State Senator Lindsey M. Williams, Your District 38 Update

[image =
[link removed]]
[link 1]*
*

Demystifying Harrisburg: Elections Edition*

Last week,
we hosted another installment of our "Demystifying Harrisburg" series
on Elections. Thank you to McCandless Township for hosting us, to our
panelists, and to everyone who came out and made the event such a
success! If you weren't able to attend or you'd like to share with a
friend, you can check out the video at
SenatorLindseyWilliams.com/DemystifyingHbg [link 2].

Senator Williams
was joined by Ruth Quint, Co-President of the League of Women Voters;
Jessica Garofolo, Director of Administrative Services of Allegheny
County; and Richard Ting, Senior Staff Attorney for ACLU of
Pennsylvania to discuss the different types of elections, what
Allegheny County does to prepare for every election, what you can
expect at the polls, and how ballots are processed and counted.

Some
important resources for everyone:

-
1-866-OUR-VOTE: Call with any
questions about voting or any problems you experience while voting!

-
Register to vote before the October 21 deadline [link 3]

-
Request
your mail in ballot before the October 29 deadline [link 4]

-
2024
General Election Ballot Return Sites [link 5]

-
In- Person Voting
Resources [link 6]

-
Volunteer with the ACLU [link
7]

*

*Events**

*
[image =
[link removed]]*

*Halloween
Costume Drive*

*Ross or Harrison Township Offices, September 2 -
October 4, 2024*

There are two weeks remaining in our costume drive
with North Hills Community Outreach - plenty of time to donate your
new or gently used Halloween costumes for a child in need. Everything
from scary to sweet will be accepted. Drop off new or gently used
costumes before October 4th at one of our Distinct Offices:

Ross
Township Office

5000 McKnight Rd

Pittsburgh PA 15237

(412)
364-0469

Monday-Friday 9-5pm

Harrison Township Office

1826 Union
Ave.

Natrona Heights, PA 15065

(724) 224-2131

Monday-Thursday
9-5pm

North Hills Community Outreach will distribute the costumes at
their Coat Shop, a free winter coat event on October 12, 19, and 26.
Thank you in advance for your donations!

[image =
[link removed]]

*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 5th annual Community Baby Shower is next Thursday,
September 28th from 4pm-6pm at Sheldon Community Park, 480 Park
Avenue, Natrona Heights, PA 15065!

Join us at this resource fair for
parents, grandparents, foster/kinship families, guardians, or anyone
looking to start a family. Some of the organizations attending this
year include Pittsburgh Firefighters Project Warm, Toys for Tots, UPMC
Children's Injury Prevention, Trying Together, Allegheny Family
Network, Achieva Early Intervention, Russellton Palmer Pharmacy (flu
shots), and many more. Hope to see you there!

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

[image =
[link removed]]

*

*Good
News**

[image =
[link removed]]

[image
=
[link removed]]

*A
Victory for Healthcare Workers Across the Region*

When nurses and
hospital workers stand up together, THEY WIN. Congratulations to the
SEIU union nurses and hospital workers at Allegheny Valley Hospital
and West Penn Hospital on ratifying new contracts that provide raises
and improve working conditions and patient care.

When healthcare
workers win, we all win!

[image =
[link removed]]

*Steel
City Squash Opens in Larimer*

Congratulations to Steel City Squash on
the opening of their new facility in Larimer! Thank you to everyone
involved in this project, including the Larimer Consensus Group, the
Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, and neighborhood partners
who are working incredibly hard to keep Larimer a vibrant, growing
community.

This new facility will be a great resource for the
students and families in Larimer, and I'm glad to have been a part of
bringing it to life!

[image =
[link removed]]

*Protecting
Your Identity*

Thank you to everyone who came out to our shredding
event with Rep. Mandy Steele and Shred America earlier this month! If
you missed out, you have another chance to shred your confidential
documents at Rep. Steele's Shred Event!

