State Senator Lindsey M. Williams, Your District 38
Update

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*Upcoming Events**

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*June Community Days!*

Summer is upon us, and we are looking
forward to attending as many community celebrations as we can in
Senate District 38! We had a wonderful time at Cheswick's Strawberry
Festival last weekend and are excited to be a part of the Fox
Chapel/Aspinwall, Ross, and Sharpsburg Pride events. Stop by our table
for resources, questions, or to share what is important to you with
Senator Williams. Hope to see you there!

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*Book
Your In-Person VSO Appointment Early!*

Our June in-person Veterans
Service Officer (VSO) appointments are filling up quickly! Call us
today to reserve a 30-minute in-person meeting with a VSO this month
or for any month in the future. Appointments alternate between our
Ross and Harrison offices monthly and are held every 3rd Tuesday from
9 am - 1 pm.

Upcoming Dates:

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Tuesday, June 18, Harrison
Office

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Tuesday, July 16, Ross Township Office

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Tuesday,
August 20, Harrison Office

Whether you have a question or just need
a fresh review of the benefits you've earned, call or email our office
to schedule a one-on-one appointment: 412-364-0469 (Ross),
724-224-2131 (Harrison), [email protected] [link 1].
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*Good
News**

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*Cheswick
Strawberry Festival*

We had a sweet time sharing a resource table
with Rep. Mandy Steele at Cheswick's Strawberry Festival on Sunday!
The delicious homemade strawberry shortcake was the perfect way to
kick off the summer- and the local strawberries available to take home
were an extra bonus! Thanks to all of the tireless volunteers who made
this event a highlight of summer and to all the residents who came out
to participate.

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*Tour of Good Dog Farm*

Last month I had the opportunity to tour
Good Dog Farm in Tarentum with the Allegheny County Conservation
District. We're working with small business owners like Good Dog and
other local farmers to help build up our natural resources and protect
our streams and waterways from sediment and other runoff.

Thank you
to Lindsay of Good Dog for giving us the chance to see first-hand the
opportunities and challenges that these small businesses are
facing!

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*Rededication
and Centennial Celebration of Peabody Memorial to WWI Soldiers*

Last
week, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Preservation Pittsburgh, and Obama
Academy celebrated the restoration and rededication of the Peabody
Memorial to Soldiers. This beautifully restored memorial includes the
names of the 17 students who served during WWI, as well as figures
depicting the end of the War. These three figures at the front of the
statue represent new beginnings and rebuilding and serve as an
invitation to all students to be engaged and active in building our
future together.

Pittsburgh school's World War I memorial restored
for its centennial | 90.5 WESA [link 2]

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*Fighting
for Fairness for all Pennsylvanians*

In Harrisburg on Monday, I
joined my colleagues Rep. Jessica Benham and Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta to
celebrate the launch of Fairness Pennsylvania. We are dedicated to not
just defending the rights of LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians, but to proactively
improving their quality of life.

Every Pennsylvanian deserves to be
open, honest, and safe in their homes, their school, at work, and in
their community. Because these schools and communities-- this
Pennsylvania-- belongs to all of
us.

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[link 3]

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*Supporting
Bike Transportation Lanes*

I joined Families for Safe Streets, the
Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, and my colleague Senator
Kearney this week for a rally in support of HB 1283 [link 4], which
would permit municipalities to install parking protected bike lanes to
help keep cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicle traffic safe as we share
our roads.

HB 1283 has already overwhelmingly passed the House and
is waiting for action in the Senate Transportation Committee. I'm
asking our Transportation Committee chairs to take action and bring a
clean version of HB 1283 up for vote so that we can give local
governments the ability to protect all traffic.

Too many lives have
been lost in the seven years that Families for Safe Streets has been
advocating for this legislation. We cannot wait any longer to protect
cyclists.

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*Legislative
Update**

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*Public
Funds for Public Schools*

Ahead of returning to Harrisburg for the
June Budget Session weeks, I joined education advocates at
Westinghouse High School to rally for full funding of our public
schools.

In the Senate Education Committee and on the Senate floor we
have voted on a number of voucher bills over the last few years. They
have been called different names and have had some slightly different
structures but they all do the same thing - they all take public money
and give it to unaccountable private and religious schools that
discriminate against children. That isn't a secret- that's the plan.
At an Education Committee hearing [link 5], the head of a private
religious school said that the school would not accept a student that
was a few grade levels behind in reading. And a recent report [link 6]
from Education Voters of Pennsylvania surveyed private or religious
schools receiving existing voucher funds found that 100% of those
schools have policies in place that can be used to discriminate
against students on the basis of religion, LGBTQ+ status, disability
and more.

