NJ’s LGBTQ Laws Rated in Human Rights Campaign’s State Equality Index

An estimated 8 million LGBTQ Americans, their friends and families remain at risk of discrimination if they live in one of the 30 states without adequate protections.

WASHINGTON —

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation and the Equality Federation Institute released their 5th annual

State Equality Index

(SEI), a comprehensive report detailing statewide laws and policies that affect LGBTQ people and their families, and assessing how well states are protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination.

New Jersey

falls into the category,

“Working Toward Innovative Equality.”

“As LGBTQ people continue to face an onslaught of attacks from the federal administration in Washington, the Human Rights Campaign’s 2019 State Equality Index (SEI) documents how states were instrumental in advancing equality through pro-LGBTQ legislation, policies and proposals,” said

HRC President Alphonso David

. “In the absence of federal non-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community, states must put policies in place to ensure equality for their residents, workers and visitors. In 2020 and beyond, the Human Rights Campaign will continue to work with our partners to defeat anti-LGBTQ legislation in the states and secure new protections for our community, both at the state and federal level. Already, we see the promise of even more protections passing state legislatures in 2020, including action taken in Virginia advancing the

Virginia Values Act

.”

Due to the lack of explicit, comprehensive civil rights protections for LGBTQ people at the federal level, the rights of millions of LGBTQ people and their families vary depending on which state they live in. In 30 states, LGBTQ people remain at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services because of who they are. These top-rated states and Washington, D.C., have robust LGBTQ non-discrimination laws covering employment, housing and public accommodations.

The SEI’s assessment of statewide LGBTQ-related legislation and policies in the areas of parenting laws and policies, religious refusal and relationship recognition laws, non-discrimination laws and policies, hate crime and criminal justice laws, youth-related laws and policies and health and safety laws and policies has placed each state in one of four distinct categories:

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia are in the highest-rated category, “Working Toward Innovative Equality”:

California, Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; District of Columbia; Illinois; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Minnesota; Nevada; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; Oregon; Rhode Island; Vermont; and Washington

Three states are in the category “Solidifying Equality”:

Hawaii; Iowa; and New Hampshire

Two states are in the category “Building Equality”:

Utah and Wisconsin

Twenty-Eight states are in the lowest-rated category “High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality”:

Alabama; Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; Florida; Georgia; Idaho; Indiana; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Michigan; Mississippi; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; South Dakota; Tennessee; Texas; Virginia; West Virginia; and Wyoming

“The State Equality Index highlights how far we have come in the fight for LGBTQ equality in each state. For years, we’ve been working with our member organizations to pave the way for nationwide protections by winning state and municipal laws that make discrimination illegal. We’re keeping that momentum going. We have big plans for a future where we can thrive in all the places we call home,” said

Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director of the Equality Federation

. “This year, we will work with members on a host of issues, including non-discrimination legislation in places like Virginia and Ohio. Together, we are impacting the lives of millions of LGBTQ Americans. We can, and we will win this fight.”

Last year, the pro-equality majority in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the

Equality Act

, a bill to establish comprehensive federal protections for LGBTQ people. But as HRC and other civil rights organizations work toward establishing these critical federal protections, accelerating progress at the state level is critical.

This SEI report comes as 38 state legislatures and the District of Columbia have opened their sessions — and with several good bills introduced, including the Virginia Values Act, a bill that would modernize Virginia\’s existing human rights laws and provide non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people in public employment and housing. In New Jersey, the governor has signed a bill to ban anti-LGBTQ “panic defenses.”

Unfortunately, we have also seen the introduction and passage of bad legislation, including

a Tennessee bill

that would allow child welfare organizations — including taxpayer-funded adoption and foster care agencies — to turn away qualified Tennesseans seeking to care for a child in need, including LGBTQ couples, interfaith couples, single parents, married couples in which one prospective parent has previously been divorced or other parents to whom the agency has a religious objection. In

South Dakota

, the state House of Representatives passed a bill that effectively bars instructors who teach grades K-7 in the state’s public schools from instructing students on gender identity or gender expression.

