PA SCHOOL PENSION FUND POSTS 14.6 PERCENT RETURN
The Public School Employees Retirement System announced yesterday that the Fund posted a positive 14.59 percent for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010, outperforming the 12.00 percent median return of the Wilshire Associates Inc.’s database of public pension funds and the 10.87 percent return of the Fund’s custom policy benchmark. PSERS Chief Investment Officer Alan Van Noord reported, “PSERS’ investments rebounded adding over $6 billion in net investment income to the Fund over the past fiscal year and earned well above the Fund’s assumed long-term actuarial investment rate of return of 8.00 percent. Check out the Press Releases section of the PLS Capitol Toolbox to read the full statement.
JOBLESS RATE IN WESTERN PA CLIMBS
According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, The Pittsburgh region’s unemployment rate followed the state trend by ticking up one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.4 percent for July, the state Department of Labor and Industry reported this morning. The region also lost jobs. The state reported that the seasonally adjusted number fell by 1,800 jobs in the seven counties that make up the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. Click here to read the Pittsburgh Post Gazette article.
RESIDENTS OPPOSE PROPOSED RV WORLD CASINO
According to an article in the Patriot News, if Monday’s public hearing is any indication, the residents of Hampden Township don’t think much of an “RV World” resort casino proposed at the Holiday Inn West on the Carlisle Pike outside Mechanicsburg. Except for the developers, no one spoke in favor of the proposal during an official hearing before the Gaming Control Board. Hampden Township commissioners Al Bienstock and John Thomas took a neutral position, but asked for help from the Gaming Control Board on issues of traffic, parking and adequate funding of necessary municipal services should the board grant the license to Penn Harris Gaming. Click here to read the Patriot News article.
SESTAK RELEASES FIRST TV AD AGAINST TOOMEY
According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, the Democratic candidate for Senate, is launching his first TV commercial of the fall campaign Tuesday, a populist spot that slams his Republican opponent as a corporate champion indifferent to the middle-class. Former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey “thinks corporations shouldn’t pay any taxes,” the ad says, using a clip from a 2007 CNBC telecast in which he advocated eliminating corporate taxes to help U.S. firms compete internationally and thus create more jobs. Click here to read the Philadelphia Inquirer article.
Upcoming Meetings
House Consumer Affairs
9:30 a.m., University of Pittsburgh Johnstown, 450 Schoolhouse Road,
Heritage Hall Living/Learning Center, Johnstown
Public hearing on: HB 2619 Preston Amends Titles 53 & 66 re electric generation
