8221; she said. &#8220;To listen to what&#8217;s on the minds of the people I hope to serve.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TTL121815McGinty1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Katie McGinty, candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, chats with Plains Township Commissioner-elect Tom Shubilla at a round table discussion about Pennsylvania&#8217;s middle class and working families at Michael&#8217;s Restaurant in Plains Township Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TTL121815McGinty1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Katie McGinty, candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, chats with Plains Township Commissioner-elect Tom Shubilla at a round table discussion about Pennsylvania&#8217;s middle class and working families at Michael&#8217;s Restaurant in Plains Township Thursday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TTL121815McGinty2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Katie McGinty, candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, arrives for a roundtable discussion with residents and elected officials at Michael&#8217;s Restaurant in Plains Township Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TTL121815McGinty2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Katie McGinty, candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, arrives for a roundtable discussion with residents and elected officials at Michael&#8217;s Restaurant in Plains Township Thursday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Senate candidate Katie McGinty meets with citizens in Plains Twp. in hopes of finding answers to people’s concerns