State Senator Lindsey M. Williams, Your District 38
Update

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*Upcoming Events**

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*Summer
Celebration in East Deer*

*East Deer Memorial Field, Saturday, August
19, 2023, 12 PM - 8 PM*

East Deer Township [link 1]'s Summer
Celebration is this Saturday, August 19! You'll be treated to live
music, activities for the kids, auctions, food, and games. We'll be
there to celebrate the community and encourage you to come by our tent
with your questions for Senator Williams or her staff.

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*Nature Walk with Senator Williams*

*Beechwood Farms
Nature Reserve, Wednesday, September 6, 2023, 9 AM - 10 AM*

Join
Senator Williams next month for a morning 'Birds and More Nature Walk'
with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania [link 3] at their
Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve [link 4]. The short walk is free and
you can share issues that matter to you as we learn about the flora
and fauna on the Reserve.

Register for this event at Audubon Society
of Western PA (aswp.org) [link 5] or call us at 412-364-0469 (Ross) or
724-224-2131 (Harrison). We hope to see you there!

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*Investing in Women Event*

*Virtual or Kingsley
Association, Larimer, Thursday, September 7, 6 PM - 8 PM*

Mark your
calendars for the Pennsylvania Department of Banking & Securities
Investing in Women [link 7] event I am hosting in September with Rep.
Latasha Mayes [link 8]! The presentation will cover essential elements
of banking, credit, saving and investing to help women navigate their
finances and their future. It is never too late for financial
education!

Register for this event with the QR code above or at
Events - Senator Lindsey Williams [link 9]. If you have questions,
please call us at 412-364-0469 (Ross) or 724-224-2131 (Harrison) or
email [email protected] [link 10].

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*Community Wellness Initiative's Wellness Fair*

*Kingsley
Association, Larimer, Saturday, September 9, 2023, 10:00 AM - 2:00
PM*

Join us at the Community Wellness Initiative of Pittsburgh [link
12] Wellness Fair at the Kingsley Association [link 13] on September
9th. The Wellness Fair is a great opportunity to get health
screenings, information on a wide range of health and wellness topics,
and even see a yoga or Tai Chi demonstration. My staff will be there
if you need assistance with state services.

You can register for this
event with the QR code above or by clicking here [link 14]. Hope to
see you there!

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*Good
News**

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*New
Sidewalks Along Perry Highway, McCandless*

Last Tuesday I joined Town
of McCandless [link 15] Council President Mike Tarle, Council Member
Jack Casey, and residents to celebrate the opening of a new sidewalk
on Perry Highway! Sidewalks are all about connecting communities, and
this one will protect pedestrians as they walk to school, shopping,
and entertainment.

This was one of the first grant projects that I
helped advocate for when I became a Senator in 2019, so getting to
attend the ribbon cutting was especially
exciting!

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*Upper
Allegheny Valley Community Gardens *

Rep. Mandy Steele [link 17] and
I had the chance to tour some of the Upper Allegheny Valley's
community gardens in Sheldon Park, Natrona, and the Greg Blythe
Community Garden in Tarentum. Thank you to volunteer Drew Jonczak for
sharing his knowledge on the gardens and challenges facing urban
agriculture efforts!

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*Shaler
Area HS PIAA Champs!*

Last Wednesday I joined County Council Members
Anita Prizio [link 18] and Bethany Hallam [link 19], and members of
the Shaler, Millvale, and Etna Councils to congratulate the three
historic Shaler Area High School [link 20] teams who made it to the
PIAA finals this spring! Congratulations again to the girls' softball,
boys' volleyball, and boys' baseball teams on your amazing 2022-23
seasons!

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*New
Bulletproof Vest Funded for K-9 Officer Theo *

Last Wednesday, I was
also able to meet Theo, the K9 officer from Northern Regional Police
Department [link 21] as his human officers received a generous
donation from the RichMar Rotary to purchase him a bulletproof vest.
Thank you to all of the community members who contributed to keeping
Theo safe on the job!

