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Families, service providers and advocates are drawing attention to the likelihood that a state policy change will leave thousands of children with autism without their regular therapy.

Under the policy change that was set to take effect Jan. 17, children who attend therapy at clinics will no longer be able to have those services paid for by federal Medical Assistance. This therapy helps the children learn crucial skills and reach milestones, such as communicating and interacting with others.

There are more than 100,000 children in Pennsylvania living with autism, and this policy change will impact those who receive services in a clinic setting.

Appearing on Smart Talk to discuss the issue and the impact are Brett Sholtis, WITF Transforming Health Reporter, Michelle DeMarsh, founder of Pennsylvania Autism Action Center and Kathleen Bailey Stengel, CEO of NeurAbilities Healthcare.

Solar energy boom leaves communities at crossroads

The demand for green energy is only increasing as the world looks for more sustainable energy options. Solar power is one such option experiencing significant growth. In fact, Pennsylvania is on the cusp of a solar development boom.

There are currently more than 350 solar projects proposed in the commonwealth, in various stages of planning. Some of these projects are meeting considerable opposition in the communities where they will be built.

Rachel McDevitt, StateImpact PA reporter, is covering the controversy, along with some of the misinformation about solar power and she appears on Smart Talk Tuesday.

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Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S. — a day to honor the late civil rights leader. Dr. King was viewed as the nation’s leading advocate of equality and justice for African-Americans during the 1960s – what has been referred to as the Civil Rights Era in America.

The King holiday would seem to be even more significant in 2021 after the “Racial Reckoning” that swept the country after the death of George Floyd while in police custody last May.
Floyd’s death set off protests against police violence toward minorities that expanded into demonstrations and acknowledgement of discrimination, inequality and injustice.

Monday’s Smart Talk focuses on whether the last six months has brought change and if we as a nation are any closer to King’s vision of racial equality.

Scheduled to appear on the program are Lancaster City Council President Ismail Smith Wade-El, Sandra Thompson – York area attorney, and president of the NAACP, and Professor Stephanie Jirard, Chief Equity Officer at Shippensburg University.

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A week after insurrectionists breached the U.S. Capitol, the FBI is warning law enforcement agencies that armed protests have been planned in all 50 state capitals.

Harrisburg Police Sgt. Kyle Gautsch said his department is aware of the FBI’s memo, but that officers are not on any special or heightened alert at this time.

Sam Dunklau is the WITF Capitol Bureau Chief and he, along with Anthony Orozco, Latino communities reporter for WITF, are covering the security situation in Pennsylvania and Harrisburg. They join Smart Talk Friday to discuss their reporting.

Social Media and First Amendment rights come under scrutiny

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey defended his company’s ban of President Donald Trump’s Twitter account by saying the risk to public safety created an “extraordinary and untenable circumstance” for the company, essentially leaving them no choice.

Conservative groups are crying foul over the social media cancellations saying the actions are an infringement of free speech. But are they?

Robert D. Richards, Esq., is the John & Ann Curley Professor of First Amendment Studies, and Founding Director of the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment at Penn State University. He appears on Smart Talk Friday to analyze the issues.

Vaccinations soon available to most, but can employers require it?

The long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan is underway around the country and in Pennsylvania. Health officials have said that any American who wants a vaccine will be able to get one by early summer.

There are certainly some people who, though offered a vaccine, will choose not to take it. But what if you don’t want a COVID-19 vaccine, or object to it for some reason, can your employer or even a travel provider require you take it? Is it possible in the future that you might be refused service for not being vaccinated against the Coronavirus?

Appearing on Smart Talk Friday to unravel the complexities behind this issue is Andrew Levy, Esq., McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC.

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*Smart Talk will be preempted today for NPR coverage of the Congressional impeachment process/deliberations/vote. The Farm Show conversation will be recorded to air later, as long as the Congressional deliberations are complete and we return to regular programming

After the holiday rush is over each year many Pennsylvanians look forward to the annual Farm Show in Harrisburg. The event is billed as the largest indoor agricultural exposition under one roof in the nation and at more than 100-years-old, it is certainly one of the oldest.

