Stocks slide lower on Wall Street as coronavirus cases surge
By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer
Stocks are moving sharply lower on Wall Street after new coronavirus cases in the U.S. hit their highest level in two months. The S&P 500 fell 2.4% in late morning trading Wednesday, giving up its gains from earlier in the week. Markets have been rallying in recent weeks on hopes that U.S. states and regions around the world could continue to lift lockdowns put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Cruise lines, which would stand to suffer greatly if travel restrictions are extended, were among the biggest losers. Energy stocks fell along with oil prices.

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(Monaca, Pa.) The Center at the Mall will receive a grant for $35,858 for Capital Improvements and Renovations. Today, Governor Tom Wolf announced that 60 senior community centers throughout the commonwealth will be the recipients of Pennsylvania Department of Aging’s 2019-20 Senior Community Center grants – totaling $2 million in funding appropriated by the General Assembly from the Pennsylvania Lottery.

“Senior community centers play an immense role for older Pennsylvanians by assisting them with aging in place,” said Gov. Tom Wolf. “The grants will empower these centers to make their desired changes to further benefit regular attendees while attracting a new generation of participants.”

The grants will help senior centers fund projects based on their applications, such as updating and modernizing facilities, providing new health and entertainment programs, upgrading technology, and enhancing marketing opportunities.

“These projects will make a positive impact for the senior community centers receiving the grants and the older adults they serve. As we return to some sense of normalcy, older Pennsylvanians may be eager to return to their local senior community center for the activities they enjoyed prior to the stay-at-home orders plus experience some new opportunities that may come once these projects are completed,” said Aging Secretary Robert Torres.

There are more than 500 senior community centers throughout Pennsylvania that provide a variety of offerings, such as nutritious meals, educational opportunities, transportation services, financial and insurance counseling and exercise programs. Proceeds from the Pennsylvania Lottery help to fund these programs every year.

“We’re very proud that the Pennsylvania Lottery has been able to provide more than $30 billion in funding for property tax and rent rebates, prescription assistance, home delivered meals and other critical services that seniors depend on,” said Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko. “We’re also proud to be able to say that we remain the nation’s only lottery to dedicate all proceeds to programs that benefit older adults.”

For more information on senior community centers and other services and programs offered by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, visit aging.pa.gov.

Below is the list of the Senior Community Center awardees and grant amounts:

Department of Aging to Host Virtual Community Conversation on its Four-Year State Plan on Aging

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Aging today announced it will host a Virtual Community Conversation from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7 to discuss its State Plan on Aging for 2020-2024 and invites feedback from the public and community stakeholders throughout Pennsylvania.

People interested in participating can be an observer only or can make comments for up to two minutes on aging issues that are important to them. Individuals can also submit questions on aging-related topics to the department in advance and have them answered during the conversation by registering online.

The department is offering two ways for everyone to participate. They can join the conversation by WebEx on the internet, or can use their phone to call 1-855-797-9485 and enter the access code:161 264 3439 when prompted.

“Over the next four years, the State Plan on Aging will be a very important roadmap for the Department and our many partners,” said Secretary of Aging Robert Torres. “It will help us to stay focused and address the needs and services necessary to support older adults, their families and caregivers. We want to encourage broad participation in our community conversation and especially welcome individuals or communities that typically have not engaged with the department to join us. We look forward to all input to help us develop a strong, solid plan that will guide our efforts for the next four years.”

Now through June 26, the public is urged to fill out a brief survey that asks respondents to prioritize services and quality-of-life issues that are most meaningful to them in ensuring age-friendly communities across the commonwealth. The survey is open to all adults, and adults aged 60 and over are strongly encouraged to complete it. It is available in English and Spanish on the Department of Aging’s website.

Anyone who may not have internet access and is interested in taking the survey can call the department at 717-783-1550. The individual should leave their contact information and indicate they want to participate in the ‘State Plan on Aging Community Survey.’ A department staff member will call them to complete the five-minute survey over the phone.

The State Plan on Aging is designed to help Pennsylvania meet the objectives of the Older Americans Act and will be submitted to the Administration for Community Living (ACL) containing a vision and direction for Pennsylvania’s network of aging services. The Department of Aging is required to submit a plan every four years, with the next plan due by Oct. 1, 2020.

