Latest news with #AmericanswithDisabilitiesAct-compliant
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Commissioners award almost $100,000 in Community Re-Invest grants
CLARKS SUMMIT — Lackawanna County grant funding will help defray the cost of a crosswalk safety initiative in Clarks Summit, a spay and neuter clinic in Scranton, and other projects and purchases planned by local municipalities and nonprofits. Meeting Wednesday in Clarks Summit, Commissioners Bill Gaughan and Chris Chermak unanimously approved nearly $100,000 in grants through the county's popular Community Re-Invest Program, with 20 projects receiving grants in the first of two program funding rounds this year. The successful applicants, funding amounts and projects include: • Blakely Borough Police Department: $5,000 to defray the $11,143 cost of purchasing a drone. • Shopa-Davey VFW Post 6082, Blakely: $5,000 to defray the $8,900 cost of repairing/replacing the roofs of the post's storage and chicken barbecue buildings. • Blakely Borough Community Ambulance Association: $4,350 to cover the cost of training equipment. • Clarks Summit Borough: $4,958 to cover the cost of a crosswalk safety initiative. • Abington Junior Comets Football Club: $5,000 to cover most of the $5,158 cost of concessions equipment and uniform upgrades. • Covington Twp.: $5,000 to defray the $9,789 cost of painting the exterior of a new police station. • American Legion Post 665, Dickson City: $5,000 to defray the $8,069 cost of a basement water project. • Center for the Living City, Dunmore: $5,000 to defray the $24,000 cost of 'Lighting Up Scranton 2025,' with grant funding supporting equipment, marketing and artist payments. • Elmhurst Twp. Sewer Authority: $5,000 to cover the cost of public restroom facilities accessibility upgrades. • Madison Twp.: $5,000 to defray the $6,400 cost of a disabled ramp covering project at the Township Building. • William Walker Hose Company, Mayfield: $5,000 to cover the cost of firefighting equipment. • Mayfield Borough: $5,000 to cover the cost of municipal meeting room upgrades. • Moscow Borough: $5,000 to cover the cost of a Golden Park fence-extension project. • West Scranton Little League: $5,000 to cover the cost of new grass, lighting and seating at the Little League facilities. • PAWsitively for the Animals, Scranton: $5,000 to cover most of the $5,600 cost of an operational savings and growth project, including the cost of purchasing a computer and other equipment, a pallet jack and holiday costumes for fundraising events. • American Legion Post 568, Scranton: $5,000 to defray the $9,500 cost of a flat roof replacement project. • West Scranton Wrestling Alumni Association: $5,000 to defray the $20,453 cost of installing two Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant lifts. • St. Cats and Dogs of Scranton: $5,000 to defray the $20,000 cost of supplies for a spay/neuter clinic. • United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Scranton: $5,000 to defray the $9,600 cost of food/clothing pantry improvements. • South Abington Police Department: $5,000 to defray the $25,739 cost of Lexipol law enforcement policy and procedure manuals. County Economic Development Director Kristin Magnotta said the 20 grant recipients were among 28 that applied. Those not awarded funding this round may apply again for funding during the second, she said. Gaughan lauded the grant program. Modest as the individual grants are, the money can be invaluable for organizations trying to close funding gaps and get projects over the finish line, he said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Upcoming Moosic 5K raises more than $40,000 for borough parks
Moosic is racing to improve its parks. The borough will hold its inaugural 'Move with Moosic 5K Run/Walk' at 9 a.m. Sunday, with all proceeds going toward improving borough parks, Mayor Bob Bennie said. With a route beginning at the Moosic Youth Center on Main Street, the course will take runners past multiple borough parks before looping back for a celebration. So far, the race has raised close to $40,000 from sponsors alone, said Councilwoman Marilyn French, who is also the chairwoman of the race. 'It blew us away,' French said of the support. 'I was like praying we would get to $10,000.' At least 151 people registered for the race, with registrations costing $30 each, she said, adding to the total amount raised. Organizers do not yet have a final breakdown, she said. Fidelity Bank was the presenting sponsor, she said. The idea for the 5K came from a group of moms talking while their kids were at baseball practice over a year ago, French said. Moosic's Santa Parade gets a lot of engagement, so they discussed other seasonal events for the community, she said. 'We were thinking, 'What could we do that's not around a holiday that would get the community engaged and excited that would benefit the parks?' ' she said. That led to the formation of a committee and plans for Moosic to host its first borough-run 5K. Going through a list of Moosic's parks, French envisioned potential improvements, from making the William T. Quinlin Sports Complex, 230 Rear Spring St., more accessible with a walking trail and teener league field upgrades, to getting new backboards for the basketball court at Ken Smerdon Field off Water Street, which currently does not have backboards for its basketball court. Addressing Edmond Piaski Memorial Park on Elm Street is also a top priority, she said, explaining the borough wants to give everything a facelift but make a larger investment into Piaski Park. * Edmond Piaski Park in Moosic on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Edmond Piaski Park in Moosic on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Show Caption 1 of 2 Edmond Piaski Park in Moosic on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Expand The small neighborhood park needs updated Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant playground equipment along with new fencing, French said. 'It's a cute little park in a neighborhood that has a lot of kids,' she said. 