This year’s Farm Show is different in many respects. The sights, sounds and smells are replaced by online panel discussions and vendor maps with featured links. The popular Pennsylvania Dairymen’s association milkshakes are “on the mooove” at pop-up locations around the area. Things are different this year, but a lot of work has gone into “making hay” out of the pandemic-caused disruption.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding appears on Smart Talk Wednesday to highlight the changes to the 2021 show, and current issues and challenges facing the industry. Joining him are Jeff Moyer, CEO of Rodale Institute, an organic farming and research organization, along with Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi, Ph.D., Clinical Professor and Head of Microbiology at Penn State University. This discussion will include how research is transforming the agriculture industry and sparking innovation.

Then, Margaret Brittingham, Ph.D., Professor of Wildlife Resources Extension Wildlife Specialist and Calvin Norman, Penn State Extension forestry and wildlife educator join Smart Talk to offer ways to create wildlife habitats in your own back yard.

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It has been almost a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S. Since that day at the end of February, more than 22 million people have tested positive for the virus with more than 370 thousand dying from it. In Pennsylvania, more than 700 thousand have tested positive and nearly 18 thousand have died.

We have learned much about COVID-19 in the past year; how the virus is spread, who is at risk and the role of face masks. However, many people still have questions about the virus, how to avoid exposure, what to do if you experience symptoms and the impact of gatherings and keeping children in school.

The availability of a vaccine is now raising hopes that life might return to normal soon, or at least head in that direction.

Dr. Eugene Curley, MD., is an infectious disease specialist with WellSpan Health and he joins us on Tuesday’s Smart Talk to answer questions about COVID-19 and slowing the spread.

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The Holocaust, Armenia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur – all genocides that have occurred over the past century. Genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.

Even though millions of people were murdered just because of their religious, ethnic or racial backgrounds, many Americans – especially younger – Americans don’t know many of the basic facts about what have to be considered some of the greatest tragedies in human history.

For example, a survey conducted by the PEW Research Center last year found that only 38% of American teenagers knew that six million Jews died in the Holocaust.

Penn State University is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Education and other non-profit organizations on the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Initiative to educate students about the events.

Appearing on Monday’s Smart Talk to provide details are Neil Leifert, Lecturer in History and Director of the Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies, Penn State Harrisburg, Eliyana Adler, Associate Professor in History and Holocaust Scholar for the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative at Penn State University and Boaz Dvir, assistant professor in the Bellisario College and Director of the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative at Penn State University.

New air filtration technology that can eliminate COVID

Also on the program, the COVID-19 pandemic has spawned technology to help mitigate the virus.

LifeAire Systems developed an air filtration system that can kill infectious airborne pathogens, including the coronavirus, and the company also applied this technology to create portable, rapid decontamination units for N95 masks that kill COVID-19 and other pathogens within all layers of the mask.

Joining us on Smart Talk to discuss the new technology are Kathryn C. Worrilow, CEO and Founder LifeAire Systems, Laura Eppler, Chief Marketing officer, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and Doug Engler, Lehigh Valley Regional Manager, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

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The 2020 Holiday season will be unlike any other before, with more families and individuals experiencing food insecurity.

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank points out that because hunger doesn’t take a holiday, neither will they. Since the pandemic began, the Food Bank has seen a more than 40 percent increase in food distribution over the same time last year. Of the people they support, one-third are children.

While most companies are cancelling holiday office parties to ensure employee safety, some organizations and individuals are devising other ways to help their community.

Appearing on Smart Talk Tuesday to share how some are finding ways to spread cheer are Joe Arthur, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, Blake Lynch, Community Policing Liaison with the Harrisburg Bureau of Police and Christopher Markley, Corporate Communications Executive with Penn National Insurance.

Major league baseball recognition and reorganization

One hundred years ago a league structure was formed to bring organization to the many black baseball teams playing in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. The Negro leagues maintained a high level of professional skill and became centerpieces for economic development, and pride, in many black communities. The last Negro League teams folded in the early 1960’s, as black players were recruited into major league baseball.

