Those interested in donating non-perishable food items may drop off their items at either of Burns’ offices: 535 Fairfield Ave. in Johnstown and 123 W. High St. in Ebensburg during regular business hours. Read more
“I’m always looking for a way to leverage state funding to help local communities,” Burns said. “These two grants for the five road projects not only free up local funding for other projects, but also help get these projects done. It’s a priority for me to help secure grants like these that help our local communities, improve motorist safety and infrastructure.” Read more
Check out my 2023 Senior Fair on Sept. 15 in Ebensburg! Read more
“I’ve always supported our students and schools,” Burns said. “Education is the best way to make sure our region can grow and compete in the marketplace, and making sure our students have the nutrition they need to be healthy and strong is a part of that.” Read more
“Exclusion breeds stigma, shame, ignorance and misunderstanding,” Burns said. “I’ve seen it firsthand; that’s why I get students to sign the anti-bullying pledge and have set up Buddy Benches throughout the region. “This new grant is designed to help schools educate students from kindergarten to high school about disabilities and how it’s a natural part of the human condition.” Read more
“This week’s hearings helped members of the committee learn how necessary these measures are to increasing access to mental health care and therapeutic services in Pennsylvania,” said Burns, committee chairman. “We are facing a growing mental health crisis and patients need every avenue for care they can get, whether through psychologists, psychiatrists, primary care providers or other therapists.” Read more
Burns, D-Cambria, made his request in a letter to JHA board Chairman Charles Arnone, noting that Arnone – along with fellow commissioners David Vitovich, Angela Reed, Darlette Haselrig and John Slezak – are the ones directly responsible for operating the JHA and charting its course. Read more
Burns, D-Cambria, said Matt Ward, CEO of Sustainable Strategies DC, is point man in a series of emails between Johnstown Housing Authority and U.S. Department of Urban and Development officials going back to February. Those 25 pages of communication, obtained by citizen-journalist John DeBartola in a Right-to-Know request, were forwarded to Burns and other local state elected officials. Read more
“First, I cannot and will not support a special exception that would allow Johnstown to continue taxing employees in the city with an increased Local Services Tax (LST) of $3 per person per week…the LST should revert to the non-Act 47 rate of $1 per person per week. Anything more than that amounts to a tax INCREASE.” Read more
EBENSBURG, July 20 – Four days after he sought intercession from Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators and Cambria County’s congressman, state Rep. Frank Burns finally received a response from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to his three-month-old Freedom of Information Act request. Read more
“This grant will boost VCI’s efforts to serve our local veterans, and it is a privilege to do what I can to help those who have served our country.” Read more
“Three months ago, I asked for documents and communication exchanged between the Johnstown Housing Authority, HUD’s Pittsburgh Field Office and/or HUD’s Region III Office in Philadelphia, concerning the Prospect public housing complex,” Burns said. “What I’ve gotten since then is a runaround that no citizen should have to endure – starting with a request for clarification of what is a pretty clear request. Follies such as this have no place in good government.” Read more
Burns, D-Cambria, said the time is right to reign in the unbridled money grab by corporate cyber charter schools, which are bleeding local school district budgets dry by siphoning off millions in local tax dollars. These schools frivolously spend those tax dollars advertising to recruit new students in order to increase their profits. They even sponsor professional sports teams and offer gifts and travel to their students’ parents. Read more
Intent on protecting the state’s drivers from unnecessary tickets and fines, state Rep. Frank Burns introduced two measures that would do just that. Read more
To read my latest newsletter, click here. Read more
Johnstown city officials want to keep taxing folks at the higher rate, even though Act 47 no longer applies. They want state elected officials, including Burns, to carve out a special exception in state law so they can keep collecting lots of money – an extra $900,000 a year, to be exact. Read more
“As I’ve said before, if I don’t advocate for our region, state funding won’t make it back to Cambria County,” he said. “We could miss out on the benefits that these grants can bring, or have to pay for them out of our own pockets. That’s why I’ve made it a priority to fight and make sure our region gets its fair share of state funding.” Read more
"Our state Capitol is one of the most beautiful buildings in the country, and there’s so much to learn and see,” Burns said. "If you are interested, please call my office to find out more information and reserve your spot on the bus." Read more
EBENSBURG, May 31 – Clued in by a concerned tenant who shared a notice that Oakhurst and Coopersdale public housing are now in play for a wholesale redevelopment, state Rep. Frank Burns is reiterating his call for the Johnstown Housing Authority to reveal what impact HUD’s required “ equity plan ” could have on the effort. Burns, D-Cambria, said the notice sent his way said public meetings held today in Oakhurst and tomorrow in Coopersdale are to discuss the JHA’s pursuit of a Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant , as part of a “Transformation Plan” for those communities. Burns said the JHA is looking to “explore rehabilitation and redesign potential, and assess the potential of mixed-income redevelopment with a public-private financing model,” according to the notice. According to the facilities listing on the JHA website, Oakhurst has 100 units, Oakhurst Extension has 300 units and Coopersdale has 121 units. Added to the 110 units at the recently vacated Prospect community, that means 631 of the JHA’s 983 family housing units could be impacted by redevelopment. “What’s unclear at this point is whether those communities would be rebuilt at their current locations, which are all in the city of Johnstown, or whether they could be placed elsewhere in Cambria County,” Burns said, noting that the JHA currently operates a 56-unit complex in Nanty Glo Read more
“Securing this new funding is going to support reclamation work that will expand access to recreational trails, provide access for maintenance of the Inclined Plane and build on other projects underway to expand hillside recreation and tourism for the area," Burns said. Read more
“The JHA told me it needed a 30-day extension to determine whether the information I was requesting needed to be released – then basically turned around and released the same information to news outlets 13 days later,” Burns said. “By doing so, the JHA has proven that it likes to play games. It’s no wonder the public gets fed up with how they operate.” Read more
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535 Fairfield Ave.Johnstown (Lower Yoder Twp.), PA 15906-1803
P*: (814) 536-8400
F*: (814) 533-2368
Hours of Operation - Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
123 West High StreetEbensburg, PA 15931-1538
P*: (814) 472-8021
F*: (814) 472-1965
332 Main CapitolPO Box 202072Harrisburg, PA 17120-2072
P*: (717) 772-8056