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Jerry Sandusky is currently locked up in the Centre County Correctional Facility. He will appeal the conviction.

Sandusky Seeks New Trial

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Attorneys for Jerry Sandusky have filed post-trial motions seeking a new trial.  They’ve added Philadelphia attorney Norris Gelman to the defense team.

The filing in Centre County Court raises questions of insufficient evidence, insufficient time to prepare the defense and claims the statute of limitations had expired on some of the charges against the former Penn State assistant football coach.

Sandusky was convicted in June on 45 counts of child sex abuse involving 10 boys. He was  sentenced to serve 30 to 60 years in jail earlier this month.

Sandusky has maintained his innocence.

Study Recognizes the Overlooked and Undercounted

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A new report finds that one in four Pennsylvania households is living below the self-sufficiency standard.  Pathways PA calls that standard the true cost of living, and they’ve crunched the numbers county-by-county. 

“We look at the cost of food, transportation, health care, housing and child care as well as miscellaneous costs,” explains senior policy director Marianne Bellesorte.  “Using publicly verifiable data we’re able to determine how much – at minimum – a family would need to make ends meet.” 

For instance, in Dauphin County, a one adult household would need to earn $19,000 dollars a year to meet the self-sufficiency standard.  Add an infant, and that number would increase to $34,000 dollars.  Child care is generally a household’s biggest expense, according to Bellesorte. 

The new report finds that 25% of PA families live below the standard, up from 20% in 2007.  The highest numbers can be found in Philadelphia (42%); the lowest in Adams County (17%). 

The report’s called Overlooked and Undercounted: How the Great Recession Impacted Household Self-Sufficiency in Pennsylvania.  “The people who are overlooked and undercounted are people who are above the federal poverty level, but are below the self-sufficiency standard,” Bellesorte explains. 

Pathways PA wants policymakers to pay attention, and take action that leads to adequate work.  Bellesorte says nearly 4 in 5 of the households below the standard have at least one adult the workforce.

Teen “Sexting” Bill Heads to Gov’s Desk

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Sexting involves the electronic transmission of nude or sexually explicit photos.  It’s all too common among teens, and this bill ensures that the penalty matches the crime.  State Rep. Seth Grove (R-York) says the only way to deal with juvenile sexting under existing law was through a child pornography charge.  “Kids within that age cohort, it wasn’t about abuse or trying to take advantage of children,” explains Grove, the bill’s prime sponsor.    

“A felony charge will ruin your life, period.  On every [job] application, a 14, 15 or 16 year-old will have to put ‘convicted child pornographer’ for the rest of their lives.” 

The new offense will carry penalties that range from a summary offense to a 2nd degree misdemeanor, depending on the details of the case.  But supporters say it will still send a clear message to Pennsylvania’s youth that sexting is something to avoid.  “Once it’s done – especially in electronic format – there’s not retracting that picture,” Grove tells Radio PA.    

The bill earned broad bipartisan support, passing the House 188 – 3, and the Senate 37 – 12.  Grove says it also has the support of all the statewide law enforcement groups.

CWD Public Meeting to Be Held Wednesday Night

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Representatives from the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the state Department of Agriculture will be on hand for a public meeting Wednesday evening at Bermudian Springs High School in Adams County. The subject will be the recent positive test for Chronic Wasting Disease in a captive deer on an Adams County farm.

This is the first case of CWD confirmed in Pennsylvania, and officials say there is no evidence that it has spread to the wild deer population. Still, this meeting will provide valuable information to hunters regarding quarantines and other steps being taken to monitor the deer population in and around the affected areas. Three farms are under the current Department of Agriculture quarantine order. All three locations were known to have been in contact with the one deer that has tested positive in Adams County. The other two farms are located in York and Lycoming counties.

CWD is not a threat to human health, according to the Centers for Disease Control, but Game Commission officials urge that it’s never a good idea to eat the meat from a sickly-looking animal. Additionally, officials are asking hunters not to shoot a deer that appears sick, but rather to report the location to the Game Commission as quickly as possible so that the animal can be found alive. The Commission says that aids in testing the animal for diseases like CWD.

The public meeting is being held Wednesday evening at 7:00pm at Bermudian Springs High School, 7335 Carlisle Pike in York Springs.

Checks Going Out Soon as Impact Fee Collects Over 200 Million

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The state’s impact fee on Marcellus shale drillers has brought in more than 204 million dollars in its first year. The money has been divided up and checks will head out soon.

Nearly 15 hundred municipalities and 35 counties are sharing more than 100 million dollars from the impact fee. Those checks range from a low of $1.44that will be going to a borough in Allegheny County, to $500,000 each for 26 municipalities with more drilling activity. The impact fee law restricts how the money can be spent.

Another 72 million will be shared among all 67 counties through the Marcellus Legacy Fund.  Just over 25 million will help pay for oversight of the industry.  

Governor Tom Corbett says Act 13, in addition to imposing the impact fee, also enacted a new range of environmental and safety standards.  He says the fee will help cover the enforcement of those standards.

He says when the state was confronted with the challenges and opportunities of this emerging industry, the goal was to get things right.  He believes the total of $204 million dollars is a clear sign that they did.