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The Earth Moves

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Politicians and political observers across Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. felt the earth move today. And it wasn’t a temblor from Mother Nature. Longtime Republican U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (as in 29 years – longest-serving U.S. senator in Pennsylvania history) announced he is switching political parties to run for re-election in 2010 as a Democrat. He had been a Republican since 1966.

This is huge news and a potential political game changer of the highest order. By defecting to the D’s, Specter could give President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a virtual Democratic lock on Congress. If, as expected, Al Franken is declared the winner of the disputed Minnesota U.S. Senate race, Specter’s switch would give the Democrats 60 votes in the Senate. They would be able to block any filibuster attempts by the Republicans.

In a statement released at noon today, Specter, however, warned that the Democrats would not be able to take his vote for granted. “My change in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats than I have been for the Republicans. Unlike Senator Jeffords’ switch which changed party control, I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture. For example, my position on Employees Free Choice (Card Check) will not change. Whatever my party affiliation, I will continue to be guided by President Kennedy’s statement that sometimes Party asks too much. When it does, I will continue my independent voting and follow my conscience on what I think is best for Pennsylvania and America,” Specter wrote.

In fact, Specter has perplexed and often exasperated Republicans and Democrats alike during his three-decade-long run in the Senate for fiercely holding to an independent streak. Specter made the pitch in his statement that the Republican Party has left him, more than the reverse.

“Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans,” he explained.

Reports indicate that President Obama reached Specter by telephone shortly after his announcement and expressed his great pleasure with the senator’s decision and offered his “full support.” Just a few weeks ago, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell had urged Specter to switch parties and promised to help him raise funds but Specter insisted he wasn't leaving the GOP.

Specter, always a master at political gamesmanship, faced increasingly difficult odds of winning the Republican primary next year. First, there’s the matter of 200,000 fewer Republicans, many of whom come from the more moderate (Specter-leaning) suburbs of Philadelphia where he needed to score big numbers to secure the GOP nomination. Second, he would have had to overcome the challenges of former U.S. Congressman and former president of the conservative Club for Growth Pat Toomey whom he narrowly beat (1% of the vote, about 17,000 votes) in 2004, as well as conservative activist Peg Luksik. Both Luksik and Toomey have pointed to Specter’s decision to support President Obama’s economic stimulus bill as a motivation for their candidacies against him. Luksik wrote in a statement today, "It is clear that Arlen Specter stands with President Obama on a host of issues and with this decision, has gone home to the Democratic Party.”

Specter noted the GOP backlash he’s getting over that stimulus vote. “When I supported the stimulus package, I knew that it would not be popular with the Republican Party. But, I saw the stimulus as necessary to lessen the risk of a far more serious recession than we are now experiencing. Since then, I have traveled the State, talked to Republican leaders and office-holders and my supporters and I have carefully examined public opinion. It has become clear to me that the stimulus vote caused a schism which makes our differences irreconcilable. On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party. I have represented the people of Pennsylvania,” he wrote.

So how is this seismic news playing with the GOP faithful back home? Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released this statement: "I am deeply disappointed in Senator Arlen Specter's decision to leave the Republican Party, as he has benefited from the support of our Party for many years. It is apparent that he chose to act in his own self-interest and put his political ambitions first. The Republican Party has room for conservatives and moderates because we are the Party of ideas.

"I, like many of my fellow Pennsylvania Republicans, took Senator Specter at his word when he said that he would not switch parties, and I believe he owes every Republican who has supported him over the last three decades an apology. I would urge Senator Specter to do the right thing and proactively return any and all campaign contributions he has received in recent months to run as a Republican in the upcoming election. I am sure that most, if not all, of these donors would not have supported a Democrat candidate. Senator Arlen Specter can rest assured that we are committed to winning this seat back for the Republican Party in 2010. I am confident that we will win this seat back."

The state GOP lost 200,000-plus registered voters in the 2008 presidential election. Gaining back even a modest number of those folks will be a Herculean effort. Specter said today he would return campaign contributions to those who request them.

I had been looking forward to a feisty primary battle between Specter and Toomey. Specter hinted in his most recent book, “Never Give In: Battling Politicians and Cancer in the Senate,” that the stress of his 2004 primary fight against Toomey might have led to his first bout with Hodgkins disease. I so wanted to ask Toomey if he thought he played a role in Specter's cancer diagnosis. I guess I’ll have to save that question now for the general election.

The temblor's already having aftershocks. Democratic State Representative Josh Shapiro says he will not run in the Democratic Senate primary. Joe Torsella, former head of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia has been raising money at a furious pace for his Democratic Senate bid and says he is still in the race.

We will have continuing coverage of this important national and state political story on Radio Smart Talk Wednesday morning and Smart Talk TV Friday night at 8:30. Please join us and let us know what you think of Specter’s move. Shoot us an email at smarttalk@witf.org.

