On today’s episode of The Confluence:
Bills that could widen window for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to sue are approved by the state House
(0:00 - 5:54)
Last Friday, the state House approved two bills that could give survivors of childhood sexual abuse a two year window to sue their attackers, if the statute of limitations has expired.
One bill is a proposed constitutional amendment which would need to later be approved by voters; the other is a regular piece of legislation.
“[Survivors] figure why not propose both pieces of legislation - which will basically do the same thing, just different ways - so that there's a greater chance of this, you know, of this proposal making it into law in one fashion or the other,” explains Sam Dunklau, WESA’s capitol bureau chief. “[House Speaker Mark] Rozzi and others didn't want to leave their options on the table.”
If either bill is passed, it would allow survivors two years to bring a civil lawsuit against attackers and potentially the institutions that housed them, such as school districts or governments.
Both bills will now be considered by the state Senate.
Pittsburgh-based researchers are helping stroke survivors regain fine motor control
(6:04- 17:55)
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. Many of them will suffer a lasting loss of fine motor control. Researchers have developed technology that could help patients who might otherwise be faced with a permanent loss.
“So in the case of stroke, there is damage to the connections between the parts of the brain that control movement and the parts of the spinal cord that generate that movement. And so those connections, because they're weak, are insufficient to produce the movement that the person wants to do, but there's still some residual signal there,” explains Douglas Weber, a professor in the department of mechanical engineering and the Neuroscience Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
Weber co-founded Reach Neuro, Inc., a startup company that is using this research to amplify the signals from the brain to limbs through the spinal cord, helping someone who’s experienced a stroke regain greater function of their limbs.
“What's really nice about the spinal cord actually, is there's some cleverness within it that's not so complex as the brain, but it's not so low level as the muscles that it really gives us a nice balance for the type of control we restore into the person,” says Marc Powell, CEO and president of Reach Neuro.
Weber and Powell say they have applied this research to patients who have reached a phase after the stroke where there’s no further improvement, but expect it could be applied even sooner after a stroke happens.
COVID relief funds are being awarded to help revitalize historically Black neighborhoods
(18:07 - 22:30)
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority plans to award more than $7 million in COVID relief funds to businesses and nonprofits in historically Black parts of the city.
As 90.5 WESA’s Jillian Forstadt reports, community leaders say it’s one way they can begin to bring their main streets back to life.
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.