The Governor has called vouchers "unfinished business." It
might very well be unfinished business for Jeffrey Yass and the
Commonwealth Foundation, but it is not our unfinished business.

Our
unfinished business this budget season is the minimum of $6 Billion
that the Courts say we owe students and families for decades of
unconstitutionally underfunding and inequitably funding our public
schools. Our unfinished business is that students across the state
can't go to school when it's too hot outside. Our unfinished business
is our students do not have enough caring adults in the building. They
need more teachers, paraprofessionals, school counselors, social
workers and many more adults.

Our students are constitutionally
entitled to public schools that meet their needs regardless of race,
religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. And
it is our constitutional duty and moral obligation to fight to protect
and fully fund those schools.

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[link 7]

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[link 8]

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[link 9]

*Senior Farmers Market Voucher Distribution Day is Tuesday,
June 25!*

The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) [link
10] is distributing vouchers this month on *Tuesday, June 25,
2024!*

Eligible seniors will receive one set of vouchers worth $50 to
be spent at participating farmers markets and farm stands (see
eligibility criteria above). If you have more than two people in your
household, check the income limits listed below. Note that income is
self-reported and should be your gross household income.

The 2024
SFMNP household income limits are:

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1 person $27,861

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2 people
$37,814

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3 people $47,767

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4 People $57,720

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5 people
$67,673

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6 people $77,626

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7 people $87.579

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8 people
$97,532

On distribution day, vouchers will be given out in-person
only at participating Senior Community Centers on a first come, first
served basis (see list above for Senate District 38 locations).
*Applications will not be accepted by mail this year. *Eligible
seniors who are unable to travel to a senior center may designate a
proxy - someone to pick up their vouchers. Proxy forms and information
as well as the complete list of distribution centers can be found
under the "Resources'' section at: sfmnp.pdf (alleghenycounty.us)
[link 11].

The vouchers come as a set of five $10 vouchers which can
be used through November 30, 2024 on produce that is grown in
Pennsylvania or purchased directly from a Pennsylvania farmer. Please
note that when redeeming a voucher at a farmers market, the whole
voucher must be spent at once- no change can be given.To find a
participating farmer's market or farm stand use the search tool at
PAMeals [link 12] or download a locator app [link 13] for your phone.
Contact our office at 412-364-0469 (Ross), 724-224-2131(Harrison), or
[email protected] [link 14] if you have any
questions!

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*SNAP Recipients Receive Extra Dollars to Spend at Farmers
Markets!*

If you receive SNAP benefits (food stamps) and would like
to shop at a Farmers Market this year, you should know about two
programs currently running in Allegheny County.

*The Fresh Access
Program:*

Just Harvest [link 17]'s Fresh Access Program [link 18]
enables farmers market shoppers to use their food stamps - as well as
credit and debit cards - to buy fresh, nutritious, and
locally-produced food. Shoppers receive tokens that give food stamp
shoppers an extra $2.00 to spend on fruits and veggies for every $5.00
they spend at one of the 15 participating Farmers Markets listed
above. Tokens never expire!

*SNAP Matching Program - Only at the
Lawrenceville Farmers Market*

The Lawrenceville Farmers Market and
Lawrenceville United recently announced the launch of their SNAP
Matching Program! Thanks to the United Way of Southwestern
Pennsylvania's Community Food Solutions Grant, all dollars spent on
SNAP/EBT cards at the Market will be matched dollar for dollar. This
means that food stamp users will DOUBLE their benefits by shopping at
the Lawrenceville Farmers Market this year.

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[link 19]

*DCNR Town Hall on the Plan for PA Forests*

*Virtual,
Wednesday, June 12 at 6:00 - 7:00 pm*

The Pennsylvania Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources' (DCNR) Bureau of Forestry is
inviting the public to a live virtual town hall event to give feedback
on their draft strategic plan for Pennsylvania's forests: *Forests for
All: **A Plan for Pennsylvania's Forests and People.*

At this town
hall, you will hear from State Forester Seth Cassell and Bureau staff
about who the Bureau of Forestry is, what its plans are for the
future, and what it means for you as someone that benefits from and
cares for forests. Participants will have the opportunity to provide
feedback on the strategic plan.

