PSoTD

It was from further north... From the Centre Daily Times:

State College buzzes over seeming onslaught of flies

Remember the much-discussed stench that swept parts of the Centre Region early this month, just about the time that Penn State spread some powerful manure on nearby farm fields?

Consider this Chapter Two.

In the past two weeks or so, since the stink dissipated, locals have said houseflies are appearing at startling rates -- indoors, at picnics, everywhere. Steve Jacobs, a Penn State extension associate who specializes in entomology, confirmed the reports Wednesday and said that, at least in his anecdotal observations, the housefly population in and around State College seems unusually abundant.

...in downtown State College, the buzz centered largely on the university's manure-spreading operation earlier in the month. Rebecca Durst, owner of Rinaldo's Barber Shop on South Allen Street, said the excrement seemed the likely culprit.

"The flies are driving us crazy," Durst said as another barber swatted toward a mirror. "They're interrupting our cutting. They've been a nuisance to us and our customers."

Susan Jones, an associate professor of entomology at Ohio State University, said she "would have expected to see a (fly) boom right after" the manure-spreading. Penn State farm workers labored at least four days during the week of Aug. 1 to apply potent livestock dung to fields near Aaron Drive, in an area relatively near the northern edge of the University Park campus and East College Heights.

Jones said such manure is a favorite breeding source for house flies. Adult house flies can live 14 to 70 days, depending on whose studies you believe, she said.

"If (the manure) was moist, then it would be a ready place for them to breed," Jones said.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly members have only themselves to blame...

Back in January, nearly 100 Pennsylvania lawmakers signed on to legislation requiring the state to underwrite the cost of life insurance for active-duty National Guard soldiers and airmen.

But the proposal was quietly shunted aside - in part over reservations about the precedent it would set - and the General Assembly recessed in July without even holding a hearing on the idea.

Eight other states, however, went ahead this year and enacted laws to subsidize life insurance for guardsmen.

The decision by Pennsylvania lawmakers not to follow suit came during the same session they decided to vote themselves pay raises of 16 percent to 34 percent, with no public debate or scrutiny, in the middle of the night.

The members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly did this to themselves. Every special interest group that doesn't get the funding they want for the project they want is going to add the line:

"If there's no money for this, how can they afford to give themselves such a huge raise?"

It's going to happen over and over and over again. Pennsylvania's State Legislators should expect to be shamed and humiliated in the press like this until they realize that what they did was humiliating to Pennsylvanians and brought shame to the state. And then do the right thing, pass a bill removing the raise, and then they are welcome to try to give themselves a raise through legislation which is considered in the light of day, allowing public comment.

The question is, how long will that take?

Newspapers and bloggers are not letting up on the legislative political hackery in early July giving themselves a raise. Keep it coming.

The hell it isn't, when it comes to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. It's good to see that newspapers are starting to question why there are so many legislators.

And even better, a few legislators, too...

A handful of lawmakers believe the Legislature here is too costly and inefficient, but they are clearly in the minority.

“In my mind, we’re much too large a body to operate effectively,” said Rep. Steven Nickol, R-Hanover.

Nickol is among the lawmakers who have pushed bills to reduce the size of the Legislature over the years, but his plans and others have always languished.

The main problem: Lawmakers don’t want to eliminate their own seats.

Two new bills have been drafted to cut the number of legislators, but, like their predecessors, they are not expected to move.

Sen. Michael O’Pake, D-Berks, sponsored a bill to cut the Senate from 50 members to 40 while cutting the House from 203 members to 121. His bill attracted only seven co-sponsors.

Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks, has drafted a bill that would cut the Senate to 25 seats while cutting the House to 102. His bill is still circulating for co-sponsors, and Nickol has already signed on.

Obviously, the General Assembly needs more legislators who question the sheer number of state legislators employed by the state of Pennsylvania. This issue should be asked of every candidate for Senate and Representative next year. It won't be.