Pennsylvania
‘Momnibus’ bills would expand access to doulas, provide essentials to new parents
![‘Momnibus’ bills would expand access to doulas, provide essentials to new parents](https://whyy.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/bogen-spotlight-pa-2024-06-11.jpeg)
The department says Pennsylvania averaged just under 133,000 births a year from 2018 to 2022. Providing one of each kit per baby at the estimated prices would cost the state just under $36 million annually.
“We will be paying for some of these items twice,” state Rep. Kate Klunk (R., York) argued on the House floor, adding, “This bill does not target the moms who need it the most.”
The state House also took recent action on a priority for Shapiro: putting free period products in public schools. “Girls deserve to have peace of mind so they can focus on learning,” the governor said in his February budget address.
Karla Coffman, a certified school nurse at York Suburban High School, told Spotlight PA that every day she sees students who lack period products or attempt to use something else in their place.
While toilet paper or paper towels may be more accessible, they are unhygienic, Coffman said, and can lead to embarrassment at best or infection at worst.
“You need to calm them down and get them back to learning,” she added.
That’s why she buys a couple of boxes of period products each year to keep on hand. However, the school district considers the expense nonessential, and some community partners — such as a church next door that runs a food pantry for the school’s low-income students — won’t pay for tampons.
The state House voted 117-85 in favor of a bill that would appropriate $3 million for a free period product program.
Periods are “not a dirty thing to talk about. It’s very natural,” state House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) told Spotlight PA. “And it’s something that not only we should talk about, but most importantly, we should meet the need because we’re able to do so.”
Most Republican representatives voted against the bill, including state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R., Clinton), who said the proposal “is another step by the governor and Democrats to provide everything to you, which leads to communism.”
Immediately after Shapiro’s address, state Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the governor’s proposal was “straight-on, full-fledged, spend, spend, spend,” citing his pitch to put “sanitary napkins in schools” as an example.
Pressed a week later in a TV interview, Ward struck a more conciliatory tone, saying that she wasn’t criticizing the pitch and that it was inexpensive.
“If there’s a need, we’ll do it,” she said, “but I have never, ever had a school come to me and say it’s a need.”
The bills are now in the hands of the Republican-controlled state Senate, which must consent to any new spending and has frequently criticized Democrat’s spending proposals.
With higher-than-expected state revenues, though, some new spending could be on the table.
“Divided government invariably requires a degree of give and take,” state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) told Spotlight PA last week.
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania.
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Pennsylvania
Pa. woman who drowned after being swept over waterfall in Glacier National Park is ID’d
![Pa. woman who drowned after being swept over waterfall in Glacier National Park is ID’d](https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/resizer/v2/ENNPVT7HEBAILPOJTGZWNTBSLM.jpg?auth=ae6ee71154605f3d0d14626ee27547b52589449aff7199c62704aa067d22f7ab&width=1280&quality=90)
A 26-year-old Pennsylvania woman drowned after being swept over a waterfall on the east side of Glacier National Park in Montana, park officials said.
National Park Service officials on Tuesday identified the victim as Gillian Tones from North Apollo in western Pennsylvania’s Armstrong County. She was remembered as caring and kind, triblive.com reported.
Tones fell into the water above St. Mary Falls at around 5:20 p.m. Sunday. She was washed over the 35-foot (11-meter) tall waterfall and trapped under water for several minutes, the park said in a statement.
Bystanders pulled Tones from the water and administered CPR until emergency responders arrived. She was declared dead at 7 p.m., park officials said.
The death is under investigation, and an autopsy was planned.
Her name was initially withheld until family members could be notified.
Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in Glacier National Park, according to the National Park Service.
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Pennsylvania
Conestoga Road Closing Weekdays For 2 Months In Radnor: PennDOT
![Conestoga Road Closing Weekdays For 2 Months In Radnor: PennDOT](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22896833/20240625/103022/styles/patch_image/public/roadclosed___25103005562.jpg)
RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA — Conestoga Road in Radnor Township will have a weekday closure due to Aqua Pennsylvania work for about two months, PennDOT said.
According to PennDOT, a weekday closure is scheduled on Conestoga Road between Lowrys Lane and Glenbrook Avenue in Radnor.
The closure will be in place weekdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday, July 1 to Friday, Aug. 30,
During the closure, drivers will be detoured, using Sproul Road/Route 320, Lancaster Avenue/U.S. 30, and County Line Road.
Local access will be maintained up to the work zone.
Drivers are advised to allow extra time when traveling through or near the work area because backups and delays will occur.
All scheduled activities are weather dependent.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State Police introduce autism ID cards
![Pennsylvania State Police introduce autism ID cards](https://fox56.com/resources/media/d4a3d773-14e6-408b-afad-7587e3f28a15-large16x9_Screenshot20240624201321.png)
Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne Co. — After meeting with advocates, the Pennsylvania State Police has unveiled informational cards for people with autism to present to officers during any interactions like traffic stops to better help with communication.
The PSP has officially started to distribute an informational card that should be carried by people with autism and presented during any encounter with police.
The colorful and distinctive cards say “I Have Autism” and directs officers to be patient, use a calm and direct voice. The card also alerted the officers that they may be non-verbal, hypersensitive to noise and or touch.
Lindsay Dragon, the Executive Director of a local support group Parenting Autism United has a ten year old son who is greatly affected by autism.
She says that these cards being given out to people with autism will ease the mind of parents with children who have autism.
“As a parent our biggest fears as our boys get older are the risks of being misunderstood and possibly not following direction which could lead to arrests or potential death,” Dragon said.
As of last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 36 children in the United States have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is about 75 million people.
Dragon says that this is a great step towards the overall acceptance and inclusion of both children and adults with autism.
She believes that these ID cards will be especially beneficial for adults with autism as well who may not be aware of the harm they are or can cause in an interaction with police officers.
“If first responders are not in the know these types of cards would be extremely helpful in preventing a lot of unnecessary things,” Dragon added.
Individuals may print the card from the website and carry it in a wallet, or they can choose to save it on their phone. Troopers will distribute the cards at public community events.
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