News You Can Use

July 13, 2007

Tips for Renting a Car

If you expect to be renting a vehicle for your family vacation or perhaps just to tide you over until yours comes back from the garage, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General offers a few tips to make it a smooth ride.

When renting a vehicle for any purpose, there are a few things you can do to locate the best deal, including:  

• Conducting an online search;
• Calling companies for any specials and promotions;
• Contacting associations for member discounts; and,
• Consulting with drop-off locations for special prices and discounts.

When selecting the best deal to meet your needs, be sure the fine print bears no hidden costs and conditions.  Cancellation fees, late pick-up penalties, mileage restrictions, and drop-off charges are just a few of the details that may catch you off-guard.  Families renting a vehicle should inquire about driver age restrictions and multiple drivers. 

Be prepared for the standard questions when renting a vehicle.  Among them—do you want to purchase insurance?  The PA Insurance Department reminds motorists to never risk driving uninsured.  Before selecting a rental vehicle, consult your personal auto insurance policy or place a call to your agent for clarification if questions remain.  If you are counting on coverage by charging the vehicle to your credit card, a call to the company is in order if you intend to rent a high-end luxury car, truck, or four-wheel drive vehicle, including an SUV, as they may not be covered.  See the Insurance Department announcement on vehicle rentals and insurance:  . If you are in the market for auto insurance, consult the Department's Insurance Guide. 

The Pa Office of Attorney General discusses other important considerations when renting vehicles, including conducting a familiarity and safety review before taking off in that rental.

Invasive Species & Your Boat

Before and after you launch your boat, do you clean the watercraft and its related equipment?  If not, you could be contributing to the spread of an invasive species of mussels that threatens aquatic ecosystems, industrial facilities, and public water supply systems, according to the PA Fish & Boat Commission (PF&BC).

Recent routine monitoring revealed the presence of the zebra mussel in Cowanesque Lake, Tioga County presenting a new threat to the Susquehanna Rivershed.  The zebra mussel, originating in the Black and Caspian Seas, made its way in 1986 into the lower portions of the Great Lakes through the release of ships' infested ballast water.  Today, other threatened PA waterways include Lake Erie, the Ohio River, and lower portions of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers.

Boat hulls, fishing gear, bilge pumps, live wells, and bait buckets are a few of the areas requiring extra care to avoid transporting and introducing the invasive mussel into another waterway.  The PF&BC, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the Pennsylvania Sea Grant program are working together to avert the further spread of the zebra mussel.  See the PF&BC announcement on the zebra mussel discovery.

To report a zebra mussel in a previously unthreatened body of water, contact the PA Sea Grant Program through the Lake Erie or Delaware Estuary Office.  Visit the website for complete contact information, including names, addresses, phone numbers and email. 

Download zebra mussel fact sheets and quagga mussel fact sheets for photos and more on its affect on our ecology, health, and economy. 

Get more information on other aquatic invasive species. 

Paddler's Edition of PA Stream & Lake Map Now Available

Were you aware Pennsylvania boasts 45,000 miles of navigable streams and 300 lakes just waiting for you and your boat, canoe, kayak, or raft?  Now you can get some help in locating the state's navigable streams and rivers.

Once considered irreproducible, the Higbee Map is now being redistributed in its original 3-foot by 5-foot format.  The first stream and lake map, known to anglers as the "Lost Stream Map", came into being after 30 years of painstaking commitment by the late Penn State University Professor, Howard Higbee.  The disappearance of Higbee's original drawings and plates following the sale of a printing company left fans of the map unable to obtain copies.

However, an emerging innovative printing technology adopted by a Williamsport publishing company is making reproduction possible.  The Paddler's Edition of the Stream and Lake Map of Pennsylvania is available through the PA Trout Unlimited website.

A few related resources to explore while waiting for delivery of your Higbee map:

• PA and Federally Designated Scenic Rivers
• Rivers Registry
• Scenic Rivers Map
• Plan your next water adventure

Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen Marks its 63rd Anniversary in a New Location

Loyal arts patrons and festival fans searching for news of the annual PA Guild of Craftsmen summer show will be delighted to know it is set for July 27-29, 2007.  The 63rd anniversary show will temporarily relocate from Lancaster to Delaware to accommodate construction at Franklin & Marshall College, the usual site for the summer event.

The 2007 event, featuring works produced by 170 fine craftsmen, will travel to the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware.  A wide selection of crafts continues this year with fine jewelry, wearable art, home décor, glassware, pottery, baskets and more.  Visitors to the air-conditioned Chase Center will find music, demonstrations, and other amenities.

The event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, July 27 and 28 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 29.  Admission is $7 per person (see $1 off coupon) and free for children under 12.  Access lists of exhibitors, musical performances, demonstrations, coupons, and directions.

Enter the Elk License Drawing &Purchase Award-Winning Elk Video

Hunters interested in the November 2007 and September 2008 elk license drawing are reminded by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) that the application mail deadline is just weeks away, while the online process will permit you to apply until midnight August 31, 2007.

A random drawing from among applicants will be conducted for the purchase of one of 40 licenses (15 antlered, 25 antlerless) for the November 5-10, 2007 season and 10 licenses (two either sex, eight antlerless) for the September 1-27, 2008 season.  Applicants not drawn for an elk license will be granted preference in future drawings.  The Elk Expo will be held on September 14 & 15, 2007, and applicants will be drawn for licenses on the 15th.  Get information on application and license details.

Win or lose, you can pick up a copy of the award-winning video, "Pennsylvania Elk: Reclaiming the Alleghenies" when you send in your application.  The video contains "unparalleled elk close-ups; an intriguing look at elk natural history; eye-opening footage, and insightful commentary," according to the PGC.  Take advantage of the elk video and apply for the random drawing.  See the announcement for additional details. 

Heat Stress on the Job

Summer heat waves find employers and employees struggling to get the job done safely.  The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, reminds both of the high potential for heat stress on worksites involving elevated air temperatures, radiant heat sources, high humidity, direct physical contact with hot objects, or strenuous physical activities.

Those who work in foundries, manufacturing facilities, utilities, bakeries, confectioners, commercial kitchens, laundries, food canneries, chemical plants, mining sites, smelters, and steam tunnels, are among those who often face conditions posing special heat hazards.  OSHA offers both employer and employee tools to maintain a safe and healthy workplace, including details on workplace standards.

Recognize heat disorders and their health effects.  Differentiate between heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, heat collapse, heat rashes, and heat fatigue.  Print the general workplace review for employers' use in assessing the potential for heat stress among employees.