Latest news with #EconomicDevelopmentAdministration
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Commissioners worry federal funding cuts will impact Trumbull County residents
WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) – Trumbull County commissioners are worried about what proposed budget cuts at the federal level could mean for the county. Commissioners plan to send a letter to Congressman Dave Joyce and Senators Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, expressing their concerns about the proposal to eliminate several programs. Funding that could be impacted includes the Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnerships program and Economic Development Administration grants, as well as funding from the EPA, to name a few. The county has received upwards of $50 million just in CDBG funding over the last 40 years. Officials are worried about the negative effects these cuts would have on the county and what it could mean for planned public infrastructure projects and those currently under construction. 'It would be devastating to the county, to put it in short-term devastation for our county, to not be able to receive these funds,' Commissioner Rick Hernandez said. In the letter, commissioners will ask Congress to consider the negative impacts on the county's residents when making decisions on the proposed cuts. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
South Amboy mayor highlights city projects on tap in 2025
SOUTH AMBOY – The mayor highlighted the city's projects coming this year in the annual State of the City address. "To say that we in South Amboy have begun the new year with improvement, achievement and success, I believe, would be an understatement," Mayor Fred Henry said Saturday at the South Amboy Senior Center. The mayor's speech covered issues ranging from schools, infrastructure and programs. Schools With the cooperation of the South Amboy school district, the city is creating the position of Student Resource Officer, Henry said, with Patrolman Marvin DeAusen promoted to the post. Considering the district's fiscal and repair issues, Henry pledged the city will assist in making the school environment safe and secure. Ferry Henry said New York Waterway's ferry service ridership is up to about 6,000 per month, adding the permanent docking facilities and parking lot are nearly 70% complete and on track to open later this year. Pumping station With approvals in and bids out, the city will begin replacing the old Raritan Street pumping station, Henry said. The $6.6 million project, mostly funded with an almost $5 million grant from the federal Economic Development Administration, will begin later this year and be completed early next year, he said. More: South Amboy's first female police chief sworn in Business A new parking lot, which will add an additional 80 parking spaces, is being built in the downtown business district which hopes to be completed by year's end. The mayor said the city has also reached out to business owners in an effort to get their messages out to the public through the government's media sources. Library The Sadie Pope Dowdell Library now has a social work intern from Adelphi University to help the community connect to various resources and referrals for mental health issues, health care, substance use, housing, food assistance and more. All assistance is confidential and free of charge, Henry said. Beach The Manhattan Beach project will get underway soon and will provide more access to public beach areas and create a beautiful nature walk, which will be open to the public, the mayor said. Budget Henry also spoke about the city's budget, which was reduced by $161,820 from last year, lowering municipal taxes by $78 on an average assessed home. The mayor noted when he took office in 2011, the city had no surplus; last year's surplus was $5,034,000 and this year's surplus is $6,200,000, he said. Email: sloyer@ Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This article originally appeared on South Amboy NJ mayor highlights city projects on tap
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Senator introduces legislation to build more sports facilities for kids, families in Georgia
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff introduced bipartisan legislation to boost youth sports opportunities for Georgia children alongside U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana. According to a release from Ossoff's office, the Youth Sports Facilities Act is meant to help build and upgrade sports facilities across Georgia, so families and kids have safe spaces to play while also providing support for student mental health and increasing economic growth. The legislation would make grants available to youth sports facilities through the U.S. Dept. of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, giving educational agencies, local governments and nonprofits more ways to get funding to create and upgrade sports facilities. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Delta passengers on 2 flights to Atlanta stuck on tarmac for hours after being diverted CAIR-Georgia announces settlement between Marjorie Taylor Greene's ex-husband, 3 Muslim women Mableton mayor announces 3rd straight year of no property taxes in city Ossoff's office said the move would also help grow local economies. Additionally, the legislation prioritizes giving funds to rural communities and paying for projects that serve low-income and underserved communities. 'Georgia families deserve modern and safe sports facilities where their kids can play, grow, and thrive,' Ossoff said in a statement. 