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In this Update:

• RESCHEDULED: Barbecue Picnic for Veterans now on September 25
• Nearly $477,000 Grant to Upgrade Traffic Signals in Peters Township
• Focus on the 46th
• Pennsylvania Has New Tools to Solve Violent Crimes
• State Budget Boosts College Tuition Assistance
• PA College Savings Fees Waived for Fifth Straight Year
• Red Tape Slashed for PA Cosmetology Workers
• Booking a Tour of Your State Capitol

RESCHEDULED: Barbecue Picnic for Veterans now on September 25

After having to cancel the barbecue because of the wildfire smoke, I am incredibly happy to announce that we have officially rescheduled!

We will now be inviting the veterans, active duty service members, and their families of the 46th District who RSVP’d to attend my fifth annual veterans appreciation barbecue picnic on Friday, September 25, from 5-7 p.m. at the Stone Pavilion in Washington Park. My staff will be reaching out to everyone who RSVP’d to confirm the new date.

This picnic is an opportunity to thank the men and women who have sacrificed their time and put their lives on hold to defend our great country. Of course, it is also about their families, who lived without their loved ones, often in fear for their safety when they were gone. I encourage all veterans and active duty members of the 46th District and their spouses to attend.

Nearly $477,000 Grant to Upgrade Traffic Signals in Peters Township

Peters Township has been awarded nearly $477,000 through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) Green Light-Go Program to improve safety and traffic flow along Washington Road (State Route 19), the township’s primary transportation corridor.

The funding will be used to completely replace the traffic signals at the intersection of Crosswinds Drive and State Route 19. Township officials have identified the intersection as the most outdated traffic signals along the corridor and the ones most in need of replacement.

PennDOT’s Green Light-Go Program provides reimbursement funding to municipalities for projects that improve the efficiency and operation of existing traffic signals. Eligible improvements include upgrades to modern signal technology, traffic signal retiming and enhanced monitoring systems that allow signals to respond to real-time traffic conditions.

Focus on the 46th

After months of legal challenges that restricted access, I was finally able to arrange a visit to the 26-acre, 132-year-old former Corelle Brands glass plant in Charleroi. When David Mohnkern, President of Atlas Metal Conversion, shared his vision for continued growth after I supported and helped secure a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant for his expansion in Eighty Four, I immediately encouraged him and his team to consider this facility as a potential site for future expansion.

This plant is personal. I originally moved to Charleroi in 1987, and I’ve known scores of men and women who dedicated their careers here, including a family with three generations of service. My kitchen cabinets are full of Pyrex and Corning products. I have gifted products from this plant hundreds of times. The closure was deeply felt, as the loss of 300 jobs impacted generations of hard work and community pride.

From the day the closure was announced, I worked behind the scenes with the United Steelworkers, then-U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and those affiliated with Anchor Hocking in every effort to prevent the plant from closing. When a proposed sale that could have saved the facility was blocked by the Federal Trade Commission, I publicly urged the FTC to reconsider and recognize the consequences that decision would have on our workers, their families and our community. In 2024, I stressed to Dave McCormick the importance of standing alongside borough leaders and workers at the plant for a rally and help draw attention to what was at stake.

While this tour does not guarantee a specific outcome, it is an important step in exploring new opportunities for this historic property and the Mon Valley community. Thank you to Von Fisher of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services and to Mike Pascanik, who dedicated nearly 50 years to the plant in various roles, for guiding us through the facility during an engaging two-and-a-half-hour tour. Your knowledge, memories and passion were invaluable.

I recently brought together representatives from PennDOT and Speers Mayor Timothy Herd and Borough staff to discuss the future of the Arentzen Bridge. This bridge is the only access point to a portion of the Speers Industrial Park that is home to major employers including GE Vernova, TechnipFMC, National Polymers, and others.

We talked about the bridge’s current condition, possible funding options, and what a long-term strategy to replace it would look like. The bridge is not at risk of closing right now, but making sure it can safely handle heavy truck traffic is important for protecting jobs and supporting our local economy.

I’m grateful to PennDOT for meeting with Borough officials and helping us find a clear way forward. I also want to thank Mayor Tim Herd and the Borough’s leaders for their ongoing support. My office will keep working with everyone involved to make sure this important bridge stays open until we can build a permanent replacement.

