By State Rep. Powell

Hello everyone, happy to be speaking to my Northside constituents in the beautiful month of May! I hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to warmer weather and budget season. I am ready for negotiations and working to secure funding for our Main Street development, affordable housing initiatives and equitable broadband development across the Commonwealth.

Reps. Aerion Abney, Roni Green, and I have introduced legislation that mirrors the federal Affordable Connectivity Program in Pennsylvania. H.B. 2195 would provide eligible households with $30 per month to apply towards their broadband Internet access and, specifically, seeks to assist households most in need and have at least one child aged 5-18 years old.

Over 739,000 households in Pennsylvania benefitted from the federal program, and Pennsylvania’s digital divide is real. A total of 25% of Latino and 35% of Black households do not have access to broadband Internet, according to a 2022 Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) report. This puts a significant portion of Pennsylvania’s population at risk of falling behind households that do have broadband Internet, both in terms of economic and educational opportunities.

The fact is, we live in a world where access to affordable broadband Internet is a critical component to setting our economy on a path toward innovation and resilient growth. More importantly, broadband allows more of our neighbors to be connected to their families and friends, which has become even more essential in our increasingly isolated world.

My office will host a Seniors for Safe Driving course at the Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania on May 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The address for the Goodwill is 118 52nd St. Pittsburgh. The cost is only $17 and this training is available to drivers 55 years and up. An insurance discount of 5% can be earned after successfully completing the course, and it will apply for a period of up to three years. To register please call (1-800) 559-4880 or call my office for assistance in enrolling.

Additionally, my office is hosting a Veteran Service Officer from the Department of Veterans Affairs on the second Monday of each month. In May, we’ll be hosting him at our office on May 13th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you are a veteran or know a veteran who would like help in accessing their benefits, please call my office at (412) 781-2750 to schedule an appointment.

My district office is located at 5154 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201. We are open and ready to serve you, Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4:30 pm and by appointment in the evenings on Wednesdays. We also have office hours at our Shaler office at the Shaler Municipal Building located at 300 Wetzel Rd., second floor, Glenshaw, PA 15116. We will be there every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or any weekday by appointment.

Any state related issue, or assistance that you may need, please give my office a call; even if we cannot directly help, we will do our best to put you in contact with someone who can. Here are some examples of ways we can help, but are not all encompassing of the support we offer:

• PennDOT services: car registrations and disability placard applications
• Complaints about road conditions or infrastructure
• Unemployment compensation problems
• Property tax/rent rebate applications
• Issues related to utility companies
• Birth certificate applications and finding copies of your vital records
• Senior ConnectCard applications through Port Authority of Allegheny County Call: (412) 781-2750 or Email: Rep-Powell@pahouse.net or stop by our office during the hours listed above.