Month: February 2020

Seventy-five years ago,  U.S. Marines invaded the small pacific island of Iwo Jima.  The island is strategically located about 750 miles off the Japanese Coast and was considered a possible staging base for an invasion of Japan.

But before that could happen, U.S. Marines would face one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. Some estimates say that all but about 200 of the 21,000 Japanese forces defending the Island were killed, along with nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines.  

Pfc. George Aukamp, a 94-year-old Lancaster County native, was one of the Marines who fought on Iwo Jima. Aukamp operated a flamethrower when he landed on the island with the 4th Marine Division. He fought for eight days before being wounded and evacuated from the battle.

George Aukamp appears on Smart Talk to share his experience as a veteran of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

 

Also, the Susquehanna Art Museum’s new exhibit, Separate and Unequal, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Negro National League, a black only baseball league that formed in 1920.

For more than thirty years, the league thrived. Black teams played other black teams, and white teams, as well. The league was the black community’s answer to sports segregation and became the “proving ground” for big names like Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige.

Joining Smart Talk to discuss the anniversary and impact of the Negro National League is Ted Knorr, a local baseball historian who specializes in the Negro League history.

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Smart Talk takes a Road Trip to the Rose Lehrman Arts Center on the campus of Harrisburg Area Community College to discuss career and technical education.

Many Pennsylvania employers say they’re having difficulty finding skilled workers to fill positions – jobs that often pay good wages.

These jobs don’t always and in some case don’t ever require a four-year college degree, but the people who seek careers in fields such as automotive tech, culinary arts, welding and healthcare do need to be educated and trained.

That’s become the role of Pennsylvania career and technical schools that most often enroll students in high school and community colleges like HACC.

Appearing on Thursday’s Smart Talk Road Trip to the Rose Lehrman Arts Center on the campus of Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) is Gene Barr, President and CEO the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry to offer a state-wide look at the demand for a technically skilled work force.

Also on the program are Scott Rogers, Assistant Director, York County School of Technology, along with student Nadia Stuckey, a Senior in the Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing program. Justin Bruhn, Director, Cumberland Perry Area Vocational Technical School and Kasey Davis, a senior in the Dental Assisting program are also joining the conversation to share their perspective.

Finally, both Vic Rogers, Associate Provost and workforce development agent at HACC and Laura Potthoff, Director of Business and Workforce Development with Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation will round out the panel to talk about continuing education for a skilled workforce.

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If you are wondering where this winter’s cold temps and wintry conditions are, you’re probably not alone. Globally, this year’s January has been the Earth’s hottest January on record, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

Snow trackers also point out that snow coverage in both North America and Europe are significantly lower this winter. Snow coverage is measured and analyzed because it is considered a “critical climate indicator.” Less snow and ice cover mean that the Earth’s surface can absorb more of the sun’s energy and become warmer.

David Robinson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor with the Department of Geography at Rutgers University and NJ State Climatologist tracks snow coverage through the Global Snow Lab and he appears on Smart Talk to discuss their observations.

Also, the NPR Student Podcast Challenge is back. Students in grades five through twelve can team up with their teachers to create a podcast for a chance to have it broadcast on NPR.

Submissions are accepted until March 24, 2020, and the winning podcasts from each age group will be featured in segments on either All Things Considered or Morning Edition. NPR’s Education Desk podcast staff members Lauren Migaki, Senior Producer, and Jeffrey Pierre, Assistant Producer, join Smart Talk to discuss the Student Podcast Challenge.

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Governor Tom Wolf is proposing a $204 million need-based scholarship to help thousands of middle and lower-income students attend one of the 14 state-owned universities in Pennsylvania. The so-called Nellie Bly Scholarship Program would take money from the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Fund.

To be eligible for the new scholarship, students must be enrolled full-time in a PASSHE undergraduate program, as well as qualify for a federal subsidized student loan. Another caveat is that students are also obligated to stay and live in Pennsylvania after graduation for the same amount of years they received the scholarship.

Appearing on Tuesday’s Smart Talk to discuss the Governor’s scholarship proposal are Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera and Deputy Secretary for Postsecondary and Higher Education Noe Ortega.

However, horse racing industry leaders fear the loss of the fund will signal the death knell of horse racing in Pennsylvania, along with thousands of jobs.

According to Penn State Extension, Pennsylvania’s horse industry ranks sixth in the United States and contributes $1.7 billion and 43,114 jobs to the state’s economy. When the direct and indirect effects are considered, the horse industry provides around $3.3 billion to the state’s economy – along with over 60,000 jobs.

Also joining us on Tuesday’s Smart Talk to discuss the new proposal’s impact on the horse industry are Todd Mostoller, Executive Director of Pennsylvania Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protection Association (PHBPA), Russell Williams, President and CEO of Hanover Shoe Farms and President of the United States Trotting Association (USTA), and Vicky Schowe, Assistant Executive Secretary of Pennsylvania’s Horse Breeders Association (PHBA) and a thoroughbred breeder.

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In 2016, nearly 100 million Americans did not vote – even though it was a presidential election year. That’s about 43% of the eligible voting-age population.

A study on why Americans don’t vote, released by the Knight Foundation earlier this month, found multiple repeating themes – non-voters were less engaged with the news and felt under informed, non-voters were more evenly divided on key issues and on President Trump compared to active voters, and overall found that young eligible citizens are less informed and less interested in politics than active voters.

The study focuses on the 100 million Americans who are eligible to vote but decide not to. The study is part of The 100 Million Project, a national study of the non-voting population that aims to understand voter and political disengagement.

