Census Data Vital
by Frank Pizzoli
Numbers – it’s as simple as that. The higher the federal government counts your population the more money a municipality receives. That part of the equation is simple enough. Convincing people to actually fill out the forms or speak face-to-face to census takers is more difficult.

"Due to an estimated undercount of 75,000 Pennsylvanians in 1990, more than $750 million did not make it to communities in the state. We can’t allow that to happen again," said Kim Coon, point man for Governor Tom Ridge’s Census 2000 effort. Additionally, census data is vital to the redrawing of congressional districts that takes place every ten years. Pennsylvania is already projected to loose two seats due to population drain.

Coon along with Pedro Cortes, executive director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, and Ted Darcus, executive director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on African American Affairs made special visits to a number of Pennsylvania communities on the Census 2000 Bus this week. At Harrisburg’s Hamilton Health Center, the first two citizens asked replied that they had already filled out their census forms and were strongly encouraging others to do the same.

In the City of Harrisburg, it is crucial that the entire population respond and be counted in order for the city to hit the 50,000 population mark. Otherwise, a serious drop in federal funds will occur. Dauphin County on the whole receives $1.2 billion in federal funds or $4,972.99 per capita. Cumberland County receives $76 million or 365.80 per capita. Lancaster County pulls in $200 million or $438.89 per capita while York County receives $157 million or $420.63 per capita.

"Everyone must be counted," stresses Coon. Soon census employees will begin knocking on doors in the hope of speaking to residents who did not return their mailed census form. In most instances, individuals making the house calls will be from the same or nearby neighborhoods. "All census takers take an oath of privacy," Coon says, assuring respondents that their responses are confidential. According to law, census forms remain confidential for 72 years. The punishment for breaking the confidentiality law is a $5,000 fine and up to five years in jail.

Downtown Improvement District On Target
by Frank Pizzoli
Although he said of himself, "You have the second string today," Pennsylvania National Insurance Company’s Geoffrey McDowell, vice chair of Harrisburg’s Downtown Improvement District (DID), is a smooth operator. McDowell is a textbook meeting chairman: started on time, focused discussion, nothing extraneous. Not your typical volunteer board of directors.

If the leadership displayed at his recent meeting is any indication of the improvements underway for center city, city residents and visitors are going to be very happy.

DID is shaping up plans to bring "ambassadors" or greeters to downtown. The voluntary program, formed as an "authority" of business and interested parties, will also bring extra municipal cleaning services to downtown streets.

In a move to improve the group’s inclusiveness, the authority added two new member slots, one for Dauphin County and one for a nonprofit entity. William R. Balaban of Balaban & Balaban was named solicitor. The meeting was over in 37 minutes.

"Ask A Lawyer" at Strawberry Square
May 1 – 5
by Forest Price
1,400-member Dauphin County Bar Association will host "Ask A Lawyer Booth"….Volunteers will staff the booth on a daily basis.

According to bar association information, the most frequently asked questions are about legal separation and divorce, domestic abuse issues, unemployment rules, workers compensation, the difference between a district justice and a Court of Common Pleas, law suits and how they work, leases and repairs to rental properties, estates and wills, and proper police searches.

HYP Testifies before State Government
by Frank Pizzoli
"We don’t have the racial hang-ups or myopic prejudices that haunt previous generations," Harrisburg Young Professionals (HYP) president Greg Rothman told the Local Government, Urban Affairs and Housing Joint Committee of the Pennsylvania Senate earlier this month.

Referring to the effects of "White Flight" on the City of Harrisburg in the early 1970s and the subsequent ravages of 1972’s Agnes Flood as a convenient excuse to flee the city, Rothman presented concrete ways legislators might insure prudent growth within city limits and on farmlands.

Chief among his recommendations is a one percent state share of the real estate transfer tax for people purchasing homes in urban areas. "But not as a ‘first time’ homeowner program or with income limits attached. We are seeing people sell their suburban homes and buy homes in the city. These people would not be eligible for ‘first time homebuyer’ programs. And these are the people who can become part of the community and enrich its soul."

Calling municipal mergers as rare as Halley’s Comet, Rothman asked the committee legislate incentives for otherwise feuding municipalities to merge.

He also touched a nerve with his recommendation that the state increase "payments in lieu of taxes" for cities like Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh where state, federal, and higher education buildings and museums remain tax-exempt and yet require local police, fire, and other services.

"‘Sprawl’ is a buzz-word right now," Rothman noted. He cautioned legislators to deal with it carefully. "A decade ago the response to the loss of agricultural land was to require minimum lot sizes: half-acre, acre, five acres, even ten-acre lots. This standard took away more farmland. The same advocates urging minimum lot sizes not long ago are now saying more density — not less — is the way to preserve our open spaces and farmland."

But the real question, as posed by Rothman, is, how does government support communities? "Keystone Opportunity Zones," he answered. "Why not add to the positive incentives a business could be attracted by? Why not add services and other incentives to the enterprise zones and encourage urban renewal through tax incentives?"

Rothman also encourages municipalities to explore the use of "transfer of development rights" and "fees in lieu of" arrangements that can add green space as farmland and blighted areas are developed.

