All Blog Posts (37)

Hi all, I am Virginia Kirk and will be filling in as UUPLAN's consulting outreach coordinator. Let me give you a brief introduction. I am a member of Wellsprings UU in Chester Springs, a longtime UU, and a social worker in Norristown. And a mother to two teenage sons. I'm married to Kevin Donahue, who some in the Philly area might know from his work with Rev. Kent Matthies on MLK Day of Service events.

I am excited about reconnecting my UU social values with my training and…

          With yesterday's passage of House Bill 1950, the legislative takeover of Pennsylvania by the gas industry is now complete. Thanks who all of you who made an effort to help defeat the bill. In spite of our valiant attempts, industry lobbyists won out with a final vote of 101-90. Here in Lycoming County, Rep Mirabito said NO to the bill, Garth Everett voted YES.

          The bills passage provides for such unacceptable measures as drilling in any municipality, a compressor…

          I was a lifelong Democrat until this last September when President Obama rejected the clean-air regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. I therefore felt compelled to join with dozens of citizens, scientists, and activists in testifying on Thursday, January 19th about the EPA’s proposed Fuel Efficiency standards. My hope is that President Obama will hear the outcry from the public and, this time, put science before politics.



          The science is…

By Cynthia Jones, Board of Trustees

Letter To The Editor, Philadelphia  Inquirer

People struggling to feed families

I was appalled by the proposed new…

Dear UUPLAN friends,                     January 1, 2012

            Feliz Ano Nuevo and Happy New Year!  May this time of year bring you blessings of joy and peace. 

I know that I am not alone in that my soul hungers to pause to connect with the holy and sacred.  Meeting this need in many of our Unitarian Universalist congregations we celebrate Chanukah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa and the New Year.  I relish the rich, diversity of holiday spirit in…

WASHINGTON -- The legalization of marriage equality in Iowa created a miniature economic stimulus, according to a new study.

A study by the California-based Williams Institute found that wedding arrangements and tourism by same-sex couples and their wedding guests added between $12 and $13 million to the Iowa economy in 2009 and 2010. The study released Wednesday also reported that the increased spending on weddings…

     The Obama administration entered the fierce national debate over voting rights, rejecting South Carolina’s new law requiring photo identification at the polls and saying it discriminated against minority voters.

     Friday’s decision by the Justice Department…

HB 1950 leaves Pennsylvania’s families, communities, and businesses out in the cold

           (Press Release by PennFuture, Harrisburg, PA – November 17, 2011) – Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) called today’s action by the Pennsylvania House passing HB 1950 a major gift to the multi-national drilling industry. The impact fee with an effective tax rate…

The November 21, 2011 vote to be held at the Trenton War Memorial by the Delaware River Basin Commission has been cancelled according to sources. The vote was to seek approval of regulations that would have allowed shale gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin by the beginning of 2012. The last minute cancellation is the second time this vote has been put off. And this time is believed to be in response to an announcement by the Governor of Delaware that he would vote against the…

By Brian Swint

(Updates with Cuadrilla comments from fourth paragraph.)

Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Two small earthquakes near Blackpool in northwest England earlier this year were probably caused by hydraulic fracturing, a technique of grinding underground rocks to extract natural gas.

It’s “highly probable” that fracking, as the process is known, at the Preese Hall-1 site caused the quakes, U.K.-based shale explorer…

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM

ALLENTOWN, PA

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released the outlines of its long-awaited probe into whether hydraulic fracturing - the unconventional drilling technique that's led to a boom in domestic natural gas production - is contaminating drinking-water supplies.

Investigators will try to determine the impact of large-scale water withdrawals, aboveground spills of drilling fluids, and the fracturing…

Thursday, November 03, 2011 By Laura Olson

Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau HARRISBURG

      Local rules for gas drilling would be null and void under the Marcellus Shale legislation swiftly approved by a House panel on Wednesday, highlighting a key obstacle in crafting a drilling oversight measure.

The bill's party-line vote immediately drew criticism for the meeting's hasty announcement hours after a draft of the measure was posted on the General Assembly's…

I stand with people around the country and the world who are calling for economic justice.



My values affirm that each person has inherent worth and dignity; that justice, equity, and compassion should be the guiding principles for human relationships; and that all people deserve access to the democratic process.



My recognition of the inherent worth of every person compels me to speak out against policies that privilege the demands of corporations over the human rights…

Rick Perry said he would “create another 250,000 jobs by getting the EPA out of the way” of natural gas drilling. But the EPA isn’t currently in the way: The very study on which Perry relies assumes that all of those jobs will result if current regulations are not changed.

In …

Equality Pennsylvania congratulates Newtown Borough Council on passing the state's 23rd ordinance last night by a 5-1 vote. Newtown Borough joins the growing list of Pennsylvania municipalities who have chosen to make it illegal to discriminate in employment, housing and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.  Now if only the state legislature would catch-up and do the same.  

And EQPA offers special thanks to the Council and local…

JOIN WITH PROJECT H.O.M.E. TO PROTECT THE VOTING RIGHTS OF THE MOST VULNERABLE!



TAKE ACTION! TELL YOUR PA SENATOR TO OPPOSE VOTER SUPPRESSION BILL



PA House Bill 934 is an expensive Voter Suppression Bill would make it harder for older citizens, students, people with disabilities, racial minorities, and lower-income people to vote. The bill requires valid state or federal photo ID from all Pennsylvanians at all elections before they are permitted to vote.



Please…