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Appvion closing Roaring Spring mill; 293 jobs lost | News, Sports, Jobs

wfrank@altoonamirror.com First shift workers leave the Appvion paper mill in Roaring Spring on Monday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski ROARING SPRING One of Blair County’s oldest manufacturing facilities is closing its doors, and nearly 300 jobs will be lost. Appvion Inc. officials announced Monday they will close the Spring Mill, which has been operating since 1866, this spring. Altoona Blair County Development Corp. President and CEO Stephen McKnight said he had been in touch with company officials. “They confirmed they will be ceasing operations in late March or April. In the best economic times, this would be devastating news for the local workforce, their families and our community. In the current global climate, it’s even worse. We are shocked and simply at a loss by this sudden announcement,” McKnight said.

Blair countyUnited statesPaper millsRoaring springWest carrolltonSpring millJohn elbyStephen mcknightMitchell beckerRobert kutzJohn morrisonJim gregoryWalt frankJohn joyceUnited steelworkers unionNational cash register co

By Nicholas Riccardi The Associated Press In the name of fairness, New York Gov Andrew Cuomo and his Democratic allies once welcomed the creation of a nonpartisan redistricting commission that would redraw congressional maps free of political influence and avoid contorted gerrymandering But now that the commission is stepping up its work, New York Democrats seem to be having second thoughts The state may lose House seats and, under the old rules, Democrats would have had the power to redraw lines in their favor Some Democrats want to make it easier to overrule the commission As the once-a-decade redistricting conflicts heat up across the country, both Republicans and Democrats are wrestling with how far to press their advantage in a fight as consequential as any election For Republicans that means building on the success of 10 years ago — even as some population and political trends work against them For Democrats, it s a test of their commitment to the changes they ve long argued are needed to create a level playing field If I m a Democratic leader and I ve recently come into power, I m not sure why I d want to constrain myself when the other party is playing hardball, said Jonathan Cervas, a redistricting expert at Carnegie Mellon University The GOP has complete control of the redistricting process in 18 states — including the growing states of Texas and Florida — giving it the power to redraw boundaries for 181 U S House seats, according to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice, which advocates for a redistricting overhaul Democrats have full control over only 49 House seats That would jump to 74 if they overrule New York s nonpartisan commission, said the Brennan Center s Michael Li Whoever controls the map-drawing wields enormous and long-lasting power over the U S political system Skilled mapmakers can draw boundaries that pack a party s voters into districts, creating safe legislative seats The proliferation of uncompetitive seats has added to the nation s growing partisan polarization, because so few lawmakers must worry about appealing to voters from the other party The stakes are particularly clear now Some experts note Republicans could win control of the House in 2022 based on redistricting alone Three of the states where the GOP has complete control of the map-making — Texas, Florida and North Carolina — are expected to gain a total of six seats A GOP sweep of those seats would flip the House But packing Republican voters into new districts in the growing states won t be easy Much of the population growth in those states has come in cities, inner-ring suburbs and places with large Black and Latino communities — all key Democratic constituencies The Republicans are in the driver s seat, but are limited in what they can do, Cervas said All this will play out in a hyper-compressed timeline Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Census Bureau has said it won t release detailed population data needed to draw maps until late September — a delay of several months As a result, legislatures will probably be called into special sessions to draw maps toward the end of the year, and the window for legal challenges will be exceedingly narrow To the extent that maps look horrible and you re a litigator and you want to challenge the maps before the election, you have less time, said Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University Republicans are keenly aware of the courts power GOP operatives note their party would probably control the House today if courts hadn t struck down their redistricting in four states since 2011 and ordered more Democratic-friendly districts Still, some who advocate an overhaul of the system are optimistic that this round will produce more balanced maps and competitive seats than last time They note state governments that had unified Republican control, such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, now are split between the parties Meanwhile, five states — Colorado, Michigan, New York, Utah and Virginia — have added nonpartisan commissions, while voters in Ohio placed new restrictions on partisan redistricting But most states in the GOP-dominated South lack nonpartisan commissions They re also likely to gain many seats In these fast-growing states like Texas, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, Republicans have a clear path to go to town, said Li of the Brennan Center | News, Sports, Jobs

wfrank@altoonamirror.com First shift workers leave the Appvion paper mill in Roaring Spring on Monday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski ROARING SPRING One of Blair County’s oldest manufacturing facilities is closing its doors, and nearly 300 jobs will be lost. Appvion Inc. officials announced Monday they will close the Spring Mill, which has been operating since 1866, this spring. Altoona Blair County Development Corp. President and CEO Stephen McKnight said he had been in touch with company officials. “They confirmed they will be ceasing operations in late March or April. In the best economic times, this would be devastating news for the local workforce, their families and our community. In the current global climate, it’s even worse. We are shocked and simply at a loss by this sudden announcement,” McKnight said.

Blair countyUnited statesPaper millsRoaring springWest carrolltonSpring millJohn elbyStephen mcknightMitchell beckerRobert kutzJohn morrisonJim gregoryWalt frankJohn joyceUnited steelworkers unionNational cash register co

State awards tax credits to 3 local businesses | News, Sports, Jobs

Dec 17, 2020 Pennsylvania has awarded three major business and building expansion projects in Blair County with more than $950,000 in State Enterprise Zone and Special Priority Program tax credits. The EZP program provides state tax credits to businesses or industries investing in or making physical improvements to properties located within designated enterprise zones. The SPP program supports specific priorities of community economic development: disaster or economic recovery, integrating weatherization and housing rehab, mortgage foreclosure prevention, blight elimination, diversity issues, rural issues and affordable housing. Altoona Blair County Development Corp. provided technical assistance and support for the following projects: ö The Saint Francis University Blair Commons project received $258,750 in tax credits through the SPP program for a targeted revitalization effort to deliver science and technology education to underserved populations, offer free clinical rehabil

Blair countyUnited statesStephen mcknightMama randazzoWick copy centerDazzling realtyJersey shore state bankSaint francis university blair commonsEnterprise zone tax credit programPriority programAltoona blair county development corpState enterprise zoneSpecial priority programBlair county developmentCurry buildingEnterprise zone tax credit

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