'This bipartisan bill will help Georgia communities expand youth sports facilities, strengthen local economies, and foster mental and physical health for the next generation.' In the House of Representatives, the bill is sponsored by Reps. Bill Huizenga of Michigan and Marc Veasey of Texas. The YMCA of the United States, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association and Pop Warner Little Scholars have already endorsed the legislation, according to Ossoff's office. 'As the leading nonprofit provider of youth sports programs, YMCA of the USA supports the Youth Sports Facilities Act. Youth sports facilities often lead to growth in local economies as families attend sporting events, support local business, hotels and restaurants. Youth sports programs create a space for families and the community to belong, improve health outcomes and strengthen the fabric of the economy and the community,' Jeffrey Britt, Chief Government Affairs Officer, YMCA of the USA, said in a statement. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Some council members oppose 15th Street Railcar Experience, claiming 'it came from a crook'
CHEYENNE — Concerns about the nearly $5 million 15th Street Railcar Experience are growing among members of Cheyenne's City Council, with critics saying it is unrealistic and a poor use of public funds. Others say it is more attainable if approached in phases and will be a net positive for the development of downtown. The project was one of the governing body's top priorities in 2024. It entails bringing two rail cars and a caboose to display on West 15th Street and converting the area to a pedestrian tourism attraction. Additionally, it involves the relocation of the Ol' Sadie steam engine from Lions Park to 15th Street, near the Cheyenne Depot Museum. 'The city was created by an action of the Union Pacific Railroad. And I think when people come here, they think about our rail history, our western history, those types of things,' said Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins. 'And, you know, I think it'd be a nice touch to be able to deliver on some of those historical promises.' In January, Cheyenne City Engineer Tom Cobb estimated the total price of the project will be around $4.8 million. Between federal grant funds received from the Economic Development Administration, sixth-penny sales tax funds and money from the Cheyenne Depot Museum to support the project, city funds to be spent on this project are closer to $2.2 million. However, some council members believe this money could be better used elsewhere. Council member Michelle Aldrich said the city doesn't have $2.2 million available to complete this first phase of the project. She said she would rather see the money go toward city staff wage increases or road maintenance. 15th Street Rail Car Experience This is the interior of one of the rail cars to be included in the 15th Street Rail Car Experience, currently in storage near Swan Ranch. 'This $3 million price tag we're being given doesn't include any interior work (on the rail cars), and they're not ADA accessible. And if you make them ADA accessible by cutting doorways into the sides of these train cars, you'll destroy the historic integrity of them,' she said. Press on or cut your losses? The first phase of the project includes renovation and asbestos abatement of the rail cars, site preparation on 15th Street and transportation of the cars from the rail spur where they are being stored near Swan Ranch to downtown. Collins said he believes this first phase of the plan is manageable and allows the opportunity to later continue work on the project, like doing interior work on the cars, and allowing businesses and restaurants to lease them out. 'I don't know if, in fact, that will ever happen, but there's potential for that,' he said. 'As part of this design, we are bringing utilities to the cars ... so they could be used for a coffee shop or whatever they might be used for ... We want to put all that stuff in the ground beforehand, so that if, in fact, someday in the future, that were to happen. It's not part of the plan now, but we're trying to be proactive and looking to the future.' 15th Street Rail Car Experience This is one of the rail cars to be included in the 15th Street Rail Car Experience currently in storage near Swan Ranch. Council member Jeff White said he would continue to support this project because he doesn't want to lose what the city has already invested into it over the past few years. 'I find the whole thing a bit problematic. I'm hoping that it will be successful,' he said. 'The reason I am going to support it is because we already own the cars. What are we supposed to do with the cars? Are we just supposed to give them away at the cost of money that we paid for them? Then we suffer a huge loss that way.' White said he also supports the project because it will result in a net increase of 55 parking spaces. However, Aldrich said the city's pocketbooks would be better off taking the loss on the investments already made and trying to sell or get rid of the rail cars. She said expenses continue to add up as the city pays rent to store the rail cars and will also have to pay to remediate the soil where they sit because of the asbestos. 15th Street Rail Car Experience One of the rail cars to be included in the 15th Street Rail Car Experience currently in storage near Swan Ranch is Southern Pacific 7077, a business/passenger car that is 85 feet long and weighs 140,000 pounds. 