The Spark

Those living in poverty often aren’t seen or acknowledged on a daily basis by the rest of society. There are organizations and government agencies that try to help. And many who express empathy, but do they really know how difficult life is for someone who doesn’t have resources and may not know where their next meal is coming from. With that in mind, it’s not a big surprise that there aren’t a lot of books or TV shows about poor people.

So, when Stephanie Land’s debut book Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive, chronicling her struggles as a single mother living in poverty became a best seller in 2019, it opened many readers' eyes about how hard day-to-day living is for poor people.

More people  learned about it when Maid inspired a TV series on Netflix.

Stephanie Land has written a new book – that just went on sale Tuesday called Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education that describes her time trying to juggle raising a daughter, a pregnancy, going to college to get a degree, not bringing in much money and fighting to realize her dream of becoming a writing.

Stephanie Land was on The Spark Friday.

Stephanie Land will appear at Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg this Saturday, November 11th at 6 p.m. to discuss and sign copies of her new book.

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The American Music Theatre, a family-owned regional theatre, is a dynamic hub for touring concerts, live performances, and original productions. With a rich repertoire of over 200 live shows annually, they showcase a diverse range of acts, from iconic rock stars and renowned comedians to up-and-coming talents. Their stage has witnessed performances by Grammy, Country Music Award, Tony, and Oscar winners, highlighting the venue's prestige in the entertainment industry. Notably, their Christmas Show is a unique in-house creation, known for attracting top talent from across the country, both on stage and behind the scenes. Director of Operations Brandon Martin stopped by the Spark to share insights into the upcoming holiday season and the theater's exciting schedule. With a history of hosting award-winning artists and a reputation for producing original, high-quality shows, the American Music Theatre stands as a cornerstone of the live performance scene, offering audiences a diverse array of world-class entertainment year-round.

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The Harrisburg LaunchBox, powered by Penn State, is currently hosting the Truist Empowered Entrepreneurs Executive Series at Penn State Harrisburg. This five-part series is focused on strengthening small businesses in the Harrisburg region. It aims to inspire innovation, foster entrepreneurship, and facilitate connections between startups and local resources. The program features a diverse range of leaders in the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem, covering vital topics such as access to capital, technical support programs, mentorship for success, research and development of new technologies, and best practices and policies regarding inclusion.

Amma Johnson, the director of the Harrisburg LaunchBox, provides insights into this initiative and discusses how it will be instrumental in supporting small businesses in the capital region. The series is a testament to the commitment of Harrisburg LaunchBox and Penn State in nurturing a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that empowers local businesses and drives economic growth in the Harrisburg area. Through targeted education and networking opportunities, this program is poised to make a positive impact on the region's business landscape, paving the way for innovation and success in the small business sector.

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For three decades, Joe Cecala has dedicated himself to securities law, leveraging his expertise to nurture the growth of small businesses, orchestrating over 100 successful capital events. Notably, in the past five years, he has been a driving force behind the Main Street Growth Act, advocating for it in the United States Congress. He played a pivotal role in briefing the entire Congress on the imperative need for venture stock exchanges.

In 2018, Joe founded Dream Exchange with a groundbreaking vision: to establish the inaugural venture stock exchange in the U.S. Yet, his ambition doesn't stop there. He's currently working towards the establishment of the first minority-owned national stock exchange in U.S. history, aiming to catalyze economic prosperity across all communities.

Dream Exchange's core mission is to foster equal opportunities through a marketplace characterized by principles of ethics, integrity, humanity, and accessibility. Joe Cecala's journey exemplifies a tireless dedication to democratizing financial markets, propelling small businesses, and championing economic inclusivity in an ever-evolving landscape.

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Shaun Murphy, known as Mister Motivation, is a lecture-prenuer and military Veteran. Serving as a Staff Sergeant in the US Army, he stood out as a leader and was honored by Former First Lady Michelle Obama for spearheading a veteran initiative at Teach For America. Presently, Shaun is a thriving entrepreneur with multiple successful ventures under his belt. In addition to his business endeavors, he has delved into the realm of motivational music, using it as a medium to inspire others.

