Governor Josh Shapiro is no stranger to the Lehigh Valley. During his latest visit on Wednesday, he stopped at Fegley’s Brew Works in Bethlehem to promote the investments his administration has made in small businesses and Main Streets statewide.
“Every community has a Main Street. Sometimes those Main Streets have real tall buildings, sometimes they’re single story. Sometimes it’s real long, sometimes it’s a little shorter. But the beating heart of our communities across Pennsylvania; they are our Main Streets.”
In the past year, the PA Department of Community and Economic Development has invested heavily in local development efforts, including $20,000 for commercial facade improvements and more than $146,000 for property remediation in Bethlehem. This is paired with the $20 million invested by the Shapiro Administration in their Main Streets Matters Program.
Speakers at Wednesday’s event used breweries as a key example of Pennsylvania businesses. Pennsylvania’s 530 craft breweries contribute $5.4 billion to the state economy every year.
Both Shapiro and Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds spoke about recent federal tariffs, emphasizing that they would only hurt American consumers and businesses.
“I do a lot of getting out into the community, a lot of knocking on doors. There are a couple things I know; people like where Pennsylvania is, they like where Bethlehem is, and they’re real scared and uncertain about what’s going on in Washington. It’s the instability. That is not what you want as a family, it is not what you want as a business.”
Shapiro highlighted his ongoing work to cut costs in Pennsylvania instead of raising them, through strategic investments that create opportunity and grow the economy.
