Ep1: From Troll to Advocate
On the first episode of UNABRDG, host Dom Miller discusses local advocacy, staying true to self, and how to be a troll of substance with Arts Advocate and Musician Ciarra Lambert, aka Queen Joe.
Queen Joe Information:
Instagram - @queenjomusic
Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance Event Details: Annual Arts Party!
Let’s Get Into Links & Additional Details
Local
Exoneree Justice Package introduced by Council Member Thomas “COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS INTRODUCES EXONERATED JUSTICE PACKAGE – REENTRY SUPPORT MEASURES FOR INDIVIDUALS CLEARED OF CONVICTIONS AFTER YEARS IN PRISON”
The Exonerated Justice package consists of 5 components:
Education – access to Catto Scholarships at Community College of Philadelphia expanded to allow for use in certificate and non-degree programs.
Housing – access to Office of Supportive Housing lists for housing vouchers as well as counseling to assist with housing placements.
Employment – amend Fair Chance Hiring legislation to include exonerated individuals to remove possible barriers to employment.
Justice for Exonerees Fund – create an emergency reentry fund within the Managing Director’s Office to provide $500 to each exonerated Philadelphian upon release from prison.
Reentry Support – overall assistance with applying to appropriate support and benefit programs, such as applying to Medicaid for immediate and retroactive healthcare benefits and PHL City ID for photo identification.
Safe Injection Site process bill by Council Member Lozada and Council Member Harrity
The measure – Bill 230432 – was sponsored by first-time Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, who represents Council’s 7th District, which includes Kensington, the hard-hit epicenter of the city’s ongoing opioids epidemic that has claimed thousands of lives in recent years.
Lozada’s legislation requires any operator of a safe injection site, where persons addicted to narcotics can bring illegal drugs and inject or ingest them without fear of arrest, to first seek a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment, which triggers the involvement of neighborhood organizations known as “RCOs”.
Federal
Potential Government Shutdown
“It's the responsibility of Congress to fund the government. The House and Senate have to agree to fund the government in some way, and the president has to sign the legislation into law. Congress often relies on a so-called continuing resolution, or CR, to provide stopgap money to open government offices at current levels as budget talks are underway. Money for pressing national priorities, such as emergency assistance for victims of natural disasters, is often attached to a short-term bill. But hardline Republicans say any temporary bill is a non-starter for them. They are pushing to keep the government shut down until Congress negotiates all 12 bills that fund the government, which is historically a laborious undertaking that is resolved in December, at the earliest. Trump, who is Biden's top rival heading into the 2024 election, is urging on the Republican hardliners. If they are successful, the shutdown could last weeks, perhaps even longer.”
Sources: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/politics/the-government-is-headed-for-a-shutdown-whos-affected-and-what-happens-next
State
Powell’s win
On September 19th, Democrat Lindsay Powell will become the newest member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives after winning an election on Tuesday to fill a vacant seat in the state’s 21st House District
Powell would be the first Black woman to represent District 21.
The special election was the seventh in the General Assembly this year, as lawmakers have either risen to higher office or resigned amid scandal. In five of those elections, the Democratic majority has hung in the balance.
