Archive for June, 2010

This is an especially busy time. Please don’t feel overwhelmed!

Check out the Actions, Events, Opportunities, News Posts, and Resources below—just click on the links under each category to get to the information. We’ve placed the most critical issues under Important Actions and Issues.

We understand that there is a lot of information here. Please know that you aren’t expected to act on everything! Just choose the issues that are most important to you and take action. Sometimes you will be directed to action pages of other organizations—don’t worry! These are organizations that we work with regularly and who share a common interest.

Please consider contacting your legislators to thank them when they support your position as well, or to express your disappointment when they don’t. We don’t follow up with them often enough. They need our feedback to understand how we feel. Go to our Take Action page (http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org/index_files/Page630.htm) to find links to contact information for your legislators.

Our website is updated regularly—please visit to find updated links, resources, etc. at http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org. It is a work in progress, and issue pages continue to be created as time permits. If there is something you would really like to see that isn’t there, please contact us at s.strauss@pachurches.org.

And finally—If you appreciate this ministry, we would very much appreciate your support; you can learn how by clicking here. 

IMPORTANT ACTIONS AND ISSUES—Urgent!

Some Budget Negotiators put Cuts to Pre-K Counts, Head Start & Child Care in Play–Take Action NOW

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3857

Support Campaign Finance Reform for Pennsylvania NOW

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3862

Support the Chesapeake Clean Water Act—REMINDER; Action Needed NOW

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5415/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3235

Urge House and Senate Leadership to Move Economic Impact Study Resolution re: Single Payer Health Care to a Vote

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2512

Important News!

PLEASE JOIN US! The New Metropolis; Screening and Panel Discussion-June 28, Harrisburg
http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3653

Time to Close the Delaware Loophole

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3683

Murkowski Amendment on Preventing EPA Regulation of Global Warming Pollution Defeated—but We May Not be Done Yet

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3751

Poll: American Opinion on Climate Change Warms Up

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3792

U.S. Scores Dead Last Again in Healthcare Study

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3831

Council Poverty Study Guide Now Available!

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3606

Download the Council’s “Get Connected” Bulletin Insert at http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org/index_files/web_attachments/Get_Connected_insert.pdf for information about how members of your congregation can connect with the Council’s e-advocacy network.

ACTIONS

Please visit our “Take Action” page at http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org/index_files/Page630.htm for the most up-to-date listing of all current actions you can take by category. Categories include: New Actions; Children and Families; Economy and Economic Justice; Education; Environment; Government Reform; Health Care; Housing; Human Rights; Hunger; Immigration; Torture; Women.

You can also check out our Weblog Take Action page at http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?cat=10.

Posted below are the NEWEST ACTIONS you can take.

FEDERAL

Urge Congress to Permanently Ban Valley Fills and Support Clean Water

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3670

Support Reducing Mercury Contamination

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3838

Transit Systems All Across the Country are in Crisis—Support Public Transportation

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3783

Undocumented Immigrants Provide a Net Gain of $7 Billion to Social Security Annually—Support AgJOBS

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3677

Support an Investigation into Evidence of Illegal CIA Experimentation on Detainees

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3688

Urge Your Member of Congress to Invest in Affordable, Quality Child Care

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3727

Urge Congress to Support Miller’s Child Nutrition Authorization Bill

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3755

Support Full Funding for the International Affairs Budget

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3806

STATE

Senate Plans “Resolution of Disapproval” from New DEP Stream Regulations—Tell Them “No”

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3664

Urge Pennsylvania’s Senators to Listen to the Science and Economics: Protect Tropical Forests

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3718

One (not so) Small Step for Clean Energy, One Giant Leap for Green Jobs—Act to Support Green Jobs

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3748

House Approves E-Waste Recycling Bill—Urge Senate to Support

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3778

Oppose Revenue Bill Without Amendments to Fix It

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3745

Tell PA Legislators to Protect the Needs of Children in Budget

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3667; OR

Budget Negotiations Have Reached Crisis Point - Kids Need Your Help NOW! (covers both state and federal advocacy)

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3798

Support Pennsylvania’s Early Education Programs Promoting School Readiness

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3703

Support Voter Registration for Released Prisoners

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3680

Support Merit Selection of Judges

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3699

House Passes Legislation to Reform Special Education—Thank Your Reps

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3816

EVENTS

For a full listing of events, go to the Events Calendar at http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?page_id=92.