The event will be hosted virtually
through the Microsoft Teams platform. To register, go to Registration
for Bureau of Forestry Draft Strategic Plan
Townhall Survey
(surveymonkey.com) [link 20] Registrants complete a brief survey and
are sent an email link afterward for access to the town hall. Lend
your voice to the plan for our treasured forests!

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[link 21]

*FREE Allegheny County Summer Concerts in the
Park*

Looking for ways to spend summer evenings without spending a
dime? You should plan to attend some of the FREE concerts at this
summer's 2024 Allegheny County Summer Concert Series [link 22]. The
series kicked off last weekend and runs every weekend throughout the
summer.

These concerts are performed at Allegheny County's two
biggest parks: South Park and Hartwood Acres in Senate District 38.
The lineup is bursting with national and local award-winning talent.
All you need is a picnic basket or food truck money and a blanket or
chair, and you are set! Performances start at 7:30 and take place rain
or shine.

Shows not to miss at Hartwood Acres include:

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July 7 -
*The Bar-Kays*: legendary funk band whose studio work backing Stax
Records recording artists including Otis Redding carved their place in
music history; Pittsburgh's own Clinton Clegg will open the show with
help from the Norside Organ Trio

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July 14 - *Patty Griffin*:
two-time Grammy-winner and one of the most consequential singer
songwriters of her generation

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July 21 - *Paula Cole*:
Grammy-winner whose hit "I Don't Want to Wait" became iconic through
its use on the popular television series "Dawson's Creek"

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August
4 - *Anees*: hit song "Sun and Moon" led the way to more than 40
million streams and over seven million followers on social media

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August 11 - *Matthew Whitaker*: a renowned Jazz pianist who is no
stranger to Pittsburgh thanks to his work as musical director on
Pittsburgh Public Theater's production of "Billy Strayhorn: Something
to Live For"

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August 18 - *MAGIC!*: Reggae/Pop powerhouse whose
song "Rude" held the #1 spot on Billboard's top 100 chart for six
weeks and hit number one in 41 countries

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September 1 -* 24th
Annual Allegheny County Music Festival*. This year, the event will
feature two-time Tony Award-winner *Michael Cerveris* singing the
songs of David Bowie backed by a Pittsburgh All-Star band with special
guests Scott Blasey and Rob James of the Clarks.

For more information
and to see the complete line-up for the 2024 Allegheny County Summer
Concert Series at both parks click here [link 23].

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[link 24]

*Free Reservoir of Jazz Series in Highland Park*

Looking
for a free concert in the City of Pittsburgh? Every Sunday afternoon
in August, Highland Park's lawn showcases the sounds of Pittsburgh's
finest jazz musicians during the ever-popular "Reservoir of Jazz"
series. Enthusiasts can enjoy local eats and smooth beats from
extraordinary talent. Following the concert, enjoy "Summer Soul Line
Dancing" sessions at the fountain. This series is supported by AARP
Pennsylvania, WZUM Jazz, Highland Park Community Council, and
RAD.

For more information on the Reservoir of Jazz Concert Series go
to Reservoir of Jazz | pittsburghpa.gov [link 25].

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[link 26]

*West View Urban Farm's Strawberry Festival*

*148
Georgetown Ave., Friday June 21, 6:00 - 8:00 pm*

West View Urban Farm
[link 27] is celebrating its second year as the first community-led
urban farm in West View with a Strawberry Festival! Come by to learn
more about the farm, how it contributes to the community, meet
neighbors, and kick off the summer season with snacks and
family-friendly activities.

To register for the event click here
[link 28] or scan the QR code above.

Questions? Email
[email protected] [link 29].

Want to help? Event volunteer
and potluck sign ups are available here [link 30].

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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 31] (Ross Office), 724-224-2131 [link
32] (Harrison Office) or by email at
[email protected] [link 33]. My staff will return
your call/email within 24 hours (Monday-Friday).

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Senator
Lindsey Williams

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Contact
Information:

Website:
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Office Location:
District
Office
5000 McKnight Road
Suite 405
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Phone:
412-364-0469
Fax: 412-364-0928
Monday ? Friday 9-5

Harrison
Office
1826 Union Avenue
Natrona Heights, PA 15065
Phone:
724-224-2131
Fax: 724-224-2145
Monday ? Thursday 9-5

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


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