What sets Shaun apart is his dedication to personal development. He has collaborated with leading curriculum experts to craft an online program aimed at awakening the inner potential within individuals, a curriculum aptly named "Wake The Beast." This initiative is a testament to Shaun's unwavering commitment to empowering people and helping them realize their fullest potential.

Shaun's journey from a decorated military career to a multifaceted entrepreneur showcases his determination and versatility. His recognition from Michelle Obama attests to his impactful contributions in the veteran community. Through his various ventures, motivational music, and innovative personal development curriculum, Shaun continues to make a profound difference in the lives of those he touches, embodying the essence of empowerment and self-realization.

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Theatre Harrisburg is presently staging the timeless American musical "Fiddler on The Roof," featuring music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Joseph Stein. The production revolves around Tevye, a dedicated milkman, who grapples to preserve his cherished traditions amid the encroaching influences of the modern world. The show is currently taking place at the Whitaker Center on Market Street in Harrisburg and will run until November 19th. Theatre Harrisburg, established in 1926 as Harrisburg Community Theatre, is now in its impressive 98th season. As the oldest performing arts organization in the capital region, it has carved a significant legacy in the local cultural landscape. "Fiddler on The Roof" showcases the enduring themes of love, family, and cultural identity, resonating deeply with audiences. The production combines the essence of the original work with a contemporary perspective, offering a fresh and captivating theatrical experience. With its rich history and commitment to excellence, Theatre Harrisburg continues to be a beacon of cultural enrichment for the community, providing an opportunity for both seasoned theatergoers and newcomers to immerse themselves in the magic of live performance.

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Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States. Teen crash rates are nearly four times higher than those of adult drivers. Carrying passengers, particularly other teens, greatly increases crash risk for teen drivers. Those statistics are from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What can be done to make young people better and safer drivers and make the roads safer for everyone?

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has done research on teen drivers using a driving simulator.

Cognitive neuroscientist Liz Walshe was the study’s lead author and joined us on The Spark Tuesday.

Walshe was asked what scenarios presented the biggest challenges for the teen drivers on the simulator,"Some of them are in urban or more rural, like suburban settings. There's some that are hazard zones where there might be construction going on. There's some scenarios where an ambulance comes up and we have some scenarios where a hazard suddenly appears in the road. And so there is one where there's a children's playground on the side of the road. There's a ball that comes tumbling out of the playground. And that seems to be a challenging scenario. We didn't in this study specifically compare the different scenarios, but having looked at this drive in a number of different studies, we do see that that's a sudden hazard situation that can be difficult for some teens to handle if they're not doing the right things, coming up to that environment and thinking I should slow down or I should be scouting for children or for other things."

Walshe added speeding, tailgating and lane control as three other areas many of the young drivers struggled with.

How does Walshe envision the research and the stimulator being used?,"I think the path we really see going forward is to say we know there are very specific skill deficits that some young drivers still have even after they get their licenses. And so we really need to intervene early. The highest lifetime risk of being in a crash is in the first few months after you get your license. So that's a critical period where we could definitely be doing better and doing more to reduce our crash risk. So I think we can use this tool to say these are the skills we need to focus interventions on, and these are the specific teens who need them because they're at higher risk than others. And I think also just reassessing the kind of the value of more formalized driver training as well. And that's coming from some of our other work that we've done in Ohio. But it does seem to be a trend about states that have requirements for behind the wheel training with an instructor, that there can be a lower crash risk for young drivers. So getting sufficient training and experience before you get your license might overcome the fact that you're young and your brain is still developing and you have these other risk factors too."

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Commonwealth Court ruled last week that former Governor Tom Wolf’s plan to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or RGGI amounted to a tax and could only be enacted by legislative action – essentially shooting down the state becoming part of RGGI for the time being.

