Education Reform Debate Roils

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The call and response echoed through the state capitol rotunda:  “What do we want? Choice! When do we want it? Now!”  The hundreds of students and supporters spilling into the halls of Harrisburg were there to support Gov. Tom Corbett’s education reform agenda, especially the controversial issue of vouchers.  Highlighting the consequences of failing schools, Corbett told the crowd that half of those committed to Pennsylvania prisons read at a 6th to 8th grade level. 

Tom Corbett

Gov. Tom Corbett headlined a capitol rally for education reform.

SB 1 encompasses three of the four tenets of Corbett’s education reform agenda, including vouchers.  It passed the Senate 27 – 22 last month, and Sen. Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia) says the heat of Tuesday’s rally must be felt in the House of Representatives.  “If they make a choice not to support Senate Bill 1, we’ll make a choice on Election Day not to support them,” Williams said in his typical fiery fashion. 

Former Governor Ed Rendell has heard the rhetoric coming out of the education reform movement, and he came to the state capitol

Ed Rendell

Democrats like Babette Josephs joined former Governor Ed Rendell to highlight educational improvement.

Tuesday to remind people of the progress Pennsylvania made through his targeted investments in public schools.  “The students in the highest level of achievement on the PSSA test doubled during the eight years that I was governor.  But better still, the students in the lowest category on the PSSA test were cut in half,” Rendell says.  “These are incredible results that didn’t just happen.”

Regardless of what happens in the school vouchers debate, Rendell says state lawmakers should not take one dollar away from public schools, and rebuild the public education funding that he fought for during his two terms in the governor’s office. 

Aethists, School Choice

Holding the sign is PA State Director for American Atheists Ernest Perce V. He protested Tuesday's education reform rally because he opposes the use of public money to fund religious schools.

Jerry Sandusky to NBC: I’m Innocent

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    Disgraced former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky spoke by telephone with NBC’s Bob Costas for a segment that aired last night on the television news magazine “Rock Center with Brian Williams.”

    Sandusky denied having inappropriate sexual contact with any of the 8 victims included in the graphic grand jury report released the same day Sandusky was arrested. That presentment included detailed descriptions of sexual interaction between Sandusky and the alleged victims, young boys who were involved in Sandusky’s Second Mile charity program for at-risk youths. The report also included an eyewitness account by then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary. During Monday night’s interview, Sandusky directly denied McQueary’s account of a 2002 incident in the football facility’s showers.

    Sandusky also says he never spoke with former Head Coach Joe Paterno about the case or anything else related to the accusations. When asked what he would concede to doing wrong, Sandusky would only say, “I shouldn’t have showered with those kids.”

 

 

FDA Completes First Round of Compliance Checks to Protect Children From Tobacco Products

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Pennsylvania is one of the first 15 states to undergo compliance checks for new rules against selling tobacco products to minors under the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.   The Food and Drug Administration now oversees the marketing and sales of tobacco products.

Over three thousand establishments were inspected in Pennsylvania and over 120 warning letters were issued.  Ann Simoneau Director of the FDA’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement for Tobacco Products says violators ranged from big chains to mom and pop stores.  The new provisions of the laws include not selling to a minor, verifying the age of a purchaser if they’re less than 27 years of age by photo ID, and not giving away free samples of cigarettes.

Simoneau says they have a searchable database. People can go to the web site and see if a retailer was inspected and if they passed.  She says they also post every warning letter, detailing what the violations were at each establishment.

They hope retailers will fully train employees about the new requirements of the law and stress the importance of not selling cigarettes to minors. Simoneau says while most in Pennsylvania passed the inspections, and they applaud those efforts, 120 establishments where kids can buy these tobacco products are still too many.

Simoneau hopes retailers will pay attention; continued violations can result in some hefty fines.

Florida Child Death Case Leads to More Proposed Legislation in Pennsylvania

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The Caylee Anthony case in Florida has sparked legislation in a number of states.   The little girl was missing for a month before her disappearance was reported and she was later found dead.

State Representatives Justin Simmons and Tarah Toohill want to toughen penalties for concealing the death of a child and making false reports to police. Representative Simmons (R-Lehigh/Northampton) would make concealing the death of a child a third degree felony and increase the penalty.  House Bill 1842 would apply to natural parents, step parents, adoptive parents, guardians or custodian of a child. He says this provision would close a loophole in the current law.

