00:08 - Senator Carolyn Comida.

00:10 - About one half of Chester County

00:12 - is in your legislative district.

00:14 - What sets it apart from

00:15 - other parts of Pennsylvania?

00:18 - Well,

00:20 - we are here in between

00:23 - the cities of Philadelphia

00:24 - and the city of Lancaster.

00:27 - And we are a suburban county

00:31 - that has tremendous diversity

00:33 - from our vibrant boroughs.

00:37 - One city, the

00:38 - city of Coatesville.

00:40 - And and we have rural

00:46 - rolling hills, state parks.

00:51 - We have

00:53 - culture and history

00:56 - and a population

00:57 - of about 520,000.

00:59 - And, yes, I represent just

01:01 - about half of that population.

01:04 - I'm in the middle and

01:05 - down to the southern

01:09 - end of Chester County, actually

01:10 - to the border of Maryland.

01:14 - So we have

01:15 - beautiful town centers.

01:16 - We have rolling

01:17 - hills and farms and

01:21 - a tremendous diversity

01:22 - here in Chester County.

01:24 - What kind of industry drives

01:26 - your economy there, Senator?

01:29 - We have

01:31 - the mushroom industry

01:34 - in Kennett Square,

01:36 - which is the the

01:37 - one of our driving

01:40 - agricultural industries

01:42 - here in Chester County.

01:43 - And and Sylvania and

01:44 - indeed in the country.

01:46 - We have pharma.

01:48 - We have I.T..

01:50 - Health care.

01:51 - Finance.

01:54 - We have,

01:57 - of course, country.

01:59 - We have breeding.

02:01 - We have horse

02:02 - shows, Olympic caliber,

02:05 - equestrian athletes, training

02:07 - opportunities and so on.

02:10 - Now, I understand

02:11 - your culture is

02:13 - is a tradition here

02:14 - in Chester County.

02:15 - And I understand,

02:16 - Senator, you're

02:17 - a former public school teacher.

02:19 - How does that experience

02:21 - inform your legislative goals?

02:25 - Well, yes, I got into education

02:27 - because I care about the future

02:32 - of our children and

02:34 - our communities.

02:35 - And I know that

02:36 - investments in our children

02:39 - and in good public schools

02:42 - is what will prepare

02:44 - them to be contributed,

02:46 - contributing and healthy

02:48 - citizens in our community.

02:51 - And so it informs

02:52 - everything that I do

02:55 - in the legislature

02:56 - with the worst of the COVID

02:58 - 19 pandemic behind us.

03:00 - And your opinion,

03:01 - what needs the most work

03:02 - right now in Chester County?

03:05 - Well, I would say,

03:08 - you know, people seem

03:09 - to be mostly back to work.

03:13 - But but health care in

03:14 - general and and mental health

03:17 - and wellness, as we know,

03:19 - has really taken the limelight

03:25 - for our children,

03:26 - also for adults.

03:28 - And so during the pandemic

03:31 - and now, as we're coming

03:33 - hopefully toward the end,

03:37 - hospital closures have

03:38 - been happening across

03:40 - Pennsylvania yet and

03:41 - and across our country.

03:43 - And we had two major

03:45 - hospitals that closed here

03:48 - over the last couple of years.

03:51 - Jenna's Bill Hospital

03:53 - was recently purchased

03:55 - by Christiana Care.

03:57 - And so that is underway.

03:59 - And Christiana Care is planning

04:01 - a public planning process

04:04 - so that they make sure that they

04:07 - that they develop

04:08 - this new hospital

04:09 - and all of its facilities

04:11 - to really directly

04:12 - meet the needs of the

04:13 - people in those communities.

04:16 - And then also Brandywine

04:17 - Hospital, which closed and had

04:19 - a significant

04:21 - mental health

04:22 - facility that also closed.

04:25 - And so we are still working

04:27 - diligently on finding a buyer

04:30 - for that hospital.

04:33 - And in addition to that, we had

04:36 - and some of the tower health

04:41 - emergency management

04:42 - system was moved from

04:45 - southern Chester County to

04:47 - north more northern operations

04:49 - for Tower Health, which

04:51 - once again left our citizens

04:53 - without emergency

04:54 - health care that they need.

04:56 - So I have been working,

04:59 - along with my state and county

05:02 - colleagues, to direct

05:05 - funding to help

05:08 - in the purchase and

05:10 - transition of the generous bill.

05:12 - And hopefully the

05:13 - Brandywine Hospitals

05:14 - also pay all the hospital

05:16 - and Chester County Hospital

05:18 - their service

05:22 - needs and have

05:23 - increased significantly

05:25 - as a result of the closures of

05:27 - Brandywine and generous bill.

05:29 - And although generous

05:30 - bill has been purchased

05:31 - by Christiana Care,

05:32 - it will take a while

05:33 - before the services are

05:34 - up and running again.

05:36 - So we were able to direct

05:37 - funds, 2.1 million to

05:39 - each Paley and Chester

05:41 - County hospitals for

05:42 - emergency and other care that

05:46 - that they have been

05:48 - overwhelmed by not only

05:51 - during the pandemic,

05:52 - but now with the closures

05:53 - of these hospitals.

