Month: December 2021

Death is not something many of us want to talk about – especially our own deaths. Most of us don’t know when we’re going to die so it may come unexpectedly.

With that in mind, planning for after we pass away is common and viewed as a responsible thing to do so that our wishes are met and families aren’t left to make decisions when grieving.

Financial and estate plans aside, what do you know or don’t know about funerals? How much does a funeral cost, will your body be interred in a cemetery or will you choose cremation? Will you have any special wishes?

Thursday’s Smart Talk addresses questions about funerals and after death plans with Kathleen K. Ryan, Esq. Executive Director, Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association, Angela M. Ulen, Funeral Supervisor / Owner, Hooper Memorial Home, Inc., Harrisburg, and Bruce Parthemore, pre-planning consultant, Parthemore Funeral Home in New Cumberland and President-Elect of the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association.

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Do you make New Year’s resolutions? If so, have you decided on one yet? Even if it’s not a resolution, many of us will be looking for ways to spend or save our money more wisely.

It may be even more important this year with higher prices and the availability of products we normally buy.

Smart Talk features some money advice for you in 2022.

Stacy Mastrolia is an Associate Professor of Accounting at the Freeman College of Management at Bucknell University, who joins us on Smart Talk Wednesday with strategies for money management.

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Super star classical-pop vocalist (and Pennsylvania native) Jackie Evancho brings her “Home for the Holidays” show to Millersville University’s Clair Performance Hall, Winter Visual and Performing Arts Center Friday night.

Ms. Evancho joins us on Wednesday’s Smart Talk to discuss her career that includes multi-million album sales, starring on TV shows and in movies and being a runner-up on the TV program America’s Got Talent at the age of 10 and headlining three PBS TV specials.

Jackie’s bio:

Pittsburgh native Jackie Evancho’s meteoric rise as a 10-year-old YouTube video star and America’s Got Talent contestant brought the multi-talented singer and actor into her own. Her rendition of “O Holy Night” – the recording that garnered 200 + million sales, making Evancho the youngest performer ever to go platinum in the U.S. A worldwide sensation when she was only ten years old, Jackie Evancho has moved past the exuberant promise of a child prodigy vocalist, becoming a mature young adult with a clear direction as to where she, as a creative artist, is taking her career as a singer. In less than a decade, Jackie has made seven chart-topping albums and DVDs, headlined three PBS television specials, appeared in the film The Company We Keep at the request of her co-star Robert Redford, and tirelessly toured the world, singing for Presidents, other world leaders and her fans everywhere. In addition to her solo success, Jackie has recorded duets with such notable artists as Tony Bennett, Plácido Domingo, Barbra Streisand, Chris Botti, and Joshua Bell.

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There are many strategies for mitigating the affects of climate change. Most of them involve finding ways to reduce or eliminate the use of fossil fuels.

But what if that’s not enough or can’t be achieved?

Can science geoengineer the planet to reduce carbon?

A new study from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine says geoengineering should at least be investigated.

Scott Doney, Ph.D., inaugural Joe D. and Helen J. Kington Professor in Environmental Change, University of Virginia led the study and is on Tuesday’s <em><strong>Smart Talk</strong></em>.

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About 10 million Americans suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. They often become depressed, experience mood changes or don’t have a lot of energy when the days get shorter in the late fall and winter.

Less exposure to light is what causes SAD.

Light therapy is one of the ways SAD is treated.

Tuesday’s Smart Talk shines a light on SAD with Dr. Melissa Brown,  PsyD., Clinical Psychologist, UPMC PinnacleHealth Psychological Associates.

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Kevin King, executive Director of Mennonite Disaster Services talks about their relief efforts for tornado victims.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on everyone, but especially on vulnerable children.

The Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children annual State of Child Welfare Report showed declines in the number of child abuse or neglect reports and children in the foster care system. However, the numbers are from 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic when there were stay-at-home orders and many kids weren’t seeing teachers or medical professionals as often.

With that in mind, what to take away from the report is a bit of a challenge but PPC has some recommendations.

We’ll discuss them and the report on Monday’s Smart Talk with Kari King, President and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.

 

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There’s nothing like a frosty beverage to get a party started. Cocktail and “mocktail” flavor combinations can reflect the season and elevate any gathering.

Steve Wood is the beverage and hospitality manager for Willow Valley Communities and a nationally-recognized and award-wining beverage director who has been opening and operating beverage programs at prominent Lancaster County restaurants for the past 15 years. He appears on Smart Talk Friday to share drink ideas for your next party or event.

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Seven years ago, a group of school districts, parents and advocates sued Pennsylvania over how it funds public schools. The case centers on wide spending gaps among the state’s poorest and wealthiest school districts.

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For many consumers, the words “supply chain” were probably not top of mind, until the pandemic hit in March 2020 – starting with toilet paper shortages, and spiraling to everything from computer chips, to used cars.

The issues have continued for nearly two years, as we head into another holiday season. However, the holiday shopping season does have many consumers thinking about the supply chain. The disruptions become a reality and not just something seen on the news, when looking for a specific product that is in short supply and may be in a large container on a ship waiting off the coast of California. Or if the item ordered online won’t arrive until after the new year.

Thursday’s Smart Talk examines how has the pandemic exacerbated pre-existing weaknesses within global supply chains, and what can be done to make these systems more resilient to future disruptions?

Appearing on the program are Brent Moritz, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management, Penn State University and Ian Langella, Professor of Supply Chain Management, Chair, Finance & Supply Chain Management Department, Shippensburg University.

 

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