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What to look for on Smart Talk Tuesday, July 18, 2018:

Medical advances in organ transplantation have progressed significantly with improvements in surgical methods and drug therapies. Yet, despite medical progress the shortage of organs remains the greatest challenge, world-wide.

In Pennsylvania alone, thousands are waiting on lists for months and even years. Every 10 minutes another person is added to the national waiting list, joining more 118,000 people across the country who also need organs. The numbers are daunting.

Organ donations can come from both living and deceased donors. One organ and tissue donor can save up to eight lives and help 75 people.

Joining guest host Valerie Pritchett (abc27) in the studio is TJ Bradley, a York county husband and father who is currently waiting for a kidney. Also, Lauren Gydosh recently donated a kidney to a former co-worker and will be in the studio to share her experience.

Dr. William Hoffman, director of the Living Donor Program at UPMC Pinnacle, joins us, along with Rebecca Brown, nurse manager with UPMC Pinnacle Transplantation services. 

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What to look for on Smart Talk Tuesday, July 17, 2018:

On Tuesday’s Smart Talk, guest host Katie Meyer kicks off the hour with a discussion of a grand jury report that’s hanging over Pennsylvania.

It’s an investigation of sexual abuse of children by clergy in six of the commonwealth’s eight Catholic diocese. And it’s stalled because current and former clergy are appealing to the state Supreme Court, arguing it would wrongly tarnish people’s reputations.

Angela Couloumbis of the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Liz Navratil of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette join us to discuss what might be in the report, and the legal intricacies keeping it from release.

And in the second part of the show, we turn our attention to local issues. Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse recently declared a fiscal crisis, amid an effort to exit the “distressed city” classification while keeping the special taxing authority that came with it.

WITF’s Keystone Crossroads reporter Emily Previti helps fill in the backstory of Harrisburg’s financial woes. And city reporter Lizzy Hardison of The Burg brings us up to speed on the latest developments.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Friday, July 13, 2018:

Millions of Americans are exposed to polluted air, a recent report by the Environment America Research & Policy Center found and released by the environmental group Penn Environment.

Air pollution can cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems, which may lead to premature death. The report, titled “Trouble in the Air,” found that even at levels considered “good” or “moderate” by the Environmental Protection Agency, pollution can still be harmful to people’s health.

After detailing the magnitude and dangers of air pollution in the United States, “Trouble in the Air” offers recommendations for future improvement. These suggestions include supporting government initiatives to reduce global warming and decrease pollution from vehicles.

The report found that the Central Pennsylvania region has some of the most polluted air in the country. Particulate matter is a particular problem in the region.

Stephanie Wein from PennEnvironment joins us on Friday’s Smart Talk to discuss pollution and “Trouble in the Air.”

Also, Pennsylvania police are cracking down on aggressive and distracted driving with an aggressive driving enforcement initiative. They are watching for people tailgating, running red lights, speeding, and not steering clear of emergency vehicles. During the last enforcement period in March and April, over 4,000 citations were issued.

Speeding, an aggressive driving habit, was responsible for over ¼ of traffic deaths in 2016. Congested roads and running late are some of the most common reasons people drive aggressively.

Distracted driving often involves texting, though it can include any behavior that requires drivers to take their focus from the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that texting causes drivers to look away from the road for five seconds, which, at a speed of 55 mph, is equivalent to driving the length of a football field with one’s eyes closed. This organization estimates that 481,000 people use cell phones while driving during the day.

Joining us on Friday to talk about the aggressive driving enforcement initiative are Co-Coordinators Barbara Zortman and Jeff Bowman, Region 2 Law Enforcement Liaison for the Pennsylvania Aggressive Driving Enforcement & Education Project, and Corporal Eric Carter from the Harrisburg Bureau of Police.

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What to look for on Smart Talk Thursday, July 12, 2018:

Last month the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that non-union government employees are not required to pay dues or fees in order to keep their jobs.  The Court said that an Illinois teacher’s First Amendment freedom of speech rights were being denied when he was forced to pay even though he wasn’t in the union.  The teacher — Mark Janus — said he didn’t agree with the political positions the union was taking and shouldn’t be forced to contribute money to fund political activity he didn’t support.  That’s even though non-union members’ dues or fees aren’t permitted to be used for political activity anyway.  

However, the argument for requiring non-union workers to pay dues or fees was that even though the employee may not be in the union, they benefitted from the contract the union negotiates.

The ruling overturns the 1977 Supreme Court case Abood v. Detroit Board of Education in which the justices made a distinction between two kinds of required payments:  agency fees, which were found to be constitutional, and voluntary union dues, which were not. 

Some predict that organized labor unions will take a hard hit financially and will likely see a decrease in membership.

On Thursday’s Smart Talk, we discuss the Janus decision and what it means for the future of unions with Stephen Herzenberg, Executive Director at the Keystone Research Center and Nathan Benefield, Vice President and COO of the Commonwealth Foundation.

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