Advancing LGBTQ non-discrimination protections at the state and federal level is supported by a wide swath of Americans. A recent PRRI survey found that 71 percent of Americans support LGBTQ non-discrimination laws like the Equality Act. A map of this patchwork of laws can be found

here

HRC’s full State Equality Index report, including detailed scorecards for every states, and a preview of the 2020 state legislative session is available online at

www.hrc.org/sei

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America\’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Democratic Candidate Running Against Van Drew Upset with Trash Left From Trump Rally

STATEMENT FROM BRIGID HARRISON REGARDING THE TRUMP/VAN DREW RALLY CLEAN-UP EFFORTS

[January 30, 2020 – Longport, New Jersey] – This morning,

The Cherry Hill Courier-Post published an extensive news story

detailing the enormous clean-up efforts and expense the Wildwood/Cape May community has been forced to address after Tuesday night\’s Trump/Van Drew political rally.

The following is a statement from Brigid Callahan Harrison, Democratic candidate for Congress in New Jersey\’s second congressional district:

\”When Jeff Van Drew first chose to obstruct Congress\’s rightful authority to investigate very serious allegations against Donald Trump, he assisted in the withholding of crucial information related to the 2020 election and chose to help Trump get away with a crime.

\”When Jeff Van Drew negotiated his backroom deal with Trump and switch parties, he chose to take the Trump campaign money and to put his self-interest ahead of the people of the 2nd district.

\”But what is most telling is that during that moment, when Trump asked Van Drew what he wanted in return, he had only one answer – he wanted his very own political rally.

\”Van Drew did not ask Trump to help our community on issues that matter, like Health Care, Infrastructure, and Student Loans, instead the trade-off continued to be about Jeff Van Drew\’s interests, not the people of our district.

\”The result is that we now have a new Trump pawn in Congress and a huge, costly mess in Wildwood to clean up. Thousands of people from outside the district came to Wildwood on Tuesday, which has clearly resulted in labor and costs for Wildwood, Cape May, and the 2nd District, and once again, we see Van Drew self-interest taking the top priority.

\”It is Van Drew\’s obligation to clean up his own mess, both in Wildwood and in Washington.

\”With the dust now settling after Tuesday night, it is clear we have work to do. We have immediate work to do with the clean-up in Wildwood, and we must all come together to vote Jeff Van Drew out of office. Van Drew chose to violate the trust of those who voted for him, including me. He has ignored the voices of New Jersey\’s second congressional district, the progressives, moderates, and independents who united to get him elected. And it is clear, he cares only about himself.

\”Jeff Van Drew has made his choices, and on November 3, 2020, we will make ours,\”

Law Banning Plastic Bags Released – Will Go Into Effect 18 Months from Signing

Trenton, NJ (January 30, 2020)–The plastic bag ban bill, S864 (Smith/Greenstein), was released by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee today, January 30, 2020. The bill prohibits the

provision or sale of single-use plastic carryout bags, single-use paper carryout bags, and polystyrene foam food service products. It also limits the provision of single-use plastic straws and appropriates moneys from the Clean Communities Program Fund for public education. The bill was amended to go into effect 18 months after it is signed for plastic bags, paper bags, and polystyrene, and 1 year for straws.

“Today, the battle to stop plastics begins all over again. Now that this bill has left the committee, it is critical to get this bill passed as soon as possible. Every day of delay means that more plastics are getting into our environment and into us. This is the most comprehensive plastic bill in the nation because it bans paper bags as well as single-use plastic bags. This legislation is critical because it could make New Jersey a national leader in going after plastics and protecting our environment,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We have been fighting to get this bill passed for over two years. Given the delays, it is important that they have changed the effective date to 18 months instead of 2 years. It is critical that our legislators push this bill through quickly, because the longer we delay the worse our plastic problem gets.”

Last year, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) found that the use of thick ‘reusable’ plastic bags in the UK increased from 960 million in 2018 to 1.5 billion 2019, likely a direct result of a country-wide single use plastic bag ban. This shows that consumers are using thicker plastic bags in the same disposable manner as single-use plastic bags, because they are being regularly replaced. The study recommended banning thick plastic bags entirely to effectively reduce plastic waste for the UK.

