New Crime Stoppers Website Goes Live
The Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers website is getting a high-tech makeover. PA Crime Stoppers teamed up with state police and Crime Watch Pennsylvania to create a new web portal that allows visitors to view more up-to-date information on fugitives and unsolved crimes in their area – then easily share that info through social media. “The benefit to us is basically helping law enforcement get more criminals off the street and solve unsolved cases, and cold cases that will be featured on our website,” says Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers Coordinator Kira Lemmons.
The new technology also allows Crime Stoppers to instantaneously send information to their website, Facebook, Twitter and registered users. “From there, they can go ahead and share it with their friends, individuals and businesses,” says Lemmons. “It would basically help to solve the cases.”
Registered users are able to customize the information they receive to focus on an area as small or large as they would like. In addition to the new look for www.PACrimeStoppers.org, mobile phone apps are on the way.
Legislative Reapportionment Commission Hearing Disrupted
The Legislative Reapportionment Commission had to delay the opening of its hearing this afternoon on a preliminary plan to redraw the boundaries for state house and senate seats, when protesters showed up.
As Commissioner Chairman Stephen McEwen tried to open the hearing, protesters from Occupy Harrisburg chanted “For those of you who will not be heard today, this is for you. Everyone has a voice.” McEwen asked “How long do you expect this to go on?” He was answered with more chanting and declared a recess.
When the hearing resumed, the chants continued for part of the opening testimony of Barry Kauffman of Common Cause, then died down. Kauffman raised concerns about the preliminary redistricting plan; then spoke about the protesters, saying “I fear the demonstration today was probably a manifestation of four decades of failing to reform this process. I really hope you’ll take seriously the concerns of the people, to make the government work for the people.”
State Senate minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), a reapportionment commission member, raised numerous concerns about the preliminary plan. In a 17 minute opening statement, he said of the 19 senatorial swing districts, the plan alters 14 to increase the performance of the Republican Party and only 5 were altered to increase the performance of Democrats.
The proposal would move one Senate seat from southwestern Pennsylvania to Monroe County in the Pocono Mountains. In the House, it would add districts in Lehigh, Berks, Chester and York counties while eliminating districts in Allegheny, Philadelphia and Erie counties.
The Legislative Reapportionment Commission is scheduled to continue its public hearing on the plan next Wednesday in Harrisburg.
Radio PA Roundtable 11.18.11
Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week. Professionally produced and delivered every Friday, Roundtable includes commercial breaks for local sale and quarterly reports for affiliate files.
Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:
[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable11-18-11.mp3]
Unemployment Report Shows PA Job Growth
More people have jobs, and fewer people are looking for work. That combination has dropped the statewide unemployment rate to 8.1% — down two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month. It snaps a string of four consecutive months in which Pennsylvania’s jobless rate was moving in the wrong direction. “It’s a big relief actually to see across the board good news,” says Keystone Research Center Labor Economist Mark Price.
Labor force data released by the Department of Labor & Industry finds that resident unemployment rose by 30,000, while the number of out-of-work Pennsylvanians fell by 11,000. A separate state report on non-farm jobs cites growth in eight of 11 supersectors. The biggest gains were in Leisure & Hospitality, which added 4,000 jobs for the month of October.
Price says the public sector stopped shedding jobs in October, contributing to the positive report. “We’re still seeing jobs gains in the private sector, and no losses in the public sector combine to make this a better month than we’ve seen in a while,” Price tells Radio PA. While the unemployment rate hit its recent peak at 8.8% in early 2010, the Keystone State is now out of the woods yet. Price says it needs to add another 237,000 to get back to what economists would call full employment.
Pennsylvania Lottery Announces 13th Millionaire Raffle
13 could be a lucky number for a lot of Pennsylvanians. Tickets go on sale November 18th for the Lottery’s 13th Millionaire Raffle. Four lucky ticket holders will kick off 2012 as millionaires. The drawing will take place on New Year’s Eve.
In addition to the four top prizes, there are four second prizes of $100,000 each, 100 prizes of $1,000 each, and almost 59 hundred prizes of 100 dollars.
Lottery spokeswoman Elizabeth Brassell says only 500 thousand tickets will be sold, until they run out. The previous 12 raffles all sold out. The tickets are 20 dollars each.
The odds of hitting the top prize are 1 in 125 thousand. The odds of winning one of 6,000 prizes are about 1 in 83.
The lottery encourages people not to wait too long if they plan to buy one of the raffle tickets, since it’s a limited pool of tickets. Proceeds from lottery games go to programs that benefit older Pennsylvanians.
