State Senator Lindsey M. Williams, Your District 38
Update

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*Getting Ready for the 2024 General Election!**

On
September 12th, I will be hosting my next Demystifying Harrisburg
event on the upcoming 2024 General Election! (see details below).
We'll start our weekly newsletter over the next few weeks with
relevant election information to get you thinking about voting
questions that you might have. It is never too early to start thinking
about and planning your vote!

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*Demystifying
Harrisburg: Election 2024 Edition*

*Thursday, September 12, 2024,
6-7:30pm, Powers Room, McCandless Town Hall*

To cut through all the
noise around the upcoming General Election, we're hosting Demystifying
Harrisburg: Elections. Demystifying Harrisburg is our ongoing
informational series designed to help people better understand their
government and how to be more informed and engaged citizens.

Hear
from state and county officials about the ins and outs of the election
process. This knowledge will empower you to cast your ballot
confidently, whether by mail or at the voting booth. Get equipped to
share accurate information with your friends and neighbors, becoming a
trusted source in your community!

You can register for the event and
submit questions in advance at Demystifying Harrisburg - Senator
Lindsey Williams [link 1].

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*Accurate
Information Empowers Voters!*

You know our votes matter because bad
actors continue to spend millions of dollars on targeted ads and false
information to sway voters or even prevent them from voting.
Unfortunately, well-meaning users reshare this content, unaware the
information is false.

The Pennsylvania Department of State recommends
the following before you share information on social media:

-
Rely
only on trusted, official sources of information, such as vote.pa.gov
[link 2] and help inform others.

-
Follow @PAStateDept and
@PAStateSec on Twitter and @PADepartmentofState on Facebook.

The
right to vote is one of our most profound rights and duties as
citizens. Pennsylvania voters deserve to cast their ballots with
accurate information, decide for themselves, and have their voices
heard. We can all do our part by checking before we share on social
media relying on trusted sources we see on social media!

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Events*

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*Free Upcoming Paper Shredding Events!*

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*Saturday, August 24th
from 10 am - Noon. **WE HAVE TWO TRUCKS COMING!!*

*With Rep. Emily
Kinkead*

*Ross Department of Public Works, 225 Cemetery Lane,
Pittsburgh, PA 15237*

-
*Saturday, September 7th from 9 - 11
am*

*With Rep. Mandy Steele*

*Senator Williams' Harrison Township
Office, 1826 Union Avenue, Natrona Heights, PA 15065*

Have you been
cleaning out your old paperwork and need a way to safeguard your
personal data? Come to our August 24th shredding event in Ross with
Rep. Kinkead or our September 7th shredding event in Harrison with
Rep. Steele (see graphics above for details). Shredding is the safest
way to securely dispose of your personal documents and both events are
FREE!

Each car can shred up to two bankers boxes of paper (for
reference a bankers box is about the size of a microwave). Please
remove all metal fasteners other than staples before the event!
Shredding will be performed on site. Bags and boxes will be returned
to your car after they are emptied.

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*5th
Annual Community Baby Shower!*

*Sheldon Community Park, 480 Park Ave,
Natrona Heights, September 26, 2024, 4-6pm.*

*Rain Location: Deborah
D. Booker Community Center, 100 Park Ave, Natrona Heights.*

Senator
Lindsey Williams is hosting her 5th annual Community Baby Shower on
September 28th from 4pm-6pm at Sheldon Community Park, 480 Park
Avenue, Natrona Heights, PA 15065.

The Community Baby Shower is a
resource fair for parents, grandparents, foster/kinship families,
guardians, or anyone looking to start a family. Hope to see you
there!

Questions? Call us at 412-364-0469 (Ross) or 724-224-2131
(Harrison) or email us at [email protected].
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*Good News**

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*Shaler
Boys Volleyball Champions Honored by PA Senate and
House*

Congratulations to the Shaler Area School District State
Champion Boys Varsity Volleyball team!
Rep. Lindsay Powell and I were
able to recognize this impressive group of young men (who, as Coach
Stadelman pointed out, have a cumulative 3.8 GPA on top of being State
Champs), their coaches, and their families last week.

This is an
incredibly impressive team and family, and I wish all the best in
their next steps. A special good luck to the 12 graduated seniors who
are off to start their college journeys in the next few weeks!

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*Visit
to Acrospire Brewing Co. in Shaler*

I stopped by Acrospire Brewing
Co. last Wednesday! It was my first visit, but I'll definitely be back
for a food truck evening or one of their special events. Check out
their website for more details: Acrospire Brewing Co [link 3]mpany
[link 4]

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*Shop
with a Cop!*

Thank you to the PA State Police, Rep. Emily Kinkead,
Macy's, and all of our local Allegheny County police departments who
made Saturday's Shop with a Cop event possible at the Ross Park Mall
Macy's [link 5]! Our local students each got the chance to shop for a
fresh start to the school year with backpacks, supplies, and a
wardrobe update. This is such a fun annual event and I'm incredibly
grateful to be a part of it.

