AG Shapiro: We’ll Act If DeVos Illegally Withholds School Funding

HARRISBURG―Attorney General Josh Shapiro today wrote a letter to school district superintendents across the Commonwealth addressing the recent threats made by Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to withhold federal funding from schools that do not open for full-time, in-person instruction due to COVID-19. AG Shapiro assured educators that the Office of Attorney General would act if DeVos illegally withholds funding appropriated by Congress.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, educators across our Commonwealth are being forced to make incredibly difficult choices,” wrote Attorney General Shapiro. “Your decisions must balance children’s educational and emotional needs, parents’ ability to return to work, the health and safety of your teachers and staff, and overall public health.

The CDC, Pennsylvania’s Department of Health, and Pennsylvania’s Department of Education have all outlined steps schools can take to mitigate the risk of the virus. While we have learned much about COVID-19, there is still much we do not know about how physical reopening will affect students and their families along with faculty and staff – despite Secretary DeVos’ statements to the contrary.”

DeVos recently announced that she would support the Trump Administration’s plan to force students and faculty back to school in the Fall. The majority of federal education funding is allocated to support low-income communities and students with learning challenges.

“Secretary DeVos has indicated that she may attempt to unilaterally stop Congressionally-appropriated funds from flowing to certain districts and schools in violation of the law. If that happens, in a way that impacts the Commonwealth, I’ll take all appropriate actions,” Attorney General Shapiro concluded.

Pennsylvania reports more than 1,000 new COVID-19 infections
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — More than a thousand additional coronavirus infections are being reported in Pennsylvania as health officials work to stifle a recent spike in cases. The state Health Department said Tuesday the addition of 1,027 positive cases puts the state’s running tally at nearly 103,000. Pennsylvania’s two biggest cities accounted for about a third of the latest infections, with 139 reported in Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, and 168 in Philadelphia. There were also 20 additional deaths statewide. That makes for 7,038 since the pandemic reached Pennsylvania earlier this year.

Locally in Beaver County is up to 983 positive cases. That is an increase of 15 since Monday.

Trump’s team on Capitol Hill as virus aid talks deepen
By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s negotiators are fanning out on Capitol Hill over the next COVID-19 aid package. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows are conferring with Senate Republicans before pivoting in the afternoon to meet with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Divisions between the White House and Senate Republicans are pushing talks into Pelosi’s office for compromise on a bipartisan deal. They’re trying to meld the GOP’s emerging $1 trillion proposal with the House’s more sweeping $3 trillion bill. With the pandemic showing no signs of easing and earlier aid expiring, Congress is racing to draft a plan to safely reopening schools and businesses before a vaccine can be found.

Head of the line: Big companies got coronavirus loans first
By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Ever since the U.S. government launched its emergency lending program for small businesses on April 3, there have been complaints that bigger companies had their loans approved and disbursed more quickly. There is now evidence to back up those complaints. An Associated Press analysis of Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program shows that nearly a third of the loans approved in the program’s first week ranged from $150,000 to $10 million, the maximum allowed. In a second round of funding that began April 27, such loans made up just 7.4% of the total.

(Beaver Falls, Pa.) The 30th Annual Beaver Falls Car Cruise Committee announced today, Monday July 20, 2020, that this year’s cruise scheduled for September 12, 2020 is being cancelled due to the Coronavirus.  The cruise was originally scheduled for June 13, 2020 before the pandemic caused the change in date to September.

The Committee said in a release that :

In accordance with the recent declaration from the City of Beaver Falls and out of an abundance of caution and respect for the health and welfare of the residents and merchants of Beaver Falls, our vendors, and the thousands of car cruise participants and car enthusiasts, the 2020 Beaver Falls Car Cruise that was tentatively scheduled for September 12th has been cancelled. On June 25^th, The City of Beaver Falls issued a statement restricting large public gatherings, car cruises, and parades for the foreseeable future due to the risk of exposures related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While we are disappointed, and we know that many of you are as well, we are in complete agreement with the decision to cancel the car cruise for the 2020 season. Please stay safe and healthy. We look forward to seeing you next year for an even bigger and better car cruise on June 12, 2021.