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*Sheldon
Park Community Day*

We had great weather last week for the annual
Sheldon Park Community Day in Harrison Township [link 22]! Thank you
to all of the families who came out to have fun and say
hello!

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*Aspinwall's
Big Night Out!*

We had a blast last week at Aspinwall's Big Night Out
2023 [link 24]! Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make this
annual event such a success!

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*Legislation**

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*The Importance of the Basic Education Funding
Commission*

Our most recent budget increased Basic Education Funding
by $567 million. This is a historic investment in education, but it's
still a drop in the bucket of what we need to create the
comprehensive, effective, and contemporary public system of education
guaranteed to our students by the Pennsylvania Constitution.

One of
the ways that the legislature can address closing that gap is through
the Basic Education Funding Commission, which I serve on. The
Commission is a bipartisan group of state officials who are tasked
with making recommendations about how to improve our system of funding
public education. You can follow along with all of the BEF
Commission's actions, including livestreams of all hearings and copies
of all available testimonies, on my website at
[link removed] [link 26].

The work of this
Commission is an important part of addressing the Commonwealth Court
decision [link 27] in William Penn School District, et al. v.
Pennsylvania Department of Education et al. In that case, Judge
Jubelirer found that the General Assembly has failed to meet our
constitutional duty to provide a "thorough and efficient system of
public education" by both underfunding and unfairly funding public
schools across Pennsylvania.

In order to fulfill our constitutional
obligation, Pennsylvania public schools must have both adequate and
equitable resources - like smaller class sizes, up-to-date textbooks,
and safe school buildings - so that every child has a meaningful
opportunity to succeed academically, socially, and civically.

To
accomplish this, the BEF Commission will hold hearings and receive
testimony on the current system of funding public education and what
improvements can be made. At the end of this process, the Commission
is expected to issue a report with recommendations. The General
Assembly will then have to take legislative action to put any or all
of these recommendations in place for the students and families of
Pennsylvania.

The current schedule for the Basic Education Funding
Commission Hearings is:

September 12 in Allentown

September 13 in
Harrisburg

September 14 in Philadelphia

September 21 in
Lancaster

September 28 in Hanover

October 5 in Hazleton

October 11
in Pittsburgh

October 12 in Lemont Furnace

November 2 in
Enola

November 9 in Bedford

The public can submit comments to be
entered into the record via the Contact Us section of the commission's
website: basiceducationfundingcommission.com [link 28].

Some Pa.
schools waiting for funding to emerge despite budget passage | 90.5
WESA [link 29]

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*LIHWAP Deadline Extended to August 18!*

Are you or
someone you know struggling with water or sewer bills? It's not too
late to apply for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program
(LIHWAP) [link 31] because the deadline was extended to* Friday,
August 18, 2023!*

LIHWAP provides eligible low-income households
[link 32] with one crisis grant for drinking water service and one
crisis grant for wastewater service of up to $2,500 each! Crisis
situations can include past-due water bills, termination of utility
service, or a danger of utility service termination. Remember, LIHWAP
is a grant program and does not have to be repaid!

LIHWAP household
income and size requirements are below:

Household Size

Maximum
Annual
Income

1

$20,385

2

$27,465

3

$34,545

4

$41,625

5

$48,705

6

$55,785

7

$62,865

8

$69,945

9

$77,025

10

$84,105

For
every additional person, add $7,080

Applications can be submitted:
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*Online* at COMPASS HHS Home (state.pa.us) [link 33].

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*Paper*: You can download a paper application, print it, fill it out,
and return it to your local county assistance office.

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LIHWAP
Paper Application -- English (PDF) [link 34]

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LIHWAP Paper
Application -- Spanish (PDF) [link 35]

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*Phone*: Request an
application by calling the Statewide Customer Service Center at
877-395-8930 or call PA Relay at 711 for the hearing impaired.

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*In-Person*: Applications are available at your local county
assistance office [link 36].