“This legislation is critical because it bans so-called ‘reusable’ thick plastic bags as well as single-use bags. There has been a push for these fake reusable bags to replace thin plastic bags, but these bags do not work. Places that replace single-use plastic with these ‘bags for life’ still find piles of them in the garbage or polluting the environment. Because they are thicker and woven with fine plastic fibers, they only increase our plastic waste problem and become microplastics that enter our water supplies and food chain,” said Jeff Tittel. “We need to ban plastics, but these thicker plastic bags would only continue to clog our storm drains, kill our wildlife, and pollute our drinking water. We are glad that this legislation will protect us from all plastics, regardless of thickness.”

Bans on plastic have proven to be effective. For example, Los Angeles County saw a 94 percent reduction in single-use bags after implementing a ban. This included a 30 percent reduction in paper bag use with a 10-cent fee on other bags. In San Jose, they saw an 89 percent decrease of bags in storm drains, 60 percent fewer in creeks, and 59 percent fewer in streets.

“This is an important day for the state of New Jersey. This bill will help protect our rivers and streams from plastic that not only hurts the environment but also endangers our wildlife and public health. Without this legislation, plastics will continue to kill whales and get into our environment and into us. Microplastics have already been found near our drinking water supply, so we could literally be drinking plastic. Plastic bags have been known to clog storm drains and fill up detention basins, affecting our water quality. Animals, especially birds, get strangled and suffocated by plastic bags,” said Tittel. “This bill is important because it will ban polystyrene containers and single-use plastic bags, including fake thick plastic reusable bags, and will allow paper bags to be used during the transition before banning those as well.”

This is the first bill in the country that would ban paper bags in addition to single-use plastic bags. So far, eight states have banned single-use plastic bags, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Vermont. In New Jersey, towns like Paramus, Bayonne, Lambertville, Avalon, Belmar, Hoboken, Jersey City, and Teaneck are all passing plastic bag ban ordinances.

“This legislation is a major step forward in dealing with single-use plastic bags as well as polystyrene and plastic straws. Polystyrene is dangerous to human health because it contains carcinogenic chemicals such as benzene and styrene, and it has been found in breast milk. It is harmful to the environment because it is not recyclable and does not degrade. Plastic straws pollute our oceans and beaches. Last year, New Jersey found that more than 80% of their trash is plastic and found an increase in plastic straw waste by 59%,” said Jeff Tittel, “By reducing how much plastic we use, we can also reduce fracking and fossil fuel use. Plastics are made from natural gas, which means more fossil fuel use, more pipelines, and more fracking.”

Plastics have become a bigger and bigger problem that affects our environment. Rutgers scientists found densities of about 28,000 to more than 3 million plastic particles per square kilometer in the Passaic and Raritan Rivers. Beach sweeps in New Jersey found that beaches from Monmouth County down to Cape May County have micro plastics in the ocean and on the beach.

“Now that this bill has left committee, our legislators need to pass it as quickly as possible because this is landmark legislation for New Jersey when it comes to plastics. People are fed up with plastic pollution filling up their storm drains and threatening their drinking water. 38 towns in New Jersey already have plastic bans in effect, 18 have passed ordinances that are not yet in effect, and dozens more are in the process. New Jersey’s Legislature needs to stand up and be as bold as places like Jersey City and Sea Bright. We need this comprehensive statewide ban to combat our plastic pollution effectively,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Our Legislature must work quickly to get this to the governor\’s desk to sign before our plastic waste problem gets worse. We cannot afford to wait any longer.”

source NJ Sierra Club

NJ Dept. of Health Opens Novel Coronavirus Call Center

TRENTON, NJ (January 30, 2020)–The New Jersey Department of Health today announced the opening of a hotline (1-800-222-1222) for the public to ask questions about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.

“Although the risk to the public remains low, we understand that residents have questions about this new virus,” Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said. “This hotline provides factual information to alleviate fear and dispel rumors.”

The hotline is being operated by the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES), also known as the New Jersey Poison Center, which has run other call centers for the Health Department. NJPIES is a division of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. The hotline can accommodate callers in multiple languages.

“

As a 24-hour hotline staffed continuously with trained healthcare professionals, the New Jersey Poison Center is standing by to answer questions about this emerging infection. The call is always free, and we can communicate in any language to the public as well as healthcare professionals,” said Dr. Diane Calello, Executive and Medical Director of NJPIES.