Gov. Wolf Signs Executive Order to Create Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Citizen Advisory Commission

Harrisburg, PA – Continuing his push for meaningful law enforcement reforms, today Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order creating the Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Citizen Advisory Commission. This further advances his actions to address law enforcement reform and accountability that he announced in June and the first two police reform bills he signed into law on Tuesday.

“My administration is committed to bipartisan criminal justice reforms that are fair and inclusive and support public safety,” Gov. Wolf said. “My executive order moves us one more step forward to address the systemic failings that have created inequities and public mistrust of law enforcement. It is my hope that the commission improves law enforcement relationships with communities and strengthens the accountability of law enforcement personnel.”

The creation of the commission came about from concerns raised by residents and in conversations Gov. Wolf held with members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus and leaders of Black communities in Philadelphia and Harrisburg following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.

The executive order advises that citizen engagement and participation is essential to help the state in fulfilling its commitment to identifying necessary system-level reforms to promote transparency, fairness and accountability involving the commonwealth’s law enforcement agencies.

The new commission’s ultimate goal is to improve policing practices within law enforcement agencies under the governor’s jurisdiction by examining events and conducting reviews of policies, practices, and procedures. The commission, established in the Office of State Inspector General, will be comprised of 15 members appointed by the governor, including one representative from each of the Pennsylvania State Police current Troop geographic areas, and specifically from areas of the Pennsylvania State Police’s primary jurisdiction, and six additional citizen members chosen at large.

The commission will be chaired by the Deputy Inspector General for Law Enforcement Oversight, a new position and office in the Office of State Inspector General that the commonwealth is conducting a nationwide search to fill. Interested applicants can find the job posting here.

The deputy inspector general will oversee staff on investigations of alleged fraud, waste, misconduct, and abuse within law enforcement agencies under the governor’s jurisdiction and serve as chair of the new commission.

The commission is authorized to perform reviews of the covered agencies’ internal investigative findings related to allegations and incidents surrounding the use of force and bias-based policing, including those involving police-involved shootings resulting in injury or death of civilians, and to prepare a report if warranted.

“It is my hope that with input from this commission, the commonwealth’s law enforcement agencies can serve as a model of excellence for law enforcement throughout Pennsylvania and the country,” Gov. Wolf said.

Read the executive order here.

Military medics deploy in California, Texas as virus surges
By FREIDA FRISARO and DAVID CRARY Associated Press
MIAMI (AP) — Teams of military medics were deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by coronavirus patients. Miami area authorities, meanwhile, began stepping up enforcement Friday of a mask requirement. Those efforts echoed similar ones in many parts of the world to contain surging infections. Worldwide, the confirmed tally of cases is nearing 14 million. In California, military doctors, nurses and other health care specialists are being deployed to eight hospitals. In Houston, an 86-person Army medical team worked to take over a wing of a hospital. In Florida’s Miami-Dade County, authorities approved an emergency order giving all code and fire inspectors authority to issue tickets for those not complying with mask guidelines.

(Potter Twp., Pa) Five more workers at Shell Cracker plant in Potter Twp. tested positive for COVID-19, according to a company release.

In the statement Shell Chemicals says that: “Since the end of last week, five of the site’s workforce tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive tests to 18 since the pandemic began. To protect the privacy of the workers, no other details will be made available.”

Since the Pandemic began Shell Chemicals built a COVID-19 testing lab to provide results within hours for workers at the construction site who show symptoms of the coronavirus.

The Company plans to start adding more workers next week.

At one point during the pandemic, at the urging of Local Politicians, Shell stopped construction of the new ethane cracker plant and had as few as 300 workers on site to maintain the facility. As restrictions were eased by the state the company steadily increased the number of employees, adding about 300 employees a week with strict social distancing, masking, cleaning, and other mitigation measures.

There are about 3,700 employees on the site as of now. There had been more than 8,000 before the pandemic.

