The Wolf Administration this week recognized the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Bureau of State Parks staff for ongoing efforts to keep Pennsylvania’s 121 parks open and safe for visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for finding new ways to engage the public through virtual programming.
“State parks and forests offered important and safe opportunities for health activity and people enjoyed them in record numbers during the pandemic,” said DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. “During that period about 70 percent of DCNR staff, with appropriate precautions in place, reported to work in person to serve the public that was so in need of natural resources. They are our quiet heroes.”
Indoor facilities at state parks were closed for a time in spring 2020. In May 2020 when restrooms and park offices were opened to the large numbers of visitors seeking to enjoy the outdoors, most of the state park staff including custodial and maintenance workers returned on-site keeping facilities clean and the public safe.
In state parks, DCNR has 118 environmental educators at 63 locations around the commonwealth. There also are two environmental education specialists that offer programming located in Forbes State Forest and Tiadaghton State Forest.
Normally, educators bring students to their local state park or forest for a field learning experience. During the pandemic, these experiences and lessons had to occur online.
Natural resource specialist Tim Morey, who works as an educator at parks in the Pennsylvania Wilds in the north-central region, showed creativity and adaptability at Cherry Springs State Park in Potter County to bring the stars to new audiences.
The park had struggled with educating first-time visitors about the rural nature of the area, suggested arrival time (before dark), and what they should bring to best enjoy their visit. “Know Before You Go” virtual programs for the first-time visitor now respond to that need.
The park added additional online programs on a number of topics including meteor showers, the great conjunction of 2020, stargazing highlights of 2021, and even virtual telescope workshops with one-on-one follow-up sessions.
State offers update on
managing spotted lanternfly
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Dean Rick Roush, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Administrator Carlos Martinez this week provided an update on the state of spotted lanternfly in Pennsylvania and the path to beating this invasive species.
“The spotted lanternfly is the worst bug in the commonwealth and capable of causing real damage to Pennsylvania’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry,” said Redding. “Over the past seven years, we’ve seen lanternfly travel from east to west in the commonwealth. We’ve seen vineyards devastated. It’s invasive environmentally, socially and economically.
The spotted lanternfly came to Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread to 34 counties across the commonwealth. To slow the spread and mitigate against harm, these counties are under a quarantine that relies on an educated population of residents and businesses to help contain the pest.
Sightings of spotted lanternfly should be reported by calling 1-888-4BAD-FLY or using the online reporting tool. This will assist a rapid response to control the outbreak before it becomes well established, as well as serve to assist officials in monitoring spotted lanternfly populations across the state.
As a result of its ability to damage trees, vines, crops, and plants, the spotted lanternfly is an immediate threat to Pennsylvania’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry. A 2019 economic impact study estimates that, uncontrolled, the spotted lanternfly could cost Pennsylvania up to $324 million annually and 2,800 jobs.
Casey, colleagues legislation to
make investment in care economy
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, and several colleagues in Congress this week are introducing the Better Care Better Jobs Act — a key element of President Biden’s American Jobs Plan.
Casey said this legislation would make a historic investment in home and community-based services by strengthening and expanding access to quality home care services and lifting up the care-giving workforce that provides them.
“For millions of families, and especially for women, home and community-based services are a bridge to work and a bridge to economic security,” Casey said. “The Better Care Better Jobs Act would not only enable more older adults and people with disabilities to remain in their homes, stay active in their communities and lead independent lives, it would also create jobs and lead to higher wages for care workers, who are predominantly women and people of color. This legislation is critical to advancing equity, spurring economic recovery and improving quality of life for older adults and people with disabilities.”
In Pennsylvania, Casey said the pre-pandemic median wage for a direct care worker was just $11.99 per hour, and many have few or no benefits. He said 62% of home care workers are people of color.
The Better Care Better Jobs Act would provide states with enhanced Medicaid funding for home and community-bases services if they carry out certain activities that will support expanding access to these services and strengthen the workforce providing them.
It would also provide funding to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to carry out the bill’s programs and conduct oversight.
Sen. Toomey votes against
Dems’ election law ‘power grab’
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, this week released the following statement after voting in opposition to “the so-called” For the People Act:
“This highly flawed, partisan bill is not about ‘voting rights,’ or fighting disenfranchisement — it is about Democrats’ longstanding efforts to usurp states’ rights in order to tip the scales of future elections in their favor. Among its most egregious provisions, the so-called ‘For the People Act’ would effectively nullify state voter ID laws, mandate public funding of political campaigns, and transform the Federal Election Commission into a partisan body empowered to limit free speech.”
According to information provided by Toomey’s office, the For the People Act has a number of “problematic provisions,” including, but not limited to:
• Providing public financing to political campaigns to the tune of 6:1 matching funds for certain small dollar donations.
• Campaign finance provisions that even the left-leaning ACLU has said would “chill” free speech.
• Turning the FEC into a partisan agency that could limit the free speech of its opponents.
• Effectively nullifying state voter ID laws.
• Laying the groundwork for D.C. statehood.
Further, Toomey said the idea that this legislation is in response to misguided claims about the 2020 election, or recently enacted state laws does not hold water, as the U.S. House of Representatives passed a nearly identical bill in March of 2019.
Forbes survey ranks Pa. among
best employers for new grads
Gov. Tom Wolf this week announced that, for the first time ever, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was named one of the best employers in the nation for new graduates in a survey conducted by Forbes and market research company Statista.
“Commonwealth employees do hard work every day to serve their fellow Pennsylvanians, and I am proud to work alongside them,” said Gov. Wolf. “To bring the best and brightest to public service, it is important that we continue to modernize our approach to work to keep pace with the private sector and other public employers. Right now, agencies under my jurisdiction are implementing a new telework policy that will help us to better attract and retain employees, while continuing to provide first-class service to the public.”
Secretary of Administration Michael Newsome said by modernizing the hiring process, creating pathways from college to career and being more competitive in the job market, the Wolf administration has orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in the way young professionals perceive state government.
Key improvements under the Wolf administration include:
• More convenient application process.
• Easier to understand job postings.
• Modernized jobs website.
• New programs to attract talent.
• Total rewards and workplace culture.
About the survey
Statista surveyed 20,000 workers with less than 10 years of professional experience working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees.
All the surveys were anonymous, allowing participants to openly share their opinions. The respondents were asked to rate their employers on a variety of criteria, including safety of work environment, competitiveness of compensation, opportunities for advancement, effectiveness of diversity and inclusion efforts and company image.
Statista then asked respondents how likely they would be to recommend their employer to others, and to nominate organizations outside of their own.