Evette Alexander, Director of Learning and Impact at the Knight Foundation appears on Monday’s Smart Talk to discuss why non-voters don’t participate with particular attention on Pennsylvania.

Over the next ten years artificial turf is expected to produce 1 million to 4 million tons of waste. There are no companies in the United States that can completely recycle artificial turf and that creates an environmental problem.

York Daily Record Investigative Reporter Candy Woodall recently reported on an issue that many probably didn’t think about when installing artificial turf at high school sports facilities in the last 20 years – what to do with the old turf when it is time to replace. Woodall joins us on Smart Talk.

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In 2017, nearly 50,000 people in the U.S. died from opioid overdoses. There were 5,456 drug-related overdose deaths in Pennsylvania alone — twice the national average.

Last month, Republican Congressman Dan Meuser of Luzerne County proposed the Family Support Services for Addiction Act (FSSAA) that would create a $25 million grant program to aid local and national nonprofit organizations who provide family support services for addiction treatment.

Appearing on Friday’s Smart Talk to discuss the proposed legislation and substance use disorder are Courtney Hunter, Director of Advocacy and Public Affairs for the Center on Addiction, a national organization that recently merged with the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and Drug Free Workplace PA educator Kathy Strain.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction you can visit drugfree.org or call the helpline at: 1-855-378-4373 or call 717-454-3100 for free resources from the Drug Free Workplace PA.

Also, the spellers who scored the highest on the written portion of WITF’s Central Pennsylvania Spelling Bee now move on to the WITF Grand Spelling Bee this weekend. The Bee takes place on February 22 at the WITF Public Media Center. The recorded competition will air on WITF TV on March 1, 4 and 6. (Visit WITF Schedule for broadcast times).

Appearing on Smart Talk to discuss the spelling bee is Ruth Keim, WITF’s Spelling Bee Coordinator.

In honor of the Grand Spelling Bee, WITF’s PaPost reporter Ed Mahon, WITF’s Audio Specialist Joe Ulrich, along with WITF Digital Manager Lisa Wardle, try their hands at spelling on Friday’s Smart Talk.

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The Catholic community in Pennsylvania is still reeling more than a year after a grand jury reported decades of child abuse and cover-ups in six of Pennsylvania’s eight Roman Catholic dioceses.

Wednesday, the Diocese of Harrisburg announced it is filing for bankruptcy. It’s the first Pennsylvania diocese to do so. While the eight dioceses have opened compensation funds to pay abuse victims, they’ve also been dealing with a rush of legislative and legal action.

That includes one case—Rice verses the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown—in which the state Superior Court decided victims with expired cases can still sue over cover-ups.

Matt Haverstick, one of the lawyers representing the Harrisburg diocese, says that’s one of the factors behind the decision to file for bankruptcy.

Haverstick appears on Thursday’s Smart Talk to discuss what the filing means for the diocese and abuse victims. Attorney Benjamin Andreozzi, who represents alleged child abuse victims that have sued, will also join the conversation to talk about how bankruptcy could impact abuse survivors. Finally, we’ll hear from two plaintiffs who are in a lawsuit against the Diocese of Harrisburg to discuss their way forward.

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The photographs are haunting.

Images of shackles and bondage force the viewer to face the reality of the people held by the chains. The reality that theirs was a brutal existence and it happened not that long ago.

Michael Doub says that seeing the chains and shackles in person have an even more profound impact. Doub has amassed one of the largest privately held collections of historical slave artifacts in the country. He appears on Smart Talk on Wednesday to share how the collection developed over 30 years and why he believes there is a “danger in forgetting.”
Michael Doub appears on Smart Talk on February 19, 2020.

Alexandra Stein

Michael Doub appears on Smart Talk on February 19, 2020.

Slavery relics from Michael and Ruby Doub’s collection.

Also, Puerto Rico experienced a 6.4 magnitude earthquake on January 7th. More than a month later the island is still experiencing aftershocks and experts say they could persist for many years.

This is a frightening prospect for the fragile Island that also took a direct hit from Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Joining Smart Talk to offer an on-the-ground assessment of earthquake recovery efforts is Delma Rivera-Lytle, of York, Pa. Rivera is a member of the Governor’s Commission on Latino Affairs. Dr. Louisa Rodgriguez, Resource and Volunteer Services Director of Puerto Rico Rises, a nonprofit organization, appears on Smart Talk to continue the discussion.
Delma Rivera-Lytle appears on Smart Talk on February 19, 2020. Photo submitted by Rivera-Lytle.

Delma Rivera-Lytle appears on Smart Talk on February 19, 2020. Photo submitted by Rivera-Lytle.

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Monday is Presidents Day. Actually, the federal government still recognizes the Monday holiday as Washington’s Birthday but some time in the past 50 years, the holiday has been expanded to honor and recognize presidents other than George Washington.

Monday’s Smart Talk goes back more than 200 years and also discusses more contemporary stories of presidential history.

Two-hundred-twenty years after his death, there still is much to learn about the nation’s first president — George Washington. In fact, there are so many myths about Washington and facts that don’t get as much attention. For example, on the fact side, Washington played a large part in starting a world war. How about a myth? Washington didn’t have wooden teeth, even though he did have dental problems his whole life.

One of the nation’s foremost Washington re-enactors and experts — John Koopman III appears on Smart Talk.

Also, when President Trump awarded conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh with the Medal of Freedom two weeks ago, it surprised and angered some who thought Limbaugh wasn’t worthy of the medal that recognizes “those people who have made an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

Elizabethtown College Professor of Political Science Fletcher McClellan has written about Trump and the Presidential Medal of Freedom and is on Monday’s Smart Talk.

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