It was wonderful to be back in the Borough of Donora yesterday and celebrate the ribbon cutting for Centerville Clinics’s new Family Medicine facility, almost exactly a year after the groundbreaking, making this milestone truly special! It was even more meaningful that we celebrated during National Health Center Week, just as last year’s groundbreaking was.

This beautiful new facility is more than just a building. It shows a long term commitment to offering high-quality, accessible healthcare for the residents of Donora and the surrounding Mon Valley communities. It was also fitting to honor the remarkable legacy of the late Dr. Dimitri Petro, whose over 60 years of compassionate care left a lasting impact on this community. His family was in attendance.

Congratulations to the entire Centerville Clinics team on this exciting achievement. I’m proud to support investments that strengthen healthcare access and improve the quality of life for families across our region.

The 2026 PONY League World Series started yesterday at Historic Lew Hays PONY Field. You can find the full schedule and event information on their official website.

Best of luck to our Washington County Pony League World Series Team! The boys will take the field in Game #5 tonight at 5:00 p.m., where they’ll face either Hidalgo, Texas, or Paderborn, Germany, who met yesterday. As of deadline for submitting this article, we don’t know who won their contest yet.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by my shredding event earlier last week at Ringgold High School. We lost track of how many cars but 13 total totes of sensitive documents (and junk) were shredded and recycled! Let’s do it again next year!

Pennsylvania Has New Tools to Solve Violent Crimes

Law enforcement agencies will be able to access new tools to boost clearance rates for homicide and other violent crime cases through a new state law. 

The Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods (VICTIM) Act was enacted with the new state budget. The law establishes a grant program administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to help police hire and retain detectives and investigators, and upgrade technology used to analyze evidence.

Solving more violent crimes will help make communities safer by getting offenders off the streets while also serving as a deterrent to would-be criminals who know their crimes will not go unanswered.

State Budget Boosts College Tuition Assistance

Under the new state budget we recently passed, the maximum PA State Grant award has increased to the highest amount in program history, helping students across the commonwealth and their families pay for higher education.

For the 2026-27 fiscal year, the maximum award is $6,000, up from $5,750, the amount it’s been for four years. The funding is administered by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA).

Each year, PHEAA’s board reevaluates the awarding formula by analyzing several factors, including tuition costs, the effect of inflation on family incomes, the number of expected applicants and recommended funding for the program as part of the annual budget process. Read more about the PA State Grant program here.

PA College Savings Fees Waived for Fifth Straight Year  

Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced asset-based fees for the PA 529 College and Career Savings Program’s Guaranteed Savings Plan (GSP) will be waived for the fifth year in a row.

PA 529 GSP account owners will not see any asset-based fees on their quarterly statements for July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, resulting in $5.9 million in savings. This fee waiver is funded through surplus earnings of the GSP fund.

The PA 529 GSP allows families to save at today’s tuition rates to meet tomorrow’s tuition costs. Families can choose from a variety of tuition levels to save from community college to Ivy League. PA 529 GSP account earnings are based on tuition inflation rates.

Red Tape Slashed for PA Cosmetology Workers

Legislation to streamline licensing for the cosmetology workforce has been signed into law, a major step in addressing Pennsylvania’s ongoing workforce shortages.

Act 43 of 2026 authorizes Pennsylvania to join the Cosmetology Licensure Compact, an interstate agreement that makes it easier for licensed cosmetologists — who provide treatments for hair, skin and nails — to obtain a multistate license and work in participating states without unnecessary red tape. It also ensures cosmetology professionals in active-duty military families face no burdensome licensure requirements in compact states.

Pennsylvania is the 13th state to enter the compact, joining neighboring states Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Read more about this new law here.

Booking a Tour of Your State Capitol

Summer is a great time to tour your state Capitol, a National Historic Landmark featuring Renaissance designs, paintings, stained glass and furnishings by some of the best artisans in the world.

Scheduling in advance is recommended, but walk-ins are welcome according to availability. Tours take approximately 30-45 minutes and are limited to 40 guests total per tour. Self-guided tours do not take place on weekends and holidays.

More than the seat of Pennsylvania’s government, the Capitol is a magnificent symbol of the hopes and vision of the commonwealth that gave birth to a nation. Find details and book a tour here.