The hotline is part of a comprehensive approach by the state and medical and public health partners to respond to novel coronavirus (nCoV) by ensuring the public health and health care system preparedness.

The Department has an CoV

webpage

that includes CDC updates, travel advisories and guidance sent to health care providers, local health departments, infection preventionists and other health partners.

On Friday, Commissioner Persichilli sent a letter to hospital CEOs detailing

specific guidance

to healthcare professionals on how to evaluate reports of patients with possible nCoV illness, such as taking a careful travel and exposure history to determine if they meet specific CDC testing criteria. At this time, only the CDC laboratories in Atlanta have the capabilities to test for nCoV, though it is expected that state public health laboratories will be able to test soon.

The Department has also been in contact with Newark Liberty International Airport’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in advance of airport screening.

“The Department reminds individuals with recent travel to Wuhan, China or close contact with someone who has and are experiencing symptoms, to call their health care provider in advance before arriving to the office so they can make accommodations in advance,” Commissioner Persichilli said.

Patients with confirmed nCoV infection have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. CDC believes at this time that symptoms of nCoV may appear in as few as two days or as long as two weeks after exposure.

New Jersey continues to work closely with the CDC and local health partners to monitor the situation and will provide updates accordingly.

For more information, visit our homepage at

nj.gov/health

Maple Shade PD Alert: Beware! Phone Scammers are Active in the Area

MAPLE SHADE, NJ (January 28, 2020)—-Authorities have reported an increase in various scams across the country which typically involve telemarketing scammers posing as

lawyers, customs, or lottery officials targeting residents with fraudulent promises of large cash prizes, vacation getaways, vehicles, or other prizes.

The perpetrators tell “winners” they can claim a prize if they pay for shipping, insurance, customs duties, or taxes, by providing bank or credit card information, or by wiring the money. In some situations, the scammers ask their victims to send a check. When they have the bank routing number, they use it to make unauthorized withdrawals from the account.

**There is no Prize**

The scammers keep their victims money. They can be threatening, relentless and manipulative. They commonly prey on older adults. If you have older friends or relatives, remind them to be careful and seek another opinion before giving money to anyone under these circumstances.

REMEMBER

o If someone claims you have won a foreign lottery, it is a scam. Hang up immediately.

o Beware of solicitations asking you to send money to another country.

o Do not believe statements that you need to pay money to “collect your winnings.”

o Do not be rushed into sending money by a sense of urgency or threats.

o If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Address/Location

Maple Shade Township Police Department

200 N Stiles Ave

Maple Shade Township, NJ 08052

Contact

Emergency: 9-1-1

Non-emergencies: 856-234-8300

How to Cook Wild Game Meat

Gloucestercitynews.net (January 29, 2020)–When talking about wild game meat, it’s important to remember that we’re not talking about a single type of meat. Instead, wild game meat can come from all sorts of animals – from quail and hare to wild boars and deer. That’s why it can be a bit tricky to discuss general ways you can cook the meat as not all of them require the same treatment or temperature.

image courtesy of unsplash.com

That being said, we will try to give some guidelines on how to cook wild game meat the right way, which generally apply to most cases. Here, you will find some tips as well as some of the most common mistakes to avoid for a great cooking experience and delicious results. Check them out.

Temperature plays a huge role

The sous-vide cooking technique is definitely the preferred approach when it comes to cooking game meat. This low-temperature long-time cooking technique enables you to control the way in which your meat is being cooked to ensure that everything is cooked evenly. Since the game is usually best when served slightly pink this technique will allow you to avoid overcooking it as you will be able to control the temperature of the environment the meat is cooking in at all times.

