February 23, 2017
HARRISBURG, February 23, 2017 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) today was unanimously re-elected to serve as the vice chairman of the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). Created in 1963 by the state...
February 7, 2017
Harrisburg, February 7, 2017 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) today provided the following statement in response to Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2017-18 state budget proposal: “This is a lean budget for lean times. “In the face of a daunting deficit, the governor’s...
January 26, 2017
Brookline – January 26, 2017 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) issued the following statement in response to today’s state Department of Corrections decision to close SCI-Pittsburgh: “I’m very disappointed in the Department of Corrections decision — as...
January 25, 2017
Harrisburg – January 25, 2017 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) today introduced legislation that would require the Department of Corrections to hold a local public hearing before it could close a prison. “Closing prisons will drastically impact prison...
January 23, 2017
Urges Local Officials and Community Leaders to Step up Harrisburg – January 23, 2017 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) today spoke out at a joint Capitol hearing to save SCI-Pittsburgh from closing. The hearing was jointly held this morning by the Senate’s...
January 18, 2017
Harrisburg – January 18, 2016 – Opposed to the potential closure of correctional institutions across Pennsylvania, Sens. Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny), John Blake (D-Lackawanna) and John Yudichak (D-Luzerne) have spearheaded local meetings to examine the impact of...
January 17, 2017
Brookline – January 17, 2017 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) today toured SCI-Pittsburgh and met with prison workers and officials on the facility’s possible closing. The 24-acre SCI-Pittsburgh facility on the city’s North Side is one of five prisons...
January 9, 2017
Brookline – January 9, 2017 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) today sent a letter to state Secretary of Corrections John E. Wetzel and Gov. Tom Wolf objecting to the possible closure of the state prison in Pittsburgh. Citing a state budget shortfall, the...
January 6, 2017
Harrisburg – January 6, 2017 − Following the governor’s announcement today that he is considering closing the state Correctional Institute in Pittsburgh by June, state Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) released the following statement. “Decisions of this...
December 6, 2016
BROOKLINE, December 6, 2016 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) today announced $3.724 million in state grant funds for eight Allegheny County transportation projects. “This funding will help local planners make our transportation system more modern, efficient...
November 23, 2016
HARRISBURG, November 23, 2016 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana today announced a total of $4.5 million in state grant funds for three Allegheny County projects. “These funds will be used for land development, revitalization and as economic generators in our region,”...
November 16, 2016
Harrisburg, November 16, 2016 – State Senate Democrats today unanimously re-elected state Senator Wayne D. Fontana (D-Brookline) to serve as Democratic Caucus chairman for the coming two-year legislative session. The caucus chairman sets the daily caucus agenda and...
November 2, 2016
Pittsburgh – November 2, 2016 – At the request of state Senator Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny), the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing in Pittsburgh today on Fontana’s legislation that would allow early voting. “My legislation (Senate Bill 255) would...
October 28, 2016
HARRISBURG, October 28, 2016 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana today announced a $1 million state grant for site development at the Regional Industrial Development Corporation’s 14-acre Lawrenceville Technology Center. “These Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program...
October 24, 2016
HARRISBURG, October 24, 2016 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana today announced a total of $1.4 million in state grant and loan funds for three Allegheny County projects. “This state support will help supplement local efforts to improve, redevelop and move the ball forward...
October 7, 2016
Pittsburgh, October 7, 2016 — State Senator Wayne D. Fontana (D-Brookline) today served as master of ribbon cutting ceremonies as officials and community leaders marked the opening of the new connector streets in the city’s lower Hill District. “Reconstructing...
September 30, 2016
Brookline – Sept. 30, 2016 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana today announced state grant funding for two projects in Pittsburgh. “I am pleased that state dollars will supplement these local economic development and community resource efforts,” Fontana said. “I will...
September 9, 2016
Beechview, September 9, 2016 –State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana today said he is pleased with the progress of the Red Line rail project in Beechview and confident it will reopen for riders on Sept. 25 as scheduled. “I have worked and remained in touch with county and local...
August 4, 2016
Wilkinsburg, August 4, 2016 – At the request of state Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, a joint state Senate-House Democratic Policy Committee hearing was held today on efforts and resources to fight blight within our communities, including the successes and...
July 15, 2016
Harrisburg, July 15, 2016 – Public school districts will soon be required to post additional policies and information on their websites under legislation sponsored by Sen. Wayne D. Fontana’s (D-Allegheny) that was amended into the state’s school code...
July 14, 2016
Harrisburg, July 14, 2016 –Sen. Wayne D. Fontana’s (D-Allegheny) legislation that funds the state’s “Business in our Sites” program has passed the legislature and was signed into law (Act 85 of 2106) by the governor. The Business in our Sites program invests state...
July 13, 2016
Harrisburg, July 13, 2016 – The state Senate today approved legislation backed by Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) that will bolster Pennsylvania’s film and television industry by expanding the state’s film tax credit program. “The state’s film tax credit program...
July 1, 2016
HARRISBURG, July 1, 2016 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) today announced $600,000 in state grant funding to redesign and revitalize part of Broadway Avenue in Beechview. “This project will make that business corridor safer, more attractive and more...
June 30, 2016
HARRISBURG, June 30, 2016 – The state Senate today unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) that would give municipal governments the option of establishing policies and helping residents repair damaged sewer laterals. “This...
June 30, 2016
HARRISBURG, June 30, 2016 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana provided the following comment yesterday afternoon after the state Senate voted 47-3 in favor of a bipartisan 2016-17 fiscal budget (Senate Bill 1073). The bill now returns to the House for consideration. “Like...