'The problem becomes we can either lose the (money spent) and not get reimbursed and lose what we've invested now, or we can keep going down this track — no pun intended — and end up with bigger and bigger dollars invested for something that the public may or may not want at all,' Aldrich said. For the first phase of the project, the city received $618,400 in federal grant money. However, those funds will not be given to the city until two of the cars have been relocated to 15th Street. Council member Pete Laybourn expressed concern that these grant funds could be pulled soon by the second Trump administration, adding that the city needs to be particularly careful with expenses now as a result of the expected decrease in property taxes following the recent legislative session. 15th Street Rail Car Experience The interior of one of the rail cars to be included in the 15th Street Rail Car Experience is currently in storage near Swan Ranch. It is the Southern Pacific 7077 business/passenger car, which is 85 feet long and weighs 140,000 pounds. As of January, the city had spent around $580,000 of its own money on asbestos abatement of the rail cars, site design and a master plan update. This does not include expenses like storage rent and the original 15th Street Master Plan that first began in 2021 and was never realized. A total of $168,400 in federal grant funding had also been used on asbestos abatement. 'It came from a crook' Laybourn said the initial plan was overly ambitious and has resulted in the current plan, which he also sees as bad business for the city. 'It's just an amazingly clear example of when ambition and ideas start to spin,' he said. 'They end up somewhere, and somewhere is that this entire idea was just really crazy, and it came from a crook.' In September 2021, Cheyenne-based Wasatch Railroad Contractors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While this was ongoing, the company and its CEO, John Rimmasch, continued to advocate to the Cheyenne City Council for the original plan, which included a skybridge from the Cheyenne Depot Museum to the Union Pacific Railroad roundhouse and outdoor recreation expansion. Cheyenne Railroad Visitor Experience This aerial view outlines the preliminary 2021 plans for the Cheyenne Railroad Visitor Experience. At the time, Rimmasch was also on the Cheyenne Depot board of directors. 'The guy was just utterly fearless, was reckless with people's lives and defrauded the federal government,' Laybourn said of Rimmasch. Wasatch was a railroad equipment repair business. In April 2021, a tanker car formerly used to carry hazardous materials exploded inside Wasatch's Shoshoni shop, killing two workers aged 28 and 21. A federal investigation was launched when Wasatch failed to complete a contract for the National Park Service in New Jersey. In April 2022, Rimmasch was found guilty on five counts of wire fraud and one count of knowing endangerment for exposing employees to asbestos. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Collins said Rimmasch was an advocate of the project but was not leading the project. 'When we first started this project, those things had not happened yet. His legal problems and his financial problems occurred after this whole project started,' he said. 'But this wasn't John's project. This is a city project.' However, Aldrich and Laybourn both told the WTE that Rimmasch was the one who 'sold' the city and Visit Cheyenne on the original plans, and they believe the current plans are residual of Rimmasch. He advocated for the project at a Cheyenne City Council meeting in October 2021, following his company's filing for bankruptcy. 'This is just kind of a strange story of how things can go on and on and end up in a strange place,' Laybourn said. '... Really, we should have pulled the plug before now and understood what John Rimmasch had done.' Laybourn told the WTE that council member Mark Moody is the only other council member who currently opposes the project. He could not be reached before publication to confirm this. Aldrich said she plans to take the members of the governing body to Swan Ranch to see the rail cars next week. She hopes that by showing the cars still need a lot of interior work, it will change some minds, and the council will eventually support a resolution to abandon the project.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From business exports to veteran care − here's what some of the 35,000 federal workers in the Philadelphia region do
Layoffs of federal employees and cutbacks to federal agencies have direct consequences for the Philadelphia area. I am a law professor at Villanova University outside Philadelphia, and my research focuses on the work of the administrative agencies that compose the federal government. I believe that understanding the federal government's presence in the Philly metro area can highlight some of the potential consequences in our region for the rapid changes currently underway. More than 80% of federal civilian employees work outside of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. There are about 66,000 federal employees in Pennsylvania and 35,000 in Philadelphia. Over a dozen federal agencies have offices in the Philadelphia region. These include the Internal Revenue Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Agricultural Marketing Service, Food and Drug Administration, Economic Development Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Federal Transit Administration and the Census Bureau. Here are some examples of the broad variety of services that federal employees in the Philadelphia region provide to the public. Several federal agencies in the Philadelphia area provide expertise, advice and resources for businesses. For example, the U.S. Commercial