The way you cut the meat is very important

Another thing you need to pay attention to is the way you cut the meat before you start preparing it. While there are some animals whose meat is similar to one of the domesticated breeds and doesn’t really require special skills, there are some animals that will require not only special skills but the right tools as well. That’s why you will need to ensure that you have the right equipment for the meat of your choice in particular. If you’re not sure where you can look for such utensils, you can always do some online research and find more information at this website –

https://thegearhunt.com/

Choose the meat carefully

Furthermore, in order to prepare a great dish, you first need to ensure that your main ingredient – the meat – is of the appropriate quality. If you are not the one who hunted the animal yourself, you will need to find a reliable vendor. This way, not only will you ensure that the meat you bought is actually the meat you intended to buy and that it’s safe for you to use, but you can also rest assured that the meat was treated properly. If you’re not sure how or where you can buy fresh game meat you can always resort to the frozen options.

Avoid common mistakes

In the end, you should get to know some of the most common mistakes people make when cooking wild game so that you can easily avoid them. The first and arguably the most important mistake to avoid is not letting the meat age properly. Since this process allows the enzymes in the meat to improve the flavor of the meat, it should definitely not be overlooked. Additionally, not marinating the meat can arguably destroy it. Since juiciness plays a huge role in wild game meat, it is very important to allow it to soak up all the juices and flavors from the marinade.

Even though cooking wild game meat will require somewhat of a different approach than cooking regular meat, it really is not too difficult to do it right, once you master the basics. One of the best tips for cooking game is to keep the dish simple and not overwhelm it with different spices. Instead, you should allow the quality and the taste of game to shine in its full glory.

Fun Learning Activities for Kids You Can Do at Home

Gloucestercitynews.net (January 29, 2020)–Are you trying to give your kids a little advantage at school? Or are you just interested in finding fun ways you can bond at home and learn a little something along the way? Well, there are so many amazing activities you can do with your kids and teach them plenty of useful things while having

courtesy of unsplash.com

fun.

Doing experiments

Kids are fascinated by the world around them, so you can take easy advantage of that and turn their curiosity into a fun learning opportunity. There are easy experiments you can conduct at home to spark your kids’ interest in science. With only a few ingredients you can find in your pantry or grab at a store, you can create a volcano, make your own lava lamp, make slime or write invisible letters. Kids will learn a lot about material and ingredient properties and have fun in the meantime.

Playing with educational toys

Toys are always fun, but also a great educational material if you know where to look. You can easily fill your kids’ rooms with toys like Legos, building blocks and jigsaws which are great for motor skills and creativity; music instruments for artistic expression; connect four for logical thinking; and many more. These are all fun both for kids and parents and they are a great way to incorporate engineering, math, reading and measuring lessons.

Painting and drawing

Artistic expression is one of the rare fun and useful activities your kid can safely pursue at home. If you just provide them with plenty of (non-toxic) supplies like markers, water colors and different types of material, they will experiment for hours. And you can easily find the best crayons (and toys) at this site –

Home

and provide your kids with all the fun they need from an art supply. Try giving them drawing ideas and allow them to explore them and add their own details. In order to make the situation even more fun, play some music and try drawing what you feel.

Cooking

If you’re often short on time and have a busy schedule, you can use your time spent in the kitchen to encourage your kids to learn and acquire new skills. There’s nothing more fun for kids than handling dough, measuring ingredients and stirring bowls of pasta or cream. Older kids can even get their own knife (there are kid-friendly kinds) and help you chop veggies and fruit. All of these activities will incorporate math (measuring and counting ingredients), reading (recipe books), motor skill practice (stirring and chopping) and learning vocabulary.

Reading before bed

This classic activity is perfect for hard-working parents who come home from work exhausted. No matter how long your day was, you can always tuck your kids in, grab a book and have some quiet time reading and relaxing. Kids love stories, so you can’t really go wrong with any sort of fairytale, pop-up book or kids’ poetry. Make sure to show them pictures, discuss different scenarios and talk further about characters. This activity is great for developing reading and vocabulary skills as well as exercising creativity.

Talk about numbers

Kids are never too young to start learning about numbers. Numbers are present all around us and you don’t have to limit kids’ learning to math books. Calendars, remote controls, phones, registration plates all have numbers, so you can study them from your home. Come up with fun games like Find the Number and ask your kids to go around the house and search for certain numbers. It’s a great way to keep them busy and learning at the same time.

Who says kids can’t have fun and learn at the same time? And the best part, they can do all of that right at home where you can keep a watchful eye on them.