Here are the NEWEST EVENTS added to the Calendar.

The New Metropolis Screening—June 30, Lancaster

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3824

Rally Against Budget Cuts—July 1, Philadelphia

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3827

Cutting Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Energy Use: Tools that Work—July 8, Webinar

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3786

Nonviolent Action for Immigrant Rights Workshop—July 10, Philadelphia

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3809

Learn More About Clean Water and the Chesapeake Bay—July 13, Hummelstown

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3685

Learn More About Clean Water and the Chesapeake Bay—July 14, York

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3685

Learn About Anti-Immigrant Legislation in Pennsylvania—July 15, Philadelphia

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3803

Learn More About Clean Water and the Chesapeake Bay—July 20, State College

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3685

Learn More About Clean Water and the Chesapeake Bay—July 21, Williamsport

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3685

Learn More About Clean Water and the Chesapeake Bay—July 22, Wilkes-Barre

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3685

Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light Kickoff—September 25, State College

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3693

Taylor Branch:  Forty Years after Martin Luther King: Looking Ahead—September 29, Lancaster

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3812

OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN AND ACT

This is a current listing of opportunities to participate in national conference calls, calls for comments on policies or legislation, and activities that individuals/congregations can engage in aside from Actions.

Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light is Up and Running

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3693

Has Your Life Been Affected by Social Security Benefits? Share Your Story!

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3730

Extended Deadline to Submit Farm Bill Comments—Through July 28

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3759

Promise Neighborhoods—Grants Available

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3499

Pennsylvania Hosts Sought for Mountaintop Removal Presentations

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3532

Sign a Letter to Help Hungry Pennsylvanians

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2205

If I Had a Trillion Dollars—Youth Video Context—Submissions by July 31

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3213

Last Call Campaign–Recycle Those Old Cell Phones

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=2717

NEWS POSTS

Please visit our weblog (http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?page_id=24) for the latest news and information. For previous News Summaries, click on the “News Summaries” link on the right side of the page.

Subscribe to our weblog via RSS (What is RSS?) or e-mail.

Address Torture Policy Now, Not Later

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3789

Improving Struggling Schools—A More Constructive Approach

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3673

Food Insecurity Extends to Children in Food Secure Households

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3709

Court Decision Allows Stolen Handgun Reporting to Stand

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3715

New Paper - Pennsylvania’s Workforce: The Role of Community Colleges

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3724

Can PA Legislators See Forest Through Trees?

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3733

Marcellus Drilling News Calls American Rivers Naming of Delaware River as Threatened “Hypocrisy”

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3736

Best Capitol Money Can Buy

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3742

Hunger and Related News

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3765

NOAA Report Spells Need for Clean Energy Now—May Warmest Month on Record

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3775

One Step Back for Clean Water

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3835

RESOURCES

For recently posted resources via these news summaries, go to http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?cat=24.

For a listing of Council-related resources go to the “Resources” link at http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org/index_files/Page498.htm.

For links to organizations that address many of the Council’s advocacy issues, visit “Related Links” at http://www.pachurchesadvocacy.org/index_files/Page560.htm. This list is updated continually. Please report broken links to s.strauss@pachurches.org.

Here are the NEWEST RESOURCES.

Seeking Justice in Health Care: A Guide for Advocates in Faith Communities and Other Resources

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3721

The Climate-Friendly Gardener

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3795

New and Updated Immigration Resources

http://pachurchesadvocacy.org/weblog/?p=3860

SUPPORT THE COUNCIL’S ADVOCACY WORK

Link up with fellow faith advocates through our Advocacy Ministry’s Facebook group, Pennsylvania Council of Churches Advocates at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=39350713796.

