More than $5 million to help provide technical assistance to manufacturers with changes to markets, new technologies and competition, was awarded Thursday to Pennsylvania’s Industrial Resource Centers (IRCs), according to officials.

Building job opportunities through both state and federal programs were discussed Thursday as legislators and department secretaries spoke about creating new work opportunities through grants.

Millions of dollars in grants are being made available by the state for teachers to visit with local employers to learn new skills and industry trends to bring back to their classes.

Seven new projects have received state funding through the Industrial Sites Reuse Program (ISRP), including two in Central Pennsylvania.

Businesses in Berks, Lancaster and Northampton counties have been approved for low-interest loans in the most recent string of approvals from the state.

Pennsylvania is on a mission to extend internet broadband service to every corner of the state, a goal many share so that no resident is left behind in the ongoing digital revolution. However, before broadband reaches all residents, educating new users on best practices of the internet and on cyber-security issues will become increasingly important, several observers noted.

That’s How We Roll LLC, known for making the popular ParmCrisps and Thinsters Cookies, is adding a new 71,000-square-foot manufacturing plant on Innovation Drive in Springettsbury Township after outgrowing its current facility in northern New Jersey, officials said.

Crown Cork & Seal USA Inc., a manufacturer of metal food, beverage and aerosol containers, is spending $24.6 million to expand its manufacturing operation at 1650 Broadway just outside Hanover borough, adding 41 jobs.

State and federal officials criticized the most recent legal challenge against the Affordable Care Act and the lawmakers endorsing the erasure of the Obama era legislation in the State Capitol’s main rotunda on Wednesday.

This year, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture issued more than 300 permits to grow hemp on nearly 600 acres at more than 800 locations around the state, according to a press release.

Gov. Tom Wolf signed a Republican-backed bill to essentially bar any local municipality from enacting bag bans for at least one year to allow time for studying the impact of such bans.

Ohio-based Carter Lumber, one of the nation's leading building products suppliers, will open a manufacturing facility near Hanover in York County.

Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology is receiving a state grant of $195,000 to expand its short-term training programs for adults.

The Wolf administration continues to stump for a severance tax on natural gas to pay for a proposed $4.5 billion state infrastructure plan, dubbed Restore PA. But Republican leaders and business groups oppose the tax and say they want to wait until after the state budget to discuss the governor's proposal.

In his budget address, Gov. Tom Wolf stated to applause, “This proposal asks for no new taxes. Not one dime. Not one penny.” Yet, as the General Assembly combs through the governor’s proposal, we find that there are, in fact, tax increases. One specific tax being proposed by the administration is a “double tax” on ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) like the ones in my district.