The Spark

A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is challenging a victim’s rights measure that is set to appear on the November ballot. The ACLU argues the amendment, which is known as Marsy’s Law, would affect too many parts of the state constitution and is a violation of laws governing statewide referendum. … Continue reading "Pennsylvania ACLU files lawsuit to remove victims rights measure from November ballot"

Today’s college athletes are considered amateurs. They are not paid for their performances on the field or court. At the same time, many of the universities and colleges they represent rake in millions of dollars through TV contracts and ticket sales. Last month, California became the first state to make it legal for college athletes … Continue reading "Should college athletes be paid?"

America’s dependency on foreign oil is a long-running subject of national security debate. Today, the U.S. is much less dependent on foreign oil than it was a decade ago. As shale oil production increased in the U.S., foreign oil imports declined. However, industry forecasters say that while oil dependence should continue to decrease, petroleum will … Continue reading "Less Oil or More Caskets?"

In the United States military, suicide is now an epidemic. In the past four years, 34 members of the Pennsylvania National Guard have died by suicide. The problem is so significant that Governor Tom Wolf instituted a Task Force to help mitigate the influx of suicides in the civilian-soldier population. In fact, the U.S. Department … Continue reading "Pa. National Guard suicides occurring at an alarming rate"

Healthcare in the U.S. is expensive — especially if it involves tests or being treated in a hospital and those are routine care. An extraordinary medical episode like a heart attack or cancer can result in bills that reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s one of the reasons health insurance is important … Continue reading "The Price We Pay: What Broke American Healthcare"

Pennsylvania is on track to install more roundabouts in the future, a somewhat new initiative. Traffic circles are nothing new, in fact, they are fairly common throughout western Europe and in parts of the U.S. The “rotary” gained notoriety in a now-famous movie scene depicting a family vacationing in Paris who can’t figure out how … Continue reading "What’s all the fuss about roundabouts?"

In his new book The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Eric Foner writes about the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution and significant impact they had on the United States — even to this day. The three amendments ended slavery, provided … Continue reading "Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eric Foner on his new book The Second Founding"

To some, the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements is the stuff that high school exam nightmares are made from. To others, it represents enormously important scientific discoveries. Simply put, the table is a cataloging tool that enables scientists to predict the existence and properties of matter on earth and in the universe itself. It has … Continue reading "150th anniversary of the Periodic Table; the genius behind the discoveries"

Think about how much the world has changed in the past 20 years. Now, narrow that change down to just science – how much technology has made our lives and many other aspects of life on this planet different in the last two decades. Picture how much more we know about the Earth, space, communication, … Continue reading "Is it time to update PA’s science curriculum?"

Pennsylvania cities are classified for governance based on the size of their population. Most cities in the state are designated as third class, with populations less than 250 thousand. According to state law, third class cities are required to provide certain public services but when it comes to funding those services their authority to raise … Continue reading "How can cities raise revenue without raising taxes?"