05:55 - So it sounds like that

05:56 - extra funding is

05:56 - really going to help it

05:58 - pay hospital given

05:59 - these closures,

06:00 - because they have to

06:01 - compensate, don't they?

06:02 - Yes, indeed.

06:03 - And as I mentioned, the

06:04 - behavioral health needs,

06:07 - I have also been

06:08 - able to help direct

06:09 - funding to Behavioral

06:11 - Health Services Hospital

06:13 - that will be located near

06:15 - Chester County Hospital.

06:18 - Let's talk about some

06:18 - of your committee work.

06:19 - Senator, I know

06:20 - you're the minority chair

06:21 - of the Environmental Resources

06:23 - and Energy Committee.

06:24 - And what are the pressing

06:26 - the pressing issues within

06:27 - that committee right now?

06:29 - Well, we were able to work

06:36 - very well together

06:37 - over this last

06:40 - legislative session.

06:42 - Senator York and I, of course,

06:46 - the most pressing issue

06:47 - for not only our committee,

06:49 - but for our commonwealth,

06:51 - our country and the world is

06:54 - our need to reduce

06:55 - greenhouse gas emissions

06:57 - and to reduce

07:00 - the the most dire

07:02 - impacts of climate change.

07:04 - We're already

07:04 - experiencing those.

07:06 - We are already

07:08 - spending lots of

07:09 - time, effort and dollars

07:12 - to adapt and also

07:13 - to recover from

07:15 - hurricanes, flooding

07:17 - certainly here in

07:19 - Chester County.

07:20 - So what we need to do

07:22 - is is is transition as quickly

07:25 - as possible from fossil

07:27 - fuels to clean energy.

07:30 - Pennsylvania

07:33 - emits 4%

07:36 - of our country's

07:38 - greenhouse gas emissions, 4%.

07:42 - Our state out of

07:43 - the entire country.

07:44 - And did you know that

07:47 - Pennsylvania emits a full

07:50 - 1% of the greenhouse gas

07:53 - emissions of the entire world?

07:56 - And that is a larger amount

07:59 - than many

08:00 - countries in the world.

08:02 - Senator, why is

08:03 - Pennsylvania putting out more

08:04 - than its share of

08:06 - greenhouse gases?

08:07 - Well, Pennsylvania is has

08:09 - been an energy producer

08:11 - for years and years

08:12 - with the coal industry,

08:14 - the natural gas industry, the

08:19 - identification of the Marcellus

08:20 - Shale, natural gas. And.

08:25 - And so we are an energy hub.

08:29 - And I believe that what

08:32 - Pennsylvania can do

08:35 - and needs to do is to to move

08:40 - its energy production into

08:42 - clean energy and

08:44 - to be a clean energy

08:47 - producer there

08:49 - in the model that we have

08:51 - been for for generations.

08:53 - But to move into the

08:55 - realm of being a leader,

08:57 - to help stop the worst

08:59 - effects of climate change,

09:01 - and to help do

09:03 - our important part

09:05 - to get the world to net zero

09:08 - emissions by 2050.

09:11 - Earlier, you mentioned that

09:12 - agriculture is important there

09:14 - in Chester County and you

09:15 - happen to be on that committee.

09:17 - The Agriculture and

09:18 - Rural Affairs Committee.

09:20 - And again, same question.

09:21 - What are some of the pressing

09:23 - issues within that committee?

09:26 - Well, again, a lot of

09:28 - the agricultural practices

09:32 - I've been working

09:33 - with the Farm Bureau

09:34 - and actually Senator Udall

09:36 - and I had the opportunity

09:38 - to be

09:41 - presenters at

09:42 - their annual dinner.

09:43 - And we were talking about what

09:46 - some of the

09:47 - agricultural practices are

09:49 - that are contributing to

09:50 - greenhouse gas emissions

09:52 - and that can some practices

09:55 - that they can take to reduce

09:59 - their contribution to

10:01 - greenhouse gas emissions.

10:03 - Some of these have and

10:04 - also runoff of pollutants.

10:08 - There are no tell practices.

10:11 - Some of the agricultural lands

10:13 - are looking at solar projects

10:15 - where agriculture

10:17 - continues beneath the solar

10:20 - panels

10:22 - and similar with

10:24 - with some of the wind

10:27 - some of the wind projects.

10:30 - Also, the clean stream funds,

10:33 - some of their riparian

10:35 - buffer projects.

10:38 - Agriculture and and and farming.

10:42 - And the farmers

10:44 - who know so much about

10:46 - the land, they are key partners

10:51 - in reducing greenhouse

10:53 - gas emissions,

10:54 - reducing pollution,

10:56 - cleaning our streams

10:58 - and cleaning our air.

11:00 - Let's talk about housing

11:01 - for a minute, Senator.

