The Spark

The Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship has launched a program called “The Wilds Are Working: A Remote Lifestyle Experience,” with the goal of luring remote workers to rural corners of the state. Bellefonte, the county seat in Centre County and Kane in McKean County were chosen as the pilots for the program.

Rural “Zoom towns” across the country have launched similar programs, some of them giving workers $10,000 to relocate there for one year.

On Friday’s Smart Talk is Abbi Peters, chief operations officer at the Pennsylvania Wilds Center.

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A tragedy that shocked many people last week was the killing of a motorist in downtown Baltimore by a squeegee worker. The confrontation ended with a fatal shooting after the motorist pulled a baseball bat on the squeegee workers. A 15-year-old was arrested in the murder earlier this week.

Squeegee workers, also known as squeegee kids, are mostly teenagers from low-income neighborhoods who clean drivers’ windshields at intersections for money.

Squeegee workers are common in major cities across the country and some complain they are too aggressive, while trying to make a couple bucks.

We’ll here from Robert Lang, Reporter/Anchor at WBAL Radio on Tuesday’s Smart Talk to discuss the squeegee workers and the recent Baltimore tragedy.

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Over the past year, the housing market has seen high demand from buyers, fewer homes for sale, and higher prices. As the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, what impact will it have on home sales?

In Pennsylvania, 12,759 homes were sold from June of 2021 to last month; more than 33,000 were for sale, the houses for sale and sold were on the market for a median of 20 days and 53% of homes sold above list price.

New Cumberland is one of the hottest locations for homes sales in the country while Camp Hill, Ephrata and Mechanicsburg are all in Pennsylvania’s most competitive markets.

Friday’s Smart Talk zeroes in on the housing market with Christopher Beadling, President of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors and Elle Hale, President of the Realtors Association of York and Adams Counties.

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Amid crises across the world, like the war in Ukraine and Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, many people have fled their countries to seek refuge and resettle in America.

According to the United Nations Refugee agency, in the first months of 2022, more than one hundred million individuals were displaced worldwide because of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations, which includes almost twenty-seven million refugees —which was the highest amount ever seen.

Church World Service Lancaster has helped thousands of these refugees resettle in Lancaster and obtain the services and support needed to survive and thrive.

Matt Johnson, Strategic Community Partnerships Officer for Church World Service Lancaster, appears on Thursday’s Smart Talk to discuss their efforts in placing refugees on college campuses as their first stop in their journey in America.

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Six babies have died of sudden and unexpected infant death in York County this year. Nationwide, about 34 hundred die unexpectedly with no obvious medical cause each year. More than a thousand of the babies die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS every year.

Most of the deaths could have been prevented with safe sleep environments. In fact, it is where and how the baby sleeps that causes the death.

Appearing on Thursday’s Smart Talk is Dr. Michael Goodstein, division chief of newborn medicine at Wellspan Health and director of the York County Cribs for Kids Program.

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More than two-thirds of American children have smartphones by the age of 12. Seventy percent of kids encounter sexual or violent content online while doing homework research. One in five kids between the ages of 10 and 17 receive a sexual solicitation or are approached online. 40% of children in grades 4 through 8 say they have chatted with a stranger online.

These alarming numbers show there is a need to protect children from potential dangers online.

The Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance, that works to protect children from abuse, has created a Family Digital Wellness Hub.

The 44-page toolkit includes information on parental control resources, facts and statistics about the issue and where to report incidents of predatory behavior.

Angela Liddle, the President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance is on Thursday’s Smart Talk with details and why the protections are needed.

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After a mass shooting like the one in Highland Park, Illinois July 4, we ask ourselves what motivated the shooter? Often, many people will cite mental health and say the person who killed our wounded those around him or her was suffering from mental illness.  Sometimes, that is the case, although most research indicates mental illness is a factor in a small percentage of incidents.

The gun bill passed by Congress and signed by President Biden last week includes new money for the treatment of mental illness. Will it stop the rash of mass shooting around the country?

Alexandra Hunt is a health researcher and former Congressional candidate who says mental illness is not one size fits all and what moves most shooters to violence. She appears on Wednesday’s Smart Talk.

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The Atlantic hurricane season ranges from June 1 to November 30.

For the 2022 hurricane season, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting a likely range of 14 to 21 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). NOAA provides these ranges with a 70% confidence.

Pennsylvania is not on the coast but that doesn’t mean the state won’t be impacted by hurricanes or other severe weather events like flooding.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department is encouraging Pennsylvanians to be prepared for the summer hurricane season.

Acting State Insurance Commissioner Mike Humphreys is on Wednesday’s Smart Talk with more information.

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The Crown Act stands for creating a respectful and open world for natural hair. If the bill passes, it will ban race-based hair discrimination in employment and for those participating in federally assisted programs, housing programs, and public accommodations. It would also protect people against bias based on hair texture and protective styles like cornrows, braids, twists, bantu knots, locs, afros, and more.

The Crown Act bill was introduced last year in the Pennsylvania house of representatives and there was a rally last month in Harrisburg to see a version of the CROWN Act passed but there still hasn’t been full house action.

According to a 2019 study commissioned by Dove, a co-founder of the CROWN coalition, Black women are 80% more likely to believe that they must change their natural hair to “fit in at the office”. The same study found that Black women’s hair was over three times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional.

Wednesday’s guest on Smart Talk is Winnie Okello, founder and owner of Winnie O. Media LLC, which houses the cosmetic science review and the harassment and assault reporting platform, about the Crown Act bill, its importance, and her personal experience with hair discrimination as an African American woman.

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Karns Quality Foods, with 10 grocery stores in south central Pennsylvania, is the first retailer in the nation to buy, raise and produce its own beef cattle. Last week, Karns began selling its own line of PA Preferred 100% Black Angus Choice and Prime beef.

Karns is working with farms in six central Pennsylvania counties to produce the cattle and the beef. Those farms will benefit as well.

Karns CEO and President Scott Karns is on Tuesday’s Smart Talk to discuss the new venture.

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