|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
From Senate Republican Policy Development & Research Office April 22, 2009 Registration Now Open for New Home Improvement Contactor Law Home improvement contractors who perform $5,000 or more in improvements annually will be required to register with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (POAG) as a result of the new Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act. Senate Bill 100 was signed into law as Act 132 of 2008 on October 17, 2008 establishing these new requirements. The effective date for the Act is July 1, 2009. In anticipation, the POAG is currently registering home improvement contractors. Any contractor not registered by July 1, 2009 will be prohibited from offering or performing home improvements until they become registered. The act of offering or performing home improvements without being registered is a violation of the Act and may subject the contractor to an enforcement action and possible civil penalties. Consult the Attorney General’s “Frequently Asked Questions” for answers to those you have thought of and those that have yet to be considered. You will find the definition of a home contractor, understand when a contractor’s services require registration, and obtain directions on using the contractor number, among other instructions and information. Locate Grant Opportunities under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Individuals, businesses and local governments seeking federal relief under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law on February 17, 2009, will find assistance in the form of tax credits, grants and financing. The “who, what, when, where, and how” of securing funding through the federal recovery plan has been streamlined into a 34-page document outlining preliminary grant opportunities. The Commonwealth website, Recovery.pa.us was established to provide accountability and transparency to ensure responsible use of tax dollars, including billions of dollars in direct relief for Pennsylvania taxpayers and more than $9.8 billion in formula-driven funding for health care, education, infrastructure, job training, housing, and other aid. Access local information and track progress by county related to the disbursement of recovery dollars. Recovery.pa.us offers answers to Frequently Asked Questions; details on quarterly progress reports; opportunities for public input; and regular announcements of other recovery expenditures. Go Native This Spring with Your Planting The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DC&NR) is springing into action as the Commonwealth’s home and professional gardeners prepare for the planting season. iConservePA.org, a website managed by the DC&NR, is intended to inspire citizens to value their natural resources, engage in conservation practices, and experience the outdoors. Among its pages are those to assist gardeners in selecting native plants suitable for specific light and moisture conditions. Choose from among a list of plant categories including ferns, grasses, ground covers, perennials, shrubs, and trees to find those native to Pennsylvania. Sort for additional criteria ranging from best bets, wildlife, fragrance, edibility, and evergreen. For those seeking blooms of a specific color, the Search Page provides for selecting fall color and blooms including red, blue, yellow, pink, orange, and purple. Native plants create beautiful landscapes, provide the best habitat and food for native wildlife survival, help to protect watersheds, and maintain the unique natural heritage of an area. Budget-Conscious Tips Help You Get What You Pay For No better time to be budget conscious than the present. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA), consumers are protected by its Division of Weights & Measures. Officials work behind the scenes to ensure those purchases dependent on weight, volume, count, or measurement meet their stated values ensuring you are “Getting What You Pay For.” The PDA suggests the following consumer tips:
The Division of Weights & Measures is responsible for scales ranging from small-retail to large-capacity truck scales, truck-mounted fuel meters, liquid-petroleum gas meters, retail fuel pumps, and all consumer scanning systems in 46 counties. Another twenty-one counties inspect their own devices. Review Getting What You Pay For then contact the business operator to address questions regarding the integrity of a questionable device and the measurement of a specific product. Should you have additional questions or concerns, call the PDA’s toll free weights and measures consumer line at 1-877-TEST-007 (1-877-837-8007). Storm-Damaged Areas Attract Scam Artists Increasingly, a storm blows in more than bad weather. According to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (POAG), storm-damaged areas attract scam artists and con-men looking to take advantage of victims. These individuals are known to take money but never do any repairs; sell unnecessarily expensive products and services; pose as insurance adjusters to convince you to inflate claims; direct you toward questionable contractors; or convince you they will manage the paperwork only to redirect claims payments to themselves. Warning signs for disaster-related scams and fraud include:
Storm victims should be wary of loan or government grant schemes requesting up-front payments for loan applications or to search for grants. Disaster relief fundraising scams materialize adding insult to injury for those seeking to recover from storm damages. Consumers with questions or problems related to disaster recovery scams can contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-441-2555 or file an online complaint. PA Fish and Boat Commission Warns of Spread of Harmful Algae Picture your favorite fishing and boating area covered with an eight inch thick mat extending for miles. The massive algae bloom, officially known as Didymosphenia geminata, or “didymo”, is prompting the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PF&BC) to enlist the help of sportsmen and boaters to prevent further spreading. The microscopic algae, also referred to as “rock snot”, appear as tan, yellowish, or brown streamers attached to rocks and fluttering in the current. Physical descriptions include the appearance of thin bits of toilet paper, or maybe fiberglass, waving in the water. The bloom, possessing the consistency of wet cotton or fiberglass, suffocates aquatic insects and the stream bottom, ruining fishing conditions. Though too small to see with the naked eye, thoroughly cleaning everything after leaving one body of water and before entering another can be effective in containing didymo, according to the PF&BC. Consult the “Do you know about Didymo?” Fact Sheet to stop these aquatic hitchhikers.
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
