Media Mentions
New legislation could help renters from high rent increases
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – There are over 1.5 million renter households in Pennsylvania. Some of those people fear for when the next rise in rent will come. “We pay so much money,” renter Mauro Chiapinni said. Chiapinni lives on a fixed income through social security....
New Pennsylvania legislation hopes to protect renters from unfair price hikes
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A new bill designed to protect tenants from exorbitant rent hikes was unveiled in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. The Action News Troubleshooters get a lot of complaints from people who say their rent has suddenly and unexpectedly skyrocketed and they...
Bi-partisan interest emerges in election security reforms
Elections technology experts say 20 Pennsylvania counties covering 30% of the state’s voters use voting machines that are vulnerable to malfunction or malfeasance. The experts, who testified on Monday to the Senate’s State Government Committee, critiqued a type of...
Letters to the Editor | Fighting words
As I reflect on how far we have come — for the first time in Pennsylvania, a woman is speaker of the House, and we have a woman serving as vice president of our nation — I realize how far we have to go. My reflection is broken by flashes of the sexism and misogyny I...
The PCN Capitol Preview – Voting Laws in PA
Sen. Cris Dush, Majority Chair of the Senate State Government Committee, and Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, Minority Chair of the Senate State Government Committee, discuss voting laws in Pennsylvania. Then, PCN’s Larry Kaspar speaks with Rep. Brian Munroe on his proposed bill on keeping children safe on social media.
ACT 13 Grants in Pennsylvania with Senator Amanda Cappelletti
Amanda Cappelletti, District 17 State Senator from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was kind enough to take time from her busy schedule to discuss two big ACT 13 Grants for her district. One grant is part of a phase to fix up an outdoor space that needs work. The...
A group of Pa. lawmakers is urging President Biden to protect immigrants
Nearly two dozen Democratic state lawmakers signed on to a letter earlier this month, urging President Joe Biden to employ his executive powers to protect immigrants and their families. The letter, dated Nov. 10, specifically calls on the Biden administration to...
CeaseFirePA, Democrat lawmakers call for gun safety legislation
A new mother, Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, D-Montgomery, tearfully recalled a letter written by a high schooler detailing the trauma that active shooter drills and concerns about gun violence have on children. “I don’t want that for my daughter,” she said. “I don’t want...
Pa. Senate passes ‘explicit content’ legislation after heated debate over whether it’s a book ban
The Pennsylvania Senate on Tuesday voted to advance legislation that purports to give parents more insight and control over what their children are reading in school. But opponents vigorously argued the measures are a de facto book ban, and a redundant effort to...
Book bans have no place in a free society | Editorial
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel about a firefighter who burns down houses that own books. The 1953 novel, which some have tried to ban over the years, is set in an unnamed city in the distant future. In many ways, that disturbing future doesn’t feel...
‘This is about censorship’: Lawmakers, experts debate the impact and consequences of book bans
Banned Book Week is an annual, week-long event to recognize intellectual freedom and draw attention to the harm — both historical and contemporary — of censorship. This year, with book bans on the rise nationally, Democratic state lawmakers from both chambers gathered...
Why Are We Not Standing Up for Books?
When state Sen. Amanda Cappelletti was growing up in Boyertown, PA, she had an elementary school librarian whose name she can only vaguely recall — “something like Mrs. LaBan, I think,” she says — but whose “fun voices she’d make during storytime” Cappelletti has...
Parents, Students and Lawmakers Rally Against Book Bans in Harrisburg
State lawmakers returned from their summer break this week and Democrats hosted a press conference speaking out against book banning. One of the speakers included Buzz Bissinger, whose book Friday Night Lights was recently banned due to an artificial intelligence...
Narberth Ambulance awarded $150,000 grant to purchase cardiac monitors
NARBERTH — As a result of the American Rescue Plan act that was passed by the federal level, state Senator Amanda Cappelletti (D-17th) has awarded Narberth Ambulance with a $150,000 grant to upgrade cardiac monitors in advanced life support ambulances. Paramedics use...
Banning Book Bans: Pennsylvania Democrats Want to End the Practice
Pennsylvania ranked third in the country in 2022 when it comes to school districts attempting to ban books. A pair of Democratic lawmakers want to end the practice because it wastes time, energy and resources for school districts. A pair of Democratic lawmakers want...
