Category: Smart Talk

What to look for on Smart Talk Tuesday, March 13, 2018:

Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts collect about $14.4 billion.  There’s a good chance that number will rise next year because property taxes increase almost every year in most school districts. It’s one of the reasons funding schools through property taxes is so unpopular.

Even though most Pennsylvanians don’t like property taxes, efforts to eliminate them have failed in the past.  The bottom line is that $14 billion has to be replaced and there will be winners and losers if that happens.

Republican State Senator David Argall of Schuylkill County has made property tax reform a priority.  Legislation that would have eliminated property taxes and increased income and sales taxes and expanded the number of items subject to the sales tax failed by one vote in 2015.

Armed with a referendum approved by voters last fall that makes a few changes, Argall plans to re-introduce his property tax plan.

He explains on Tuesday’s Smart Talk.

The special election in Pennsylvania’s 18^th Congressional District is the center of the political universe Tuesday.  Republican Rick Saccone and Democrat Conor Lamb are competing to replace anti-abortion Republican Congressman Tim Murphy, who resigned after word came out that he encouraged his mistress to have an abortion.

President Trump campaigned for Saccone last weekend and almost $16 million has been spent on the campaign – much of it from outside the district – all for a term in office that will last nine months.

NPR’s Scott Detrow is in the district and reporting on the special election that could have national ramifications.  He joins us on Smart Talk.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, March 12, 2018:

Some 175 people died of drug overdoses in York County last year.  The county has seen a big jump in the number of deadly overdoses in the last several years.  But it is still alarming when York County Coroner Pam Gay reported there were 13 drug overdose deaths in a 10-day period ending last Tuesday.  Gay said the victims probably overdosed on heroin and fentanyl.

To date, York County has had around 25 overdose deaths in 2018.  That’s about the same pace as last year which may or may not mean the opioid crisis is holding steady rather than getting worse.

Pam Gay has been one of the leading voices in the fight against opioids.  She appears on Monday’s Smart Talk.

Coal Jobs & Production

One of the promises Donald Trump made when he ran for president was to end the “war on coal” that he claimed the Obama Administration had undertaken.

In 2017 – between 700 and a thousand new coal mining jobs were created and coal production was up almost 2%.  The Administration cites the rollback of a half-dozen regulations for the increased numbers.  However, others say the rise in jobs and production is due mostly to overseas demand.

At least two mines opened in Pennsylvania last year, but word came recently about the shutdown of the 4 West Mine in Greene County near West Virginia.  The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier reported this story for StateImpact Pennsylvania and joins us on Monday’s Smart Talk.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Friday, March 9, 2018:

Catch a lucky break. Pick the lucky numbers. Being in the right place at the right time. Some people are just luckier than others, right? Do some people really have all the luck? The answer may be yes AND no.

Joining us on Friday’s Smart Talk is bestselling author Janice Kaplan. Her latest book, co-authored with Barnaby Marsh, is How Luck Happens: Using the Science of Luck to Transform Work, Love, and Life. It investigates the “seemingly mysterious luck-forces shaping our lives.”

The authors say there is a formula for luck and anyone can have more control over the lucky events in life so be lucky enough to tune in.

­Sunday, March 11, is Pennsylvania Charter Day, the 337^th birthday of the land grant issued by England’s King Charles II for what is now Pennsylvania. This document is sometimes referred to as Pennsylvania’s “birth certificate.”

William Penn’s personal copy of the 1681 Charter will be on display at the State Museum of Pennsylvania from noon to 5pm on March 11.

Smart Talk guest and State Archivist David Carmichael will be in the studio to talk about the rare document, the founding of Pennsylvania and activities for Charter Day.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Thursday, March 8, 2018:

How a flute made from the bones of extinct animals can be traced to the invention of the programmable computer?  It’s just one story from best-selling popular science author and media theorist Steven Johnson, who appears on Thursday’s Smart Talk.

Johnson is considered one of the world’s best thinkers when it comes to innovation.  One of his most popular books was Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation.  In the book, Johnson describes “the slow hunch” and how ideas and creativity are often the product of a slow process rather than an “eureka” moment.

His latest book is Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World where he provides examples of where the adage “necessity is the mother of invention” by pointing out that many innovations occurred in science, technology, politics and society when someone was at play or doing something thye enjoy rather than working on a project.

