Latest news with #RussellRedding
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Miss Pennsylvania visits Perry County students on ‘Ag Day'
PERRY COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — Every day is essentially Ag Day for some Perry County residents, but Monday was officially Ag Day for everyone. That includes 500 students from four school districts who gathered at the county fairgrounds. They got to hear from Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Miss Pennsylvania. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'We bring all the fourth graders together and talk about agriculture,' Redding said. 'We're in a rural county and you think everybody knows what agriculture is? Not that it is, but not so. It's where we look at the pollinators, conservation, cows.' 'I am from Pittsburgh, so I am that city kid that had to learn a lot about the impact of agriculture, but it really is such a huge supplier,' Miss Pennsylvania 2024 Page Weinstein said. The Pennsylvania State Grange organized Ag Day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Spotted lanternflies starting to return in Pennsylvania
(WHTM) – Sightings of spotted lanternflies have been picking up recently, according to one Cumberland County township. East Pennsboro Township shared Friday that they've been 'receiving a lot of calls about Spotted Lanternflies lately' as the weather begins to warm. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now According to the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Spotted Lanternflies begin hatching in May and June. Mating season takes place in late August with egg-laying in the fall months. The invasive species is native to Asia; however, in 2014, it was found in Pennsylvania and has spread across the state. Last month, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture expanded its spotted lanternfly quarantine to four more counties, meaning all but 10 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties are in the quarantine. Rare birth of a new city in Pennsylvania inches closer as voters pick a whole new council Those in the quarantine area should squash any spotted lanternflies they come across and scrape any eggs found on trees, vehicles, playgrounds, or other outdoor surfaces. Officials say it's especially important to ensure spotted lanternflies are not on trucks, firewood, or plants being transported across the state. 'As you clean up your yard or just enjoy beautiful Pennsylvania spring days, you can help keep lanternflies from becoming a summer nuisance and harming our valuable grape and nursery industries,' Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. 'Every spotted lanternfly egg mass you scrape and squash is 30-50 damage-causing insects that won't hatch in May.' If you see a spotted lanternfly, officials ask you to report it online or via phone by calling 1-888-4BADFLY. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Over $130K awarded to connect communities with fresh food made by Central Pennsylvania farms
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — Over $3 million is being invested across Pennsylvania to connect and expand access to fresh and affordable food for local communities, with some places in Bedford and Centre also receiving funding. The $3.375 million investment is being made in the form of the 2025 Fresh Food Financing Initiative grants. Money was awarded to 24 counties to connect low-income communities to food that's not only healthy but also made by local farms. Grocery stores, neighborhood co-ops, mobile markets, farm markets, and other businesses that provide fresh food directly to consumers were able to apply for the grants. Over $260k to be invested in Central Pennsylvania senior centers Here are the Central Pennsylvania awardees(Total: $134,300): Bedford County PA Beef to PA Schools Program was awarded $75,000 The program expands access to high-quality, locally sourced beef for Pennsylvania students, offering a 50% cost-sharing option to schools to procure local beef. This expansion will help serve more students, especially in low-income areas, providing fresh, nutritious meals that are essential for children's health, learning, and success. The program also offers a recipe toolkit to support scratch cooking and educational programming to connect students with local agriculture. Centre County Centre Markets Food Hub was awarded $59,330 The money will be used to support the expansion, serving over 40 local farms and food producers, primarily from Centre County and surrounding areas. The project will enhance cold storage capacity and delivery, allowing small and diverse family farms to expand their market reach and increase locally grown products available to the community. The project will also support SNAP and EBT purchases. 'Pennsylvania farmers do the noble work of producing fresh, healthy food every day,' Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. 'But too many families struggle to find affordable, fresh food close to home, and their health suffers, sometimes for generations. The full list of awardees and what they do for their community can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Farmers bless equipment with 'Blessing of the Balers' at State Capitol
(WHTM) — Agriculture is big business in Pennsylvania, but bad weather and malfunctioning equipment can ruin an entire season, so today, some farmers received a special blessing. Farmers came to the State Capitol with pieces of their equipment for the 'Blessing of the Balers.' The blessing signifies hope for a productive growing season. 'We put our faith in agriculture for all of the necessities of our lives, and so too must we have faith in our equipment and the job that we need to get done,' said Russell Redding, the PA Secretary of Agriculture. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Pennsylvania 'Another thing about our farmers, they spend 50% of the time praying for rain and the other 50% praying for sunshine,' said Rep. Bud Cook (R-Greene/Washington counties) Sure enough, it went from dry to downpour in less than a minute. Most farmers couldn't bring their entire baler, so they brought the hitch pins, which connect equipment to the balers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
PennDOT, PA State Police highlight litter enforcement efforts in NEPA