-
October 5, 2024

-
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon

-
Rep. Steele's Cheswick District Office,
296 Pittsburgh Street, Cheswick, PA 15024

[image =
[link removed]]

Honoring
the Heroes of 9/11*

I was grateful that my staff was able to join the
beautiful Harrisburg 9/11 Memorial honoring the heroes of Flight 93.
These incredible men and women made the ultimate sacrifice to save
untold lives on that fateful day 23 years ago. We are forever in their
debt.

[image =
[link removed]]

Building
a Greener Future Together*

Last week I joined Climate Action
Campaign, County Councilwoman Anita Prizio, City Councilwoman Erika
Strassburger, Moms Clean Air Force PA Field Organizer Vanessa Lynch,
and Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities Board Secretary Emily Phan-Gruber
to talk about how the federal Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law are bringing federal dollars to our region to
address climate change, modernize our infrastructure, and create
family-sustaining jobs.

The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law are allowing us to think big and solve problems
regionally. Our water, and our air, and our environment don't stop at
municipal boundaries. This is our chance to use this
once-in-a-generation funding to evaluate and improve upon how our
current and future systems will benefit and protect this entire region
today and in the future.

[image =
[link removed]]

McCandless
Community Day*

My staff and our intern Campbell joined Representative
Venkat's and Congressman Deluzio's staffs last weekend at the Town of
McCandless Community Day to join in the fun and festivities and offer
state and federal resources to residents. We also celebrated
McCandless's receipt of an Act 13 Greenways, Trails, and Recreation
grant earlier this year that will be used for their Parks Master Site
Development Plan and Pine Creek Corridor Feasibility Study. This work
will allow residents of all ages and abilities to get outside safely
and enjoy time with friends and neighbors!

[image =
[link removed]]

*

*Legislative
Update**

[image =
[link removed]]

*Stopping
State Preemption of Local Authority*

The Senate returned to
Harrisburg this week for the first time since passing the 2024-25
fiscal year budget. Included in that budget was a last-minute
provision added to the Fiscal Code, a 140-page omnibus piece of
legislation that authorizes the state to spend money, as a part of
this summer's budget deal. This provision allows certain rodeo-hosting
companies to hold ticketed, public rodeo or rodeo-related events on up
to 12 days per year. During those 12 days, any local rodeo regulations
shall not apply. There was no public input or consultation with
stakeholders prior to the inclusion of this preemption of local law in
the budget.

Now that we've returned to Harrisburg, I have announced
that I will introduce legislation [link 8] that will repeal the
preemption of local rodeo bans and return the authority to prohibit
cruel and abusive animal practices to individual municipalities across
the state.

Since 1992, Pittsburgh City Council has banned the use of
electric prods, bucking straps, and spurs, which are used to control
animals, but also inflict pain and cause injuries to those animals.
This has had the practical effect of banning rodeos in Pittsburgh for
over 30 years.

Local municipalities and their elected officials are
in the best position to regulate numerous issues, and the state should
only preempt that authority when necessary. There is no reason for the
state to override Pittsburgh's ability to regulate rodeos within its
own boundaries, especially when it results in a financial windfall for
a small subset of private companies. This is a clear example of the
state legislature overstepping local control, with no input or
transparency, and it must be corrected immediately.

This legislation
is supported by animal rights organizations, including Humane Action
Pittsburgh.

You can read more here:
[link removed]
[link 9]

[image =
[link removed]]

*

*News
You Can Use**

[image =
[link removed]]

[image
=
[link removed]]

*Applications
are Open for Two New School Safety Grants*

The Pennsylvania
Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) is inviting organizations
to apply for $56.5 million in state grant funding under PCCD's
existing Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) grant program and
the first-ever Building Opportunity through Out of School Time (BOOST)
program, which aims to reduce community violence by providing more
after school opportunities for young people. Thanks to a 40 percent
increase in state funding for violence prevention and intervention
initiatives in the 2024-25 budget, these programs can fund solutions
that make our communities safer.

