Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a
team at the University of Maryland are working to make synthetic
blood. It would be transformational for modern medicine -- and could
potentially change many things in how patients are treated. It could
eliminate the need for blood donations, refrigeration units to keep
the whole blood, and could allow products to be stored for years
instead of weeks. Dr. Susan Shea, an assistant professor of surgery
and bioengineering at the Pitt School of Medicine was a guest on the
Rick Dayton Show to discuss their work.

This week on Rick's Reading List, the featured book is James Swanson's
"Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase for Abraham Lincoln's Killer." It takes you
on an hour-by-hour account of what happened after famous actor John
Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in the Ford
Theater in Washington, D.C.. Swanson goes into vivid detail about how
Booth and a group of co-conspirators planned to kidnap the President.
Yet as the Civil War was ending with General Robert E. Lee's
surrender, the plan evolved into an assassination plot for Lincoln,
his Vice President, and at least one member of his Cabinet.

Filling today for Rick Dayton, Robert Mangino brought on Senator Bob Casey to talk about policing in America and to call for federal legislation to improve policing.

The Allegheny County Medical Society has a new president, and he is a
Pittsburgh native. Dr. Matthew Straka is a head and neck surgeon with
the Allegheny Health Network. He has just taken over as president of
the ACMS Board of Directors. He joined Rick Dayton Friday afternoon on
KDKA Radio to talk about the biggest challenges facing physicians in
their clinics and hospitals -- and about how the Medical Society and
its foundation are working to support those doctors.

Alleghany County has some of the highest taxes for new home owners. It has been an on going legal battle between the county and the people who pay homes in the county. Allegheny county executive Rich Fitzgerald joined Rick Dayton to talk about an extension to apply for a new assessment on their homes. 

The president of UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital was a guest on The
Rick Dayton Show this week. Deborah Brodine was on the program
Thursday afternoon to talk about a new facility in the South Side
designed to help children and young teens with emotional and
behavioral needs. They also want to address children with Autism and
developmental needs, those who have experienced trauma, and mothers
during and after pregnancy or the birth of a child.

How do you remember the death of six million Holocaust victims?  Rabbi
Charlie Savenor, who has been a frequent guest on The Rick Dayton
Show, joined Rick Thursday afternoon to talk about a concert he
produced at Carnegie Hall in New York City. “We Are Here” is a concert
of songs written in the ghettos and concentration camps of
Nazi-occupied Europe. The concert honors the memory of all those who
were murdered, and highlights the artists and writers who, in the
worst of times, continued to create.

Singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette has rolled her music into a
Broadway show that is making a one week run in Pittsburgh at the
Benedum Center for the Performing Arts. "Jagged Little Pill" is more
like a rock concert than your typical Broadway show, but it also
tackles a lot of heavy emotional and real-life struggles. Rick Dayton
reviews the show after seeing it on Opening Night when the curtain
went up Tuesday night.