'The last thing we want to do is get rid of it. … It's one of the smaller ones that we can make a big impact on quickly.' She hopes to improve Piaski Park this year. Moosic will also seek grant funding for its parks, but the fundraiser is a way to make an immediate impact, she said. In addition to the race, there will be festivities on Main Street on Sunday, including a DJ, food vendors, ice cream from Fidelity Bank's ice cream truck, coffee, basket raffles and a fire safety house for kids to go through from the Fire Department, French said. Bennie noted the significance of the race route taking runners past other Moosic parks that the fundraising could improve. As runners begin the race at the Moosic Youth Center, they will wind down Main Street and Minooka Avenue to Felter Field, pass by the Moosic High Alumni Memorial and Piaski Park on Elm Street, travel up Spring Street to Mary Ann Nawrocki Park and then loop back around to end at the youth center, according to a race route description. The 5K is a way for Moosic to get extra revenue to designate specifically for its parks without risk of having the funds redirected to items like paving, sewers or other maintenance, Bennie said. 'These dollars go specifically to green spaces,' he said. 'This way it could go right toward the park and improve the quality of life for the residents.' To register for the race, visit Preregistration costs $30 and ends Thursday at 11:59 p.m. Race-day registration will be $35, and organizers can't guarantee T-shirts for those who register that day. Organizers ask race-day registrants to pay with cash. The borough plans to make the 5K an annual event.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Homeless, sick and aging: Pierce County faces worsening crisis in 2025
Homeless-service providers in Pierce County are sounding the alarm on the need for healthcare among those living unhoused. During the Pierce County Council's Health and Human Services Committee meeting June 3, a panel of homeless-outreach workers, healthcare specialists and social workers painted a picture of the high number of elderly and disabled people experiencing homelessness and the lack of resources available to keep them from dying on the streets. Jake Nau is the homeless outreach manager for St. Vincent DePaul. His job is to develop relationships with people living unhoused with the goal of helping them find housing. On June 3, Nau told the committee at least 50% of the unhoused people he meets are either over 55 years of age or are experiencing a physical or mental disability they either were living with before becoming unhoused or have incurred through their experience living on the streets. During the 2024 survey of those living unhoused in Pierce County, volunteers counted 2,661 people living unhoused in a single night. Of those surveyed, 25% reported having a chronic health condition, and 22% reported having a physical disability. 'Homeless seniors and people with disabilities are largely from here,' Nau told the committee. 'This population is not chasing benefits across counties and states. They were housed here, and now they are not.' Nau said the normal process of aging is 'harmfully accelerated' by being unhoused. According to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), people who experience homelessness have an average life expectancy of around 50, almost 20 years lower than people who are housed. The Center for Disease Control states that people experiencing homelessness are at a greater risk of infectious and chronic illness, poor mental health and substance abuse. They are also more susceptible to violence, 'a fact confirmed by over 20 years of reports on bias-motivated crimes,' a letter from USICH stated in 2018. 'On the street there are perpetrators of harm and victims. Seniors and people with disabilities are almost always the victims,' Nau said. 'Our parents and grandparents get exploited, robbed, beaten and bullied.' Nau said there are simply not enough shelter and housing options to get those folks off the street, specifically not enough Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant shelters. He said many shelters cannot accept individuals who are physically unable to wash themselves or use the bathroom on their own. He also said there are not enough senior-specific permanent supportive-housing options for folks who need specialized care. Amy Decker is a social work case manager for MultiCare Health System. Decker reported that 404 people were discharged from Tacoma General Hospital and Allemore Hospital into homelessness through the first five months of 2025. Of those known to be unhoused at the time of their discharge, 176 were between the ages of 50-69 and 25 were over the age of 70. One individual discharged from a Tacoma hospital into homelessness was over 90. Recently the county has obligated funding to increase its medical respite capacity. Medical Respite facilities offer a place for unhoused individuals to stay while they heal after a hospital stay. In January 2023, Pierce County awarded the Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI) over $10 million to support a new shelter project, which would eventually become the acquisition of the Oasis Inn. The former hotel will be converted into 117 units of non-congregate emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing, with at least 51 of the units capable of providing medical-respite services. John Brown of the LIHI told The News Tribune potential clients at the facility would need to be healed enough for discharge, meaning they can still perform activities of daily living and only be in need of basic nursing services such as wound care and medicine management. If the client regresses in treatment during their stay, they would be moved to a long-term care respite facility. 