Ask the Doctor -- Radio Smart Talk, Monday, April 27

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:46:00 +0000

Listen to MP3 of program.

In another of Radio Smart Talk's series of programs featuring professionals answering listeners' questions, Dr. Theresa Burick will address medical questions -- not to diagnose but to define and educate.

Guest: Dr. Theresa Burick, DO, FACP

Dr. Burick featured on TV's Smart Talk health segment:

The Green Scene

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:00:00 +0000

It’s Green Week at WITF Multimedia!

In the spirit of the times, we will focus on all things Green on Smart Talk Friday night at 8:30.

And we have a fascinating show in store for you. First, Producer Heather Woolridge introduces us to an unusual source for power … poop. To be more accurate, I should say manure, as in cow excrement. Farmer Steve Reinford carefully walks Heather through the process of converting tons of cow dung into biogas that can fuel his dairy farm and about 75 other homes every day.

Pat Topper, an agricultural research technician at Penn State University, explains, "You can take the manure that comes out of a cow … And if you anaerobically digest that manure you can turn that energy into biogas ... Basically how an anaerobic digester works is we let nature take its course. So the food that went through the cow, right? You know, the corns and the hays go through the cow. What the cow doesn’t need to make the milk, she’s going to excrete. That’s the manure. There’s still some energy in it."

The farmer puts the manure into a confined area with no oxygen -- that's the anaerobic part-- and lets it sit for about 20 days. Microbes degrade the manure and produce a biogas that contains energy. Heather notes, "On Steve’s farm in Mifflintown, the methane or biogas generated by manure is collected and converted into steam. Steve uses the heat generated by the steam to keep his 2500 sq ft house at a comfortable 70 degrees. The steam also powers a generator set that turns it into electricity. So instead of just producing milk on this dairy farm, he’s also producing electricity and selling it back to the power company for profit."

Steve tells Heather, "We got our first check from the electric company in January. I was amazed how much money we actually got. How much electricity can actually be generated by cow manure."

When you consider the number of dairy cows that call Pennsylvania home -- more than one million, there just might be an endless supply of the “raw material” needed for this kind of energy.

Speaking of raw materials, one of this region’s greatest natural assets is the Susquehanna River. My husband and I lived in an apartment in Harrisburg right along the banks of the river when we were first married. I still treasure the memories of watching the seasons change along the water, noting the migration of birds, and tracking the ebb and flow of the Susquehanna’s currents right outside our front door. It was a gift to be that close to one of nature's treasures.

The Susquehanna also is the largest contributor of freshwater to the Chesapeake Bay, the country's largest estuary. Because our state's rivers and streams play such a mighty role in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, we have an obligation to help clean up pollution that threatens the health of the Bay. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from agricultural, urban and suburban runoff, and sewage treatment plant discharges feed algae blooms that literally choke oxygen from the Bay.

“The health of the Bay is dangerously out of balance.” That’s the conclusion of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in its 2008 report on the state of the Bay. The CBF gives the health of the Bay a nearly failing "D" – the same grade it has received for the last decade despite numerous mandated timetables and promises by government agencies to improve that score.

(In a documentary that aired this week on PBS, Frontline examined the dangers to our nation’s waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay, in a documentary called "Poisoned Waters.") According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, studies of the sediment and water samples from nearly every area of the Bay have detected PCBs, agricultural herbicides and components of oil. And according to NOAA, just 10 years ago there were about 800 million crabs in the Bay. In 2007, there were just 260 million. (But there were better signs of blue crab life in 2008.) Between 1998 and 2006, almost 4,500 crab-related jobs were lost in Maryland and Virginia, and the CBF pegs the cumulative economic loss from that industry's downturn at $640 million.

Starting with the first agreement in 1983, Pennsylvania governors have joined the leaders of Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in signing agreements to cut nutrient runoff and remediate farming and land development practices that contribute to pollution in the Bay. The latest agreement called for the signatories to meet stringent water quality standards for the Bay by 2010. However, those obligations entail million of dollars in upgrades to water and sewer systems in the watershed. The state Department of Environmental Protection put the upgrade bill at $190 million for 184 Pennsylvania municipal wastewater treatment systems that contribute significant nutrients to the Bay. Not so, said the firm of Metcalf and Eddy, hired by the PA Municipal Authorities Association. That firm came up with a capital cost figure of at least $1.4 billion and annual operation and maintenance costs of $61 million.

With residents now facing hefty increases in their water and sewer bills, many communities in the watershed question just how much responsibility Pennsylvanians should bear for the health of the Bay and how to afford the infrastructure improvements we are required to make. Consider that Pennsylvania's Legislature and voters statewide opted to kick in about $1.2 billion in state grants and loans for water, sewer, flood-control and dam projects but municipal authorities around the state, not just those in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, will compete for those dollars. And Pennsylvania can count on another $220 million in federal stimulus funds that may be used for water, sewer, and green-technology infrastructure improvements. Once again, however, that money will be distributed through a competitive process.

