The Spark

Many may have wondered why bark is shedding off their trees. Now that flowers and leaves are dropping this season, it is making this issue more noticeable.

George Weigel, Garden Columnist for the Patriot-News and PennLive and retired horticulturist, joins us to tell us why this is taking place, signs of other unhealthy plants, and ways to combat the issue.

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Many, including millennials, are looking for the keys to succeed in the workplace and find purpose and passion in their work.

Dr. Tracey Jones, President of Tremendous Leadership and Co-author of A Message to Millennials: What your parents didn’t tell you and your employer needs you to know, joined us on Monday's Smart Talk to discuss her book and the tips it offers to achieve success in the workplace.

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Columbia has gained a reputation for its haunted and spooky nature because of paranormal activity reports from residents, stories about the Albatwitch, and more.

According to the Lancaster County Magazine, Columbia secured its place of honor on the Halloween Happenings map in 2001 when its production of the Haunted Lantern Tour became the hottest ticket in town for nine years and when Mt. Bethel Cemetery began hosting a fundraiser that allows guests to dine amongst the gravestones.

Chris Vera, President of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society and Rick Fisher, Author of Ghosts of the River Towns book and Mysterious Creature & Paranormal Investigator join me to talk about Columbia’s spooky nature and upcoming Halloween events.

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Journalists in the U.S. have come under criticism and have been targeted verbally and sometimes physically in our highly politically-charged society. But the First Amendment freedom of the press is still one of the fundamentals that makes America different.

All one has to do is look to our south in Mexico where even many journalists take bribes and journalists are intimidated and sometimes murdered or disappear.

Regina Martinez was not one of the journalist who was accepting bribes or writing-government friendly stories. Her aggressive reporting on corruption may have gotten her killed.

Former Associated Press Mexico Bureau Chief Katherine Corcoran has written a new book called In The Mouth of the Wolf – A Murder, A Coverup, and the True Cost of Silencing the Press.

Appearing on Friday's Smart Talk, Corcoran explained why she wrote the book," I wanted to write this book because I wanted to show the importance of a free press and what happens to a society when you shut it down, when you quiet the free press. Also, I wanted to find out what happened to her. It was a very controversial case and there was clearly a cover up. And so I wanted to see if I could find out what really happened."

She added that's why the book is relevant to American readers,"The attacks against the press in the United States right now, which I've been a journalist for decades, are really unprecedented. It can be dangerous to go out and be a reporter in the United States because now you are targeted for being a journalist in a way that never happened before -- verbal threats, but also physical attacks. And so what I wanted to show was a society where the journalists are basically terrorized. They either have to leave or self-censor in order to protect their own lives. And what happens in a society where that situation exists, because there is a void of  real information, of reported information, of independent voices, of critical voices. And it allows, in the case of the book, a criminal government to basically prey on its own citizens. And so the result of silencing the press is not really hitting the press. It's it's hitting the society. It's controlling the society. And what the society can know, what the society can do. And so I think it's very important for people to understand that when someone attacks the press, we're just the first line of attack. We're not the target. You're the target. The society is the target."

Regina Martinez was beaten to death in her home in 2012. An arrest was made but there's some doubt about the guilt or level of guilt of the man arrested. Corcoran doesn't speculate on who killed Martinez but she does have a theory,"I think she was killed because she had some very sensitive and explosive information about a powerful person. And I think that powerful person found out about it. And there's some dispute among her colleagues whether she was actually planning to publish it or not, because some said she was actively working on this. And others said, no, that she had come to the point where she realized the situation was just too dangerous. And she told people that she didn't want to investigate any more, that she wanted to pull back. She maybe wanted to cover other topics. And so it's not clear that she was actually working on it as to publish. But it is pretty clear that she knew it and some and other people found out that she knew it."

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According to a recent survey, women have powered the post-pandemic small business boom, with the share of women entrepreneurs nearly doubling from 2019 to 2021. Robin Wheeler, Owner of Wheel of Light Studio, is one of those women.

