Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania representative introduces legislation in response to possible Penn State branch campus closures
A Pennsylvania lawmaker has introduced new legislation in response to the possible closures of several Penn State University branch campuses.
The legislation being introduced comes following Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi saying that 12 of the university’s branch campuses could close amid financial pressures and declining enrollment.
Representative Charity Krupa (R-Fayette County) introduced a package of legislation with three bills that would give people who live in Pennsylvania a voice when it comes to higher education and how it operates.
Each of the three bills take on a different part of publicly-funded relations for universities.
The first would make sure that state-related universities that are publicly funded cannot close branch campuses without legislative oversight and would also require public input before a closure can take place.
The second bill would do things like requiring a formal transition plan that ensures alternative options before a branch campus closed and would also introduce penalties for campus closures without approved plans and would mandate legislative oversight of universities that close regional branches.
The third bill wants to ensure that state-related universities cannot close branches without taking a look at the economic impacts, like what it would mean for local businesses and workforces.
Krupa says that President Bendapudi agreed to meet with her within the next few weeks, but Krupa says that’s not good enough.
New moms now have more support with the statewide expansion of a mom-to-mom texting program through a nonprofit called NurturePA.
Six thousand moms in Allegheny County have used the free service since NurturePA started it in 2014. It’s now open to anyone in Pennsylvania who’s pregnant or caring for a child up to age five. Trained mentors, who are moms themselves, are paired with a new mom for anonymous, nonjudgmental texting support.
Sharon Welburn used the service with her firstborn child and loved having someone to vent to and learn from.
“I didn’t realize how common jaundice in babies was until my baby was jaundiced,” Welburn said. “I was panicking that I did something wrong, and then my mentor texted, ‘You’re OK. You’re not doing anything wrong. It’s something that sometimes happens. My kid had jaundice when they were born.’”
The trained mentors screen for postpartum depression eight times in the first year after the baby is born. NurturePA Executive Director Susan Crookston says the service is especially ideal for moms in rural areas who are further from support networks. She says for many new moms, having a baby can feel disorienting because so much changes.
“New baby, new everything,” Crookston said. “Your body is different … Every element of your life can be upended by a baby, and though it’s a wonderful and joyous experience, it’s also incredibly challenging.”
Nurture PA is also collecting parenting wisdom from moms across Pennsylvania to be shared across their platforms and in an art exhibit.
To share your words of wisdom or enroll in the free mom-to-mom texting service as a new mom or a mentor, go to the NurturePA website. And for more advice and local resources for new parents, go to Kidsburgh.org.
KDKA is proud to partner with kidsburgh.org.
A man died after the vehicle he was working on fell off jack stands in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, officials said.
Gage Alexander Rowe died on Monday afternoon following the fatal accident in a garage in Warsaw Township, CBS affiliate WTAJ reported.
Citing Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong, the news outlet reported that first responders were called to the garage on Milliron Road around 2 p.m. on Monday. Investigators reportedly said the 25-year-old man was working underneath a vehicle when the jacks holding up the vehicle gave out, killing him.
First responders were called to the home after family members became concerned when Rowe didn’t arrive at a gathering and was unreachable by phone, WTAJ reported.
The 25-year-old man’s cause of death was blunt force trauma, and it was ruled accidental. Authorities did not release any additional information.
An investigation is underway after a person’s body was found in a burned out vehicle on Tuesday, according to the Berks County Coroner’s Office.
Authorities were called to the 400 block of Friedensburg Road in Oley, Pennsylvania, around 9:43 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26 for reports of a van on fire, officials said.
Once the fire was put out, officials reported finding a person’s body in the back of the van so the Berks County Coroner was called to the scene.
The person has not yet been identified but an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, May 28 to help authorities uncover more information.
The investigation into this case is ongoing.
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