 

Wolf yanks virus funding from rebellious county
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM and MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has followed through on his threat to yank COVID-19 funding from a county that defied his shutdown orders. Wolf withheld millions in funding from Lebanon County, where local Republican leaders voted in mid-May to lift pandemic restrictions in defiance of the Democratic governor.  Meanwhile, his administration targeted bars, restaurants and large gatherings statewide Thursday in an effort to prevent a wider resurgence of the virus that officials say could jeopardize students’ return to school. The state’s largest teachers union asked Wolf to order schools to plan for online-only instruction, citing mounting concern among educators and parents about the “significant health risks” posed by sending kids back to the classroom.

Wolf Administration: Hazard Pay Grants Now Available for Front-Line Workers in Life-Sustaining Industries 

Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Tom Wolf announced the availability of $50 million in grant funding to help employers provide hazard pay to employees in life-sustaining occupations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hazard pay is intended to keep front-line employees working in vital industry sectors across Pennsylvania.

“In the fight against COVID-19, our front-line workers have put themselves at risk every day in order to continue to provide life-sustaining services to their fellow Pennsylvanians, and this funding will increase their pay in recognition of those sacrifices,” said Gov. Wolf. “These grants will help businesses retain employees, ensure that Pennsylvanians keep working and avoid disruption of critical goods and services.”

Created through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, this reimbursement-based grant is available to employers offering hazard pay during the eligible program period and will be administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). Businesses may apply for grants up to a maximum of $3 million.

The following applicants are eligible to apply:

• Businesses
• Healthcare Non-profits
• Public Transportation Agencies
• Certified Economic Development Organizations (CEDO)

Eligible Pennsylvania-based industries include:

• Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Ambulatory Health Care Services
• Hospitals
• Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
• Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
• Food Manufacturing
• Food Retail Facilities
• Security Services for eligible industries listed above and commercial industries that were not closed as a result of the Governor’s Business Closure Order
• Janitorial Services to Buildings and Dwellings

Grant funds may be used for hazard pay for direct, full-time and part-time employees earning less than $20/hour, excluding fringe benefits and overtime for the 10-week period from August 16, 2020, to October 24, 2020. Applicants may apply for up to $1,200 per eligible full-time equivalent (FTE) employee. Employers may apply for a grant to provide hazard pay for up to 500 eligible full-time equivalent employees per location.

Eligible applicants may apply for grants using the online DCED Electronic Single Application for Assistance located at www.esa.dced.state.pa.us from July 16, 2020, to July 31, 2020. Program inquiries may be directed to (717) 787-6245 or ra-dcedcbf@pa.gov.

“An essential component of the spending plan we passed this spring was the use of available federal money to provide extra hazard pay for workers who are doing the most dangerous jobs,” said House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody (D- Allegheny, Westmoreland). “Today’s announcement shows we are serious about keeping that commitment and I urge all the employers who qualify for these grants to apply now.”

“Front-line workers in many workplaces have been praised during this pandemic, including thousands of transit workers who drive, clean and maintain our buses and trains,” said state Rep. Mike Carrol (D- Lackawanna, Luzerne), Democratic chairman of the House Transportation Committee. “They’ve earned more than just good words. They deserve better pay for the risky work that they are continuing to do every day.”

“This grant program will put $50 million in CARES Act dollars into the pockets of Pennsylvania’s lowest-paid front-line workers, who risked their families’ health and safety to keep us fed, care for our children and elderly, and help fellow front-line workers get to and from work,” said state Sen. Maria Collett (D- Bucks, Montgomery), Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Aging and Youth Committee. “I am especially glad to see that Governor Wolf and DCED considered my input and included actual risk and local prevalence of COVID as evaluation criteria.”

“Front-line essential workers are the backbone of our economy, and they have been working in dangerous, sometimes deadly, conditions. They are putting themselves and their families at risk from COVID-19 on a daily basis and their wages should reflect that risk,” said state Sen. Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny), Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee. “Many of these workers didn’t sign up for life-threatening work, so I’m pleased that the Hazard Pay Grant Program will assist employers in compensating them more fairly for the newfound dangers that they face.”

For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, Pennsylvanians should follow https://www.pa.gov/guides/responding-to-covid-19/.