11:02 - That subject in general

11:03 - is just interesting

11:04 - because it has an eye

11:05 - on the future and

11:06 - building new things

11:07 - and having a place

11:08 - to live is exciting.

11:09 - And I know in Phoenixville

11:10 - there's something called the

11:12 - Phoenixville Senior

11:13 - Housing Project

11:15 - and I think you already had the

11:16 - ground breaking in November.

11:19 - Tell us about this project.

11:20 - What does it have to offer?

11:22 - Yes, I will be happy to do that.

11:24 - So this is a wonderful

11:26 - collaborative project

11:30 - between

11:32 - the Hankin group and the

11:33 - Borough of Phoenixville.

11:35 - There will be 50 affordable

11:37 - senior housing units

11:40 - in the beautiful, walkable

11:42 - borough of Phoenixville.

11:44 - And one of the wonderful

11:46 - things about this is that

11:48 - our seniors

11:51 - are going to be

11:52 - living in the borough.

11:54 - They can walk to services.

11:56 - They volunteer.

11:58 - They are a contributing key

12:03 - member of our communities.

12:06 - They volunteering

12:07 - in schools right

12:09 - across from the

12:10 - Seniors Senior Center is

12:13 - the Parks Phoenixville

12:17 - Food Cupboard and

12:19 - wonderful services there.

12:21 - So that can help the seniors,

12:22 - but also an opportunity and a

12:24 - great place for seniors to help

12:26 - give back to the community.

12:27 - And so it's a healthy

12:29 - lifestyle community.

12:30 - About when do you expect this?

12:32 - A new senior

12:32 - housing project to be

12:33 - complete, ready to move into?

12:36 - I would say within a year or so.

12:38 - Is there a you know, there

12:39 - were some debates about it.

12:41 - Of course, you never know.

12:42 - Sure.

12:42 - Within a year or so

12:43 - and this is not the only

12:45 - affordable housing project

12:48 - in Chester

12:49 - County, we also just

12:51 - actually cut the ribbon

12:53 - on the Pinkney Hills

12:56 - Common in West Chester,

12:59 - which is on the grounds

13:00 - of the mountain center,

13:02 - where you have a

13:03 - community center right

13:04 - alongside of this

13:05 - beautiful, affordable

13:08 - living community is not

13:09 - just for seniors, but there are

13:11 - some seniors who are

13:12 - living in that community.

13:15 - And affordable housing is is a

13:17 - need here in Chester County.

13:20 - And it and in many,

13:22 - many communities, all

13:24 - communities, the Chester

13:26 - County commissioners

13:27 - and the legislators, legislators

13:29 - together have made this

13:31 - a priority to direct

13:33 - Reese County resources.

13:36 - And we're doing

13:36 - everything we can

13:37 - to direct state

13:38 - resources as well.

13:39 - So make sure that

13:41 - people have a place to live,

13:43 - that they can afford.

13:45 - We only have about 30 seconds

13:46 - left on our program, Senator.

13:47 - If someone is

13:48 - considering a visit

13:49 - to Chester County, what

13:50 - would you recommend?

13:51 - Where would you send them?

13:53 - Oh, my.

13:54 - You can you can go

13:55 - anywhere in Chester County.

13:57 - You can go from the Brandywine

13:59 - River Museum in Chadds

14:00 - Ford to see the Wyeth, the

14:03 - three generations of Wyeths.

14:06 - You can then go to

14:07 - Longwood Gardens,

14:10 - world renowned

14:12 - botanical gardens,

14:14 - then you can come

14:15 - stop in Kennett Square,

14:17 - mushroom capital of the world,

14:20 - take a beautiful drive

14:21 - through the rolling hills

14:23 - and horse farms and so on to

14:25 - the borough of West Chester,

14:27 - where we have

14:28 - amazing dining facilities.

14:31 - Actually, all of our boroughs

14:33 - and city of Coatesville,

14:35 - we have dining destinations

14:36 - all across Chester County

14:38 - and then head over to

14:40 - Malvern to people's Light.

14:44 - Perhaps you also caught

14:45 - a show at the Uptown

14:46 - Canal or theater here in

14:48 - West Chester, the adaptively

14:51 - reused armory in West

14:53 - Chester historic building.

14:56 - And then up to Phoenixville

14:58 - in the in the summer,

15:00 - you might see you

15:01 - might go to the blob fest.

15:04 - You may be familiar with

15:06 - the 1950s movie The Blob.

15:09 - Many of the scenes were filmed

15:11 - there at the Colonial Theater,

15:13 - a beautifully historic restored

15:17 - theater in Phoenixville.

15:19 - You can also go to

15:21 - you can at all over

15:22 - Chester County hike

15:23 - and bike and canoe

15:26 - trails.

15:27 - Senator, I hate to cut you off,

15:28 - but you've given us a long

15:29 - list of excellent things to do.

15:31 - Very ambitious.

15:33 - But unfortunately,

15:33 - we are out of time.

15:34 - So I send our Carolyn

15:36 - Camarda from Chester County.

15:38 - Thank you very

15:39 - much for your time.

15:40 - Thank you so much for having me.