Joseph "Smiley" Terinoni has raised $50,656 and counting toward events organized by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater Delaware Valley, including his 20-year involvement in its annual bike race, charity bowling events and other organized events. Read more

HARRISBURG, Sept. 16 – Pottstown Borough has received $39,935 in funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to provide for critical law enforcement equipment upgrades and support crime victims, state Rep. Joe Ciresi said. The funds can be used to address the following: improve crime reporting, help law enforcement upgrade equipment, support victims of crime and victim service providers, and support county jail-based medication-assisted treatment for individuals with substance use. “This state funding will address two critical needs: the necessity for better crime reporting and funding to support victims of violent crimes. The FBI has a fantastic reporting system that enables local and state police to track and therefore crack down on crime trends,” Ciresi said. “Thanks to this grant, Pottstown Borough will be able to upgrade its law enforcement equipment so it can report its data to the FBI to get more accurate data so the Pottstown Borough police can do their jobs more efficiently and effectively and Pottstown will be a safer place to live and work.” By upgrading its law enforcement system so it can report crime statistics to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Incident-Based Reporting System, Pottstown Borough will be able to accurately capture and track jurisdiction and state-specific crime trends. Pottstown Borough can use the funding to support victim service providers who aid Pennsylvanians Read more

HARRISBURG, Sept. 12 – State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, secured an $80,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for emergency structural repairs at Friendship Ambulance. Friendship Ambulance is the EMS division of the Royersford Fire Department. “When Friendship Ambulance contacted me with their urgent request, I immediately started looking for state funding so that the company could continue to serve our communities,” Ciresi said. “This is an example of government responding as it should to emergency situations – quickly and efficiently. I am glad and proud that I was able to secure this grant without delay so these important repairs can happen, and Friendship Ambulance can continue its focus on the health and well-being of our residents.” “In our time of need, we reached out to state Representative Joe Ciresi,” said George Gilliano, president and director of EMS and chief of EMS Operations. “He came to our aid and was able to secure an $80,000 grant so we could get this emergency repair done as soon as possible.” According to Friendship Ambulance, the concrete used for the main structural support across all three ambulance bays had deteriorated, harming the structural integrity of the building and creating a risk of collapse. With funding secured by this state grant, construction is now underway to replace the concrete with steel beams to re-support the Read more

MEDIA, Sept. 10 -- U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Delaware/Chester/Montgomery, state Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware, and other members of the PA House Democratic Southeast Delegation celebrated the recent enactment of state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler’s Solar for Schools program Monday morning. Solar for Schools is a new state grant program designed to help school districts across Pennsylvania install solar panels on school grounds or roofs. The grants will cover up to 50% of the cost of solar projects for schools and can be paired with federal funding available through the Inflation Reduction Act. “My colleagues and I in Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act. This provides incentives for schools, nonprofits, and houses of worship to deploy wind, solar, and other renewable energy technologies to generate clean electricity,” Scanlon said. “I'm so excited that decades after I was on the school board, our state legislature, led by Representative Fiedler, stepped up and took this really important step so our school districts can do renovations, implement solar energy and other clean energy options, and reap the savings of those options. The IRA is an essential step, but it can’t be the last step.” "Solar for Schools is not just an opportunity to bring clean energy and good jobs to our school communities. It’s an innovative way to pair state and federal funds to benefit Pennsylvania’s Read more

COATESVILLE, Sept. 9 – Octorara Area School District has been awarded $74,171 to make its schools more environmentally safe thanks to a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, state Rep. Dan Williams, D-Chester, announced today. “Children in the Octorara School District will be able to learn in a safer and healthier educational environment thanks to this funding brought to them by a Democratic budget,” Williams said. “As a community activist and as a state representative, I have fought long and hard so our children get what they need to succeed, and that begins with learning in a clean and safe facility. Thanks to this funding, the Octorara School District will receive the funding they need to make critical improvements to protect the welfare of students and staff.” The money comes from the state’s Public ?School Environmental ???Repairs Program , made possible by funding Williams voted for in the 2023-24 state budget. Grants under the program can be used by schools to fix environmental hazards in their buildings, including removing lead in water sources and in paint, as well as asbestos and mold removal and remediation. A total of $75 million was available for the competitive grant program, and 109 school districts and technical centers across the state received grants in this round. Projects require a cash match of 50% of total eligible project costs. More information is available on the Department of Read more

HARRISBURG, Sept. 9 – Chester-Upland, Chichester and Interboro school districts and Delaware County Technical School today were awarded state grant funding to help address environmental hazards in their school buildings, according to state Reps. Carol Kazeem, Leanne Krueger and Dave Delloso, all D-Delaware. Chester Upland School District received $821,912 while Chichester was awarded $1.04 million. Interboro was awarded $290,761. DCTC also received $80,095 for environmental remediation needs in its Aston and Folcroft buildings. The money comes from the state’s Public School Environmental Repairs Program , made possible by funding Krueger, Kazeem and Delloso voted for in the 2023-24 state budget. Grants under the program can be used by schools to fix environmental hazards in their school buildings, including removing lead in water sources and in paint, as well as asbestos and mold removal and remediation. “No student or staff member should have to learn or work in a building full of lead, asbestos and mold, yet this is what many young people and adults across the state -- some right here in Delaware County -- faced with each new school year and for far too long because local tax sources were stretched too thin,” Krueger said. “I fought to include funding to fix and clean up our schools in last year’s state budget and again this year. I am grateful to see schools like Chester-Upland finally get the Read more

Pennsylvania state representatives Lisa Borowski and Jennifer O'Mara said they secured a $40,000 state grant that will be used to buy and install AEDs at all VFW and American Legion posts in Delaware County by the end of the year. The state representatives are partnering with the Newtown Square Fire Company, which will provide VFW staff members with training on how to use AEDs. Read more

“There are places where health care is a luxury across our commonwealth,” state Rep. Lisa Borowski said. “There is a growing number of health care deserts. And this is due to the steady increase of health system consolidations and closures. Sadly, Delaware County is becoming one of those places.” Read more

State Reps. Lisa Borowski and Jennifer O’Mara, along with the Delaware County Veterans Memorial Association, will hold a public event at 2 p.m. on Sept. 16 to celebrate a $40,000 grant they helped secure to place automatic external defibrillators in all American Legion and VFW posts in Delaware County. Read more

“It’s one thing to voice your support for veterans. It’s another to demonstrate it,” Rep. Tim Brennan (D-29) said, in a statement. “Time and again, this community demonstrates its respect for the people who have served our country, and I’m proud I get to be a part of that.” Read more