Author: julrich

What to look for on Smart Talk Friday, June 8, 2018:

One of the main complaints about the Affordable Care Act since its inception was that health insurance premiums on the exchange got more expensive every year — increasing by double digits.  Most people who purchased insurance through the exchanges didn’t pay full price due to their incomes but those with incomes that didn’t qualify for assistance were hit hard by rising premiums.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department announced this week that rates would go up in 2019 by an average of 4.9%.  That’s considered good news compared to previous years.  States surrounding Pennsylvania will see increases above 20%. 

Meanwhile, 31 of the state’s 67 counties will have more insurers offering plans.

About 5.6% of Pennsylvanians don’t have health insurance.  The Insurance Department says that’s the lowest rate ever. 

State Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman appears on Friday’s Smart Talk to explain.

Also, WITF’s Capitol Bureau Chief Katie Meyer is with us on Friday to discuss the on-going state budget negotiations and other news from the Capitol, including Republican Sen. Scott Wagner resigning his seat to run for governor full time.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Thursday, June 7, 2018:

How often have driven into a city or town to be greeted by a sign that said “Welcome to historic” whatever the name of the city or town is?  Some places’ history is obvious because they played a significant role in the state or the nation’s history, but there are others that may be historic if only because they contributed to how that place grew or the architecture or landscape are unique.

So how is it decided what history to preserve because everything probably is significant to someone?  

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has a new historic preservation plan designed “to help Pennsylvanians better understand historic preservation and its benefits; appreciate their own and shared histories through historic places, and to use history to understand how to manage change within their communities.”

We’ll discuss historic preservation on Thursday’s Smart Talk with Andrea Lowery, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

We’ll also talk about tax credits for historic preservation, historic markers and how it’s decided where to locate them, summer events in Pennsylvania and historic tourism. 

 

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What to look for on Smart Talk Wednesday, June 6, 2018:

Our Babies, Our Future: The Science Behind Early Childhood Education for Children and Families is an event that scheduled for next Friday, June 15^th in Chambersburg.  Promotions for the event says that “each and every person has the opportunity to impact the future of Franklin County.”  But how and why is this event and early childhood education so important? 

Appearing on Wednesday’s Smart Talk are Karen Grimm-Thomas, Director of External Relations, Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning and Franklin County Commissioner Bob Thomas

The spectacular video of the Kilauea volcano eruption in Hawaii has captured the world’s attention.  Kilauea may not be the largest or most dangerous volcano, but the video has provided views inside and outside the volcano of lava and its flow that many have never seen before.  Then, the Fuego volcano erupted Sunday spewing rock and ash that killed at least 69 people. 

Dr. Ben Edwards, Professor of Earth Sciences at Dickinson College is an expert on volcanoes and especially their interaction with glaciers.  

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What to look for on Smart Talk Tuesday, June 5, 2018:

Whether we realize it or not, most of us get into a conversation about the weather every single day — even if it’s just small talk when greeting someone. Let’s face it — what happens outside influences what we do and how we live — a lot.

Not surprisingly then, many of us have questions and our own theories about the weather. Tuesday’s Smart Talk will be devoted to answering your questions about “the weather,” as we all seem to refer to it.

Lately, many of us have asked, “When will it stop raining?”  There were 11 straight days of rain in the middle of May and it was one of the wettest Mays in years.  There was rain every weekend in May.  It continued last Friday night in some areas where more than four inches of rainfall was recorded that led to flash flooding.  The forecast for this week actually calls for a few days of sunshine but then more showers later in the week.

Temperatures were above normal in May too — topping out at 90 degrees on May 26.

So what’s behind this weather pattern and when will it end? 

Those are just a few of the short-term weather questions we’ll have for meteorologist Eric Horst, Director of Millersville University’s Weather Information Center on Tuesday’s Smart Talk.

We’ll pose a lot of more them and take your questions too.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, June 4, 2018:

One of the top stories almost halfway through 2018 is Pennsylvania’s how and where Pennsylvania’s Congressional district boundaries are drawn.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in a lawsuit brought by the League of Women Voters that the state’s Congressional boundaries were gerrymandered after the last census to make it easier for the majority party – Republicans — to win elections.  The justices on the Democratically-controlled court decided they didn’t like alternative maps submitted by Republicans or Gov. Tom Wolf and endorsed a map of their own. 

Many Republicans howled that the Court had overstepped their bounds by creating new districts. 

The whole episode had many from both parties calling for reform. 

Republican State Senator Mike Folmer of Lebanon County has a plan to do just that. It calls for an 11-member panel made up of a four Democrats, four Republicans and three independents to construct the legislative map.  Sen. Folmer appears on Monday’s Smart Talk. 

Also on the program — perhaps one of the best teams in minor league baseball history was the 1993 Harrisburg Senators that won 50 more games than they lost and sent 22 players to the Major Leagues.  Eight of those 22 spent in at least 10 years in the big leagues. 

Andrew Linker, author of the new book The Class of ’93 – How One Baseball Team Wrecked an Entire League joins us on Smart Talk.

 

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What to look for on Smart Talk Friday, June 1, 2018:

Violent crime rates have been falling for the past 25 years — especially in larger cities.  That doesn’t mean crime is not a problem — there just aren’t as many of them statistically.

In mid-state cities like Harrisburg, Lancaster and York, violent crimes are more noticeable and get more attention because they don’t happen as often as they do in larger cities.  Crime will create a sense of insecurity and of being unsafe in a neighborhood or place where it occurred.  That’s especially true if a crime goes unsolved or no one is arrested for committing that crime.