Complete eligibility information and
what you need to apply can be found here [link 37]. If you have any
questions contact our office at 412-364-0469(Ross),
724-224-2131(Harrison), or [email protected] [link
38].

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*Summer Storm Tips from the PA PUC*

Summer storms
continue to roll in, but don't be scared, be prepared! Remember these
tips from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) [link
40]!

Before storms strike:

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*Know Your Utility Hotlines* - Write
down, print or save toll-free outage hotlines for your electric
utility [link 41] and/or your natural gas utility [link 42], which are
listed on your monthly bills and posted on the PUC website.

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*Save
Utility Website Address* - Your utility's outage reporting system can
provide updates on repair and restoration efforts. Bookmark these
electric utility outage sites [link 43] and natural gas company
websites [link 44].

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*Keep Your Cell Phone Charged *- A
well-charged phone will keep you in contact with your utility, other
emergency services and family members during any power outage.

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*Secure Supplies* - Keep necessary food, medicine and other supplies
on-hand, including batteries for flashlights.

For more summer storm
tips go to PUC Offers Storm Safety Tips as Severe Thunderstorms
Approach | PA PUC [link 45].

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*Are You Ready to Resume Federal Student Loan
Payments?*

September 1, 2023 marks the end of the three year
moratorium on federal student loan interest and payments. While
billing and interest accrual resume September 1, 2023, borrowers will
not have to make their first payments until October.

To help smooth
the transition back into repayment, the Pennsylvania Higher Education
Assistance Agency (PHEAA) [link 47] and the Pennsylvania Department of
Education [link 48] are recommending borrowers reconnect with their
student loan servicers before September 1st. Below are best practices
both agencies recommend for reconnecting with student loan
servicers:

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*Log in.* Use your FSA ID to log into StudentAid.gov
[link 49].

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*Confirm.* your student loan servicer.

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*Update.
*Log into your student loan servicer account and update your contact
information.

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*Setup.* Decide which repayment options work best
for you and enroll in automatic payments.

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*Review.* Review
payment due dates and the amount due.

*Borrowers are encouraged to
follow the steps above before September 1st* to avoid unexpected
issues and to insure they are on the right repayment plan.

Borrowers
can visit the Student Loan Repayment Toolkit [link 50], developed by
the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
(NASFAA) [link 51], for more helpful information and tips.

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[link 52]

*Explore PA Outdoors*

*Point State Park, Pittsburgh,
August 19, 2023 *

The Pennsylvania Game Commission [link 53] and the
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources [link
54] are teaming up to host *Explore PA Outdoors*, an educational event
in Pittsburgh's Point State Park [link 55]. Staff will be on hand to
share information on the waters, woods, wildlife and hunting in
Pennsylvania. All are welcome and pre-registration is
encouraged.

Register by scanning the QR code above or by clicking
here [link 56].

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[link 57]

*Bird Hike at Harrison Hills Park *

*Harrison Hills Park,
Saturday, August 26, 2023, 8 - 10:30 AM*

Late August is a special
time of year in the Allegheny County Parks. Don't miss next Saturday's
bird hike at Harrison Hills Park [link 58] led by birder and
photographer Dave Brooke. He will share his expertise on the migratory
birds that pass through the park on a guided hike. RSVP at:
[email protected] [link 59].

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As
always, please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have
by phone at 412-364-0469 [link 60] (Ross Office), 724-224-2131 [link
61] (Harrison Office) or by email at
[email protected] [link 62]. My staff will return
your call/email within 24 hours (Monday-Friday).

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Senator
Lindsey Williams

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mailto:[email protected]

Contact
Information:

Website:
[link removed]

Office Location:
District
Office
5000 McKnight Road
Suite 405
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Phone:
412-364-0469
Fax: 412-364-0928

Harrison Office
1826 Union
Avenue
Natrona Heights, PA 15065
Phone: 724-224-2131
Fax:
724-224-2145

Harrisburg Office
366 Capitol Building
Senate Box
203038
Harrisburg, PA 17120-3038
Phone: 717-787-6538
Fax:
717-787-8625

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