We tackled two very important issues here in Delaware County on our editorial page this week.
As you might expect, they are not the sexiest stories to come down the pike. They don't leap off the page at you. They don't qualify as 'click bait' online.
All they do is have the power to fundamentally alter life here in Delaware County.
Wednesday we dealt with power - and the pitfalls - inherent in Sunoco Logistics' Mariner East 2 pipeline plan.
Make no mistake, this easily could be the most important economic story in the county.
Sunoco wants to construct new pipelines to ferry byproducts from the state's Marcellus Shale regions, chemicals like butane and ethane, to Marcus Hook. They in fact already are doing that, using the existing pipeline network that is a relic from the company's old refinery days. But construction of two new pipelines that would run for the most part parallel to the original line would great increase the capacity, delivering as much as 450,000 barrels of chemicals a day to Marcus Hook.
In the process, there is the possibility of Marcus Hook, which was rocked to its core when Sunoco decided to get out of the refining business and shutter its iconic plant in the waterfront borough, into an energy hub for the entire Northeast.
But there is a downside, especially if you happen to live in the path of the proposed pipelines. Would you want one running through your back yard, or next to your kids' school.
Therein lies the dilemma.
This is an issue that will affect every resident of Delaware County. Make sure your voice is heard on this crucial project.
You can read the editorial here.
Today, we tackle an equally important topic. It's again one that has flown under the radar - unless you happen to live in one of the areas most affected by it.
For years many school districts in Delaware County - and the rest of the state for that matter - have struggled with a funding system that is patently unfair.
Bottom line is some kids have the deck stacked against them in terms of their education simply because of their zip code, where they live.
The state took steps to correct the situation last spring by signing off on a new funding formula that would direct more state aid to the districts that need it most.
But it's still a long way from perfect.
The William Penn School District knows all about the problems inherent on Pennsylvania's education funding inequities, built into the system because of its reliance on local property taxes. It's pretty simple. Districts in areas that are struggling economically, with an eroded tax base, simply can't raise the same revenue through taxes as their more well-off neighbors just a few miles away.
This week William Penn was among a group arguing before the state Supreme Court that the system is 'unconscionable.'
They want the court to fix it. Gov. Wolf and the Legislature maintain this is solely the purview of the legislative and executive branches, not the judicial.
The court will now rule on whether the districts can make their argument at trial.
We hope they get that chance.
Read the editorial here.
Comments