You now have an easier way to voice your support by email. The crew at Sitecats created a simple online form for you to complete and hit send.

If you are looking for this page on our new website, it is under the Home button at the top of the page. Please feel free to send emails in support of our campaign to assure that the $14,000,000 is in the final budget for Main Street and Elm Street.

In the article below, Bill references testimony that he and Cynthia Philo, Board Chair for PDC, gave at the Capital last Friday. Those articles are on our website.

Hello everyone:
I want to take the opportunity to update on the status of SB850. The following information details what has happened in the past month, where we are currently, and where we are realistically headed.
1. What has happened so far:
· PDC Board Chair, Cynthia Philo, and I testified before the House Appropriations Committee on Friday, May 22, 2009. Along with this message, we have attached copies of our testimony for you to review. The numbers I used in my testimony were pulled directly from your quarterly
reports. Please feel free to use any of the numbers from our testimony in your own advocacy
efforts. You may also quote Cynthia and I by using any statements in our testimony in press
releases you might develop.
· The initial Contact Your Legislator campaign has gone pretty well. We know lots of you have made contact, written letters, and had petitions signed. Keep up the good work! We know the
Legislature is listening.
· The folks in the Danville area made enough noise that Republican Senator Gordner responded
in the Daily Item saying he hopes some money can be restored to various line items. The story was picked up by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is now on their website. Kudos to our folks in Danville, Selinsgrove, and Sunbury. Additionally, Souderton-Telford had a petition signing campaign at the primary polls on May 19, 2009. Good idea!
· Now we must continue to keep up the pressure. There have been lots of other direct contacts
made; the above are just a few of note.
2. Where we are now:
· I have a meeting scheduled with the Joint Conservation Committee on June 15, 2009, where
state senators and representatives will be in attendance.
· DCED is considering making a video to support the reinstatement of funds for a host of
programs. The Campaign will be called "Save Our Towns." As such, I am expecting a film crew
to be in attendance at the conference in Johnstown to tape some of our events for the video. I
will be meeting weekly with our advocacy task force until the budget issue is resolved.
· We asked for you to send photos from your collections of legislators either giving you checks or participating in your events. Many of you have sent in photos. We will be forwarding them on
DCED Deputy Secretary, Mickey Rowley, for inclusion in the video. Thanks to all who have
sent in pictures.
· We are currently working on scheduling one-on-one meetings with several Republican state
senators in leadership. You should be trying to do the same.
· We need to take this out to the various statewide media markets. Get your local TV stations and newspapers involved. We at PDC are available to help, and are happy to take calls from local reporters or help you with letters to the editor.
· We are planning a rally day at the Capitol Building on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at
11:00 a.m.
From, Bill Fontana, Executive Director