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Articles written by Steve Bittenbender


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  • Bill to Give Pa. Families $1,000 for Education Sparks Debate

    STEVE BITTENBENDER, The Center Square|Oct 8, 2020

    Pa. State Sen. Judy Ward spoke up on Oct. 5, 2020, during a hearing of the Senate Education Committee. Education in Pennsylvania remains a hot button topic, and as a state Senate committee heard testimony Oct. 5 on a bill that would give families stimulus funding for educational-related expenses, one lawmaker called for a truce. That was state Sen. Andy Dinniman’s hope when the Senate Education Committee’s hearing started. The panel heard from both proponents and opponents of Senate Bill 1230, which would give families $1,000 per child for edu...

  • Proposal To Create Pa. Fire Commission Garners Tentative Support

    STEVE BITTENBENDER, The Center Square|Feb 27, 2020

    By STEVE BITTENBENDER The Center Square A Pennsylvania House committee is weighing a measure that seeks to make changes in how fire and emergency services are administered in the state. The House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee took up House Bill 1819, which would create a state fire commission. State Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, the bill’s sponsor, said his district includes professional and volunteer-led fire departments that face issues regarding the ability to provide essential services and the ability to r...

  • Pa. Senate Passes Pair Of Bills Designed To Aid Fire, EMS Services

    STEVE BITTENBENDER, The Center Square|Feb 6, 2020

    Two bills designed to bolster fire and emergency services in Pennsylvania now head to the state House after senators passed them unanimously. Senate Bill 908, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Regan, R-Carroll Township, would call for a voter referendum to expand a funding program for the state’s volunteer fire and emergency services companies to allow the state’s professional departments to take part. That would enable 94 departments that have either fully paid staff or a combination of paid workers and volunteers to get funding for facility, vehic...

  • Pa. Eyes Ways to Comply with Bay Water Rules without Hurting Farmers

    STEVE BITTENBENDER, The Center Square|Jan 16, 2020

    Even though Pennsylvania does not touch Chesapeake Bay, that doesn’t mean the state doesn’t have an effect on it. On the contrary, nearly a million gallons of freshwater flow into the mid-Atlantic bay every second, and about half of that stems from central Pennsylvania. That’s why state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Williamsport, called a Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meeting to hold what he called “a briefing” on the Chesapeake Bay. He held it at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex during its signature annual event because he said h...

  • Pennsylvania in Middle of National Health Rankings

    STEVE BITTENBENDER, The Center Square|Jan 2, 2020

    When it comes to healthiness, Pennsylvania finds itself in the middle of the pack and essentially representative of some of the trends happening across the country. That’s the key finding from America’s Health Rankings, a report released this month by the United Health Foundation that assesses public health on both a nationwide and a state-by-state basis. The Keystone State finds itself in almost the exact same spot it was nearly 30 years ago. Its No. 28 ranking among the 50 states for 2019 is two spots down from where it ranked in the ini...

  • Governor, Lawmakers, Courts To Push for Juvenile Justice Reforms

    STEVE BITTENBENDER, The Center Square|Dec 19, 2019

    Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, legislative leaders and judges from across the state announced on Monday, Dec. 16, the creation of a task force that will recommend reforms for the commonwealth’s juvenile justice system. Monday’s news conference in the state capitol came about six weeks after Wolf’s Council on Reform identified juvenile justice as a system in need of overhaul. Studies indicate that as many as nine in 10 children in the juvenile justice system were exposed to a traumatic event in their young lives, the governor said, with about a thi...

  • Pa. Advocates Warn Of Dangers From Certain Toys Ahead Of Holiday Season

    STEVE BITTENBENDER, The Center Square|Dec 5, 2019

    Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale held a news conference Nov. 21 with a public interest group and a public health expert to highlight the findings in this year’s “Trouble in Toyland” report. Now in its 34th year, the study released by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) points out dangers that may be lurking behind some popular toys and gadgets for children this holiday season. Since the first report, more than 150 recalls or other administrative actions have been taken against toys deemed to be unsafe. The conce...

  • Pa. Court: Suspect Can't Be Compelled To Reveal Password

    STEVE BITTENBENDER, The Center Square|Dec 5, 2019

    Privacy advocates scored a major victory when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in late November, in a 4-3 decision, that a person does not have to reveal a computer password to law enforcement. The ruling stems from a case that started in 2014 when investigators with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office discovered child pornography being shared online. Eventually, the case led them to Joseph Davis, a Luzerne County resident who was eventually charged with two counts of distributing child pornography. In October 2015, agents seized a...

  • Pa. Lags Neighboring States In Prosperity Rankings

    STEVE BITTENBENDER, The Center Square|Aug 15, 2019

    A new study examining prosperity in the United States shows that Pennsylvania is ranked in the middle of all states. However, when compared against other states in its region, the Keystone State is far behind. The Legatum Institute, a British-based think tank, released its United States Prosperity Index 2019 this month. The report ranks the states and the District of Columbia across more than 200 metrics. It also shows how the states have performed over a 10-year period in growing and nurturing prosperity. Prosperity isn’t just based on e...