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| Capitol Report |
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The latest news from the State Capitol
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Please do not reply directly to this email, as it returns to an unattended account.
You are welcome to contact me through this link.
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Santa Came to Town!
A special thank you to our neighbors who joined our Christmas and holiday gathering at the district office. As promised, Santa made a guest appearance. In an odd coincidence, our former teammate, Joe Brennan, made a guest appearance to reunite with our office family. He was the guy in the red outfit (wink, wink). I believe we told you last year that Joe’s father was a devoted Santa, a passion which he passed along to his son.
We also had the great pleasure of seeing Santa at Chadds Ford Township and Thornbury Township (Delaware County), which each had wonderful outdoor celebrations. Even Ranger (our new adopted street pup from Puerto Rico) got out on an adventure for his first Christmas.
Merry Christmas my friends! It was great to see you!
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Happy Hanukkah
To everyone in our community celebrating Hanukkah, I wish you a season of peace and reflection. Hanukkah tells a story of perseverance and courage, and those lessons still guide us today. Each candle reminds us that faith and hope are strongest when people stand together.
I wish you and your loved ones a meaningful Hanukkah filled with light and time together.
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Update on Ridge Road Development and Traffic Concerns
I hosted a meeting with Senator Kane, PennDOT officials, and the developer to voice our concerns about the Ridge Road shopping center traffic proposal. I made very clear that our interest from a state point of view is the impact to our local driving experience. I reiterated what I have conveyed previously: we cannot abide elimination of the turn lane for residents living behind Glen Eagle Shopping Center; we cannot give up Route 202 driving space so the new shopping center may have two left turn lanes onto Ridge Road; and we cannot pile up traffic at the Smithbridge Road intersection (or others) of Route 202 to create traffic space for the developer to have more signal time at Ridge Road. There are also issues relative to residents along Ridge Road which flow from those fundamental objections.
Please let me reiterate, we discussed traffic impact. Issues involving zoning and land-use variances are considered by the two townships through their public-input processes. I will continue to voice my concerns about the project, and you should too. To that end, I remind you that the Concord Zoning Board will publicly consider this issue on Wednesday, December 17, at 7:00p.m. Relative to the Ridge Road project, the Board will hear appeals from the developer on decisions by the Zoning Officer which were adverse to the developer’s plans. The issues appealed primarily relate to the disallowance of retail sales of gasoline on the property.
As for the traffic issues which I raised (joined by Senator Kane), I am pleased to report that the developer and PennDOT took them quite seriously. In fact, they are in the midst of completely overhauling the traffic portions of the project. We saw a preview of those early plans, which resolved many of our concerns. I remain unconvinced, however, that even this new plan will not add substantially to our driving misery. I made that point clear. The developer committed to an updated traffic study to evaluate my voiced issues.
Senator Kane and I remain united in our concerns and approach to the project plans. We have voiced your objections, and they were heard.
We will continue to fight for you and report back what we are learning.
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Chester Water Authority Local Discussion
Thank you to the residents of Fox Hill Farm (Concord Township) for inviting me to a presentation by the Chester Water Authority (CWA) board chairman and an advocate for “Save CWA,” where I also spoke about my efforts on behalf of CWA over the last five years. Save CWA presented the history of the water utility in the City of Chester, its move to serve more than 30 municipalities in Delaware and Chester counties, and where we sit in the current bankruptcy litigation by the City of Chester.
As a reminder, the City of Chester is in financial distress. Governor Wolf directed (and Governor Shapiro continued) the Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) to appoint a receiver to oversee the financial recovery of Chester under Act 47. Despite the involvement of DCED, the city declared bankruptcy in 2022. In order to generate cash, the receiver sought to sell the CWA (and other assets), which he claimed the City of Chester owned. Ratepayers (most of whom do not live in Chester), the CWA board, and many local legislators (including me) immediately opposed the sale of the utility, arguing that CWA does not belong to the city. The City of Chester is attempting to sell CWA to Aqua for over $400 million for a one-time cash infusion.
The litigation on this issue has been extensive. Most importantly, the Commonwealth Court decided in favor of the City of Chester that CWA was a city asset which could be sold based principally on the original formation of the entity almost 100 years ago. CWA took appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of that decision, oral argument was in May 2025, and we are awaiting a decision from the Court.
We have run a number of bills in the House and Senate to make clear that the City of Chester does not own CWA. In fact, we had a committee hearing on these bills in the last legislative session. At that hearing, I asked the Chairman of the Public Utility Commission if any of our bills would stop the sale of CWA to the City of Chester. He was unequivocal that the bills would not stop the sale of CWA if the court ruling ruled that the authority belonged to Chester. Save CWA put that committee exchange on their social media page here. Perhaps the bills might save future municipal utilities, but I am interested only in saving CWA right now.
As I explained to the crowd assembled at Fox Hill Farm, I have been fighting on this issue for five years. I appeared with Rep. Lawrence and Rep. Krueger in front of the CWA headquarters building to make the case that an award-winning utility should not be sold by its financially distressed host city. I have asked the hard questions to get the truth, because I am not interested in moral victories like the hospital-private-equity bill for future hospital acquisitions, which did nothing to save Crozer Hospital.
