For Immediate Release
April 30, 2008
Contact:  Lisa Landis
Legislative Director
717-787-6709
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A Conversation with Senator Brubaker

Great Green America Fest celebrates second year

I was pleased to once again play a role in the Great Green America Fest, recently held on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire on May 2 and 3.

The Fest brings together many groups to focus on the importance of protecting our environment and ecosystems. This interactive educational opportunity, with workshops, displays and films, helps individuals understand how they can make a difference in improving the quality of our environment and using energy wisely.

In addition, this year, the Fest opened for a special school day on Friday to focus especially on young people and the role they play in keeping our environment healthy. Students could learn about rainforests from representatives of the Philadelphia Zoo, discover from the Whitaker Center how electricity is generated, and had hands-on access to a variety of green vehicles to see how they operate.

The staff of the 36^th District and I manned a booth for the second straight year to share information and interact with visitors about going green, because I strongly believe that we need to integrate sustainable and cost-competitive alternative energy sources into a sound energy policy for Pennsylvania. As a member of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, and the Special Session Committee on Energy Policies, I look forward to having an active role in our continuing discussions on these matters.

Senate Committees hold hearings on health care

Two Senate Committees have recently held hearings to address the quality, accessibility and affordability of health care.

In mid-April, the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee held its second hearing on the role that health centers play in providing care for low-income and uninsured Pennsylvanians. With both private and public support, community health centers provide medical care to more than 600,000 state residents each year, and are particularly important to rural and urban areas.

Also, the Senate Policy Committee, of which I am a member, held a public hearing on the affordability of health care. This hearing was very valuable, as we heard from a variety of individuals and organizations on ways in which we can better utilize the health care system, insure Pennsylvania residents and lower the cost of health care to make health insurance affordable to more citizens.

These hearings will help us in the state Senate better analyze our health care systems, understand what is working and how we can build on those successes, and ultimately, work toward the goal of making health care affordable and accessible for all Pennsylvanians.

Bicycle safety mini-grants available

The state Department of Health, through Safe Kids Pennsylvania, will again be providing mini-grants for projects designed to increase bicycle safety.

Grants of $1,000 to $5,000 will be available to organizations targeting youth ages 5-18, with a goal for this year to increase the proper use of bicycle helmets in that age group by 60 percent. Activities can include special events and other promotions, youth educational programs, development of helmet policies and other ideas.

Any Pennsylvania organization may apply for the mini-grants, and more information, guidelines and applications are available at www.pasafekids.org. Applications must be postmarked by Thursday, June 19, 2008.

A little extra time to learn and teach the basics of bicycle safety can go a long way to keeping our children healthy, and even more importantly, alive. I encourage everyone, whether bicyclist or motorist, to watch out for one another this summer and practice safety wherever you go.