Representative Toohil (R-Luzerne) has introduced a companion measure, House Bill 1841, aimed at those who make false statements to police. Casey Anthony, Caylee’s mother, was convicted of lying to police, a misdemeanor in Florida and Pennsylvania.  Toohil’s bill increases it to a third degree felony.

Rep Toohil was asked if Pennsylvania has had cases similar to Caylee Anthony’s. She was not aware of any, but added they need to prevent these types of situations from occurring.  She believes if the standards in Florida were stricter, there would have been consequences in the Anthony case.

State Senator Larry Farnese (D-Philadelphia) has proposed similar legislation regarding concealing the death of a child.

PUC says Prepare Now for Winter Heating Bills

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Woolley bear caterpillars and extended forecasts aside, there’s no telling how cold it will be this winter, or how big your heating bill will be.      The PUC hopes you’ll “Prepare Now“.  The campaign encourages people who are having financial struggles to reach out to their utility to see what programs are available. 

Commissioner Pamela Witmer says we can all take steps to be more energy efficient. Those include turning back the thermostat, using a programmable thermostat, and switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs. She adds you can also lower heating costs by closing your drapes when it’s cloudy, making sure your registers are not blocked so you’re getting the most heat out and your furnace is running at peak efficiency and even putting plastic over the windows for additional insulation.

Witmer says don’t wait for the bill to come in the mail. Call your utility and see what kinds of programs they have for low income families.  If you don’t qualify, there may be a budget plan that could help spread out the payments for higher winter heating bills.

Witmer   says be careful with supplemental heating sources.  If you’re using a fireplace, make sure the flue are inspected and cleaned out.  Use space heaters as instructed by the manufacturer.  Never use the oven to heat the room or burn charcoal indoors.

Witmer says people also need to know their rights.  Low income individuals cannot have their service terminated during winter months.  That period runs from November 30th through April 1st in Pennsylvania.

You can learn more at the PUC’s web site http://www.puc.state.pa.us/Home.aspxor by calling 1-800-692-7380.

PA Mulls Extending, Expanding Red Light Camera Program

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21-states and the District of Columbia allow for some form of red light cameras.  Pennsylvania can be counted among them, but the Automated Red Light Enforcement program is currently limited to Philadelphia, where the cameras are operating at 19-intersections. 

Appearing before the House Transportation Committee, Monday, PennDOT testified to the program’s success.  “We found that there was a 15 – 16% reduction in red light running crashes, overall, throughout the entire city,” says Deputy Secretary Scott Christie.  He also testified to a 50% reduction in violations after 18-months. 

AAA Mid-Atlantic supports Pennsylvania’s program because they say it is well-written.  “Traffic enforcement, and especially automated means such as red light cameras, must be clearly focused on safety – not revenue generation – to earn AAA’s support,” says Vice President of Public and Government Affairs Ron Kosh.     

The committee heard conflicting testimony on whether the implementation of red light cameras actually increases the instances of rear-end crashes at busy intersections.  Regardless, Jim Walker with the National Motorists Association says there’s a better way to improve intersections safety: increasing the duration of yellow lights.  “A 2003 Texas Transportation Institute Study concluded an increase of one-half to one and a half seconds of yellows, decreased red light violations by at least 50%,” says the association’s Jim Walker. 

Legislation to expand the use of red light cameras to 19 additional cities has already passed the state Senate with a vote of 34 – 14.  Under SB 595, fines would max out at $100, and the revenue would have to be used for traffic safety improvements.  Philadelphia’s program is also on track to sunset at the end of the year, unless state lawmakers act to extend it.

Five Years of Casino Gaming in PA

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The slot machines first started chiming, whizzing and whirling at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs on November 14th, 2006.  Back then it was Pennsylvania’s first slots casino.  Today Mohegan Sun is one of ten casinos operating in the Keystone State, which are all offering a full complement of table games too. 

Casinos, Cards

PA casinos started rolling out table games in July 2010.