Apr. 28—WILKES-BARRE — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania State Police collaborated to discuss penalties for littering and littering in a litter enforcement corridor. PennDOT and PSP held a press event on Monday in Lackawanna County to explain what litter enforcement is, why it's important and what the penalties are for littering. "PennDOT Engineering District 4 is proud to continue our partnerships with the Pennsylvania State Police, the Department of Corrections (SCI Waymart and Dallas) and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful today to highlight our efforts to reduce littering in Northeast PA." said Loni Tomaine, P.E., acting assistant district executive of maintenance at PennDOT Engineering District 4. Litter enforcement corridors have a high aesthetic or historic value worth preserving or need some additional help with litter issues. Approved segments are marked with signs to notify motorists of additional litter fines: doubled penalties for motorists caught scattering rubbish and tripled when it is done by a commercial business. Litter enforcement corridors also offer increased safety for workers or volunteers who are picking up trash in a designated corridor. When drivers in these areas see traffic control devices, they must yield the right of way, as in a construction work zone. For this reason, it's important to plan a cleanup event with local or state authorities involved when possible. For information on establishing a litter enforcement corridor, consult PennDOT's roadside enforcement manual on PennDOT's website. Additionally, PennDOT is in search of volunteers to participate in the northeast region's Adopt-A-Highway program, which involves cleaning litter from state-owned roadsides. Roadways and other areas can be adopted by individuals or organized groups such as clubs, schools, churches, businesses and families. In return for their participation, PennDOT posts signs along the roadway giving the volunteers credit for their efforts. Gloves, trash bags and safety vests for the cleanup campaign are provided by PennDOT, Department of Environmental Protection and Pick Up Pennsylvania, which runs from March 1 to May 31. Interested groups and individuals can sign up for the program at Highlighting farmers, food banks in fight against hunger Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding this week held a roundtable discussion with farmers to highlight Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed investments in the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System and the State Food Purchase Program. These programs are vital to strengthening Pennsylvania's food supply chain and ensuring that nutritious food reaches those who need it, especially with announced federal cuts to support for Pennsylvania farmers and food banks. The discussion brought food bank leaders and farmers together to explore the challenges that would be magnified by federal funding cuts. In contrast, the group discussed the positive impact the increases and initiatives in Shapiro's 2025-26 budget proposal would have on Pennsylvania food banks, the regional food system and area farmers. "With the bipartisan support of the General Assembly and the overwhelming generosity of Pennsylvania farmers, we have built successful programs to tackle food insecurity and put healthy, nutritious, local food on the tables of families across Pennsylvania," Redding said. "We simply can't afford to turn back time and undermine the progress we have made together for Pennsylvania families and farms." In his 2025-26 budget proposal, Shapiro calls for a $4 million increase to the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System, which connects low-income Pennsylvanians with healthy, local food through 13 regional food banks across the state. The governor's budget proposal also calls for an addition $4 million for the State Food Purchase Program to increase the resources available to emergency food providers in all 67 counties. These proposed increases would bring the combined total for these programs to $34.6 million. The proposed funding comes at a pivotal moment for food security efforts across the Commonwealth. Demand for food assistance remains high, and the recent, cancellation of $13 million through the USDA's Local Food Purchasing Assistance program has left a significant funding gap. Designed to support agricultural producers in weathering the whims of Mother Nature and market pressures, PASS pays producers for wholesome food products. Food is diverted to Pennsylvania's food banks instead of being left in the fields or landfilled. Each year, PASS supports over 1.4 million Pennsylvania households by distributing more than six million pounds of locally sourced food from over 100 farmers. Through the State Food Purchase Program — the largest state-funded initiative of its kind in the nation — Pennsylvania provides direct cash grants to counties for the purchase and distribution of food to low-income individuals and families. In 2023-24, more than 3.1 million Pennsylvanians were served throughout all 67 counties. Designed to supplement the efforts of food banks, pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, SFPP reflects the Commonwealth's ongoing commitment to addressing hunger and improving nutrition. Agriculture is a cornerstone of Pennsylvania's economy, with over 53,000 farms generating $132.5 billion annually and supporting 600,000 jobs. Walsh to host concealed carry seminar Rep. Jamie Walsh, R-Ross Township, will host a seminar to educate constituents about the process of acquiring a concealed carry permit, the details surrounding Castle Doctrine and other information regarding state gun laws and firearm safety. Attending with Walsh will be Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce and Luzerne County Sheriff Brian Szumski. The seminar will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Butler Township Municipal Building, 83 Corporate Drive, Drums. Pugh to host community shredding event In an effort to help residents easily dispose of documents with personal and sensitive information, Rep. Brenda Pugh, R-Dallas Township, will host a Shredding Day for residents of the 120th Legislative District from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The event will take place at the West Side Career and Technology Center in Pringle. This free event provides an opportunity for residents to securely dispose of personal documents such as bank statements, tax returns and other sensitive information that may put them at risk for identity theft. Upon arrival, residents are asked to stay in their vehicles, where Pugh or a member of her staff will be readily available to assist. Each vehicle will be limited to shredding three copy-paper-sized boxes of paper. In addition, the Luzerne County District Attorney's Office will be on hand to collect old and expired prescriptions; American Legion Post 395 will collect damaged or old flags; and Sara's Table will be on hand to collect non-perishable canned goods. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
