An Invitation from Senator Argall
To kick off our second year in print, the Coal Cracker staff participated in an Editorial Board meeting with Senator David G. Argall (R-29) on January 8, at the Mahanoy City Downtown Center. Senator Argall invited Coal Cracker to meet with him based on our in-depth coverage of neighborhood blight.
Coal Cracker journalists met with PA Senator David Argall (R-29) at his Mahanoy City office.
Our photojournalist Elizabeth Matz was there with her camera to capture close-ups of the event, while Coal Cracker advisors took some shots of the group as the meeting unfolded. Recent contributions by patrons Betty and John Gill and Anne Bernadyn fueled our staff with pizza and soft drinks (THANK YOU!).
As proof that young people are considering complex topics, Coal Cracker journalists were prepared with questions for the senator, which led to some interesting discussion and debate about issues such as:
- the Affordable Care Act
- the quality of Pennsylvania roads
- rising autistic spectrum disorders
- neighborhood blight
- the Charlie Hebdo tragedy in Paris and freedom of expression
- what it means to be a senator
- why people choose a particular political party
- medical marijuana
- student loans
- the important role of local government such as borough council school board
- good paying jobs for middle class families
- And, more…
Thank you to Senator Argall for his invitation, and for addressing our questions! We’ll follow up on some of these stories in upcoming issues. Coal Cracker will publish quarterly during 2015.