Philadelphia Bar Association’s LGBT Rights Committee to Host Legal Name Change Clinic

for Area Transgender Community

Free Clinic for Philadelphians Seeking a Legal Name Change Due to Gender Transition to be Held this Saturday, February 1

at 1pm

PHILADELPHIA, PA –

On Saturday, February 1

, 2020 at 1:00 pm the

LGBT Rights Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association

in partnership with the Community

College of Philadelphia will be hosting a free clinic open to the public for members of the Philadelphia-area community seeking a legal name change due to a recent gender transition.

Clients of the clinic are required to register by Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 12:00 PM. A link to the online registration can be found at this web address:

https://forms.gle/aaTZaPvkNBpGbNzp7

The clinic will be staffed by volunteer attorney members of the Philadelphia Bar Association and will offer pro bono, culturally competent legal services to those transgender, non-binary and gender nonconforming individuals seeking a legal name change.

Prior to the clinic, from 10:00 am – 12:15 pm the LGBT Rights Committee will be hosting a continuing legal education (CLE) training for members of the Philadelphia legal community, “Legal Name Change in Philadelphia: Serving Low-Income Members of the Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender Nonconforming Community.”

The training will focus on equipping local attorneys on how to provide pro-bono representation to low-income Philadelphia residents seeking a legal name change relating to gender identity. The CLE training is free only to those attorneys who commit to volunteering for the free legal name change clinic and will also take place at the Community College of Philadelphia’s Center for Business & Industry. Attorneys wishing to participate in the CLE training can

“For many members of the trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming community, a legal name change is not merely a choice, it\’s a necessity,”

said Robert Ian Evans, co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s LGBT Rights Committee.

“Presenting identification documents that do not match an individual\’s identity can lead to confusion, discrimination, harassment, and even violence. Although some individuals may have the resources necessary to proceed through the legal requirements, many members of our community often face barriers limiting access to a name change and the benefits the come with it.”

WHAT:

Free Legal Name Change Clinic for Philadelphia Area Transgender, Non-Binary and Gender Nonconforming Individuals

WHO:

Hosted by the LGBT Rights Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Community College of Philadelphia

WHEN:

Saturday, February 1

, 2020 from 1:00 pm until 5:00 PM

WHERE:

Community College of Philadelphia

Center for Business & Industry

1751 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130

CNB BUSINESS NES: 2019 marked a decade of growth for Center City Philadelphia’s hotels

PHILADELPHIA PA (Jan 28, 2020)–Today, the City of Philadelphia, in conjunction with VISIT PHILADELPHIA

, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, announced records, most notably, in average daily rate (up 5.8% year over year to $202.41) and revenue (up 4.3% year over year to $707 million). Occupancy remained solid at 76.3%, as did demand, with 3.49 million room nights consumed. All of these results came during a year when four new Philadelphia hotels opened, adding 491 rooms to the city’s supply.

“I’m proud that even with new properties entertain the Philadelphia market, our hotels continue to set records,” said City of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. “Our growing tourism and hospitality industry works collaboratively to ensure that people choose Philadelphia for meetings, business trips and vacations every season of the year. This constant stream of visitor activity generates tax dollars and supports family-sustaining jobs for our residents. That’s hugely beneficial to our city and region.”

Center City Hotel Highlights

Occupancy:

76.3%

Saturday night remained the busiest night of the week, with average occupancy at 88.1%.

Tuesday was the busiest weeknight, with 79.4% occupancy.

Record

Average Daily Rate (ADR):

$202.41

This 5.8% year-over-year increase (up from $191.40 in 2018) is attributable to several factors: a strong convention year, strengthened business demand, solid leisure demand, more high-end hotel room inventory and a slow and steady increase in ADR in recent years.

Record Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR): $154

Growing 1.2% year over year, RevPAR is up from $152 in 2018.

Supply & Demand:

58 million room nights in supply, 3.49 million room nights sold

2019 demand surpassed the overall five-year average by 4.5%, showing that the market is strong and thriving.

Record Room Revenue:

$707 million

Up 4.3% from $678 million in 2018, this revenue is the result of higher rates (ADR) throughout the year.