Police want to get the bad guys off the streets and the people living in areas where the crime was committed want to see the perpetrator be punished.  But many times, witnesses to a crime or those who have information won’t cooperate with police because they are afraid for their safety or are living by a code that says they shouldn’t “snitch.”  That’s even though many witnesses know they could be keeping a dangerous person out of jail.

On Friday’s Smart Talk we discuss the “don’t snitch” phenomenon.

Our guests are York City Police Chief Troy Bankert, Safronia Perry, ED, Hope Station, Carlisle and Dr. Susan Clampet-Lundquist, Associate Professor of Sociology, Saint Joseph’s University.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Thursday, May 31, 2018:

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse appears on Thursday’s Smart Talk.

There always are numerous issues related to Pennsylvania’s capital city to discuss and among the topics we’ll ask the Mayor to address are Harrisburg’s finances, proposed new trash and recycling rules, parking and crime.

Harrisburg is part of a lawsuit filed against several financial, legal and engineering firms that had advised the city on the 2003 repairs and retrofit of the city’s trash-burning incinerator.  The suit blames those firms for misleading the city that led to borrowing and huge debts.  At one time, Harrisburg was $360 million in debt and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.  With state assistance, a recovery plan was developed, taxes went up and assets were sold, but today Harrisburg is viable financially.  We’ll talk with the Mayor about what he hopes the suit achieves.

Also, one of those assets that was contracted out was parking.  Most believe parking is expensive in Harrisburg and businesses have long complained that it has hurt their bottom lines.  Papenfus recently announced a plan to make parking free after 5 p.m. in the downtown — something that should help night time businesses like restaurants. 

As a hub for the region, even those who don’t live in Harrisburg can be affected by decisions made there so tune into Thursday’s show.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Wednesday, May 30, 2018:

The number of cases of Lyme Disease doubled in the U.S. over the past two decades.

The illness is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged or deer ticks.  These ticks feed on the blood of mammals such as mice, raccoons, deer and humans.  

So, what’s behind the increase in Lyme Disease?  

Mary Beth Pfeiffer, author of the new book Lyme The First Epidemic of Climate Change writes that warmer temperatures is a big factor in the spread of the disease.  Ticks that couldn’t survive in some regions are now thriving.  Even though it has nothing to do with climate change, Pfeiffer says ticks are hard to kill and adapt well.  She writes that another reason humans are coming into contact with ticks more often is many places that once were forests or fields have been developed and animals like deer are living in woodlots or closer to humans.

The book also delves into the controversies surrounding the diagnosis of Lyme Disease and whether the thousands of people who show symptoms of Lyme are suffering from chronic Lyme Disease — something many reputable medical professionals discount.

Mary Beth Pfeiffer appears on Wednesday’s Smart Talk.

Do you have a question or story to tell about Lyme Disease?  Call 1-800-729-7532 between 9 and 10 a.m. 

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What to look for on Smart Talk Tuesday, May 29, 2018:

The Three Mile Island nuclear plant hasn’t been profitable for the last six years.  Last week, TMI failed to sell electricity it produces at the PJM Interconnection auction for power needs three years from now.  That marks the fourth year in a row that TMI failed to sell any of its power at the auction.  The facility’s owner Exelon has announced plans to close Three Mile Island in September of 2019.  Last week’s auction makes the plant’s future look bleak.

However, there still are efforts being made to save TMI from closure.  Exelon is looking for federal regulatory reforms to make nuclear competitive with natural gas or renewable energies.  This week, the governor of New Jersey signed legislation, authorizing $300 million annually to rescue its nuclear plants. 

Exelon and TMI supporters say nuclear is clean and doesn’t produce carbon emissions while others decry the loss of 675 jobs at TMI.

On Monday’s Smart Talk, we’re joined by Exelon’s Vice President for Government Affairs David Fein and Dauphin County Commissioner Mike Pries, who co-chairs a coalition to save the plant.

Also, Tuesday is the annual International Day of United Nation’s Peacekeepers.  According to the UN, the day “offers a chance to pay tribute to the contributions of uniforms and civilian personnel to the work of the Organization and to honor more than 3,700 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948.” 

Two peacekeepers appear on Tuesday’s program — COL. Michael Rauhut, director of the U.S. Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute. (PKSOI), U.S. Army War College and Australian COL. Todd Ashurst, Class Vice President, U.S. Army War College.        

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What to look for on Smart Talk Friday, May 25, 2018:

Summer-like temperatures are on the way soon and lots of rain this spring means Central Pennsylvania will see a large population of mosquitos, ticks and fleas.  Being bothered is one thing — getting sick is another.

The Centers for Disease Control reported earlier this month that diseases spread by mosquito, tick and flea bites tripled in the U.S. between 2004 and 2016.  There were more than 640,000 cases of vector-borne diseases identified during that period.  

Lyme Disease — spread by tick bites — increased the most.  But Zika and West Nile virus also were up due to mosquito bites.  

On Friday’s Smart Talk, we’ll discuss the dangers presented by these pests and what can be done to reduce bites from them.

Appearing on the program are Tim Abbey, Penn State Extension Educator, Horticulture – Green Industry and Tom Smith, Mosquito Surveillance and Control Pesticide Education and Community and Citizen Engagement at Penn State.

Are you one of the millions of people who have submitted DNA to companies like Ancestry.com or 23 and Me to get information on where your family came from or your ethnic background?  With aggressive marketing and advertising, more and more people are providing a saliva sample in a tube and sending it off only to find out a few weeks later whether they’ve always heard from relatives or what they suspected was true.  How accurate are the tests and what can we learn from them?

Joining us on Friday’s Smart Talk is Darvin Martin, analytical chemist who teaches classes on DNA tests Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society’s genealogy conference.

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