MERCER COUNTY

The state Democratic Policy Committee is hosting a public hearing on the region's economic condition Tuesday in Greenville High School's lecture hall.

The hearing starts at 10 a.m.

"This informal discussion is aimed at giving state legislators a better idea of the economic challenges facing northwestern Pennsylvania," said state Sen. Richard A. Kasunic, a Democrat from southwestern Pennsylvania who chairs the minority-party committee in Harrisburg.

Kasunic, first elected to the Senate in 1994, is up for re-election this year. But more important locally, state Sen. Robert D. "Bob" Robbins, Salem Township, R-50th, is as well.

Kyle Klaric -- the Hermitage Democrat and Farrell manufacturer challenging Robbins in the November election -- said he "lobbied Democratic lawmakers to come out here and look at our economic conditions and listen to our concerns. Everyone has bragged about the last 10 years of economic growth but the 50th District has not seen that."

Kasunic described the current economic picture in the region as "bleak," saying the percentage of Mercer Countians living below the poverty level has nearly doubled to 11.5 percent since 1980 and unemployment has increased by 43 percent over the past four years.

"As though the climbing unemployment rate isn't bad enough, more and more families are struggling to make ends meet with lower-paying service sector jobs rather than the family-sustaining industrial jobs that used to be so prevalent here," Kasunic said.

"After eight years of Republicans handing 12 percent of Pennsylvania's biggest corporations $5.1 billion in exclusive state tax cuts, fewer people are working and less family-sustaining jobs are available in Mercer County. This statistic is particularly repugnant to citizens who reside in Greenville where Trinity Industries exported 2,000 local jobs to Mexico," Kasunic said.

Numerous area government, community, business and labor leaders are slated to participate in the hearing, which is open to the public.