Save the Date! FontanaFest 2010

The date for the 6th Annual FontanaFest has been confirmed - so save the date! South Side’s Riverfront Park will once again be home to FontanaFest on Saturday, September 25th, 2010. The annual event is focused on promoting and celebrating our neighborhoods and one of Pittsburgh’s greatest resources - its riverfront parks. Free to the public, guests of all ages are entertained and enlightened by activities on the river, music and entertainment, children’s activities, games, prizes, crafts, door prizes, food, drink, and fun.
 

Helen Krotec of Brookline is ready for FontanaFest 2010 – and is making sure that Senator Fontana is ready as well! Ms. Krotec visited the Senator’s Brookline Office last month with a gift of a FontanaFest apron for the event’s cooking duties. She’s also returned since then with a hat and a utensil-holding apron, all of which she has made by hand. Thanks to Helen, the preparation for FontanaFest is well underway. Thank you, Helen!
 

The Governor’s Budget Proposal FY 2010-2011

On February 9th, Governor Rendell presented his budget proposal to the General Assembly. The $29 billion budget is in line with the 2-year budget framework outlined by leaders last fall. There is no proposal for a broad-based tax hike, although the Governor is recommending the imposition of a Marcellus Shale extraction tax and the elimination of the “Delaware Loophole” that allows large corporations to pay little to no corporate net income tax in Pennsylvania.

The budget does include a 4.1% spending increase including $443 million in education; $145 million increases in corrections, probation and parole; $413 million in public welfare; $83 million in debt relief; and, $69 million for aging and long term living. The increases are being proposed to continue to bolster funding for basic education and sustain services that benefit senior citizens and children.
 

Strengthening PA’s Child Abuse Law

Protecting our children and assuring their safety is one of the most important aspects of our job in the legislature. It was one of the first issues that I focused on after being elected to the Senate and is a fight that I continue today. This past week, I reintroduced legislation that amends Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law to ensure that all cases of suspected child abuse are reported and investigated in the same manner. Senate Bill 1243 (SB 1243) has a total of 31 co-sponsors and the generous support of several organizations including the Disability Rights Network.

Current PA law provides that if there is a case of suspected child abuse in which the alleged perpetrator is a school employee, there is no requirement to report that abuse unless it rises to the level of a “serious bodily injury,” sexual abuse or sexual exploitation. “Serious bodily injury” is equivalent to the loss of a limb or an organ that stops functioning. The law also provides that local law enforcement investigates and the process is entirely different from that for any other individual. The bill would remove the subsection that applies to school employees and include them in the general provisions of the Child Protective Services Law to ensure that all suspected cases of child abuse are treated the same.

This issue came to my attention because of the personal experiences of a mother and her son in my district. Since the bill’s first introduction, there have been many other stories that have come my way, including the most recent one from York County earlier this month. Those stories only reinforce the need for this legislation to be considered and approved by the General Assembly.
 

Rescheduled Haiti Benefit Concert

The Haiti Relief Concert sponsored by Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh that was originally scheduled for Valentine’s Day has been rescheduled for Sunday, February 28 at 7 p.m. The concert, featuring local musical acts The Clarks, Bill Deasy, The Freedom Band, and Good Brother Earl, will be held at its original venue, the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland. All previously purchased tickets will be honored on the day of the show. Tickets are $20, with all proceeds benefiting American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti, and are available at Dave’s Music Mine (412-488-8000), the William Pitt Union ticket office (412-648-7814), the County Executive’s Office, Downtown, and online at www.clarkstickets.musictoday.com.
 

Fontana Fact!

Did you know that Mr. Yuk is from Pittsburgh? Mr. Yuk was created in 1971 at the Poison Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh after research indicated that the skull and crossbones previously used to identify poisons had little meaning to the children of today (for most children it means exciting things like pirates and adventure). Covering 27 counties and 33 percent of Pennsylvania's population, the Pittsburgh Poison Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is the largest such center in the United States.