Steven Johnson appears at Penn State/Harrisburg Tuesday, March 13 at 11:30 a.m. as part of PNC’s Thought Leaders Lecture Series.  PNC’s Regional President for Central Pennsylvania Jim Hoehn will explain the series on Smart Talk.

Also, spinal celebrospinal fluid (brain-spinal fluid) leak is a little known medical condition that can cause severe headaches when one stands up or is upright.  What actually happens is the fluid that supports the brain and spinal cord leaks through a hole or tear.

Camp Hill Dr. Connie Deline is vice president and chair of the Medical Advisory Board of the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation.  and she’ll be on Thursday’s program.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Wednesday, March 7, 2018:

Insects that aren’t native to Pennsylvania have invaded the state’s forests, farm fields and homes and new ones appear every few years.

Recently, the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug made its way from Asia. This nuisance pest was first spotted in Allentown in 1998 and has now spread throughout most of eastern and western North America. The stink bug is a serious threat to fruit and vegetable crops and will likely be found continent-wide within a few years.  It also is a real pest inside homes, although it isn’t destructive inside a house.

The Emerald Ash Borer was first confirmed in Pennsylvania in 2007.  The Ash Borer has killed an estimated 40 million trees across the country and the infestation is spreading. As just one example, there are a lot fewer baseball bats made of ash.

Now, growers are sounding the alarm over the Spotted Lanternfly. This bug was first found in Pennsylvania in 2014. The Lanternfly is a potential threat to several important crops, including fruit trees and timber.

From area farms to your backyard, what can be done about the growing threat of invasive bug species?

To answer that question on Wednesday’s Smart Talk is Dr. Michael Skvarla, a Penn State Extension Insect Identification Lab Director.

Also, the Chesapeake Bay Program released a report earlier this year indicating improvements in the health of the bay.  The Bay Barometer: Health and Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed 2016 – 2017 used twenty different metrics to record the cleanliness and sustainability of the bay, including the viability of underwater flora, water-life populations and pollution content.

Many targets were met; the blue crab population is thriving; nitrogen and phosphorus levels are dropping significantly and water quality in the bay and its tributaries are meeting standards.  The CBP report also recorded civic engagement in the preservation of the Chesapeake; “Environmental Literacy and Planning, Student Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences and Citizen Stewardship” were all factors in considering the bay’s health.

On Wednesday’s Smart Talk, we discuss the findings of the report, what this means for recreation and commerce on the bay and what aspects of the Chesapeake’s sustainability still need to be addressed with Harry Campbell Executive Director Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Alison Prost, Interim Vice President of Environmental Protection & Restoration for the Bay Foundation.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Tuesday, March 6, 2018:

Drive through areas of Pennsylvania where natural gas has been successfully drilled over the past 10 years and you’ll see new barns, farm equipment, or other items like boats or pick-up trucks that indicate new wealth.  Some landowners in the Marcellus Shale region have made a lot of money by leasing their land to gas companies.

But others haven’t — even though gas is being recovered under their land.  According to StateImpact Pennsylvania, a project that includes WITF and reports on Pennsylvania’s energy economy, the disparity in how royalties are paid to landowners “stems from a complex web of laws, court rulings and legal jargon that determines how money is distributed to property owners who allow energy companies to tap the minerals below their land.”

Often, landowners who don’t get big royalty checks because gas companies take “post-production costs” out of the royalties.

Tuesday’s Smart Talk explains the royalty controversy with State Impact Pennsylvania’s Marie Cusick and Amy Sisk.

Also, Forbes.com has named Lancaster as one of the nation’s “coolest cities to visit.”  The accompanying article said the city had a bustling food scene and is becoming a cultural hotbed, citing Lancaster art galleries and the Fulton Theatre.

Tuesday’s Smart Talk takes a look at the what makes Lancaster a cool place with Discover Lancaster President Kathleen Frankford.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, March 5, 2018:

Last summer, white supremists marched in Charlottesville, Virginia chanting “Jews will not replace us.”  It’s a recent example of how Jewish people are still targeted for hate.

Unfortunately, Charlottesville wasn’t an isolated incident.  In Pennsylvania, last year, there were 96 incidents of anti-Semitism — a 43% increase over 2016.  Vandalism against Jewish people and institutions doubled in the state from the year before.  Many of the vandalisms included swastikas painted on Jewish homes or buildings.

Across the country, there was a 60% increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents.

The statistics come from a new report by the Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia.  The ADL’s Regional Director Nancy Baron-Baer appears on Monday’s Smart Talk to discuss why the anti-Semitic incidents are growing and what can be done about it.

