The Spark

Pennsylvania is in line to receive $17.8 billion dollars as part of the $110 billion dollar Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law by President Joe Biden last November. Most of that money will go toward upgrading or repairing roads and bridges, but public transportation, safe drinking water, electric vehicle charging stations and expansion of broadband also have been earmarked for funding. Since an infrastructure package was approved after years of debate, the public hasn’t heard much about it. Joining us today is Mitch Landrieu, Senior Adviser to the President and Coordinator of the Infrastructure and Jobs Act and former Mayor of New Orleans.

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According to the American Kennel Club there are a total of 200 dog breeds; with so many options many people don’t know which breed to pick that will be the best fit for their family. After purchasing their animal owners tend to struggle with the training process.

According to Pet356 94% of respondents to their survey reported that they do at least some training with their dog at home and only 6% believed their dog to be perfectly trained.

Janet Edwards, Owner of Stateline Canine and Brianna Fair Veterinary Technician at Manheim Pike Veterinary Hospital provided some tips on dog training and suggestions for dog owners and breeders on Thursday's Smart Talk.

Here are some of the tips that were provided:

Create a clear communication with your dog.
Establish a clear picture of what's good behavior.
Reward good behavior and don't reward bad behavior.
Develop a schedule for bathroom breaks and consistency in where you take your dog to the bathroom.
Use crates properly and moderately. (It ensures that they don't get into anything dangerous and helps to get rid of separation anxiety.)
Use crates as a potty training tool.
Use training tools properly and moderately
Use place training methods
Use slip leads
Don't get training items or buy dogs because they're cheap
Bring you pet to the veterinary for "Happy Visits"
Pay attention to irregular behavior and go to the vet to determine if there's a behavioral or medical issues
Normalize social experiences with other people and dogs
Do your research on breeders and make sure they have proper certifications
Ask adoption clinics and breeders what dog is best for your family type
For breeders, make sure the parents don't have genetical or social problems

Edwards, said if a trainer is working with a dog they take about 4 to 6 weeks to train them.

Janet and Brianna thank you both for being with us today.

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By a large margin, Pennsylvania voters support abortion rights according to the latest Franklin and Marshall College poll that was released today. 52% say abortion should legal under certain circumstances while 37% say it should be legal under any circumstances. 59% opposed amending the state Constitution to say there is no constitutional right to an abortion.

This is the first F&M poll taken since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade – the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationally. It is now up to the states to decide on their own abortion laws.

The poll also shows the economy is the most important issue to voters, President Joe Biden is unpopular, Democrat John Fetterman leads Republican Mehmet Oz in the U.S. Senate race and Democrat Josh Shapiro is in the lead against Republican Doug Mastriano for governor.

Those are some of the findings in the poll that we discuss on Thursday's Smart Talk with Berwood Yost, Director of the Floyd Institute of Public Policy Center for Opinion Research at Franklin and Marshall College.

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Points on one’s driving record go to those who have violated certain motor vehicle laws in Pennsylvania. A driver who accumulates a level of points can have their driver’s license suspended. The Pennsylvania department of Transportation is giving some of the those drivers a reprieve and an opportunity to get their licenses back. Penndot’s Press Officer, Driver and Vehicle Services, Diego Sandino tells us about it.

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The tiger, has always been a well known beast of the jungle. It’s the largest living cat species and is ranked as one of the top five deadliest mammals because of their immense physical strength.

Until recently, when talk of a new scientific experiment began to trend, most didn’t know that there was once another tiger breed that walked the face of the earth, the Thylacine, which is commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger.

This animal is known for having dark stripes across its back, like the tiger we all know, but is quite different as it is described by National Geographic, to look like a slim dog with a stiff, thin tail and was a marsupial, the type of Australian mammal that raises its young in a pouch.

According to Australian Geographic, the last known Tasmanian Tiger died on September 7th 1936 in a Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.

According to a National Geographic Editor, the Tasmanian Tiger was most likely nocturnal and hunted at night; they would ambush smaller marsupials, as their prey, and had a jump in a way that was similar to a kangaroo when launching onto their prey.

Researchers in Australia and the United States are embarking on a multi-million dollar project to bring the Tasmanian tiger back from extinction.

Jay Bennett, National Geographic Senior Science Editor, said the Tasmanian Tiger existed in Australia and Niugini for millions of years and then thousands of years ago likely a combination of changing climates and human hunting.