If you received this message from a friend, sign up for Pennsylvania Council of Churches Advocacy e-mails at http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5415/t/5044/signUp.jsp?key=794.

Financial support for the Council’s Advocacy Ministry is always welcome! Go to our online support page at http://www.pachurches.org/Payments%20&%20Gifts/online_registrations_payments.htm and enter “Advocacy Ministry Support” under “Comments.”

And finally…PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL!

Pennsylvanians have been waiting a long time for campaign finance reform. The state legislature needs to protect our elections, our government and our citizens from the abuses inflicted upon us by the power of unlimited campaign contributions. Thirty-nine other states already have enacted campaign contribution limits – some decades ago. It is time for Pennsylvania to join the states in which campaign money is not a principal determinant of electoral and public policy outcomes.

HB-2162 (http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2009&sind=0&body=H&type=B&BN=2162), Rep. Babette Josephs’ campaign contribution limits bill, which provides significant remedies to this problem, has been in the House Appropriations Committee since April 26^th. It passed the State Government Committee unanimously.

We urge you contact your Representative, and push him/her to aggressively press House Appropriations Committee Chairman, Dwight Evans, and his/her caucus leaders, to bring HB-2162 to a vote immediately. Go to http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm to find contact information for your Representative, or go to http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5415/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3491 to send an e-mail message.

It is essential that this bill be approved by the House and sent to the Senate before the legislature leaves Harrisburg for its summer recess.

Campaign contribution limits will be the defining government reform of this legislative session. If they are enacted, the members of the General Assembly will be able to proudly proclaim they have passed a major reform measure to improve the governance culture of state and local government in Pennsylvania. If this initiative fails to pass, it will be another sign to voters that our lawmakers are resistant to the kind of changes that are clearly necessary for achieving clean government, and Pennsylvania will remain a backwater state among modern democracies.

Please help us to achieve enactment of this long-overdue reform now!

From Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (http://www.papartnerships.org):

Events are moving fast in Harrisburg and we need your help TODAY!

Negotiators are closing in on a budget deal and some negotiators have put cuts to Child Care Works and Keystone STARS and additional cuts to Pre-K and Head Start on the table.

The only way to save these programs from being slashed is by reaching out to your legislators RIGHT NOW and urging them to tell budget negotiators to restore any and all cuts to Pre-K Counts, Head Start and Child Care Works and Keystone STARS.

Urge your House and Senate members to tell budget negotiators to restore the cuts to Pre-K Counts and Head Start and protect Child Care Works and Keystone STARS at https://secure3.convio.net/ppc/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=561.

Your legislators need to hear from you that these programs are important to you and they should be protected. Please do not wait to take action, every second counts as budget negotiations continue!

From the Stop Seafood Contamination Campaign (http://na.oceana.org/en/our-work/stop-ocean-pollution/mercury/overview):

Next week the Senate Environment and Public Works committee is set to vote on S. 1428 the Mercury Pollution Reduction Act, and Oceana is trying to gather as much support as possible for this critical step in reducing mercury pollution.

As a supporter of S. 1428 (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-1428), you know that passing this bill will result in a drastic decrease in mercury pollution from chemical manufacturers. There are currently four remaining facilities that still use very outdated and environmentally harmful production methods. Each year these facilities release as much mercury into the environment as a power plant, resulting in polluted waters and unhealthy air in local communities.

We ask that you please help us pass this legislation by calling or writing in to Senators Casey (http://casey.senate.gov) and Specter (http://specter.senate.gov) in favor of passing the bill.

For your convenience, we have included a group letter concerning this issue:

SUPPORT THE MERCURY POLLUTION REDUCTION ACT OF 2009

While there has been much focus on reducing mercury pollution from coal burning power plants, chlorine and caustic soda production continues using antiquated technology developed before Henry Ford developed the Model-T. This 19th Century technology causes the average mercury cell chlor-alkali plant to emit four times more mercury than the average coal-fired power plant.