Market Mix: One-third for each segment

Of the 3.49 million rooms consumed, demand was split largely evenly among the three segments of travel: business (33%), group (32%) and leisure (31%). Contract business (primarily flight crews and long-term stays) accounted for 4% of the mix.

According to AIRDNA, in 2019, Center City Philadelphia saw a significant increase in demand for limited-lodging options such as Airbnb, with 343,700 room nights consumed by guests renting a private room or an entire home, up 38.9% year over year.

Note to Editors: At tonight’s 2020 Tourism & Hospitality Industry Outlook, industry leaders will celebrate the 2019 hotel performance detailed above and announce plans for the year and decade ahead.

Data Sources: STR, Tourism Economics and AIRDNA; all data points are based on the most current information available and may change slightly as new data becomes available.

About VISIT PHILADELPHIA:

VISIT PHILADELPHIA is our name and our mission. As the region’s official tourism marketing agency, we build Greater Philadelphia’s image, drive visitation and boost the economy.

On Greater Philadelphia’s official visitor website and blog,

visitphilly.com

and

uwishunu.com

, visitors can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages. Compelling photography and videos, interactive maps and detailed visitor information make the sites effective trip-planning tools. Along with Visit Philly social media channels, the online platforms communicate directly with consumers. Travelers can also call and stop into the Independence Visitor Center for additional information and tickets.

About the PHLCVB:

The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) creates positive economic impact across the Philadelphia region, driving job growth, and promoting the health and vibrancy of our hospitality industry by marketing the destination and the Pennsylvania Convention Center globally. Our work engages our local community, as well as culturally and ethnically diverse regional, national and international convention and sporting event and tourism customers, as well as overseas leisure visitors.

About GPHA:

The Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association (GPHA) is a trade association representing more than 90 hotels throughout the Philadelphia 5-county area. In addition to our hotel members, we also have over 150 Allied Members, a diverse group of companies and related industry partners who do business with hotels. Our hotel members employ over 14,000 residents and have over 30,000 guestrooms.

PART OF

ACL tears cause harmful changes in our brain structure

Newswise — ANN ARBOR—It\’s known that some joint function is often permanently lost after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, and re-injury is common even with intensive physical therapy, but it\’s unclear why.

New research from the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology shows structural changes in the brains of patients who underwent ACL reconstruction. These changes hinder recovery and may contribute to performance deficits and re-injury, says study co-author Lindsey Lepley, U-M assistant professor of athletic training.

Lindsey Lepley and colleague Adam Lepley, clinical assistant professor of athletic training, took MRI brain scans of 10 ACL-reconstructed patients. The scans showed that part of the corticospinal tract—the pathway that scuttles messages from brain to muscles—had atrophied in the patients.

The corticospinal tract runs from front to back through both hemispheres of the brain. The side of the tract that controls the ACL-reconstructed knee was about 15% smaller than on the uninjured side, the researchers say.

Think of the altered corticospinal tract as a traffic tunnel that narrows, letting fewer cars pass through, they say. In the ACL reconstructed patients, less information gets from the brain to the muscle because less information can travel along the smaller tract.

\”In essence, the brain not only alters the way it communicates with the rest of the body, joints, muscles, etc., but the structural makeup of the basic building blocks of the brain are also changed after ACL injury,\” Adam Lepley said. \”We think that this is a protective mechanism, in which our body is trying to limit unwanted movement around a joint injury … and can be applied to not just ACL injuries, but other musculoskeletal injuries as well.\”

Another recent study shows that downstream neural activity in the quadriceps is impaired during sport-like movements after ACL surgery, which suggests that poor brain structure and communication can lead to reduced functioning, the researchers say.

The bottom line for patients and clinicians is that a knee injury is not just about knees––other areas, like the brain structure, are negatively impacted, too.

\”It means that during treatment, a systemic approach should be taken not just to improve range of motion or swelling at the injured joint, but also consider other impairments like poor movement patterns and muscle activation in order to get better outcomes,\” Lindsey Lepley said. \”There is evidence of using visual retraining, different motor learning modalities like external focus of attention and biofeedback, which can help \’rewire\’ the brain to help the body adapt to a new normal.\”

Study:

Corticospinal tract structure and excitability in patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A DTI and TMS study

Related research:

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