Pennsylvania
Lt. Gov. Davis announces $56M to strengthen after-school programs
Under that backdrop, Davis, along with state and local leaders, gathered at the Northeast Frankford Boys & Girls Club to announce 46 grants totaling $56.5 million for 113 projects aimed at reducing community and gun violence, as well as supporting after-school programming.
In Philadelphia and throughout the state, there is a diverse range of program options available.
“It is critical that we create multiple ladders of opportunities for young people to succeed … making sure that they don’t turn towards violence,” Davis said.
Having been a part of the program for nearly a decade, 17-year-old Mahiyah Azuakoemu finds the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Frankford to be a safe place from the violence prevalent in her Kensington neighborhood.
“Going home is like a nightmare,” Azuakoemu said. “Being exposed to the gun violence or the drugs or the profanity, it’s a lot.”
Azuakoemu walks with her brother to school, carefully navigating around discarded syringes and observing individuals with visible injuries and open wounds.
“It’s normal to us now,” Azuakoemu said. “It doesn’t faze us anymore.”
Since joining the Boys & Girls Club at the age of 8, she has emerged as a leader for her peers.
“If they’re having a bad day, it’s always nice to be heard, to be able to express yourself,” Azuakoemu said. “We have to be able to see and hear the children or else it’s not gonna be good for the future.”
On most days, she motivates kids to show their feelings through art and other fun activities at the club.
“I love painting,” Azuakoemu said.
Proponents of gun violence prevention assert that gun violence disseminates through social networks and is exacerbated by long-standing inequities and public health disparities.
“Boost can halt the spread by enriching children with mentors and skills and love,” said Debra O’Connor, executive director of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots movement advocating for stronger gun laws, closing safety loopholes and promoting responsible gun ownership to combat gun violence and protect families.
O’Connor contends that there is insufficient funding and that more people need to care.
“We lift the messages of the many anti-gun violence groups who have had boots on the ground for decades. And we know that gun safety laws make a difference,” O’Connor said.
Home care for aging parents, adults with disabilities in Philadelphia
Leaders at the Pennsylvania Homecare Association, which represents about 700 home care, home health and hospice agencies, say the industry’s workforce, about 290,000 people, is not growing at the same pace as the client population.
Low pay, moderate benefits and high burnout are making it increasingly hard to attract and retain workers, said association leaders, who estimate more than 112,000 direct care shifts go unfilled every month because of shortages.
“When you already can’t find somebody to do the work and then you’re not paying those folks well, those folks can go somewhere else and make more money,” Harris said. “Then you have more people who should be getting services, who need those services, who aren’t.”
Harris, who represents parts of South and West Philadelphia, recently met with families who depend on home care services, like the Walker family.
A home care worker comes by a couple times a week to support Barbara Walker’s adult son, Anthony, who has an intellectual and developmental disability.
In the past, Walker said she would often have to take off from work to stay home if Anthony was having a bad day or needed specialized services.
“It was hard. It was really hard,” she said. “It took a whole lot of time and patience.”
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would raise the minimum wage statewide.
The bill would raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $11 per hour starting Jan. 1, 2027. The minimum wage would then increase to $13 per hour in 2028 and finally $15 per hour in 2029.
Representatives voted 104-95 to pass House Bill 2189, which is sponsored by Rep. Jason Dawkins, the House Democratic Communications Office announced Tuesday.
If the bill passes, counties would have the option to implement the $15 per hour minimum wage sooner than 2029. The bill would also set the minimum wage for tipped employees at 60% of the statewide minimum wage.
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage was last raised in 2009 when the federal minimum wage was increased to $7.25, House Democrats wrote in a press release.
The bill now moves to the state Senate for consideration.
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“Research shows that increasing the minimum wage does not lead to job losses or business closures,” Dawkins said. “What it does lead to is financial security and better life outcomes for families relying on minimum wage work. To my colleagues in the Senate, I implore you to take up this bill and finally raise the wage in Pennsylvania.”
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — In an attempt to protect and preserve a healthy tree canopy for communities across the Commonwealth, a Pennsylvania lawmaker is taking action.
Rep. Abigail Salisbury (D-Allegheny) previously introduced House Bill 2161, which would require utility companies to plant a new tree for each one they cut down within two years of cutting it down.
“I introduced this bill after residents and environmental advocates in our district expressed concerns that trees were being removed entirely, instead of simply being pruned or trimmed,” Salisbury said. “Maintaining a healthy tree canopy is essential for communities because it reduces stormwater runoff and air pollution, provides shade that lowers energy costs, raises property values, and increases pedestrian traffic for local businesses, among other benefits.
On Monday, the Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee voted to advance the bill to the House for consideration, according to legislative records.
“Monday’s committee action moved us a step closer to making sure those benefits continue,” Salisbury added.
Electric utilities would be required to plant a new one in a location that the municipality chooses.
She said her bill would align with existing regulations that require damage caused by utility work to be repaired, primarily work that would require excavation or other projects that break into streets and sidewalks.
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