"We believe that the city is the heart of the region and a strong heart strengthens every limb of the civic body. HYP is part of the growing movement in the nation of "urban renewal." The members of Generation X and Y are flocking back to the cities that their parents left," Rothman said.

The Harrisburg Young Professionals was founded in May of 1998 and today has 800 members. For more information, check their website at: hyp.org.

Mothers March in May
by Lisa Paige-Stone
Forget the flowers and the jewelry. Buy Mom a ticket to D.C. for Mother’s Day this year.

Since history — or herstory — has been written, the world has been celebrating the role of mothers. Ancient Grecians took time to honor the Mother of the Gods, Rhea. In the 17th century, England set aside the fourth Sunday of Lent every year to celebrate "Mothering Sunday." And in 1872 Julia Ward Howe, author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," suggested an American Mother’s Day as a holiday dedicated to peace.

But it was Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia who finally brought about the official observance of Mother’s Day. She wished to honor her mother, who had attempted to establish "Mother’s Friendship Days" as a way to commemorate those who lost children in the Civil War. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national holiday on the second Sunday of each May.

By 1923, Jarvis was already demonstrating to abolish the holiday her country had adopted and entrepreneurs had successfully twisted into a commercial heyday. "This is not what I intended," Jarvis said. "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit!"

Thus it is fitting that on May 14, 2000, 52 years after Jarvis’ death, an estimated 100,000 mothers are scheduled to march in D.C. for stricter gun control measures — and that’s a conservative estimate.

"[This May] we give birth to the Million Mom March (MMM)," said Donna Dees-Thomases, the New Jersey woman who conceived of this demonstration. "Like a pregnancy, we’re growing bigger and bigger every day."

The organizers of the MMM will be demanding licensing and background checks for gun owners, national registration of handguns, minimum safety standards for guns, and safety locks and childproofing, among other measures.

"It’s time to gas up the minivans and carpool it to Washington, D.C.," Dees-Thomases said at a press conference in March at the National Mall.

Locally, Angela Fichtner of Camp Hill has organized buses to help women get to the March. Although her children are already grown, 52-year-old Fichtner has a passion for public action (she was instrumental in the 80’s in non-smoking campaigns and has done relief work in Haiti) and believes, "We have to do something to save our children from more Columbines. We can’t just stick our heads in the ground like ostriches. Anything we try may not be the best final option, but we can’t do nothing because we’re afraid one solution isn’t perfect."

Currently, Fichtner is hoping to convince Harrisburg’s City Council to sponsor a few buses for May 14. "Richmond, VA’s City Council has already sponsored ten buses for the event," she told MODE. Local volunteers for the effort will be working on posters and flyers upstairs at Boscov’s on April 29. Contact Fichtner at 737-5503 or by e-mail at MillionMomHarrisburg@att.net for more details.

Time Is Short, Get On the Phone!
by Forest Price
In late March, before the primary recess, the Pennsylvania Senate in a 50-0 vote approved the Governor’s recommendation of $13 million in appropriations to the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) to be used for grants to arts organizations. Titled Senate Bill I, the bill was also reported from the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations to include $13 million in appropriations. The bill has received second consideration by the House and must receive third consideration.

All who are interested in the arts, says PCA, should contact their state representatives, and urge them to support a $15 million appropriation - $2 million more than in the legislation – the amount recommended by Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania. The representatives’ offices must hear from arts organizations, artists, and other concerned citizens if the message is to have an impact.

Rising Prescription Drug Costs
Under Scrutiny
by Forest Price
An investigation into rising prescription drug costs is under way. The House Select Committee on Pharmaceuticals, chaired by Rep. Patricia Vance (R-87), heard testimony from consumers, the American Association of Retired Persons, a pharmacist, Citizens for Consumer Justice and a representative from the pharmaceutical industry. Prescription drug costs are the fastest-growing aspect of health care spending, increasing an average of 12 percent each year for the past seven years.

Several elderly consumers told of their struggles to endure soaring drug costs. When comparing cost increases, consumer groups said individuals are forced to pay more for their prescriptions, while drug research companies maintain that developing a new medicine is a long and risky process. The next public hearing will be held April 27 at Westminster Village in Allentown.

City Receives Three State Awards
For Parks & Recreation
by Forest Price
The City of Harrisburg recently received three top state awards from the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society for various programs and events. The awards were presented on March 28, during the society’s annual conference dinner in Lancaster.

The three Excellence in Programming Awards have been conferred on the city for The City of Harrisburg Black History Showcase, which is now in its second year and has expanded to two free performances in the Forum Building featuring many top local performing artists, the Inner-City Junior Golf Program, coordinated by former pro golfer Cleveland Walker, which serves as an introductory program to the sport of golf, and has included more that 200 local youth since its inception, and the Inner-City Senior Citizens Computer Program, which provides free computer training and access for city senior citizens, most of whom are being exposed to technology for the first time.

The City of Harrisburg’s Department of Parks and Recreation conducts the events and activities as part of the city’s year-round recreational programming opportunities. Harrisburg has the largest parks system of any municipality in the mid-state and annually conducts the most extensive range of special events ever undertaken by any municipality in the mid-state’s history.