Wheeler said starting her business during that time had its challenges.

"Figuring out the best loan processes to apply for, sorting through all the information out there, dealing with the supply chain issues; it's been interesting. I really picked an interesting time to try to launch this business," Wheeler said.

However, she thought that it was important to start her pottery business to spread the importance of creativity and diverse entrepreneurship.

Wheelers' studio offers classes for people with all levels of skill with art forms like pottery, painting, macramé, wood, burning, silk painting and resin trays. She described her studio as a place to play, where people can make cups, bowls, plates, decorations, wall ornaments, lamps, picture frames, tiles for walls, Christmas decorations, plant holders, wind chimes and more.

"I hear so many people say they don't have an artistic bone in their body and yet they are creative in wonderful ways, but somewhere along the line they were made to feel that they weren't artistic," Wheeler said. "I also think that creativity is the spark for problem solving, ingenuity and invention. And if the creative thought processes aren't encouraged at an early age, then you lose a part of yourself. So, I think everybody needs to be encouraged to explore their creativity."

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We’ve heard it many times – the next election is the most important one of our lifetimes. That may be only measured by history because every election has consequences. Elections themselves have become part of the ongoing partisan battle in our polarized society. The mid-term election is set for less than three weeks from now. As before any election, there information voters should know.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided a decision by the third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that required Pennsylvania to count mail in ballots that were previously rejected for lacking handwritten dates next to the voters declaration signatures on the outside of the ballot envelopes. The Wolf administration has said the high court decision does not affect a separate previous ruling by state Commonwealth Court in favor of counting ballots without properly dated exterior envelopes.

Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman appeared on Thursday's Smart Talk and explained why counties should count undated mail-in ballots,"Earlier this year, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued a ruling saying that ballots that lack a handwritten date on the outer envelope should count because they're immaterial to whether or not a ballot was received timely. So in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we have 67 counties and counties actually record when ballots are received into that county, they timestamp it, they record it. So even though those most ballots lack a handwritten date. Counties still know that they're timely received. And these are ballots from eligible voters. So after that Commonwealth Court decision, you know, we issued guidance to counties saying that those ballots, that lack a handwritten date should count. You know, that Supreme Court case was procedural. Nothing changed."

Chapman was asked if counting undated ballots after the Supreme Court ruling will confuse voters and counties,"There is confusion, right? And when there's litigation brought so close to the election, we're 19 days out. That is also something that creates confusion. So I understand. And mail in voting in particular is a newer culture here in Pennsylvania. Well, other states have had it for decades. We've only had it since 2019. And one thing that we are doing at the Department of State is we have a comprehensive voter education campaign. So voters know the rules on how to register to vote, cast their ballot and ensure that it's counted in Pennsylvania. And we are meeting voters where they are. We are sending emails, text messages. We have a social media campaign. We have ads on the turnpike, in doctor's offices and in cabs. You know all about voter education. And we are doing that in urban areas, rural areas, through various methods on radio for people who don't have Internet access. So for us, the best way to counter any confusion, any myths or disinformation about the electoral process in Pennsylvania is to really provide accurate information to voters about how to cast a ballot and ensure that it's counted here in Pennsylvania."

Pennsylvania have until October 24 to register to vote and until November 1 to apply for a mail-in ballot.

WITF’s election coverage is supported by the law firm of Saul, Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP.

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There are many, many museums, memorials, statues and exhibits throughout the world associated with war. Often, they tell the story of how a war or battle was fought or honor those who fought and died in combat.

In comparison, it can be said it is probably rare to find an exhibit that focuses on war, peace and justice and uses different genres of art to tell stories.

But that’s just what the War Amongst the People/From Swords to Plowshares exhibit presented by the J. Sherwood McGinnis Jr. War, Peace and Justice Project does in cooperation with the Cumberland County Historical Society does.