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*East
Deer Community Day*

We teamed up with Rep. Mandy Steele and
Congressman Deluzio to offer folks resources from the federal and
state level for East Deer's Community Day on Saturday. This event had
something for everyone: foam party and bounce house for the kids,
carnival games, homemade gifts, yummy food, live music, and much more.
It was great to talk to people in the community and we will be back
next year!

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*Legislative
Update**

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*Universal
School Meals**

As students head back to school, I'm grateful that
Pennsylvania's Universal Free Breakfast program is continuing through
the 2024-25 school year. This ensures that every student has access to
a free, nutritious breakfast every morning so that they can start
their school day fed, fueled, and ready to learn!

It's time to build
on this success and extend the Universal School Meals program to
include lunch. I'm proud to be the prime sponsor of legislation that
will make that possible.
Senate Bill 180 will provide free school
meals to all students who are not already covered through the federal
free and reduced-price-meal and Community Eligibility Provision
programs. It will also eliminate existing school lunch debt so both
schools and families can begin next school year with a fresh start.


We've got breakfast covered--now it's time for lunch. You can support
the School Meals for All campaign by visiting
snapa.org/mealsforall.

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*News
You Can Use**

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*Gun
Safety SMART Week is August 26-30, 2024*

Securing firearms is one of
the best ways to keep our schools and communities safe from gun
violence. To make this the safest school year yet, the first annual
SMART Week [link 6] will be from August 26-30, 2024.

Be SMART [link
7] is a non-profit educational program that promotes secure gun
storage to

prevent kids under 18 and other unauthorized users from
accessing guns. During SMART Week adults and caretakers are encouraged
to "Be SMART" and take simple steps to protect children and
communities by:

-
*S*ecuring all guns in homes and vehicles

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*M*odeling responsible behavior around guns

-
*A*sking* about the
presence of unsecured firearms in other homes your child visits

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*R*ecognizing the role of guns in suicide

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*T*elling your peers to
Be SMART

For information on SMART Week resources, secure gun storage,
and more go to SMART Week | Be SMART (besmartforkids.org) [link
8].

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*Insect-Borne Illness Prevention*

Insects are essential to a healthy
ecosystem, but unfortunately, we humans need to protect ourselves from
two insects that sometimes carry diseases that could make us sick:
black-legged ticks and mosquitoes.

This summer, the Allegheny County
Health Department (ACHD) [link 9] announced that the first human cases
of Powassan Virus [link 10] and West Nile Virus [link 11] were
reported. Powassan is spread by black-legged ticks, the same ticks
that cause Lyme disease. West Nile Virus is spread by infected
mosquitoes. While not everyone experiences symptoms of these diseases,
symptoms can be severe and could lead to serious health problems.
We've shared tips on how to protect yourself from ticks and mosquitos
in the graphics above, but want to make everyone aware that there is a
relatively simple way to reduce the mosquito population - eliminate
the standing water they breed in around our homes. Talk to your
neighbors and look around your own home for places water collects. It
only takes one ounce of water for a mosquito to lay her eggs!
Complaints to ACHD regarding properties with stagnant water can be
reported here [link 12].

ACHD recommends that individuals who exhibit
the symptoms of West Nile Virus or believe they may have been bitten
by a tick and exposed to a tick-borne disease should contact their
healthcare provider.

Read more at:

First Human Case of Powassan
Virus Disease in Allegheny County (govdelivery.com) [link 13]

First
Human Case of West Nile Virus in Allegheny County in 2024 - Allegheny
County, PA [link 14]

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*Your
Town Can Be a Bird Town*

I went on a nature walk last September at
the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania [link 15]'s
Beechwood
Farms Nature Reserve [link 16] and learned there has been a nationwide
loss of more than 3 billion birds since the 1970s. Now, there is
something tangible we can do about it!

Bird Town Pennsylvania [link
17]is a state-wide, grassroots, municipal-level conservation program
partnered with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. Since
2011, it's worked with over 50 municipalities to develop bird friendly
communities, reinforce the important role people play in supporting
bird populations, enhance habitat, reduce threats to birds, and create
a positive impact on the environment.

Reach out to your township
officials and let them know about the program and Bird Town
Pennsylvania will help them get things started. Your community will be
committing to support positive change for birds and wildlife!

Learn
more about Bird Town Pennsylvania here: [link removed]
[link 18].

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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 19] (Ross Office), 724-224-2131 [link
20] (Harrison Office) or by email at
[email protected] [link 21]. 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:
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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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