'Once the client heals and progresses through recovery, they could either be referred into one of the long-term rental permanent supportive-housing units in the building or another low-income housing building as openings become available,' Brown wrote in an email to The News Tribune. It is unclear when the facility wound open. Meanwhile the county has made funding available for operation of a temporary medical respite facility in Parkland. The facility will have roughly 16 beds available. Jan Runbeck is a registered nurse who provides healthcare at one of Tacoma's only operating medical-respite facilities in Tacoma. Runbeck previously told The News Tribune that Nativity House has 12 beds reserved for medical-respite referrals. She said patients discharged from the hospital can use a bed for 30 days before they have to be treated like everyone else who comes to the shelter and receives a bed on a first come, first served basis. During the June 3 Health and Human Services Committee meeting, Runbeck said many individuals living unhoused are dying a 'prolonged death,' typically resulting from unmanaged chronic diseases such as diabetes, heat disease, kidney failure and CPD. She said the deaths would be preventable with access to primary care. Runbeck said many individuals she met in Nativity House and in her street-outreach work became homeless in their 50s and 60s. She recalled several cases in which individuals suffered injuries and had jobs without benefits, creating financial pressures leading to homelessness. Runbeck made the case that medical-respite facilities ultimately save tax payer dollars. She said before Nativity House implemented a medical respite program with nurses who could provide healthcare it had more 911 calls than almost anywhere in the city, averaging more than two emergency calls a day. After the program was implemented, it reduced calls there by 30%. 'When you have prolonged death, it is messy, it is ugly, it is nasty,' she told the committee. 'You go to the [emergency room] way too many times, you go to urgent care way too many times. You have all these other complications of untreated chronic disease.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Eastern Shore Repertory Theatre, Daphne team up for Nicholson Center for the Arts Revitalization Project
DAPHNE, Ala. (WKRG) — The Eastern Shore Repertory Theatre and the City of Daphne are partnering in a project to transform the Nicholson Center into a performing arts center. UPDATE: Mobile police investigating deadly crash as homicide; man found with gunshot wound According to an ESRT news release, the Nicholson Center for the Arts Revitalization Project is a multi-phase project that will 'transform the historic facility into a vibrant, fully equipped home for the performing arts.' 'With spaces for private lessons, rehearsals and professional-grade performances, the Nicholson Center will serve as a creative anchor for the community and a step toward establishing Daphne as a true arts destination on the Eastern Shore,' the release said. Among the upgrades are Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant walkways and parking, electrical improvements for safety and production and a new brick sign — and that's just the beginning, according to the release. 'These investments represent the first phase of a multi-stage vision for the Nicholson Center's revitalization,' the release said. 'This project is about more than just renovations,' ESRT Founder, Executive Director and Artistic Director Erin Langley said. 'It is about creating a space where students can discover their voices, where artists can do meaningful work and where the community can come together through the power of live performance.' According to the release, more than $175,000 in grants, donations and in-kind services have already been raised for the project: $49,900 from the Alabama State Council on the Arts $50,000 from the Cox Family Foundation $25,000 from the Daniel Foundation $10,000 from United Bank In-kind support from the City of Daphne, Crucible Construction, Swift Supply and 68 Ventures The next phase will focus on the center's technical capabilities, including new lighting truss and grid, a state-of-the-art lighting board and energy-efficient LED stage lighting, the release said. ESRT is continuing to raise funds for the project, 'with the goal of fully realizing the Nicholson Center's potential as a regional arts hub.' Mobile police warn residents to protect their cars, belongings For more information on the project or to donate, visit the ESRT website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
29-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Inner Harbor Intersection Improvement project to address pedestrian safety, accessibility
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced an Inner Harbor intersection improvement project that will enhance pedestrian safety and accessibility along parts of Pratt Street. The plan is to upgrade roadway crossings and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant pedestrian ramps. The three intersections getting an upgrade are where Pratt Street meets Light, Calvert, and President streets. The project is set to begin in mid-May and will last for about nine months. Baltimore City leaders say this project has been a long time coming. "This intersection improvement project along Pratt Street will contribute to a more accessible and inviting downtown environment that aligns with Baltimore's broader vision for safe urban mobility," said Mayor Scott. "Significant change is happening across downtown — including the reimagining of Harborplace and the investments driven by our Downtown Rise program. To meet this moment, my administration is committed to building a Downtown that is thriving, safe, and prioritizes the pedestrian experience to welcome residents and visitors alike every single day." According to Baltimore City, some of the upgrades include: High visibility "continental style" crosswalks for pedestrians. ADA-compliant pedestrian ramps. Countdown pedestrian signals. Accessible pedestrian signals. Installation of bicycle and pedestrian way-finding signage. Construction of new conduits to support pedestrian signal upgrades. Harborplace redevelopment plan The Inner Harbor redevelopment will also include a revamped Harborplace. Gensler, a global architecture and design firm, was assigned to lead the design team for the Harborplace Master Plan, which was approved by Baltimore voters in November 2024. MCB Real Estate, led by David Bramble, plans to replace the mostly vacant pavilions at the Inner Harbor with a mixed-use complex including a park, residential buildings, and retail space, with an estimated cost of around $1 billion. The proposed redevelopment would create a 4.5-acre space with restaurants, commercial uses, multifamily residential development, and off-street parking. Harborplace opened in July 1980, serving as one of the first waterfront malls of its kind. It initially became a national model for urban renewal. However, by the 2010s, the complex fell into decline under New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisitions, which acquired it in 2012. By 2019, the property entered court-ordered receivership due to Ashkenazy's loan defaults and failure to maintain the site.
