Pennsylvania
How The Baby Bureau is helping Pennsylvania families find essentials for their little ones
There’s nothing more precious than the arrival of a baby.
“Here’s diapers and wipes, then we have the sleepers and onesies,” said Laurieann Tebben.
Tebben is the executive director of The Baby Bureau. She said this year they’ve helped over 10,000 babies.
“It just shows that when parents are receiving the bundle, there’s a community out there who really care and love them,” Tebben said.
Every now and then some families need a little help. Kelly Ramirez said The Baby Bureau was that for her when she gave birth to her son Bentley.
“When I needed it the most, they actually came forward and helped me with a big bag when I got Bentley out of the hospital. It comes with everything,” Ramirez said.
Founded by Fran Wasserman in 2011 as just small stacks of donations to serve underserved communities and at-risk babies, now the organization has grown to fill multiple rooms with goods to last a child up to a year.
Most of their bundles are distributed through social workers, local organizations, and churches like Willow Grove Baptist Church, where Ramirez met food pantry director Rick Beyerle.
Kelly works part time as a waitress and takes care of her five children and two that she adopted. She would visit the pantry Beyerle oversees.
“Since we started it’s been pretty much 50 families a year,” Beyerle said.
That’s 50 more families every year, and with inflation going up, so is the number of people in need.
Ramirez, a busy mother, said she’s grateful for the help of the church and The Baby Bureau, where their bundles aren’t charity, they’re gifts.
“If you are scared, if you are embarrassed, you don’t want to ask for help, you can,” Ramirez said.
To donate gently used baby clothes, you can visit The Baby Bureau.
Pennsylvania
Update: Freeze warning for part of Pennsylvania until Sunday morning – temperatures to drop to 28
Pennsylvania
Could a gas tax holiday be imposed in Pennsylvania as prices at the pump continue to rise?
PENNSYLVANIA (WJAC) — Discussion continues about potentially suspending the Pennsylvania gas tax, one of the highest state gas taxes in the country, as prices at the pump continue to jump.
Lawmakers in both chambers are considering a gas tax holiday that would remove Pennsylvania’s gas tax for a limited period. The Senate proposal would last 60 days, while the House version would run for six months. Supporters say the move would provide needed help for people across the state, while opponents argue it is not sustainable.
The proposals would save drivers about 57 cents per gallon on gasoline and about 75 cents per gallon on diesel from the state gas tax.
Representatives of the Democratic senator Lisa Boscola, who proposed the Senate bill and is from the Lehigh area, said they will continue pushing the measure they believe is needed by families around the state and are optimistic it will pass.
In the House, the effort is mostly being pushed by Republicans, though local Republican Rep. Jim Rigby said he does not support it because it is “not a real solution.”
Democratic Rep. Paul Takac agrees, saying state police and PennDOT road work are funded through the gas tax, and that suspending it would essentially defund both, and they would have to find money to fill those voids. Takac added that he has not heard any serious intention to move the bill forward.
Democratic Rep. Frank Burns said he believes that if the proposal came to a vote, a gas tax holiday would pass with bipartisan support and would provide at least a small break to struggling families.
The debate continues as gas prices continue rising, with another jump in the last week.
Chief economist Gbenga Ajilore of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says prices are unlikely to fall soon.
“It seems like gas prices are going to go up, and even if there’s some sort of resolution in say the next couple weeks, it’s going to be difficult to see prices go down anytime soon,” Ajilore said.
The Senate is back in session on Monday and for the next few days after that, but not again until June. If the gas tax holiday is going to move forward anytime soon, that is when it would likely happen.
In the House, the proposal would need to clear the Democratic-led Transportation Committee before it could go to a vote.
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2% for March, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) announced in its preliminary report Friday.
According to L&I, the rate in Pennsylvania was one-tenth of a percentage point below the country’s unemployment rate, which fell to 4.3% compared to February.
The civilian labor force, consisting of residents working or looking for work, increased by 6,000 to 6,593,000, and employment increased by 9,000 while unemployment decreased by 3,000 from February.
Nonfarm jobs also rose in March, to 6,189,600, while jobs in six industry supersectors increased. Trade, transportation, and utilities were up 5,100 during March.
For more information about L&I, visit its website here.
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