The answer remains what I have said for years: we need resolution from the Supreme Court about whether the City of Chester owns CWA; and regardless, I believe the taxpayers will be asked eventually to bail out the City of Chester by way of our state budget. DCED (and the Governor) overseeing the finances of Chester will need to make that case to the General Assembly and the taxpayers. A one-time cash infusion from the sale of CWA will not turn around the financial management of the City of Chester, and we will be right back in this situation again, this time with no further assets to sell off.
I will continue to problem solve, advocate, fight and report back to you.
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Monroe Energy Notice of Gas Leak
Monroe Energy notified me that they have detected trace elements of their product (gasoline) in the ground of their Chelsea tank farm. This discovery relates to their efforts to trace what was originally a gas odor this last summer. They have taken the tank closest to the ground borings offline and have emptied it of product. Monroe has notified authorities. They are working with specialized engineering and environmental firms who specialize in remediation.
I was notified because a portion of Bethel Township lives near that facility. I am told that those neighbors were provided information about the gasoline leak and the ongoing efforts. If you did not receive that communication, please contact my office, and we will put you in touch with the right people at Monroe Energy.
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Mailing Delays from Some State Agencies
The Shapiro administration recently announced the termination of a vendor that handled outbound mail for several state agencies. That vendor failed to send a significant volume of documents, and the administration has not yet identified how many Pennsylvanians this failure affected.
PennDOT reports that the problem created delays for some driver license renewals, vehicle registration renewals, camera cards, registration cards and address update cards.
The administration selected a new vendor and directed that vendor to send the previously unsent mail within seven to ten days.
If you are waiting for paperwork from a state agency and believe a delay affected you, please contact my office. We can help determine the status of your materials and connect with the appropriate agency on your behalf.
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Around the District
Westtown Township Light Display
Westtown residents prepared their holiday displays and invite neighbors to view them throughout the season. The township encourages you to drive by as many homes as possible because photos do not capture the full festive effect. Judges will award prizes to the top three displays.
Click here for the map.
Photo Credit: Facebook
Brandywine Battlefield Park Internship
Are you exploring the fields of history, American history, public history, museum studies, or education and looking for some real-world experience? This summer, step into the story at Brandywine Battlefield Park. Brandywine Battlefield Park is looking for a Keystone Intern in Education and Visitor Services. This is your chance to dive into public history, welcome visitors, and help share the stories of one of Pennsylvania’s most important sites. You’ll get hands-on experience with tours, programs, and visitor engagement while building skills that will serve you well in the museum and education fields. Applications are open now for the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission’s Keystone Internship Program.
Check out the details and apply here.
Photo Credit: Facebook
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Bravo Zulu
*The BZ pennants are hoisted as a part of Navy/Marine Corps custom to communicate “GOOD JOB!”
Garnet Valley Model UN Earns International Recognition
Garnet Valley’s Model United Nations team earned international recognition at the Princeton Model United Nations Conference as the Outstanding Small Delegation. Students who earned awards include Eashan Chawak, Saharsh Narasingolu, Evan Patel, Trisha Srivastava, and Lucas McKitty. Congratulations!
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Garnet Valley High School Model UN
Garnet Valley Student Council Donates Thousands of Meals to Less Fortunate
GVHS Student Council has completed their annual food drive with terrific results. The Council has raised over 3000 non-perishable goods, all to be donated to the Delaware County Food Bank. Great work!
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Garnet Valley High School Student Council
Garnet Valley Men’s Basketball
Garnet Valley men’s basketball defeated the Unionville Longhorns 46–39. The win marked their first of the season. The Jaguars followed that performance with a double overtime win against Lower Merion on Tuesday night. Well done!
Photo Credit: Instagram
Garnet Valley Women’s Basketball
Garnet Valley women’s basketball opened the season with a 2–0 record, including a win over Lower Merion. Katie Adamski led the effort with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Congratulations!
Photo Credit: Instagram
Garnet Valley Wrestling
Garnet Valley wrestling earned a 9–4 win over Ridley at home on Wednesday. They secured a 3–0 major decision advantage and improved to 2–0 on the season.
Photo Credit: Instagram
Rustin Women’s Basketball
Rustin women’s basketball started the season 2–0. They earned a 41–26 win against Methacton and a 45–35 win over Owen J. Roberts. They will travel to Strath Haven on Saturday for their next matchup.
Photo credit: Instagram
Unionville Wrestling
Unionville wrestlers delivered a strong opening performance. Tommy Robinson won the 127-pound Ches-Mont title. Dylan Baughan placed third in the 139-pound division, and Eban Burry placed sixth in the 121-pound division.
Photo Credit: Instagram
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| Office Locations |
| District Office: |
| One Beaver Valley Road | (intersection of Route 202 & Naamans Creek Road) Chadds Ford, PA 19317-9012 | Phone (610) 358-5925 | FAX: 610-358-5933 |
| Capitol Office: |
| 3 East Wing, P.O. Box 202160, Harrisburg, PA 17120-2160 | Phone: 717-783-3038 | FAX: 717-787-7604 |
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