The first five years of casino gambling have been an economic success, according to state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R-Bucks).  “Many of my detractors said you’ll never raise a billion dollars out of this, but we’ve gone over $4-billion dollars in tax revenues to the state,” Tomlinson says.  Slot machines have actually raked in $4.6-billion dollars in tax revenue through last fiscal year, and table games added another $81.4-million dollars in tax revenue during their first year. 

Regardless of the statistics, state Rep. Curt Schroder (R-Chester) tells us casino gambling has failed to deliver on its promise of property tax relief.  “Maybe a couple hundred dollars in some places, in some parts of the state much less than that,” says Schroder, who chairs the House Gaming Oversight Committee.  “When you’re talking property tax bills of three, four, five thousand dollar and above in some areas, it doesn’t make a dent.” 

Last year, Pennsylvania homeowners shared in $776-million dollars of slots-funded property tax relief, which broke down to a statewide average of $200 bucks.  The amount varies by school district, though, and Sen. Tomlinson tells us poorer areas and senior citizens are especially benefitting.      

PA casinos employ 15,000 people, but there are concerns about potentially thousands of families being negatively impacted.  Five years ago, the Council on Compulsive Gambling in Pennsylvania averaged around 300 calls per month to its helpline.  “Since the first casino opened in November of 2006, our monthly helpline activity has increased,” says Council on Compulsive Gambling President Jim Pappas.  “We now average over 1,800 calls a month from within the state.”  3,025 people have also signed up for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s self-exclusion list.

Several more casinos could potentially come online in 2012, but the Gaming Board’s focus is shifting.  “It really is coming to the point where we’re becoming more of a regulator than an opening-type agency,” says PGCB spokesman Richard McGarvey.  While the gaming competition from surrounding states will be intense in the next five years, McGarvey says PA casinos are already responding with increased amenities.  “You’re now starting to see these casinos starting to add hotels, shopping centers, bowling alleys… That’s the direction they’re heading.”

Support Grows for Blue Out for Penn State-Nebraska Game, Other Efforts to Raise Money to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

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If there has been a positive to the scandal at Penn State, it has put a spotlight on child sexual abuse.  Many Nittany Lion faithful are going beyond lip service.

A blue ribbon is a symbol against child abuse, and the idea of a blue out for the football game against Nebraska game on Saturday started gaining support as the Sandusky scandal grew. It is the last home game of the season.

A State College store is selling t-shirts with the symbol, with proceeds going to Prevent Child Abuse PA.  The manager of   McLanahan’s says the shirts have been selling quickly.  She adds that people are thanking them in store and on line, for stepping up.    

The store is taking orders through its web site and shipping until they cease production of the shirts.

At the same time,   a grassroots network of Penn State alumni, parents, students and fans has launched an effort to raise money for the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, RAINN.  According to the network’s website, the effort has already raised over 100 thousand dollars.  

RadioPA Roundtable

Radio PA Roundtable 11.11.11

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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/Roundtable11-11-11.mp3]

Threats Made Against PSU Assistant Coach Mike McQueary

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The Penn State athletic department has announced that Assistant Coach Mike McQueary will not be on hand for Saturday’s final home game against Nebraska. The announcement was made late Thursday night after interim Head Coach Tom Bradley had indicated earlier in the day that McQueary would be tending to his regular duties as wide receivers coach.

The reversal was explained in a one-sentence statement issued by the university’s athletic department:

“Due to multiple threats made against Assistant Coach Mike McQueary, the University has decided it would be in the best interest of all for Assistant Coach McQueary not to be in attendance at Saturday’s Nebraska game.”

McQueary is the “graduate assistant” in the recent grand jury presentment in the Jerry Sandusky child sex scandal. That report indicates that McQueary testified to witnessing Sandusky performing a sex act on a boy estimated to be 10-years old in March of 2002. That incident is a large part of the case against Sandusky, who was arrested last weekend, but remains free on bail.

Public sentiment against McQueary took a turn this week, as questions arose about why he did not attempt to intervene in the assault, and then did not report it directly to police. According to the grand jury, McQueary instead reported the incident to then-Head Coach Joe Paterno the next day, and the ensuing chain-of-command reporting process is under heavy scrutiny, and also resulted in perjury and failure to report charges against two other Penn State officials.

Penn State and Nebraska kick off at 12:00pm Saturday.