StateImpact PA reporter Rachel McDevitt was on The Spark Monday and explained what RGGI is,"

It's a partnership among those states to set a regional cap on emissions from their power plants. And so that's basically if we were to set a limit collectively, you know, sort of take account of all of our emissions from power plants in this region, we're going to set a cap, we're going to set a goal for how we want to lower that cap and lower those emissions over time. And then we are going to have auctions four times a year at those auctions. The generators, those power plant power plants that produce pollution, they buy something called an allowance. That is their permit to pollute. They need an allowance for each tonne of carbon dioxide they emit. And so this like combination of the cap and market forces and how much pollution is actually in the whole region sets that price for how much each allowance is. So the goal of the program is over time it makes polluting expensive and then states can take the money that they raise from these power plants and invest that in energy efficiency measures or clean energy or help people with their bills in the region. Each state gets to decide what they do with that on their own, on their own terms.

As McDevitt pointed out, Republican lawmakers have generally opposed the state becoming part of RGGI,"They believe that it would threaten the energy market in Pennsylvania. We generate so much electricity in Pennsylvania and we export a lot of electricity. So it is a big business. So they didn't want to see anything that would hurt that industry and they did not want to, especially because so many of them are fossil fuel powered and a lot of Republican lawmakers and some Democratic lawmakers, they represent people that work in these industries. And so they do not want to see any job losses."

What does this mean for the state going forward – especially it’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change?

McDevitt said some believe the Commonwealth Court ruling could be overturned by a higher court, based on the state's Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution that guarantees Pennsylvanians the right to clean air and water, but added,"If we do not join RGGI, we do not have much of a climate program in Pennsylvania. We don't have anything to back it up. Governor Shapiro has not announced any type of plan similar in scope. We are making some progress in some things. They are capping old abandoned wells. Governor Shapiro has announced new regulations forthcoming on the oil and gas industry, but we would not have a comprehensive climate plan in Pennsylvania."

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Eight people were killed and 28 injured in shootings in Chicago over the weekend. An 11-year-old boy was shot to death and five others injured in Cincinnati Saturday. Those incidents don’t seem to get much national attention because they’re not out of the ordinary.

Mass shootings with lots of casualties do, like the one that left 15 people dead in Lewiston, Maine last month.

But mass shootings are so common too that there are now established patterns -- the shock of the shooting incident, the initial reports which may or may not be accurate, the thought and prayers level, the gun control debate and then on to the next one. A new book, called American Roulette  – written by eight different authors – is a fictionalized account in the day of people involved in a mass shooting from the time they wake up on the fateful morning until the tragedy itself and aftermath.

On The Spark Monday, we were joined by two of the authors of American Roulette – Rev. Matthew Best and Sherry Knowlton.

Rev. Best came up with the idea for the book after a mass shooting earlier this year,"I thought, what's missing? The humanity? These are people's lives that they have been cut short. And it's very easy to have this debate where people talk past each other because that's an abstract idea. But these are people's lives."

Best added,"They didn't just show up all of a sudden at this shooting. They were living their life just like you and I. Just like anybody else. And they have plans. They have loved ones. And so what happens in what I've noticed in these shootings is we end up with a focus on the numbers, the focus on the loss, the focus on, again, going into what should we do without taking a look at, well, who are we talking about? There's  teachers, there's fathers and mothers and sons. And these are people who were going to do things and they were cut short. And it's not just them. It has a ripple effect that goes beyond that. So every time that one of these shootings happens, it's not just the victims. It's also the shooter, the humanity of the shooter as well, which is very hard for people to talk about because we want a scapegoat of this is the evil and we want to throw all that onto them and come up with some excuse as opposed to seeing there's a human being as well that has caused this."

Knowlton said that even though the book doesn't come right out and say it, there is an overarching theme, "The most direct is that today in America, this could happen to any one of us at any time. And the whole concept of American roulette is that in Russian roulette, the person who's playing the quote game has is holding a pistol to their own head, and they may or may not get shot depending on when the bullet strikes the chamber. But in American roulette, all of us can be going about our lives, and we don't know that somebody else has picked up that rifle or gun and is playing a game that we don't even know that we're about to become participants in and probably be the losers."

Now, that is a scary thought.

The authors of American Roulette are Matthew Best, Robert Bradshaw, Andy Carey, James Dodds, Cheryl Dunn Bychek, Sherry Knowlton, Pat LaMarche, Phyllis Orenyo, J.M. West and Cheryl Woodruff Brooks.

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Highlights from this past week! 

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