Also, WITF’s Transforming Health reporter Brett Sholtis recently rode along with a Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County EMS crew.  During the evening Brett was with the first responders, a call came in that a man had overdosed on opioids.  The man was revived and possibly saved from dying by Naloxone.  It turns out it was the second straight day the man overdosed.

On Monday’s program, we’ll hear Brett’s story of his ride-along and also he updates us on safety at Central York High School where classes were cancelled for three days two weeks ago after a threat was made.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Friday, March 2, 2018:

Each year nearly 800,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke. A stroke can happen to anyone, at any time and is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S.

Strokes occur when blood flow to an area of brain is cut off; brain cells are deprived of oxygen and begin to die. When brain cells die, abilities controlled by that area of the brain, such as memory and muscle control, are lost. How a person is affected depends on where the stroke occurs in the brain and how much of the brain is damaged.

Most strokes can be prevented, but research shows that too few people know how to recognize when a stroke is happening. While overall stroke rates are decreasing for the older population, rates are increasing for young and middle-aged people.

Joining us on Friday’s Smart Talk are  Dr. Ray Reichwein, neurologist, and Dr. Kevin Cockroft, neurosurgeon, co-directors of Penn State Health Stroke Center. Also with us is Lucy M Gnazzo, the mother of a 28-year-old woman who suffered a stroke last year and is recovering.

As basketball fans eagerly anticipate March Madness, much attention is now focused on allegations of recruiting improprieties that implicate some of the nation’s most esteemed programs. An FBI investigation alleges loans and payments for entertainment and travel expenses for prospects and their families.  A former Penn State player is one of the players alleged to having received a loan from the agent at the center of the investigation.

Author and Professor Gregory Kaliss, Ph.D, Visiting Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Towson University , joins us to discuss this developing scandal.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Thursday, March 1, 2018:

More than 78 hundred guns were stolen in a record-setting 577 burglaries at the nation’s gun stores last year.  Burglaries at gun shops have increased 70% since 2013 according to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

There have been a rash of burglaries at gun shops in Central Pennsylvania during the past four months.  Seventy-two guns were stolen from Kinsey’s Outdoors in Mount Joy Township, Lancaster County last November.  That was one of the largest number of firearms stolen in any one robbery anywhere in the nation.  There was another gun shop burglary in Mount Joy Township and others in Palmyra, Lebanon County and in Highland Township, Adams County.

On Thursday’s Smart Talk, we’re joined by Donald Robinson, Special Agent in Charge and Charlene Hennessy, Special Agent and Public Information Officer of ATF’s Philadelphia office.  We’ll discuss the burglaries, where the stolen guns end up and how stolen and guns possessed illegally are tracked.

Also, March 2^nd, 1962 – 56 years ago Friday, the Philadelphia Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain scored 100-points against the New York Knicks in a game that was played at what was then called the Hershey Arena.  Chamberlain’s 100 point game set a pro basketball record that stands to this day.  Many people outside of Central Pennsylvania don’t realize the game was played in Hershey.  We speak with author Gary Pomerantz, who wrote the book Wilt 1962 and also a man who was there to witness Wilt’s record-setting effort and has a few stories to tell.

James Hayney was at Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game 56 years ago and now lives in Camp Hill.

Spring is only 20 days away and you can get in the spirit this weekend at the Pennsylvania Garden Show of York  at the York Expo Center, Memorial Hall at the York Fairgrounds.  Cher Condor with the Pennsylvania Garden Show of York has a few details about the event.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Wednesday, February 28, 2018:

The debate over arming teachers has increased in intensity in the wake of the February 14th Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that took the lives of 17 students and teachers. President Trump stated that arming teachers would be a big deterrent to future attacks, but few educators agree.

Teachers and administrators in Pennsylvania are weighing in on school safety and agree that it is time to add their voices to the national debate. Many say the events in Florida feel like a “tipping point” in efforts to prevent school violence.

Organizations representing school boards, teachers, principals and administrators are among the professionals who publicly oppose arming teachers in the classroom.  So what can be done to stop school shootings and make students safer?  In Pennsylvania, those organizations are meeting and collaborating their efforts to find solutions to potential dangers in schools.

Wednesday’s Smart Talk brings four of them together.  Joining us to talk about school safety are John Callahan, Chief Advocacy Officer with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, Mark D. DiRocco, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, Paul M. Healey is Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Principals Association, and Dolores McCracken, President of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union.

 

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