The remaining four chlor-alkali factories that use mercury in chlorine production are located in Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia and are major sources of mercury pollution in their respective states. Collectively, these four plants were responsible for releasing more than one ton of mercury into the air and water in 2006. Meanwhile, a more efficient mercury-free technology is widely available. Currently, over 90 percent of the chlor-alkali manufactured in the United States uses mercury-free processes.

Technology is readily available to eliminate the use of mercury in all chlorine and caustic soda production. In addition to being beneficial to the environment and human health, mercury-free technology can be up to 37 percent more energy efficient. Some converted facilities have seen the new technology pay for itself in as little as five years due to savings in energy costs, increased chlorine production and increased profitability. If the four remaining plants made such a change, their collective sales could increase by an estimated $300 million over five years and they could save more than $13 million due to increased energy efficiency over that same period.

More than one-hundred facilities worldwide have already converted to mercury-free technology. In fact, Japan banned mercury based chlorine production the 1980s and other countries are currently engaged in phasing out this old technology. It is imperative that the United States make mercury based chlorine production a thing of the past.

Conversion to mercury-free chlorine production makes sense for business, the environment and human health. We support the efforts in the Mercury Pollution Reduction Act of 2009 to eliminate the use of mercury in the chlor-alkali industry. We urge you to support this important legislation.

Penn Future Facts: Vol. 12, No. 13 - June 23, 2010

Go to http://www.pennfuture.org/UserFiles/PDFs/vol12no13_062310.pdf for a printable copy

We’ve taken some major steps forward in the long effort to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. The states in the region are developing a comprehensive cleanup plan (called a Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL) and the Obama Administration has issued an Executive Order directing the federal government to implement a coordinated strategy to protect and improve the Bay region.

Here in Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is moving forward in creating its Watershed Implementation Plan - the plan to meet cleanup goals required under the TMDL. DEP brought together businesses, farmers, environmental and watershed groups and everyone in between, and launched a series of workgroups for anyone and everyone interested.

Many polluters acknowledged their shortcomings and are taking action. Some farmers have gone above and beyond what they are required to do to control runoff and prevent pollution. Some are considering innovative manure management such as turning waste into energy and nutrient credit trading as a way to keep manure out of our waterways and turn a profit.

Congress is following suit. Last year, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) introduced legislation - the Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration Act (S.1816 and HR.3852) - to hold polluters accountable, set enforceable deadlines, and provide funding to get the job done. This legislation adds strength to the federal Clean Water Act and commits enough money to properly enforce the law.

But just as Senator Cardin’s bill is poised to move through the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (where we look forward to a yes vote from our own Senator Arlen Specter), Pennsylvania Representative Tim Holden (D-17) wants to take a step back. He introduced a bill that undermines the progress the Bay states have achieved over the last year. His bill, the Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act - HR.5509 - lacks deadlines for restoration and specific funding authorizations, and even weakens Clean Water Act authority to reduce agricultural pollution.

It’s no secret that the Chesapeake Bay is sick and the Susquehanna and Potomac are major sources of the Bay’s ailments. The entire region is plagued by excessive manure and sediment pollution from farm fields, city streets, sewage treatment plants and urban and suburban development.

The voluntary Chesapeake Bay Program has managed to achieve some small improvements and has prevented a catastrophe, so far. The Bay Program was full of lofty, but voluntary, pollution reduction goals. But it failed to meet its goals for 25 years, because the program did not hold the state of Pennsylvania or polluters accountable for actually reducing the pollution flowing to our rivers and to the Bay. So today, water quality is still poor, habitat continues to decline, and fish and wildlife species suffer, both here at home and in the Bay.

The only way to reduce pollution is to hold ourselves, our neighbors, our farmers, and our elected officials accountable, which the Cardin and Cummings bills would do. Farmers must prevent polluted runoff coming from their farm fields. City planners and municipal officials must stop runoff from storms. Builders must assess the impacts of new development. Residents must support improving our aging infrastructure and sewage treatment plants. And lawmakers and citizens must recognize and seize every opportunity to improve the health of our waterways.

