On the SidE. . .

ON THE SIDE. . .
This and that from the world of Valley politics.
ONE OF MANY: U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart, whose district includes portions of Mercer and Lawrence counties, won two national awards: legislator of the year by the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the United States Chamber of Commerce's Spirit of Enterprise award.
Hart of Bradford Woods, Pa., R-4th, didn't send press releases about the awards. The information was provided by BIO and the Chamber.
On the surface, the awards look impressive; the Chamber calls its honor "prestigious" in its release.
Apparently prestigious is an overused term by the Chamber. Hart is among 311 congressional members out of 535 -- 435 U.S. House members and 100 U.S. senators -- to earn the prestigious award. The Chamber gives it to any member of Congress who votes with them on key votes at least 70 percent of the time.
Most of the other winners were Republicans. For example, the only winners in Ohio are its two senators, both Republicans, and the 12 Republican members of its U.S. House delegation.
Hart did a little better with the BIO honor. She had to share "Legislator of the Year" honors with only seven other members of Congress.
A break: On a personal note, I'll be out of the office for most of next week so I won't have a column in next Friday's newspaper.
skolnick@vindy.com