CDC reports that guns contribute to heightened suicide rates 

Suicide rates – including suicide by gun – increased from 2010 to 2020.

This growth remained consistent regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, and rurality.

Pennsylvania’s suicide rate was 6.5 per 100,000 residents, which is near the median of the rates for all states. The outliers included New Jersey at 1.8 and Wyoming at 20.9.

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Autonomous vehicle technology could improve traffic flow  

Research from Carnegie Mellon University suggests that improved traffic flow and other operational advantages could result if at least 20 percent of the vehicles on the road are autonomous.

Autonomous vehicles (AVs), which do not require human drivers, can evaluate speed, routes, and overcrowding or direction of traffic.

The new technologies must work in unison with other moving vehicles, transportation systems, and the surrounding environment.

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Public defense in Pennsylvania flounders due to funding structure  

Pennsylvania is now the sole state that does not fund public defenders or make budget decisions regarding legal defense.

Some counties including Mifflin, Armstrong, and Westmoreland do not have the investment resources to fund this type of representation, spending approximately $3 per capita.

Senate Bill 1317 introduced efforts to implement an Indigent Defense Advisory Committee and the state can also sign the Indigent Defense Grant Fund into action to help employees and defendants.

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Workforce development program educates individuals with intellectual disabilities

A nonprofit organization in San Jose, California offers liberal arts and business education to individuals with intellectual disabilities.

The program does not grant a degree or yield transferrable college credits, but students effectively develop skills for the workforce.

A partnership with a local college allows traditional college students to teach the special programs. 

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San Diego directs UBI funds to priority populations

San Diego’s City Council voted to allow a $500 monthly rent subsidy for seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children.

The money in the city’s Housing Stability Fund will be available to 300 households over a two-year period.

According to a report released by the San Diego nonprofit Serving Seniors, one quarter of homeless adults in San Diego are over 55 years of age and 40 percent are facing homelessness for the first time in their lives. 

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New York zoning reforms open doors to new housing opportunities 

Zoning reforms accelerating conversion of New York City hotels into housing for the homeless are now in place. 

The changes will allow conversions of hotels located in manufacturing zones, provided they are within 400 feet of residential zones.

They also remove a requirement to apply for a new certificate of occupancy upon conversion.



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