Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Law Enforcement Education and Accountability for People with Disabilities (LEAD) Initiative, seeking to bring about “racial justice and address the high incidence rate of police violence involving people with disabilities.” The LEAD Initiative is comprised of two bills – the Safe Interactions Act and the Human-services Emergency … Continue reading "Smart Talk: U.S. Senator Bob Casey introduces two bills to change police response"

Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9am and 7pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.” Plans for the 2021 Pennsylvania Farm Show are taking shape, although exhibits and the experience will look quite different this year. … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Pa Farm show goes virtual to highlight state’s agriculture industry"

Municipalities across the country are working to evaluate what policing will look like in their communities going forward. Harrisburg has taken the next step by proposing a Community Services Division within the Harrisburg Police Department. Mayor Eric Papenfuse had proposed a force of about a dozen community service officers that would aid in mental health … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Harrisburg commits to bridging gap between community and police"

In June, sewage testing found that Dauphin County may have had at least ten times more COVID-19 cases than reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. That was one of the findings in sewage tests taken by an MIT research firm — Biobot Analytics. Those findings were conducted by Capital Region Water, one of about … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Testing sewage for COVID-19 is another tool for disease monitoring"

The Pennsylvania Economy League, along with industry partners, recently surveyed state municipalities to ascertain the real-time effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Municipal Survey on the Effects of COVID-19 was sent to the associations’ memberships, which include cities, boroughs, first class townships, second class townships and home rule municipalities throughout Pennsylvania. The goal is to … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Municipalities facing COVID impact"

A yearlong PennLive and Spotlight PA investigation into the Magisterial District court system raises serious questions about how Pennsylvania tax dollars are spent. There are 512 magisterial district judges in Pennsylvania, each elected locally within their county. Generally speaking, they adjudicate minor criminal matters, traffic violations and small civil claims, among other things. The investigation … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Investigative report raises questions about the cost of the Magisterial court system"

This interview is an encore broadcast that originally aired in March 2020 Millions of Americans learned about The Negro Motorist Green Book when the motion picture Green Book played in theaters and went on to win the Best Picture Oscar last year. What the film depicted and what many white audiences saw for the first … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Author Gretchen Sorin and her book Driving While Black — African-American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights"

Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9am and 7pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.” Airdate: 12/10/20  While a virus-weary world waits expectantly for a coronavirus vaccine, military and industry planners begin launching the largest-scaled … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Adams County native planning Operation Warp Speed’s unprecedented vaccine roll-out"

The Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus recently released a COVID-19 relief funding plan that would allocate $4 billion to help Pennsylvanians and, they say, shore up the Commonwealth’s economy. The Pennsylvania Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security Act of 2021 would provide direct aid to workers, families, small businesses and “vulnerable populations.” The plan would continue … Continue reading "Smart Talk: Pa Senate Democrats unveil big relief plan"

A federal eviction moratorium was issued by the Centers for Disease Control in early September. The CDC initiated the action to help stop the spread of the virus by allowing people to isolate in their homes. They also cited housing stability as a reason because homeless shelters and places where people live in group settings … Continue reading "Smart Talk: An eviction crisis is looming"