On today’s episode of The Confluence:
An update to the state’s hate crimes law is being considered
(0:00 - 7:58)
In July, Pittsburgh-area Democrats gathered to criticize Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano for supporting Gab, the right-wing social media platform used by the man charged with killing 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in October 2018.
One of those critics is State Rep. Dan Frankel of Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill community. Frankel was later targeted with antisemitic attacks on Gab.
“It's been frustrating work,” says Frankel. “I've been introducing legislation to amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and to change our hate crimes statutes for years.”
Frankel is the sponsor of House Bill 2755, which would update the state’s hate crimes law to include protections for people in the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities.
It’s legal to use marijuana medicinally, but the law is ambiguous about employee protections for using the drug
(8:06 - 14:28)
In April 2016, Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. Within two years, patients could visit dispensaries across the state upon being approved by a doctor, but years later there are still ambiguities about the law regarding employment and use of cannabis.
With more than 400,000 medical marijuana patients in Pennsylvania, this creates some confusion among employees and employers.
“[The protections] become very unclear once you actually use the drug, regardless of whether you use it in your own personal time,” says Ed Mahon, investigative reporter with Spotlight PA. “I spoke to several workers who were punished, fired or denied a job because they were medical marijuana patients, and they were surprised.”
Other states have clarified their laws, saying if someone is a medical marijuana patient, they have to be impaired while on the job in order to be punished. One piece of Senate legislation in Harrisburg tries to define “safety sensitive” positions, where impairment would be a problem, but Mahon says that bill is getting pushback from all sides.
More people are experiencing homelessness for the first time, says Ileader of local assistance organization
(14:02 - 22:30)
With the end of rent relief in Allegheny County, eviction filing rates are moving back to pre-pandemic levels, which means more people could be facing housing insecurity.
For those that do end up without housing, Reaching Out on the Streets (R.O.O.T.S.) is an organization within Allegheny Health Network’s Center for Inclusion Health with the mission to help those on the street stay safe.
“There's been a characterization that there's been an explosion of homelessness. That's certainly not the case,” says Dan Palka, administrative director of R.O.O.T.S. “But we are seeing more people experiencing homelessness and, I think, more people who have not previously been homeless in the past.”
Over the first 18 months in operation, Palka says R.O.O.T.S. has engaged with 1,000 people across three city zones. Palka says newly homeless people are less eligible for certain programs than those who are chronically homeless, meaning unhoused for more than a year.
The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in Monday to Thursday at 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here or wherever you get your podcasts.