Last week, MLB completed the full integration of these players by reclassifying the Negro baseball league as a major league. Ted Knorr is a local Baseball historian and he’ll appear on Smart Talk to discuss what these changes mean to the sport. Also, Smart Talk is joined by Andrew Linker, an author and longtime sports writer to talk about recent cuts of Minor league programs around the country.

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Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Law Enforcement Education and Accountability for People with Disabilities (LEAD) Initiative, seeking to bring about “racial justice and address the high incidence rate of police violence involving people with disabilities.”

The LEAD Initiative is comprised of two bills – the Safe Interactions Act and the Human-services Emergency Logistic Program (HELP) Act – which would reduce calls to 9-1-1 call systems regarding non-criminal emergencies and provide training to law enforcement on interacting with people with disabilities, particularly those experiencing a mental health crisis.

Senator Casey appears on Smart Talk Monday to offer details on both bills and how the overall initiative will change policing.

Distance learning is changing the American education system

Around the country children in all grade levels from Kindergarten through High School, attend virtual classes every day. It has become the standard method of teaching during the pandemic and has allowed, for the most part, schools to continue uninterrupted.

The process is not without problems, though, to include an alarming rise in truancy reports.

In Pennsylvania, students are considered truant after three unexcused absences in a single academic year. There are limited exceptions to the attendance requirement, but school districts are finding wide-spread abuse of the rules.

Reporter Mark Keierleber is a senior writer-reporter at The 74, a non-profit news site covering education in America. He recently reported on a growing concern that these absences could funnel more children into the court systems to face the truancy charges and he joins Smart Talk Monday to share his findings.

Also on Monday’s Smart Talk, Betheny Gross is the Associate Director at the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) who will share an overview of the data on distance learning, attendance, and learning loss. She’ll appear Monday to discuss survey results from families on how distance learning is working for them.

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Plans for the 2021 Pennsylvania Farm Show are taking shape, although exhibits and the experience will look quite different this year.

Noticeably missing will be the sounds and smells of the yearly event that draws thousands of Pennsylvanians from across the state. But the sights will go on, albeit on a virtual platform, from Saturday, January 9 through Saturday, January 16.

In a normal year, Pennsylvania hosts the largest indoor agricultural exposition under one roof in the nation, to showcase the diverse Pennsylvania agriculture industry and the people who make it happen. Pennsylvania agriculture employs nearly half a million people and contributes $185 billion to the economy. While this year’s event will be different in many respects, there will things familiar to past show-goers.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding appears on Smart Talk to talk about the changes to the 2021 show, and current issues and challenges facing the industry.

Bringing Life Back to Impaired Pennsylvania Waterways

Pennsylvania agriculture contributes considerably to the economic strength and vitality of the state, but there are also downsides to the industry. Removing trees to accommodate farming practices has left some waterways without the benefit of one of the main food sources that organisms in the waterways rely on: leaves.

A Bucknell University biology and environmental sciences research class is studying the impact of leaves on biodiversity and stream health on Buffalo Creek, a Susquehanna River tributary. The researchers hope their findings will have an impact on other waterways and lead restoration efforts throughout the state.

Matthew E. McTammany, Ph.D., is a Professor with Biology & Environmental Studies and Sciences at Bucknell University and he joins Smart Talk Friday, along with Jordan Isaacs (2023), a Biology major and Presidential Fellow to discuss the innovative research plan.

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Municipalities across the country are working to evaluate what policing will look like in their communities going forward. Harrisburg has taken the next step by proposing a Community Services Division within the Harrisburg Police Department. Mayor Eric Papenfuse had proposed a force of about a dozen community service officers that would aid in mental health calls and work closely with citizens. However, Harrisburg Council approved seven as a pilot program in next year’s budget.

The Community Services Division would be made up mostly of civilians with a mission to “build a bridge” between the community and the police force.

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse and City Police Commissioner Thomas Carter appear on Smart Talk Thursday to discuss the merits of the program.

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