Resuming campaign travel, Trump to return to Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to travel to Johnstown, his first visit to Pennsylvania following his positive coronavirus test a few days after he was last in the battleground state. Tuesday evening’s rally is at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, in a coal and steel county that delivered a 37 percentage-point victory for Trump in the 2016 election. Trump’s stop in Johnstown follows Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s visit there on September 30. Biden was also in Erie on Saturday and will attend an ABC News town hall in Philadelphia on Thursday. Trump won Pennsylvania narrowly in 2016 and Democrats hope Biden’s outreach to the middle class will yield results in places like Cambria County, which used to turn out for Democrats.

Holiday shopping gets early start with October Prime Day
By JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Halloween is still weeks away, but retailers are hoping you’ll start your holiday shopping now. The big push is coming from Amazon, which is holding its annual Prime Day sales event Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s the first time Prime Day has been held in the fall, after Amazon postponed it from July due to pandemic. Walmart, Best Buy and Target are also offering online deals on TVs, toys and other items over the same two days. There’s good reason for the early start. Retailers are worried that a rush of online orders could lead to shipping delays in November and December. And stores want to avoid big crowds inside their stores during the pandemic.

Gov. Wolf: More Pennsylvanians to Benefit from Rental and Mortgage Relief Programs

Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf announced today the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency is improving the COVID Relief Mortgage and Rental Assistance Grant Program to help more renters and homeowners remain in their homes. Effective Oct. 17, landlords and mortgagees will have a new option to reach agreements with renters and homeowners for repayment of rent and mortgage payments above the program’s $750 monthly cap. The program previously required them to forgive the balance of the payment.

Earlier this week the governor signed an executive order extending the application deadline to Nov. 4.

“We cannot allow thousands of families to become homeless because of the pandemic,” said Gov. Wolf.  “Improving the program and giving people more time to apply will help families to stay in their homes. That will reduce the strain on social services and help landlords to pay their mortgages.

“These are positive steps, but we still need a larger solution. I continue to urge the legislature to fix the program’s other flaws so more struggling families have a place to live.”

The program has been helping fewer renters and homeowners than intended. Under the new guidance, landlords can still forgive the balance of rent and mortgage payment above $750, but creating the option to enter into repayment agreements with tenants and homeowners, and therefore recoup balance of payments, should encourage more participation in the relief program.

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed by Congress in March, provided $3.9 billion for Pennsylvania. As part of Pennsylvanian’s response to the pandemic, the governor signed legislation in May directing $175 million of the CARES funds to PHFA to provide $150 million for rental assistance and $25 million for mortgage assistance.

Governor Tom Wolf has repeatedly urged the General Assembly to remove the barriers so more Pennsylvanians can qualify.

The governor’s proposal would:

• Raise the $750 monthly cap on rent relief to at least 130% of HUD limits – In some parts of the state rent payments exceed $750 a month, therefore landlords decline to participate, leaving tenants without payment assistance.
• Eliminate the requirement that households be 30 days behind on rent to be eligible for assistance – The requirement creates an unfair burden on applicants who prioritize rent and mortgage payments over paying for food, medicine or other bills.
• Eliminate verification that applicants applied for unemployment compensation – The added administrative step creates unnecessary processing delays of applications and availability of assistance.

“Program changes are still needed to keep people in their homes, but in the meantime, these changes will let more people get rental assistance and avoid eviction,” said Gov. Wolf. “I continue to urge the General Assembly to make changes to allow more affected residents to qualify because, now more than ever, all Pennsylvanians need and deserve an affordable and safe place to live.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention halted some rental evictions nationwide until Dec. 31; however, some tenants and all homeowners are still at risk.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Chippewa Twp., Pa.) Chippewa Township Police said the owner of Bolland Machine  Shop  in the township reported the theft of  some  TRUMP/PENCE , Senator Elder Vogel, State Representative  Jim Marshall , and Sean Parnell signs.  According to Chippewa Police this is the first report of signs being stolen in the twp..

(Hopewell Twp., Pa.) Hopewell School Board approved the annual  salary for high school assistant  principal Robert Kartychak at last night’s meeting.  He will receive $91,491.00.

Keystone State News Connection

Andrea Sears

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A new bill in the General Assembly could help Pennsylvania farmers reduce the amount of polluted runoff in rivers and streams and help the state meet its clean water commitments.

Almost one-third of Commonwealth streams don’t meet standards for drinking, fishing or recreation, and farms are a major source of that pollution. Under the multi-state Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint, Pennsylvania is required to have plans in place to reduce water pollution flowing downstream to the bay by 2025.

But according to Harry Campbell, Pennsylvania science policy and advocacy director at the Pennsylvania office of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the state’s current plans fall short by more than 25% of pollution reductions and hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

“We believe that this program will put Pennsylvania in the position to achieve those water quality commitments, both locally and certainly within the context of the Chesapeake Bay,” Campbell said.

Senate Bill 1272 would create an Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program to send farmers funding and technical assistance to help keep soil on the land and reduce pollutants entering local waterways.

Darrin Youker, director of state government affairs with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, said farmers are willing to take steps like planting cover crops and streamside trees, no-till farming and reducing nutrient runoff. But he noted the farm economy was suffering even before the pandemic.

“Those cost money, so it’s going to help both on the technical expertise but also the practical, on-the-ground applications that need to be done,” Youker said of the legislation.

Funding from the program would be allocated to county conservation districts based on factors like the amount of land under cultivation and livestock adjacent to impaired streams.

Campbell said Pennsylvania’s farmers want to leave farm land for the next generation that is both beneficial to the environment and has grown more productive through sound agricultural practices.

“These types of investments in our family farms are going to help achieve and maintain that cultural heritage, while boosting our economy in a time where that is of critical importance and concern,” Campbell said.

SB 1272, introduced by Sen. Gene Yaw of Lycoming County, has bipartisan support. It’s been referred to the Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee for consideration.

Keystone State News Connection

Andrea Sears

PITTSBURGH — The number of children without health insurance was rising nationwide and here in Pennsylvania before the COVID pandemic, and a new report predicts that trend will continue.

The report, from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, says after years of progress getting more kids covered by health insurance, between 2016 and 2019, most of the gains for children achieved through the Affordable Care Act were wiped out. According to Laura Stephany, health policy coordinator with Allies for Children, an estimated 726,000 children nationwide are uninsured – and Pennsylvania has the eighth-highest number in the country.

“We have now 128,000 children across the Commonwealth who are uninsured,” Stephany said. “And our percentage of uninsured children also rose.”

She added those losses occurred when the economy was strong and unemployment was low – before the economic impact of the COVID pandemic.

The increase in uninsured children in Pennsylvania was relatively small, about 2,000 additional children. But Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown Center, cautions no increase should be ignored.

“If you look at your state and you see that the number’s going in the wrong direction but it’s not statistically significant, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be worried,” Alker said. “This year, 2020, more kids are probably losing. So, it’s a red flag.”

Research shows children who have health insurance are more likely to graduate from high school, attend college and to be healthier and more productive as adults.

Stephany points out many families have lost health insurance along with parent’s jobs, and the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act will mean more children will be without coverage.

“Pennsylvania has been hit hard by the economic crisis,” Stephany said. “And there is no national effort to inform newly unemployed families about their public coverage options.”

In November, the Trump administration and 18 state attorneys general will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rule the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.