Arkoosh returns to Montgomery County supporting Medicaid renewal outreach
NORRISTOWN — Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh returned to her native Montgomery County Monday morning with a purpose: to implore Medicaid recipients to fill out their renewal paperwork. ACLAMO’s new community center at 801 W. Marshall...
State Senate Democrats introduce Abortion Protection Package
The debate over a person’s right to an abortion has been amplified since Roe v. Wade was overturned last summer. Now two Democratic state senators are introducing a legislative package to protect those seeking, providing or having abortions. Sens. Judith Schwank, D-...
Pa. lawmakers introduce Abortion Protections Package, proposing safeguards for patients, providers
Just over a year after the U.S. Supreme Court gave state legislatures authority over abortion and its legality, two Pennsylvania Democrats are preparing a legislative package ensuring protections for reproductive care. Sens. Amanda Cappelletti, D-Delaware, and Judith...
Montgomery County state senator proposes bill to prevent book bans in Pennsylvania
State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti says Pennsylvania has seen an uptick in attempts by some to get school districts and libraries to ban certain books.
Pa. Democrat proposes statewide protections for pregnant workers, building on federal PWFA
The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act closed a loophole in workplace discrimination laws, but a Pennsylvania Democrat wants to strengthen the protection for pregnant people at work. Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, D-Delaware, plans to reintroduce legislation prohibiting...
Transgender Pennsylvanians struggle through the state’s name change rules
It’s been over a year since Tioga County resident Scarlett Davis legally changed her name, and she’s still finding old documents that need updating. Davis, 48, changed her driver’s license and Social Security information soon after a judge granted her petition, but...
One year since Dobbs decision, the fight for reproductive care isn’t over
Tam St. Claire was a teenager when the U.S. Supreme Court established constitutional protections for abortion with its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. Ann St. Claire, her daughter, didn’t know anything different until June 24, 2022, when the nation’s highest court...
CHOP gets $100,000 donation to Center for Celiac Disease
HILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A big donation today at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to fund more research for celiac disease. The research is aimed at finding a treatment for celiac disease. One Penn Valley family is also working to get better food labeling. He's only 10...
Bill banning pre-checked, recurring campaign donation box sees committee approval
A pre-checked box that signs campaign donors up for recurring contributions could soon be banned in Pennsylvania. The Republican-controlled Senate State Government Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to advance legislation prohibiting the tactic pioneered by former...
Delaware County’s state senators to reintroduce reform package of for-profit health care systems
One week after Crozer Health’s most recent cuts, a quartet of state senators are moving forward with re-introducing a package of legislation focused on for-profit health care systems. State Sens. Amanda Cappelletti, D-17, who represents parts of Delaware and...
Pa. senator becomes 1st to give birth in office, bringing workplace maternity issues to light
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — With the birth this week of her daughter, Taglia, Sen. Amanda Cappelletti has become the first person to give birth while serving in the Pennsylvania Senate. As the senator deals with something that, to many working Pennsylvanians, is a...
Senator Amanda Cappelletti Hosts Annual Good Government Summit at Cabrini University
Norristown, PA – March 6, 2023 – Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti (D-17 Montgomery/Delaware) hosted her second annual Good Government Summit on Friday, March 3 at Cabrini University in Radnor, PA. The Good Government Summit has been tradition for Senators that represent...
Pennsylvania’s Bipartisan Baby: How Sen. Cappelletti’s First Child is Changing the Political Environment in the Senate
Democrat Amanda Cappelletti feels her Republican colleagues are viewing issues such as maternity leave on a more personal level now that she is about to become the first state senator to give birth while in office. State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti is about to make...
‘There’s no blueprint’: Pennsylvania state senator prepares to give birth amid legislative turmoil
The Pennsylvania legislature begins 2023 mired in uncertainty. The narrowly divided state House has yet to formally organize itself pending three February special elections. The speaker’s election was contested. Neither chamber is currently in session. And amid this...
This Pa. state senator will be the first to give birth in office. She’s part of a wave of women who have upped representation in Harrisburg.
State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti is expecting her first child in March. So, too, it turns out, is the Pennsylvania state Senate. Cappelletti will be the state’s first sitting senator to give birth while in office, and that’s prompted some logistical questions. What does...