The Spark

Up until two weeks ago, the number of COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania was falling. Since then, the entire state has transitioned to Governor Tom Wolf’s least restrictive green level of coronavirus mitigations efforts meaning bars and restaurants were open, with some restrictions, and many places of business re-opened too. However, the number of COVID-19 cases … Continue reading "Health Secretary Rachel Levine talks COVID; Toughening fireworks law?"

When Pennsylvania State Representative Bryan Cutler was elected two weeks ago as the 141st Speaker of the House he became the most visible and powerful member of the elected body. Cutler, a Republican, first came to office in 2007 and represents part of Lancaster County in the 100th legislative district. He fills the speaker position … Continue reading "Smart Talk Wednesday: New state house leader talks priorities; With race-relations, is history repeating itself?"

“The healthiest soil is the soil that has never been disturbed.” That sentiment was made at the Pennsylvania Farm Show last January by a former state Agriculture Department official who advocates for no till practices. But how can seeds be planted and crops grown without disturbing the soil? The Pennsylvania No Till Alliance is made … Continue reading "Smart Talk Tuesday: Farmers opting against tilling; Taking steps to protect pollinators"

As state and local governments across the country work to enact police reforms in the wake of the George Floyd killing while in Minneapolis police custody last month, one proposal that may actually occur is defunding police departments. In most cases, defunding means moving money away from police departments and using those funds for social … Continue reading "Smart Talk Monday: Defunding State Police?; Andrew Johnson to blame for today’s racial inequality?"

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro appears on Friday’s Smart Talk to discuss several topics. They include police reforms, fracking and funding for child abuse investigations. Pennsylvania is one of many state and local governments to legislate new rules and laws for police departments to adhere to in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death while in … Continue reading "Smart Talk Friday: Attorney General Shapiro on police reforms, fracking, child abuse; Child abuse reports down during pandemic"

Last April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the agency was going to retain a piece of legislation called the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Particulate Matter without changes. The move has been heavily criticized by environmental advocates. Fine particulate pollutants or particulate matter are made up of particles (tiny … Continue reading "Smart Talk Thursday: Lung Association questions EPA on pollution regs; Baseball will be played this summer"

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everything about how we live and work. The impact of the disease is often put into the context of numbers, or data, to illustrate this. The Pennsylvania Department of Health publishes data every day; number of positive tests, deaths, and even recovered. But numbers without context can be misleading. A … Continue reading "Smart Talk Wednesday: Questions persist over DOH data reports; how to travel safely during COVID-19"

It has been almost four months since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S. Since the end of February, 2.3 million people have tested positive for the virus with 122,000 dying from it. In Pennsylvania, more than 82,000 have contracted the virus and 6,400 have died. We have learned much about COVID-19 over the past … Continue reading "Smart Talk Tuesday: COVID-19 questions answered"

Contact tracing is a key strategy touted by Pennsylvania health officials as an integral part of stopping, or mitigating, the spread of the coronavirus. The process of tracking the contacts of an infected person is a disease control measure that is also used by public health officials to prevent the spread of other infectious diseases, … Continue reading "Smart Talk Monday: Contact tracing moves forward with varying success and helping refugees is one woman’s life’s work"

Last year, WITF’s Transforming Health reporter Brett Sholtis told the story of then 27-year-old Kimberly Stringer — a Bucks County woman who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in high school, but was refusing to take medication or see a therapist — claiming she wasn’t mentally ill.  Kim lived a metal shed even though she … Continue reading "Smart Talk Friday: Woman living with mental illness suffers in jail; HS sports plan comeback from shutdown"