Harrisburg, PA – Today, Acting Secretary of the Department of Health Dr. Debra Bogen announced the Shapiro Administration has launched a $1 million tuition assistance program to help recruit and retain Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals.

“Emergency medical services professionals are an essential part of the health care system,” said Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “Knowing that you will have well-trained and qualified individuals arriving to your door 24/7 in the event of an emergency is a safeguard that we want for all Pennsylvanians. The Shapiro-Davis administration is committed to helping people enter and remain in this vital profession, and this tuition assistance program supports these workforce efforts.”

Administered by the Department of Health, this program is funded by $1 million from the Fireworks Tax Act each year for the next three years. Pennsylvania residents who obtained a Pennsylvania state certification as an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT), or Paramedic after July 1, 2023, are eligible to have a portion of their tuition reimbursed.

In addition, Pennsylvania licensed EMS agencies are eligible to receive reimbursement of expenses related to recruitment and retention efforts, up to $1,250 per fiscal year.

This tuition reimbursement assistance builds on the Shapiro Administration’s support of Pennsylvania’s EMS industry after securing $20.7 million in the 2023-24 budget to increase mileage rates for ambulance services, ensuring that EMS workers and first responders are properly reimbursed for the critical care they provide. The investment in EMS protects critical access to health care in a state where EMS agencies respond to nearly 24 million 911 calls each year and 26% of the residents live in rural areas.

(AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

Keystone State News Connection – Danielle Smith

The American Climate Corps seeks to create 20,000 jobs related to conservation, climate issues and clean energy.

The program originated by the Biden administration is still being developed but organizations in Appalachia believe it could provide many young people in the area with good-paying employment opportunities.

Kayleigh Del Cotto, director of strategic partnerships for LandForce, an employment social enterprise nonprofit organization combining workforce development with environmental stewardship. She said the organization is unique in its ability to pay wages during all phases of transitional employment, including training people 18 and older.

“Over the last eight years, 52% of our crew members have fallen very neatly within the age range of the American Climate Corps,” Del Cotto reported. “Given a recent expansion that we’re going through, we can now have two cohorts. So we will naturally be able to start hiring a second crew in June.”

Del Cotto noted the initiative offers job opportunities to marginalized individuals who have traditionally faced barriers to employment. While providing them with the necessary skills and support systems “to step into their power” and attain long-term sustainable jobs to support their families.

Annie Regan, director of digital communications for ReImagine Appalachia, said not only could the initiative bring jobs to a region hard-hit by the opioid crisis and unemployment but participants will also receive paid training, opening the doors to opportunities for employment in both the public and private sectors.

“We’re seeing similar trends in today’s economy with folks not being able to find jobs, climate change, exasperating our impacts,” Regan acknowledged. “Of course, we want younger folks to have these jobs, too, and to have pathways to apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs and working with our unions.”

The climate corps is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Depression-era program launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to alleviate high unemployment among young men. The White House said the Climate Corps aims to attract individuals from diverse backgrounds and disadvantaged communities to work in climate-related sectors.

• Traditional Gaming: Brick-and-mortar casino slots and table games grossed a record $49.4 billion in 2023, up 3.3 percent over 2022. On a state level, 19 out of 27 traditional gaming markets saw record annual revenue.
• Sports Betting: In 2023, sports betting achieved new records for handle ($119.8B) and sportsbook revenue ($10.9B), up 27.8 and 44.5 percent respectively. This growth was largely fueled by continued maturation across most existing markets as well as several new markets, particularly in Massachusetts and Ohio.
• iGaming: 2023 online casino revenue grew 22.9 percent year-over-year to $6.2 billion in the six states with full-scale legal iGaming.

FILE – In this June 27, 2019, file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., listens to questions after the Democratic primary debate hosted by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Art in Miami. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

CARNEGIE, PA — Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to Western Pennsylvania today. Together and alongside other elected leaders, they announced Pennsylvania will receive a $200 million investment from President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to improve its water infrastructure and replace dangerous lead pipes in communities.

This Pennsylvania announcement is part of a nationwide $5.8 billion IIJA investment in stormwater, drinking water, and wastewater investments that will help support essential water infrastructure that protects public health and water bodies across the country. Almost half of this funding will be available as grants or principal forgiveness loans, which help underserved communities across America invest in water infrastructure.

“Exposure to any level of lead puts everyone, especially kids, at risk,” said Rep. Deluzio. “I am so glad I can help deliver millions from President Biden’s Infrastructure Law funding for communities in Western Pennsylvania like Millvale to remove dangerous lead pipes and ensure folks have clean and safe drinking water.”

“President Biden and I believe that every person in our country should have a right to clean water no matter where they live or how much money they make. That is why our Administration made clean water a national priority and delivered the largest investment in America’s water infrastructure in history,” said Vice President Harris. “Today, I am proud to announce more than $5.8 billion from our Investing in America agenda for states, Tribes, and territories to upgrade water infrastructure in communities across our nation. With this investment, we are continuing our urgent work to remove every lead pipe in the country and ensure that every American has access to safe and reliable drinking water.”