The cumulative failure of our region to improve our own rivers and the health of the Bay is clearly evident in our abject failure to meet the 2010 cleanup goals. The strong responses to that failure - the new cleanup plan, the president’s executive order and Senator Cardin’s and Representative Cumming’s Bay Restoration Act - set the stage for a real rescue effort to save our local water quality and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.

Stopping the progress we’ve made and returning to the failed voluntary approach would be a tragic step back. Instead, Representative Holden must take a step forward to work with his colleagues in Congress for a real solution. The Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration Act is the place to start.

Maggie Fox, Reuters Health, June 23, 2010 (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65M0SU20100623)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The United States ranked last when compared to six other countries — Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, the Commonwealth Fund report found.

“As an American it just bothers me that with all of our know-how, all of our wealth, that we are not assuring that people who need healthcare can get it,” Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis told reporters in a telephone briefing.

Previous reports by the nonprofit Fund, which conducts research into healthcare performance and which promotes changes in the U.S. system, have been heavily used by policymakers and politicians pressing for healthcare reform.

Davis said she hoped health reform legislation passed in March would lead to improvements.

The current report uses data from nationally representative patient and physician surveys in seven countries in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

In 2007, health spending was $7,290 per person in the United States, more than double that of any other country in the survey.

Australians spent $3,357, Canadians $3,895, Germans $3,588, the Netherlands $3,837 and Britons spent $2,992 per capita on health in 2007. New Zealand spent the least at $2,454.

And yet Americans get less for their money, said the Commonwealth Fund’s Cathy Schoen.

“We rank last on safety and do poorly on several dimensions of quality,” Schoen told reporters. “We do particularly poorly on going without care because of cost. And we also do surprisingly poorly on access to primary care and after-hours care.”

SIXTH IN QUALITY

The report looks at five measures of healthcare — quality, efficiency, access to care, equity and the ability to lead long, healthy, productive lives.

“On measures of quality the United States ranked 6th out of seven countries,” the group said in a statement.

U.S. patients with chronic conditions were the most likely to say they got the wrong drug or had to wait to learn of abnormal test results.

Overall Britain, whose nationalized healthcare system was widely derided by opponents of U.S. healthcare reform, ranks first, the Commonwealth team found.

“The findings demonstrate the need to quickly implement provisions in the new health reform law and stimulus legislation that focus on strengthening primary care, realigning incentives to reward higher quality and greater value, investing in preventive care, and expanding the use of health information technology,” the report reads.

Critics of reports that show Europeans or Australians are healthier than Americans point to the U.S. lifestyle as a bigger factor than healthcare. Americans have higher rates of obesity than other developed countries, for instance.

“On the other hand, the other countries have higher rates of smoking,” Davis countered. And Germany, for instance, has a much older population more prone to chronic disease.

Every other system covers all its citizens, the report noted and said the U.S. system, which leaves 46 million Americans or 15 percent of the population without health insurance, is the most unfair.

“The lower the performance score for equity, the lower the performance on other measures. This suggests that, when a country fails to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, it also fails to meet the needs of the average citizen,” the report reads.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Budget Coalition (http://pabudgetnow.wordpress.com/) is holding a rally against budget cuts.

WHEN: Thursday July 1, Noon

WHERE: Philadelphia City Hall, Dilworth Plaza (15^th Street Side)

The Vote for Homes! Coalition is marching to the rally. If you would like to join in the march, meet the Coalition at Broad Street and Fairmount Avenue at 11:00.  For more information, contact Jennine Miller at 215-232-7272 or jmiller@projecthome.org.

To RSVP for the rally, contact Kate Atkins at (215) 563-5848 x 16 or sepabudget@gmail.com.

From Good Schools Pennsylvania (http://www.goodschoolspa.org)

The New Metropolis

Broken in the Box: How to Fix Pennsylvania’s Communities

America’s “first” suburbs, those suburban communities built next to America’s urban centers, were once the birthplace of the American Dream. Seeking to escape the smokestacks of central cities, as well as a housing shortage during World War II, thousands of middle class families flocked to the newly constructed suburban homes. The New Metropolis illustrates how many older communities are now facing the same crisis that earlier engulfed our country’s manufacturing cities and towns: A dwindling tax base, population and business loss, decaying infrastructure, struggling schools, and increased racial tensions and white flight.

