The Spark

Each day, newspapers and broadcast news outlets lead with stories of gun violence, both here at home and around the country. It happens so frequently that we are often numb to the human cost: lives lost, the trauma of survivors and the damage to communities. There are no easy answers when it comes to predicting … Continue reading "Feds and PA tackle gun violence"

Football is arguably America’s favorite sport. While Americans still love to watch football, in the past 15 years there has been a marked decline in the number of kids taking up the sport. According to a recent New York Times report, high school participation in tackle football has fallen more than 10 percent since 2009. … Continue reading "How the impact of head injuries is affecting football"

In 1994, in the span of 100 days, unimaginable carnage occurred in the African nation of Rwanda. Between April and July inter-tribal tensions exploded into civil war following the assassination of the Rwandan President. Violence quickly escalated and before it was over an estimated 800,000 people were killed. The violence also caused an unprecedented “flight … Continue reading "Healing a nation; 25 years after the Rwandan genocide"

More Americans travel during Thanksgiving week than any other time of the year. In fact, the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving is when the most volume of travelers are on the road. According to AAA, there will be more than 55 million people traveling by vehicle, air or rail this year. The high traffic volume and … Continue reading "Rules of the road"

Counting the entire population of the country, estimated at nearly 330 million people, is a massive undertaking and involves years of planning and preparation. There is more than $800 billion in annual federal funding at stake. Money is allocated based on population numbers in each state, so accuracy matters. The last census in 2010 resulted … Continue reading "Census 2020 process underway/Substance dependency-recovery during the holidays"

Join Smart Talk Friday morning at the Holiday Inn of Lancaster for the eighth annual Extraordinary Give event. The Extraordinary Give is the largest online fundraiser in Lancaster County and will benefit over 500 non-profit organizations. Every dollar donated online will be “stretched” by more than $500,000 from the Lancaster County Community Foundation (LCCF), along … Continue reading "Smart Talk Road Trip travels to the Extraordinary Give in Lancaster"

Noel King, NPR correspondent and host of Morning Edition and Up First, appears on Smart Talk, November 15, 2019.

Pennsylvania became the latest state in the country to consider legislation that, if passed, would effectively restrict abortion in the earliest phase of pregnancy. The legislation, called The Heartbeat Bill – Protecting the Rights of the Unborn, was officially introduced on October 18 by the two lead sponsors Republican state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz of Clinton … Continue reading "“Heartbeat” bill under fire"

This past summer Robert W. Iuliano began serving as Gettysburg College 15th president. Before arriving at Gettysburg, Iuliano spent 25 years at Harvard University performing different roles as former senior vice president, general counsel, and deputy to the president. Iuliano is a graduate of Harvard College and University of Virginia Law School. During his time … Continue reading "Gettysburg College welcomes new president"

On November 15, the South Central Pennsylvania Sickle Cell Council will welcome former Penn State All-American, NFL football player and current NFL assistant coach Bobby Engram to their annual fundraising event.   Engram’s oldest daughter Bobbi died in 2018 from complications related to Sickle Cell Disease. Bobby Engram and his wife Deanna lead the Bobbi Engram … Continue reading "Sickle cell disease; understanding the inherited disorder"