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda continues to transform communities for the better with this latest infusion of funds for critical water infrastructure projects,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “With $50 billion in total, the largest investment in water infrastructure in our nation’s history, EPA will enable communities across the nation to ensure safer drinking water for their residents and rebuild vital clean water infrastructure to protect public health for decades to come.”

In the greater Pittsburgh area, water utilities are working hard to remove lead service lines from operation and reduce exposure to lead from drinking water. The Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority used State Revolving Fund dollars’ worth over $9.5 million to replace approximately 1000 lead service lines in low-income residential neighborhoods.

The funding EPA announced for Pennsylvania is part of a $5.8 billion investment through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRF), one of EPA’s signature water investment programs. This multi-billion-dollar investment will fund state-run, low-interest loan programs to address key challenges, with $2.6 billion going to the Clean Water SRF for wastewater and stormwater infrastructure and $3.2 billion going to the Drinking Water SRF for drinking water infrastructure. Today’s announcement includes allotments for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law General Supplemental funds and Emerging Contaminant funds for SRF programs for fiscal year 2024. EPA anticipates announcing allocations for billions in additional resources in fiscal year 2024 for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Lead Service Line Replacement fund later this Spring.

Since 2022, the IIJA has injected $21.9 billion into water infrastructure projects across the country protecting public health, preserving water resources, and creating jobs. These investments are unprecedented and transformational. As part of today’s announcement, EPA released for the first time an initial list of 124 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded SRF projects that are underway across the country. A full list of the projects can be viewed on EPA’s website. View more stories about how Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has impacted communities across the country by accessing the Investing in America’s Water Infrastructure Storymap.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published February 21, 2024 10:42 A.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) The second annual event will be held at the Aliquippa Elementary  School from  5-7 pm on Tuesday the 27th. There will be games, an Easter Egg Hunt and prizes will be awarded. The annual event is sponsored by the Aliquippa School District, City of Aliquippa, and other related organizations within the city, including the Salvation Army.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published February 21, 2024 10:39 A.M.

(Center Township, Pa) Center Supervisors received an update on the municipal complex renovations at Tuesday night’s meeting from the township engineer Ned Mitrovich.

The project should be complete in July or August, according to township chairman Bill DiCiccio, Jr. the park  improvements should also be complete by then, Mitrovich reported.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says it is preparing additional “major sanctions” on Russia in response to opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death in an Arctic penal colony. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the new package would be unveiled this Friday. He declined to detail the new actions, citing U.S. government policy, or share how they would expand on the already stiff sanctions the U.S. and its allies have put on Russia in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. Kirby said only that the sanctions, which will coincide with the two year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, will be “specifically supplemented with additional sanctions regarding Mr. Navalny’s death.”

Construction continues at a building complex in Mesquite, Texas, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. As President Joe Biden pushes House Republicans to pass needed aid for Ukraine, he wants voters to understand that nearly $40 billion would actually be going to U.S. factories that make missiles, munitions and other gear. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — As President Joe Biden pushes House Republicans to pass needed aid for Ukraine, he wants voters to understand that nearly two-thirds would actually be going to U.S. factories, like a munitions plant set to open this summer in a gleaming new industrial park in suburban Dallas. Administration officials combed through the foreign aid in the $95 billion bipartisan supplemental funding bill passed by the Senate. Of the $61 billion for Ukraine, nearly $40 billion would go to U.S. factories that make missiles, munitions and other gear. House Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to put the bill up for a vote in the House.

Pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are off to a weak start at the beginning of a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 was down 0.6% early Tuesday. The benchmark index is coming off only its second losing week in the last 16. Losses in technology stocks were weighing on the market. That helped pull the Nasdaq composite down 1.1%. The Dow held up better, and was mostly unchanged. That was largely thanks to a big gain in Walmart, which rose 5% after reporting stronger-than-expected results for its latest quarter and issuing sales forecasts that came in ahead of what Wall Street was expecting.

FILE – Allegheny County workers scan mail-in and absentee ballots at the Allegheny County Election Division Elections warehouse in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. A federal appeals court must decide if Pennsylvania voters who put the wrong date on the envelope containing their mail-in ballots should have their votes thrown out. The case argued Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia could be significant in this year’s presidential contest. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court must decide if Pennsylvania voters who put the wrong date on the envelope containing their mail-in ballots should have their votes thrown out. The case argued Tuesday in Philadelphia could be significant in this year’s presidential contest. The NAACP and several voter groups call the mistakes “meaningless” and want them counted. They say that more than 10,000 ballots in the state were rejected in 2022 over mistaken dates. Republican groups are challenging a federal court ruling last year that the votes should count if they are received in time.