You are invited to join us and leaders from Lancaster County at Grace Lutheran Church in Lancaster for a screening of the documentary film that addresses these issues - The New Metropolis! The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion about strategies for how we can work together to build power and influence policies that will restore opportunity and prosperity to our communities.

WHAT: A live film screening of The New Metropolis, followed by a live panel discussion

Panelist Include: Mayor Leo Lutz, Mayor of Columbia; Tom Baldrige, President of the Lancaster Chamber; Ms. Jane Pugliese, Chair of the Lancaster Planning Commission and others

WHEN:           Wednesday June 30, 7:00 - 9:00 pm

Doors open at 6:30 pm. Guests will be seated no later than 6:50 pm

WHERE:         First Presbyterian Church, 140 East Orange Street, Lancaster, PA 17602

HOW TO REGISTER:  E-mail or call dave@goodschoolspa.org 717-371-1516.

Seating is limited!

Be sure to register today to join us for this meaningful film and discussion about the fate of our older communities.

From Good Schools Pennsylvania (http://www.goodschoolspa.org) and the Pennsylvania Education Law Center (http://www.elc-pa.org):

Good Schools Pennsylvania applauded members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives today for overwhelmingly passing House Bill 704 (http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2009&sind=0&body=H&type=B&BN=0704), legislation to reform the way the commonwealth funds and supports special education. It passed by a vote of 173 to 25. Go to http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2009&sess_ind=0&rc_body=H&rc_nbr=1639 to see how your representative voted.

“HB 704 is a victory for children with disabilities, affirming the importance of providing the necessary supports and assistance so that all students can receive a high quality public education,” said Janis Risch, executive director of Good Schools Pennsylvania.

In a still-struggling economy, the legislation also reinforces the fact that when limited state resources are distributed by objective criteria, they can make a significant impact on the quality of students’ education, protect financially-overburdened communities from the rising costs of education, and relieve pressure to increase local property taxes.

The bill, introduced and championed by Rep. Michael Sturla (D-Lancaster), received strong bi-partisan support.

Stay tuned for further action steps. For now, please consider the following immediate actions:

Call or e-mail your state representatives and thank those who voted for HB 704.  Find their contact information at http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm.

If  you have not signed the online petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/hb704/, this would be a good time to do so.

Consider adding your comments about HB 704 on the following online discussion page at http://www.paschooltalk.org/forum/topics/countdown-to-special-ed-vote.

Your tireless efforts are most appreciated.

From Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness (http://www.lancasterinterchurchpeacewitness.org):

SAVE THE DATE FOR THIS STELLAR EVENT! (and pass the word to your friends and associates)

Bright Side Opportunities Center, in collaboration with Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness and Lancaster Literary Guild, is bringing to Lancaster Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch (http://taylorbranch.com/). He will speak at Bright Side Baptist Church, 515 Hershey Ave., Lancaster at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 29. His topic is: “Forty Years after Martin Luther King: Looking Ahead.”

Taylor Branch is renowned for his award-winning trilogy on Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement: Parting the Waters; On Canaan’s Edge; and Pillar of Fire. These have won highest acclaim for their thorough research, authoritative telling of this crucial era of American history, and insight into King’s steadfast commitment to non-violent action.

Admission is free. A free-will offering will be received. A delicious 5:30 dinner with Mr. Branch at Bright Side Opportunities Center is open to those who help underwrite the event with a tax-deductible gift of $100 per person or $150 per couple. Checks may be written to one of the three sponsoring organizations, with “Taylor Branch” in the memo line.

For further information or to make dinner reservations contact:

• BSOC at 509-1342, www.bsocenter.org;
• or LIPW at 390-8609, www.lancasterinterchurchpeacewitness.org;
• or LLG at 431-4433, www.litguild.org.