Bennet also said, scientists' plan to de-extinct the Tasmanian Tiger is similar to the movie Jurassic Park; they are going to take the closest living relative to the animal, the numbat, and try to sequence the tiger's genome using preserved biological material.

"So they have sequenced the genome but it has gaps in it and they can fill those gaps using the genome of the nombat."

He said it could take five to ten years at the earliest and scientists may run into complications that make it much longer than that and the species that they would bring into existence wouldn't be a hybrid of the Tasmanian Tiger.

Scientists are unclear on how they will prevent the animal from going extinct again and how they will adapt to the environment successfully.

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Middletown’s football program has been one of the most successful in the state over the last few years. The Dauphin County borough takes a lot of pride in their Friday night football games. But Middletown has been shaken and many Central Pennsylvanians appalled by an alleged hazing on the football team.

Middletown School District Superintendent Chelton Hunter said in a written statement: “Cell phone video, taken by players, shows a group of students restraining two of their teammates and using a muscle therapy gun and another piece of athletic equipment to poke the buttock areas of the students who were on the ground,”  “The video shows players fully clothed. It did not appear that any student’s body was physically penetrated..”

Hazing to initiate new or younger people into fraternal organizations, clubs or onto sports teams is sometimes thought to be a relic of the past that is most often outlawed. But it isn’t.

Our guests today are national experts on hazing. Dr. Susan Lipkins, Psychologist and author of Preventing Hazing: How Parents, Teachers and Coaches Can Stop the Violence, Harassment and Humiliation, and Douglas Fierberg, an attorney and expert on legal issues involving school law, hazing, and sexual assault.

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Most ten-year-old kids find interest in things like the Roadblocks app, Tik Tok, and tv shows. But a ten-year-old resident of Lancaster City had a different kind of interest: to make a positive difference within his community and abroad.

Lucas Kreider and his mom, Lauren Kreider, created Peace Kids to the Rescue Art Show and Silent Auction, that they will host on Friday, Sept. 2 at Millersville University's Ware Center, 42 N Prince St. The 4th annual show will feature art donated by over thirty children between the ages of 6 and 18 and will include four artists from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Central Africa, who received donated art supplies to create pieces for the art show.

All proceeds will be donated to Church World Services and Lancaster County Homeless Coalition. To date, they’ve raised over $10,000 for those two organizations and hope to raise more.

Lauren said when Lucas was 6 years old during breakfast, he said: "Mom, I want to have an art show for children to raise money for people who don't have as much as I do."

Today, Lucas and Lauren are keeping that dream alive and are looking forward to conducting their 4th annual Peace Kids to the Rescue Art Show and Silent Auction.

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Federal judge Bruce Reinhart signed off on the search warrant at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence earlier this month. Judge Reinhart signature meant he believed there was probable cause to search for documents that the National Archives says should not have taken to Mar-A-Lago when trump left the White House. Since then, Judge Reinhart has been lambasted by Trump supporters as a partisan and worse yet threatened with violence. Former Federal Judge John Jones is now the President of Dickinson College but he says he worries a judge is going to be killed in today’s highly charged political atmosphere. Judge Jones is with us today.

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Food has connected people for centuries.

Last September, the Tourism Office launched four culinary trails, to bring people together in the name of food and spotlight the rich food culture in Pennsylvania.

Now, the Tourism Office is preparing to launch an Apple TV series, Stuffed with Steve Ford, promoting the trails hosted by HGTV star and Pittsburgh-Native Steve Ford.

Carrie Lepore, Deputy Secretary of Marketing, Tourism and Film, said the TV series will allow them to connect with travelers and continue to tell the story of local small businesses, farmers, bakers, chefs and the history and heritage of the state in another medium.

"We're helping to make connections with people. Travel at its core can be transformative for people," Lepore said. "When you have an opportunity to quite literally break bread with someone, this is how I think we can really become more curious and interested in one another's stories."

Lepore also said she hopes the Culinary Trails will continue to aid in some of the COVID-19 recovery; helping to make sure restaurants stay busy, farms stay vibrant, and create opportunities for people to take a piece of the state home with them.

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When do you come up with your best ideas or are most creative? Many of us probably haven’t thought about it but was it when you were in the outdoors or taking a walk – maybe daydreaming?

Whether you’re recognized a trend or not, researchers have found there are times when we are more likely to be creative. Stacey Colino writes about the Science of why you have great ideas in the shower for National Geographic and is with us today.

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