Appearing on Wednesday’s Smart Talk, Tara Leigh Tappert (Ph.D), the curator of the exhibit explained why the exhibit is unique, "The element that I think that is most unique is a balance of two sides. There is literally the show is divided in half. And so war among the people is one half of the show. And it's literally on one side of the room. And I'm Swords to Plowshares is the other half, and it's on the other side of the room. And the war side I call the history of war making in America. And the other side I call the history of the costs of war making in America."

Jennifer Pacanowski served as a combat medic in Iraq starting in 2004. She came home in 2006 suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and was battling substance use. She says her life was changed by attending a writing and papermaking retreat in Massachusetts that included cutting up her uniform and to make art. Pacanowski  used it as an outlet from her suffering,"In the beginning, it was about how angry I was when I came home and what I faced. And being a woman combat veteran and not having support and people trying to lock me up in a psych ward instead of helping me learn skills to help myself to breathe, to create space, to create, you know, go to acupuncture, all these different holistic things, not just throw meds at me or try to lock me up in any sense of the world, including incarceration. There's so many veterans incarcerated."

The War Amongst the People/From Swords to Plowshares exhibit runs through November 10th in Carlisle.

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According to a pew research survey, 32% of parents of children in K through 12 schools say they are very or extremely worried about a shooting ever happening at their children’s school.

And recent data shows over 150 million students report having experienced peer violence in and around school and live in conflict-affected areas where classrooms are often no safer than their communities.

Within the state school violence of all kinds has become a growing concern as well.

Tuesday Harrisburg School District held a public forum to address the increase in violent incidents at its schools, as there have been 69 incidents so far this year and an increase in suspensions.

Joey Melvin, Director of Center for Safe Schools, said

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According to the center for entrepreneurs, young people are more entrepreneurial than ever, starting twice as many businesses as the baby boomer generation.

Reign and Taij Saunders, who started their business at the ages of 9 and 11 in 2019, are a part of the younger generation of entrepreneurship, as they own Reign & Taij's Homemade Lemonade.

The Saunders sisters joined us on Tuesday's Smart Talk to tell us about their experience as young entrepreneurs and their business.

Reign and Taij said their Mom's cake and decorating business and the customer service that she provides inspired them to start a business of their own.

Reign also was inspired to start their business to take her mind off of the flair ups and medical treatments that she was facing with with asthma, allergies and severe eczema.

Taij said at first it was a challenge running a business with her sister but things got smoother along the way.

"At first it was like get out of my way, I'm trying to do this. Let me deal with this customer; you do that customer," Taij said. "But I think we just know, it's just kind of like a vibe feel where we know you deal with the money and I'll make the drink or the other way around."

Since starting their business, Reign and Taij have made modifications to their ingredients and lemonade making methods to make their product a perfect balance between sweet and tart.

Their lemonade can now be found at events, Od's Fish House in Harrisburg, and Hampton Inn on Union Deposit rd. in Harrisburg. Reign and Taij, who were also featured in The Burg magazine, said they received some of these opportunities by simply asking for them.

"I hope it just makes other kids my age and my sister's age realize that you don't have to be an adult to actually get up and do something," Taij said. "I just really hope that they look up to me and realize that you don't have to be older, have a license, and all of this experience to actually start a business and actually run a business."

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A ten month WITF investigation found that almost one in three uses of force from twenty five jails during the last three months of 2021 involved a person who was having a mental health crisis or who had a diagnosed mental illness.

Records also show 42 cases where corrections staff noted someone appeared to have a mental health condition but still used force when the person failed to respond to commands.

Brett Sholtis, WITF Health Reporter, joined us on Monday’s Smart Talk to discuss his investigative reports on this issue and solutions to resolve it.

Sholtis said, some of the solutions used to lessen corrections officers’ use of force for prisoners with a mental health condition is by reimaging the jail as a place that prioritizes mental health care, putting psychologists in charge of the jail instead of wardens and classes and programs to prepare prisoners to reenter society.

Sholtis’ reports on this issue, solutions to resolve it, and process in gathering the information can be found here: In Pa. county jails, people with mental illness are routinely met with pepper spray and stun guns | WITF 

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