Usually the summer calls for cookouts, festivals and jubilees celebrating all the good times. But sometimes for those dealing with eating disorders, those gatherings can feel overwhelming. Behavioral health therapist Elizabeth Sabatino with the UPMC Center for Eating Disorders joins us to shed more light on this topic.

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The Franklin & Marshall Global Barometer of Gay Rights (GBGR®), Global Barometer of Transgender Rights (GBTR™), and the Global Barometers' LGBTQI+ Perception Index (GBPI) provide a global measure of LGBTI human rights in 204 countries and regions. Dr. Susan Dicklitch-Nelson and Erin Hallenbeck join us to provide insights. 

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With the 4th of July holiday near, state officials are urging drivers to be safe on the road. PennDot's Fritzi Shreffler and Pennsylvania State Police Lieutenant Adam Reed join us to remind us about the awful realities of driving under the influence.

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Fireworks can be a trauma reminder for those whose served in combat, went through a fire, explosion or gun violence. Sam Peterson is a mental health patient-turned program founder at Altior Healthcare. Sam has founded both out-patient and in-patient treatment programs for veterans and first responders to receive more and effect treatment for mental health.

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The coronavirus pandemic not only changed everyday learning for high school students, but higher learning education expectations. Grace Halsey was a senior in high school when the COVID19 pandemic struck in 2020. Dr. Carrie Sipes is the Communications, Journalism, and Media Department head and professor at Shippensburg University. Piper Hull graduated from Shippensburg University in May of 2024.

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Tec Centro in Lancaster offers many workforce programs in Central Pennsylvania. It was founded in 2014 through the Spanish American Civic Association. Tec Centro also helps formally incarcerated individuals to reenter into the workforce. 

Reinaldo “Ray” Rivera is the Associate Director at Tec Centro. 

Frank Bailey completed the Electromechanical program offered at Tec Centro. Before attending the program, he spent 7.5 years in state prison, and wanted a fresh start. Bailey was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm in 2016.

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Shiremanstown in Cumberland County is about to celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding. The borough's mayor, Tammie Dailey, joins us to talk about their celebration and some of the borough's history.

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This week the high peaked in the high 90’s four days in a row. Extreme heat can make air quality worse, which is bad for the health. WHTM/ ABC 27 meteorologist Dan Tomoso sat down with WITF’s host Asia Tabb on the Spark to explain how the high temperatures could impact our air quality. 
Listen to the podcast below. 

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2024 is an election year and WITF is approaching this election differently. WITF’s Director of Journalism Scott Blanchard, and Special Projects Editor Tim Lambert, spoke with The Spark’s Asia Tabb about their commitment to transparent journalism, how they will cover the 2024 election, and the thinking behind their decision. 
Blanchard also spoke with Asia about The Purple Buck, WITF’s new, weekly journalism newsletter. The Purple Buck offers a platform to talk about the massive amounts of news we come across daily from different sources, and sharing ideas on what makes for trustworthy news that can strengthen communities and promote civic participation and civic dialogue. 
You can subscribe to The Purple Buck at witf.org/purplebuck. Blanchard can be reached at 717-910-2805 or [email protected]. 
You can listen to the podcast below. 

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Saturday June 22 a gun buyback event will be taking place in Harrisburg. The event will be hosted by the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Kappa Omega Chapter on 2020 State Street from noon until 5 p.m. The fraternity wanted to step up to unite the community and make a difference. No questions will be asked when returning any firearms.

For those who participate, they will receive a $100 gift card. Harrisburg police also announced they will not be tracing the serial numbers on the weapons retrieved at the gun buyback event.

Lance Freeman, Mike Elby, and Eugene Spells are all members of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. They sat down with The Spark’s host Asia Tabb to express why they needed to host this event.

The interview can be heard here.

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