PennDOT Kicks Off Holiday Enforcement This Weekend
Thanksgiving is next week and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation kicks off the first of its holiday enforcement programs on November 18th. Click It or Ticket will run through December 4th. State and local police departments are partnering with PennDOT to step up traffic enforcement during the holidays.
“Operation Safe Holiday” will include crackdowns on speeding, aggressive driving and driving while impaired, as well as seatbelt enforcement. Erin Waters of PennDOT says the Thanksgiving Holiday is one of the busiest travel times of the year. In 2010, there were more than 4,300 crashes in Pennsylvania over the period, including the weekends before and after Thanksgiving. She says 55 people were killed in those crashes.
PennDOT is reminding drivers to be well rested and alert before they hit the road and avoid distractions behind the wheel. They say drivers need to take regular breaks during long trips. That means getting out of the car every 100 miles and taking a 10 minute break.
House, Senate Pass Marcellus Shale Bills
A wide-ranging Marcellus Shale impact bill, similar to what Governor Tom Corbett proposed in October, passed the state House on Thursday afternoon. The bill includes both a per-well impact fee and a series of new environmental regulations, but Democrats like Mike Hanna (D-Clinton) say it’s not enough. “We must vote no on Governor Corbett’s tax bill because it is completely inadequate and can be more accurately characterized as a massive giveaway to the multimillion dollar oil and gas industry,” Hanna said during floor debate. Hanna, however, was on the losing end of a 107 to 76 House vote.
The impact fee that passed the Senate on Tuesday (29 – 20) would charge drillers more money, over a longer period of time. It would amount to an effective tax rate of 3%. “We’re not the lowest in the country and we’re not the highest,” explained President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson). “But we’re in competition; we’re in competition for jobs.” In 2012, Senate Republicans say the impact fee would raise a minimum of $155-million.
House and Senate Republicans must now iron out the differences between the two bills. “What we have to do is get everybody sitting down at the table to talk about it, but we’re finally moving,” Corbett told a gaggle of reporters earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, former Governor Ed Rendell is still backing a more significant severance tax on natural gas drilling. “To my colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats in southeast Pennsylvania, if you vote for either of these bills and don’t insist on a real tax, you are courting political suicide,” Rendell said at a recent capitol appearance. “Because you should see what the feeling is in southeast Pennsylvania.”
Legislative Panel May Investigate Child Abuse Laws
In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal at Penn State, many lawmakers are calling for revisions to the state’s child abuse statutes. There was talk on the House floor Thursday night of a forthcoming joint resolution that would create a bipartisan, bicameral panel to investigate which laws need strengthened and how.
“I’ve had conversations with the Governor, members of his administration, House leaders and Senate Democratic leaders about the bipartisan, bicameral approach to addressing the issues raised by the Penn State child abuse indictments,” Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi said in a statement. “I am committed to a thoughtful process that produces stronger protections for children across the state.”
House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny) released the following statement: “This commission will only succeed if it is truly independent and impartial. In addition to the Judiciary Committee chairmen, it should include the chairs of the Children and Youth Committee. The non-legislative members must not be involved in conducting the current criminal investigation, nor should the commission include anyone who was part of that investigation at any earlier point. The commission needs the ability to subpoena witnesses so that it is empowered to find the truth.”
Earlier in the week, Governor Tom Corbett encouraged a “dispassionate” legislative response. “I think we now have time to take a good look at this to take our time and do it right,” Corbett told a gaggle of reporters.
Penn State and Nebraska players gathered in prayer prior to last Saturday's football game.
Auditor General Says School District Misspent Thousands in Federal Funds
The Pennsylvania auditor general says a school district misspent thousands of dollars in federal grant money. The special audit was requested by the U. S. Department of Education
Auditor General Jack Wagner says the audit has found that the York City School District misspent over 800 thousand dollars in money from the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant program. He called it a blatant misuse of tax dollars.
Wagner says the district spent taxpayer dollars without a purpose. He says the money was used to buy equipment that’s sitting in storage rooms. He says that includes laptop computers, athletic equipment, putting greens, stop watches and other items that have never been used.
Wagner pointed blame at both the school district and state education department. He says the U. S. Department of Education should help determine what to do with the equipment and decide if the money should be paid back. He adds the case raises concerns about other school districts and how they’re spending grant monies.
Wagner says school district employees interviewed for the audit indicated they felt pressured to spend the entire amount of the grant rather than return some of the money. He says the number of children the district indicated would be part of the program were one-third less of projections. He says they knew factually they did not need this much equipment to meet the requirements of the grant that serves children in need with special programs before and after school and in the summer months.
Wagner says this mentality of spend it or lose it must change.