Latest news with #MatthewThomas
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The race for Erie Mayor: 3 questions for Republican Matthew Thomas
Republican Matthew Thomas, an attorney, has called the city a 'dead man walking,' attributing the city's decline to crime, lack of economic opportunity and failing schools. Thomas, a 37-year-old Erie lawyer, believes that he is the best candidate to lead Erie forward, not current two-term incumbent Democrat Joe Schember. Four candidates are on the May 20 municipal primary ballot. Either Schember or one of two Democratic challengers —Daria Devlin or Sheila Woeger — will win the Democratic nomination for mayor and will almost certainly face Thomas in the Nov. 4 municipal election since there is no other GOP candidate in the race. The Democratic primary winner will be a huge favorite in the November municipal election because of the city's more than 2-1 Democratic voter registration edge. No Republican has been elected mayor of Erie since Charles Williamson in 1961. According to the Erie County Voter Registration Office, there are 31,093 registered Democrats in the city of Erie, compared to 13,850 registered Republicans. The Erie mayor's annual salary will increase from the current $95,000 to $120,000 a year in January 2026. The new salary tops the list of annual pay that mayors receive in Pennsylvania's third-class cities. The Erie Times-News asked each of the mayoral candidates the same three questions regarding city government and the mayor's race. The newspaper reserved the right to edit responses for length and clarity. Question: As you see it, what unique leadership qualities separate you from the other candidates in this race? Answer: Currently I'm an attorney who handles (hundreds of) cases a year for the Erie County Public Defender's Office. What that environment has taught me as far as leadership is concerned is that having to have my nose to the grindstone 24-7, you can accomplish anything. There is no limit or very few limits to my ability to work and work hard; to solve problems; and to find creative solutions to problems. I think the city of Erie needs a course correction and at the end of the day, if you have to correct your course, you just keep going because things are going to work out in the end. The city of Erie is facing significant structural budget deficits over the next several years without raising property taxes. Given that roughly 90% of the city's budget goes to employee-related costs such as salaries, pensions and health care, and much of that spending is mandated by union contracts, what specific steps would you take to stabilize finances? We cannot obviously renege on a contract that's been signed, although I would ask the city solicitor to go through those contracts and to see if there are things that are wasteful, or if we can back out of an unneeded contract. Those things can be litigated in court and as an attorney I understand that. Direct primaries didn't always exist: The first was held in Crawford County in 1842. I don't want to fire any good employees in the city, but I would approach this — and I realize this isn't going to make some people very happy — the way that the Department Of Government Efficiency is being approached on a federal level. I may even ask for volunteers to assist with this. The city of Erie has received massive grants in the past for various projects. I want to go through the city budget line by line, with accountants, and see what we can find. The biggest way you address a budget deficit is by bringing businesses in the city and (expanding) the tax base. What moves would you immediately make as mayor to improve the quality of life for the city's residents? The biggest and most important things are the basics. We didn't have great plowing on streets last winter. We need to have better plowing. We have to repave the streets with the potholes and everything. Along those lines, one thing I want to look into is how we're paving streets. We've all seen situations where we pave streets and two years later they're all torn up again. And another thing is, I want to see trash picked up off the street not just in rich neighborhoods, but in poor neighborhoods too. Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@ Follow him on X at @ETNflowers. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: How Republican Matthew Thomas would approach the job of Erie mayor
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Sweet relief arrives this spring with events celebrating Vermont's maple-syrup season
You can have your Daylight Saving Time or your dwindling snow banks or your red-winged blackbirds or your sprouting daffodils. Vermonters know the real first sign of approaching spring is when they hear the words 'the sap is running.' Sugaring season hits the senses hard. The sugar house gives off sweet scents and warm vibes as that maple-tree goo gets boiled down into syrup. And of course the taste buds celebrate the rite of spring by tasting that nectar with everything from pancakes and waffles to candy and creemees and that curious tradition known as sugar on snow. Events to celebrate the occasion of maple season get started this month and stretch into April. Here are a few options to choose from, free unless otherwise indicated: Saturday, March 22-Sunday, March 23, the two-day Spring Maple Open House Weekend sees maple producers statewide throwing open the doors to their sugarhouses and welcoming visitors to the sights, smells and tastes inside. Maple syrup is not just some fun, feel-good symbol of Vermont; according to the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association, the state still leads the nation as the top maple-producing state, with more than 3 million gallons processed in 2024 – more than half of the nation's entire production. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, March 22, activities on Spring Maple Open House Weekend include 'Maple Madness,' an event on the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington featuring live music, butter sculpture, maple samples and other giveaways and treats. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 19, the Kingdom Maple Festival in St. Johnsbury begins from 8-10:30 a.m. with a pancake breakfast, followed from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. by a yard sale and bake sale featuring maple products; 10 a.m.-3 p.m., a Sweet Street Fair including local music on Railroad Street; 10 a.m.-3 p.m., guided tours of St. Johnsbury Distillery ($5-$10); 10 a.m.-1 p.m., the St. Johnsbury Farmers Market; and from 1-5 p.m., a maple history bus tour of St. Johnsbury and North Danville led by maple-industry historian and author Matthew Thomas ($100). Friday, April 25-Sunday, April 27, the Vermont Maple Festival sprawls over three days in St. Albans with highlights including, at 7 p.m. Friday, April 25, a concert by Americana musician Chris Staples at the St. Albans Museum, which from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 26 is hosting a special maple exhibit ($20 for concert, free admission to museum); from 7 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 26-Sunday, April 27, a pancake breakfast at St. Albans City School presented by the Swanton-Missisquoi Valley Lions Club ($6-$11; free for ages 4 and under); from 3-5 p.m. Saturday, April 26, a maple beverage tasting at 14th Star Brewing; and at noon Sunday, April 27, the Vermont Maple Festival parade. Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@ This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Maple syrup in Vermont: Events to celebrate sugaring season statewide