The graphics above outline both
programs. For complete information and to apply go to Gun Violence
Grants & Funding (pa.gov) [link 10]or use the QR codes above.
Applications are open until Thursday, October 31, 2024, at 8pm.
[image =
[link removed]]

*ACLA
Social Work in Libraries Program Offers Community Assistance*

In need
of assistance with a job search, information on resources, or help
connecting to community programs and activities? Head to one of the
Allegheny County Library Association (ACLA) libraries that are hosting
a social work student fellow! Here in Senate District 38, you can work
one-on-one with a social work student fellow at the East Liberty
Carnegie Library at 130 S. Whitfield Street. Services are free and
available to all!

The Social Work in Libraries Program is a
partnership between ACLA, the University of Pittsburgh, and member
libraries. Through the program, social work students are matched with
local libraries to assist with community needs. Participating
libraries change from year to year. To read about this year's students
and the libraries they are staffing click here [link 11].

To read
more about the program to: Library Social Work Fellowship | School of
Social Work (pitt.edu) [link 12].

[image =
[link removed]]

*My
Brother's Keeper, Pittsburgh Relaunched*

Last week, Pittsburgh Mayor
Gainey relaunched My Brother's Keeper (MBK), Pittsburgh [link 13], a
community-driven program fostering empowerment and support for Black
men and boys that originated with the Obama administration. MBK
Pittsburgh's vision is to create a region where our Black men and boys
are safe and free from violence, feel welcome and see themselves in a
positive manner, and have equitable access to opportunities that allow
them to thrive.

MBK collaborates with partner organizations to
provide mentorship, educational resources, employment opportunities,
and community engagement to Black men and boys from high- and
extreme-need communities [link 14]to improve six milestone goals:

-
All of our children enter school cognitively, physically, socially,
and emotionally prepared.

-
All of our children read at grade-level
by third grade.

-
All of our young people complete post-secondary
education or training.

-
All of our young people graduate from
college.

-
All of our youth who have graduated from college or a
training program are employed.

-
All of our young people are safe
from violent crime, and those who need it, receive the second chance
they deserve.

MBK also spotlights Black men and boys from the City of
Pittsburgh for achievements in a variety of endeavors. To nominate
someone to be highlighted and for more details about how to get
involved with My Brother's Keeper, Pittsburgh go to My Brother's
Keeper | Engage Pittsburgh (pittsburghpa.gov) [link 15].

[image =
[link removed]]

*2024
Oktoberfest Fundraiser*

Come on out to Pittsburgh Brewing Company
Saturday, September 28, 2024 from noon - 9pm for the Chief Justin
McIntire Memorial Foundation [link 16]'s 2024 Oktoberfest celebration.
All funds raised are used for initiatives that serve local communities
and first responders.

To purchase tickets and to register for the
cornhole tournament go to: CHIEF JUSTIN MCINTIRE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
(chief-justin-mcintire-memorial-foundation.com) [link 17].

[image =
[link removed]]

As
always, please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have
by phone at 412-364-0469 [link 18] (Ross Office), 724-224-2131 [link
19] (Harrison Office) or by email at
[email protected] [link 20]. My staff will return
your call/email within 24 hours (Monday-Friday).

[image =
[link removed]]

Senator
Lindsey Williams

[image =
[link removed]]


----------------------
footnotes
----------------------
[link 1]
[link removed]
[link
2] [link removed]
[link 3]
[link removed]
[link 4]
[link removed]
[link
5]
[link removed]
[link
6]
[link removed]
[link
7] [link removed]
[link 8]
[link removed]
[link
9]
[link removed]
[link
10]
[link removed]
[link
11]
[link removed]
[link
12]
[link removed]
[link
13] [link removed]
[link 14]
[link removed]
[link
15] [link removed]
[link 16]
[link removed]
[link
17]
[link removed]
[link
18] tel:412-364-0469
[link 19] tel:724-224-2131
[link 20]
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
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


Unsubscribe:
[link removed]
Privacy
Policy: [link removed]