Service, part of the Commerce Department, has an office in Philadelphia and assists U.S. businesses with exporting their products for international markets. The Small Business Administration, which has a district office in King of Prussia, provides resources and support for small businesses. And the Economic Development Administration operates a regional office in Philadelphia that distributes federal funds for construction, workforce training, manufacturing, disaster relief and other purposes. Other federal agencies administer government benefits programs. The Social Security Administration disburses benefits for retirees and the disabled, providing more than US$13 billion in benefits to almost 8 million people in the Philadelphia region each month. About 3,800 Pennsylvanians work for the Social Security Administration in offices located around the state. The Department of Veterans Affairs operates the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Medical Center in West Philadelphia. The center provides primary and specialty health care for veterans. Statewide in Pennsylvania, about 17,000 federal employees work for the Veterans Health Administration. Another 1,500 work for the Veterans Benefits Administration, which provides veterans with education and training, home loans, life insurance and pensions. The Census Bureau operates an office in Philadelphia to collect and disseminate data in a region that stretches from Tennessee to Pennsylvania. The Census Bureau conducts the constitutionally mandated census of the U.S. population every 10 years, as well as an economic census of businesses every five years, and numerous surveys about communities, health, housing, crime, education and more. In addition, regional census employees answer questions from local media, work with local organizations to encourage participation in censuses and surveys, and educate the public about census data. This work is of particular importance because census data determines how federal funding is allocated. The Defense Logistics Agency's Troop Support Command is headquartered in Northeast Philadelphia. Troop Support is responsible for creating and maintaining military supply chains. This includes securing food, clothing, equipment and medical supplies. It is also responsible for procuring medals and ribbons for military awards, such as the Medal of Honor. About 5,000 federal employees, many of them military veterans, work for the Defense Logistics Agency in Pennsylvania. The Army Corps of Engineers has operated its district headquarters in Philadelphia since 1866. In addition to its role in supporting the military, the Corps of Engineers also constructs and maintains civil works projects. Its first civil works project in the Philadelphia region was the construction of a breakwater near Cape Henlopen, Delaware, in 1829. These days, employees of the district inspect and maintain bridges, operate flood control dams, build beachfill and seawall projects along coastlines and maintain 500 miles of navigation channels. The National Park Service manages numerous historical sites and parks in the Philadelphia region, including the Independence National Historical Park, Valley Forge National Historical Park, Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, the Flight 93 National Memorial and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. At these locations, National Park Service personnel educate visitors, maintain facilities, protect park resources and keep the public safe. The Environmental Protection Agency is perhaps best known as an environmental regulator, enforcing limits on air and water pollution and toxic substances. But it also is active in other areas, such as cleaning up contaminated sites in the Philadelphia area through the Superfund program. EPA's National Priorities List includes almost 40 contaminated sites in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. For example, EPA manages the cleanup of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in South Philadelphia, where part of the Navy Yard had historically been used to dispose of waste from ships. EPA's cleanup has remediated the onsite landfill and prevents contamination from seeping into the Delaware River. EPA also supervises the cleanup in Havertown of the site of a former wood treatment operation that contaminated the soil and groundwater with the highly toxic chemical pentachlorophenol, or PCP. Because of the cleanup, part of the contaminated site is now a widely used YMCA that serves the recreational and fitness needs of the community. The Internal Revenue Service, another agency known for its enforcement activities, also provides services in the Philadelphia area to support taxpayers. These include, for example, taxpayer assistance centers in Horsham, King of Prussia, Media and Philadelphia. The IRS also has a Taxpayer Advocate Service office in Philadelphia. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent office that advocates for taxpayers who are having difficulties with the IRS. Read more of our stories about Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Todd Aagaard, Villanova School of Law Read more: Mass layoffs at Education Department signal Trump's plan to gut the agency Trump's DOGE campaign accelerates 50-year trend of government privatization Cutting Medicaid and federal programs are among 4 key Trump administration policy changes that could make life harder for disabled people Todd Aagaard is a visiting fellow at Resources for the Future in addition to his faculty position at Villanova University. From 1999 to 2007, he served as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice.