Story by Beaver County Radio Correspondent Sandy Girodano

(Ambridge, Pa.) Yesterday State. Rep. Rob Matzie announced county residents struggling with homelessness will benefit from $31,000 in federal funding for critical resources that include affordable housing and emergency shelter.  He said in addition to a grant totaling $31,125 .00, the county will share in more than $1.72 million in funding being distributed to 20 counties throughout the central and western parts of the state

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Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Hopewell Twp., Pa.) Hopewell School Board met Monday night  in the high school auditorium for its regular meeting and approved a $40,626,135.00 budget for 2020 -21  The spending plan calls for a 2.5 mill increase  to 78.2 mills.  Appropriations for 2020-21 are $42,877,943. The board announced the $2.251,808 will come from the fund balance.

Obama raises $7.6 million at fundraiser for Biden’s campaign
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama has helped raise a record-breaking $7.6 million from more than 175,000 individual donors in a grassroots fundraiser for presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Obama is warning Democrats against being “complacent or smug” about the presidential race. He is telling them to get engaged with the campaign and says “whatever you’ve done is not enough.” The small-dollar fundraiser Tuesday kicked off what Obama’s team says will likely be a busy schedule heading into the fall, as he looks to help elect not just Biden but also Democrats running for House and Senate.

DEP Holds Virtual Hearings on Emissions Rule

Andrea Sears

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Today is the second day of virtual public hearings on the Department of Environmental Protection’s draft rule for controlling emissions from oil and natural-gas facilities.

Current emission rules only apply to new or modified facilities. The new rule would control emissions of methane and volatile organic compounds from existing oil and gas infrastructure. The Trump administration has been rolling back federal clean-air regulations on the fossil-fuel industry, including methane-emission rules.

Patrice Tomcik, project manager of state campaigns for the group Moms Clean Air Force, said that leaves it up to the states to take the lead in controlling those pollutants.

“Cutting methane pollution will help reduce the impacts of climate change,” she said, “and cutting volatile organic compounds will improve air quality and public health, which is really important right now.”

The final virtual public hearing begins at 6 p.m. Thursday. Written comments also can be submitted to DEP through July 27.

Tomcik noted that the importance of the new rule is illustrated by a recent report from the Environmental Defense Fund, which showed that methane pollution in the state is far worse than the oil and gas industry acknowledges.

“Pennsylvania’s oil and gas methane emissions are 16 times higher than what industry reported to the state,” she said, “and that is a whopping 1.1 million tons of methane pollution per year.”

She said the climate impact of that methane is double the impact of all tailpipe emissions per year in the state.

Tomcik said she would like to see the DEP make the rule even stronger. She pointed out that, as written, it would allow less frequent testing at some sites, and would not apply to low-producing wells that are the source of half of the state’s methane emissions.

“If we have a strong, comprehensive methane rule that includes these low-producing wells and frequent inspections for all leaks over the oil-and-gas operations throughout the state,” she said, “we can reduce methane pollution by up to 60%.”

Clean-air advocacy groups say stopping methane leaks would cost the industry very little because the methane they capture is the product they sell.

The proposed rule is online at pacodeandbulletin.gov, and the methane emission report is at edf.org.

Pollinator Solar Array Provides Dual Benefits

Andrea Sears

CARLISLE, Pa. — A solar-array project unveiled in Carlisle on Monday will not only generate renewable power, but will also provide real benefits for local farms and pollinator insects.

The seven-acre pollinator-friendly solar array will provide power to the headquarters of Giant Foods, a major supermarket chain. Under and around the panels, the site also will provide ample space for a variety of native plants such as butterfly milkweed and blue mistflower, selected to attract the pollinating insects critical to nearby farms.

According to Center for Pollinators and Energy director Rob Davis, this pollinator solar array will serve as a model for projects anticipated to be developed over the next 10 years.

“More than 3 million acres of land will be used for ground-mount solar projects,” Davis said. “So, the project we build today will inform all of the best solar practices we use tomorrow and next year and the year after that.”

The project is the first pollinator-friendly solar array to open in Pennsylvania.

Robin Ernst is president of Ernst Pollinator Service, which designed the seed mix and planted the seeds at the solar array. She said the plantings will have multiple benefits for the site.

“By being revegetated with native pollinators, we’re able to help build those soils. We have stronger root systems in place that will help with runoff, add beautification and provide habitat for our pollinators,” Ernst said.

She said the flowering plant species will be in bloom by the summer of 2021 and the meadow should be fully functional the following year.

Davis said the project shows that any city, county, company or organization can plan and build a pollinator solar array by following what he called a “pollinator-friendly scorecard.”

“The scorecard is a flexible, science-based tool that demonstrates that within the managed landscape of a solar farm, there’s enough flowers and flowering vegetation to provide a meaningful benefit for pollinators at scale,” Davis said.

Pollinator-friendly scorecards can be downloaded at beeslovesolar.org.