Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Why we chose to highlight this story: Around 42 million people use SNAP Benefits nationwide. There remains confusion over if and how the Trump administration plans to cut SNAP Benefits.
What we know so far: A budget resolution was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that calls for $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over a 10-year period, and requires federal committees to find ways to reduce their budgets by a specific dollar amount. Members of the Agriculture Committee — which includes SNAP and other nutrition-related federal programs — are required to cut $230 billion from its budget. You can read more in an article by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities here and CBS News here.
Check out this article by the Urban Institute that provides a data tool to illustrate what a $230 billion reduction in SNAP would look like for residents across the country.
Why we chose to highlight this story: Beaver Area School District held its first annual "FREDtalks" public speaking event. The TED Talks-style event was two hours and included speeches around lessons shared by Fred Rogers.
Read more in the article in the Beaver County Times here.
Why we chose to highlight this story: License plates in Pennsylvania will be changing for the first time since 1999.
Check out this article in Spotlight PA to learn about the evolution of PA license plates.
Why we chose to highlight this story: Five years ago, near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, RiverWise partnered with the Listening Library Beaver County to create a video series called "The Helpers." Intended to highlight how organizations and local residents served our community during the height of uncertainty, this series remains a consistent reminder of the value of resilience and community togetherness.
Learn about The Ladle and the Hearth, an Ambridge-based organization that provides meals for those who need them. Watch the video here and check out what The Ladle is up to on their website here.
Why we chose to highlight this story: Federal funding is paused for many programs across the country, including grants for grassroots, community initiatives.
In this letter from former and current staff of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), employees share their deep concern with the pausing of environmental justice programs that fund community-led projects. Although the Biden administration made historical investments to environmental justice programming during his presidency, the EPA notes in their letter that it was actually the Bush administration in the 1990s who introduced environmental equity programming to the EPA.
Read the full letter published in EHN here.
Students from Carnegie Mellon University are requesting Beaver County residents fill out this simple questionnaire to help them better understand community attitudes and knowledge regarding the presence of the chemical and manufacturing industries in Aliquippa, Monaca and Rochester.
This survey is created in collaboration with the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC).
Survey available here.
Today is April Fools Day! Check out this article on the Library of Congress Blog to learn more about the history of day.
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Owen Rossi-Keen
Owen Rossi-Keen is the Founder and Principal Software Engineer at Iliad.dev, LLC, a web development agency focused on delivering enterprise-grade customization without the enterprise price-tag.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania