It seems state Sen. Bob Robbins isn’t too happy about the media’s interest in legislative travel and how it is funded.
Robbins complained, first to a reporter from The Philadelphia Inquirer and then to The Herald, that media pressure is keeping lawmakers from “networking” with their peers at conferences and conventions.
Robbins was contacted for a story that ran in Friday’s Inquirer about state Rep. James Roebuck’s ill-advised — and aborted — plan to bill Pennsylvania taxpayers for a trip to a state government conference on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas.
Robbins was the only other Pennsylvania lawmaker to attend the conference but unlike the Philadelphia Democrat, Robbins said he decided before going that he wouldn’t bill the state.
Asked why, the Salem Township Republican was candid.
“Because of calls like this,” Robbins told the Inquirer’s reporter.
“It is unfortunate that our members are not networking like before,” the newspaper quoted Robbins as saying. “And it’s all because of the media pressure and the stories that beat us up.”
“If you want to find out what’s going on and get different ideas, networking is extremely important for all professions,” Robbins told The Herald on Monday.
Robbins paid from his own pocket to avoid public and media backlash for going to the conference in the Virgin Islands, ostensibly to “see off” the longtime conference director and to discuss solutions to common problems with lawmakers from other states. Robbins said he was looking for input on a plan to make it easier for military children to transfer to new schools.
That’s a noble cause, but with everything states are doing to encourage tourism and conventions here in the good old U.S. of A., it’s odd that state lawmakers find it necessary to have their own gatherings in an offshore tropical paradise. Why couldn’t it be held in, say, Philadelphia?
What’s that you say? It was held there a few years ago? And not one Pennsylvania legislator attended, not even Sen. Networking “because he didn’t have a specific reason to attend.”
So a gathering of officials from the eastern U.S. and Canada isn’t worth attending when it’s within commuting distance of Harrisburg, but when it’s anywhere else — like, say, the Virgin Islands — valuable networking doesn’t happen because nosey reporters from outfits like the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Herald ask too many questions and criticize lawmakers for using taxpayer money to attend.
R-i-i-i-ght.
Opinion
OUR VIEW: Key legislative conference or just a sunny vacation?
- Opinion
-
-
Juicy tips will be far fewer without ‘Scoop’ on the phone
I enjoyed calling him Scoop. I was the newspaper guy, but for more years than I can remember, Gary Douglas was at the other end of phone calls on a regular basis.
“Did you hear about this? Did you hear about that? Did you hear about so-and-so? Better check this out. I’ll bet you haven’t heard about this.”
That usually was the flow of the conversation. Most of the time he was right. Some of the tips turned into stories that were fit to print, and others not so much.
-
The only thing we have to fear is fear-mongering
To hear some folks tell it, it’s no longer morning in America, it’s five minutes to midnight. They say the United States, once the greatest nation on Earth, is today on a glide path to the ash heap of history.
-
Super Bowl Sunday brings a super boost for the local economy
The game is more than a glitzy international event. It serves as a one-day boon to local economies like ours here at home.
-
Punxsutawney Phil, Mitt and a litany of bad GOP hopefuls
Here are some thoughts from a guy who doesn’t put a whole lot of stock in rascally rodents that make weather forecasts.
-
In Ed Likovich’s yard, apples don’t fall very far from the tree
Adage tells us that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It really applies to the Likovich family of Hermitage, specifically Ed the father and teacher and Ed the son and student.
-
A smaller state legislature? Don’t hold your breath
Don't tell me that our state General Assembly is finally going to do what should have been done many years ago – cut the size of the Legislature.
-
A sad end to life: History will determine JoePa’s legacy
I had the privilege, yes privilege and honor, of meeting Joe Paterno several times in my life, both as a student at Penn State and in my role as editor of The Herald. It was with a heavy heart when I learned that he was near death during the Mercer County Hall of Fame’s annual dinner at the Park Inn by Radisson Saturday, and that he had died Sunday.
-
OUR VIEW: Dearth of candidate interest defies worth of legislative races
In case you hadn’t noticed, this is an election year. Actually every year is, but this is one of the big ones. Sure, there’s some sort of presidential race going on, but that’s just a sideshow to where the real action in this year’s election is – or at least should be.
Voters across the country will be electing every member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and here in Mercer County voters will help decide who represents three state House districts. -
Hall of Fame weekend stirs memories of ‘good old days’
Is there anything better than reminiscing about the “good old days”? That’s why I love the Mercer County Hall of Fame’s annual induction weekend.
-
We couldn’t fool anyone - the neighborhood always snitched
An old African proverb tells us that it takes a village to raise a child. At least two books drawing lessons from the proverb have been written, including the most famous in 1996 by Hilary Clinton, “It Takes A Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us.”
- More Opinion Headlines
-