Last year, the Governor's Sustainable Water Infrastructure Task Force pegged the water and sewer infrastructure needs alone in PA at $113.6 billion over the next 20 years, $36.5 billion for only capital upgrades. So it's easy to see how the $1.4 billion in state and federal money set aside this year for everything isn't nearly enough and none of it is solely designated for Chesapeake Bay projects.

Note, as well, that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation filed suit in January against the EPA for what it calls a failure to enforce the Clean Water Act. The CBF demands that the EPA take the lead in improving water quality "so crabs, fish, oysters and underwater grasses can be restored and a way of life preserved."

On a bright note, the CBF report highlights a successful cleanup program in our area. "In Lititz Run, a small stream in southern Pennsylvania - an area of intensive animal farming, development, and related pollution - the brown trout has also seen an astonishing and encouraging comeback. Through community involvement, strict management of animal waste, and intensive stream restoration and protection efforts, water quality in this tiny tributary to the Conestoga and Susquehanna rivers has improved enough to support restocked trout year-round."

Secretary of the State Department of Environmental Protection John Hanger, Matthew Ehrhart, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Pennsylvania Office, and John Brosious, Deputy Director of the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association, will join us for a lively discussion of these issues.

Did you just sneeze? If so, you might be one of the thousands of midstate residents who suffer from seasonal allergies. And if you think the air’s bad here, you just might be right. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America publishes an annual list of America’s “worst places” for allergy sufferers and last year the Harrisburg metro area ranked 20th with an above average pollen score. The 2009 survey will be released on May 1. In the rankings of Asthma Capitals in 2009, Allentown, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh all crack the Top 20, while Lancaster hits 33rd place and Harrisburg scores 39th.

Health Smart Producer Heather Muha profiles the Scheuerman family of Lancaster whose two children suffer from seasonal allergies. The kids are on medication to control their symptoms. She'll explore some of the data on increasing cases of allergies. We’ll follow up on Heather’s report with an in-studio discussion about getting kids safely outdoors and into healthy activities.

Whether it’s fear of predators, risk of injury, the lure of computer and video games or seasonal allergy issues, it seems that fewer children in America partake in outdoor recreational activities than they did even 20 years ago. There's even an effort afoot called No Child Left Inside to reconnect children with the environment. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 1972 87% of children who lived within a one-mile radius walked or biked to school daily. Today, it’s just 13%. In the 1970s, about five percent of children were obese and that number has tripled over the last three decades. Type II diabetes, hypertension and obesity-related ailments are on the rise.

Chris Kemmerer, a nature specialist in the Bureau of Parks at the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Crystal Huff, Associate Director of the Agricultural Education Program at the Milton Hershey School's Horticultural Center will share some practical ideas for reconnecting kids to the great outdoors just in time for spring and summer fun. The folks at DCNR suggest, "Look local, make it a game." They point to a pretty innovative website http://www.geocaching.com/ where your kids can discover hidden treasures using GPS technology. You also might want to check out http://www.earthdaytv.net/. Click on "In the Classroom" and then select the "Where Do the Children Play?" video for some more thought-provoking ideas.

Crystal Huff adds her own thoughts via email, "Start early - 3 to 5 year old children are perfect. They are full of wonder and the world is truly a playground! Ownership - Make the garden 'their' place, not an adult garden. Clashing color combinations, imperfect planting, and wild designs are all perfect for a kid's garden. Everyone loves to eat - Easy to grow vegetables provide a connection from the garden to the table. If I can grow it, it has to taste good. Exploration - It is not really all about the plants. It is about digging in the dirt, seeing things grow (including the weeds), finding creepy crawlies and watching the clouds. It is OK to get dirty in the garden! Fun - It has got to be the child's special place to have fun with an adult. This is about a child having a relationship with an adult and the garden (nature). That relationship will provide the vital connection to nature that will last a lifetime. Remember - we cannot love what we do not know."

Those are just a few of our green topics this week. And the experts say ... forget what Kermit the Frog sang. It IS easy being Green, if you just give it a try! Join us Friday night at 8:30 for Smart Talk!

Friday's April 24, 2009 Radio Smart Talk

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:53:00 +0000

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WEEK IN REVIEW

Luis Ramirez Murder Trial
Guest: Pete Banko, Editor at Pottsville Republican & Herald

Aggressive Driving/Road Rage

International Segment on Pakistan
Guest: Tara Sonneshine, Executive Vice President at the United States Institute of Peace

Radio Smart Talk. Thursday, April 23 -- Marcellus Shale gas

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:04:00 +0000

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Marcellus Shale gas. We keep hearing that it's potential energy source that could result in a windfall of billions of dollars for Pennsylvania. But what is it and what energy benefits will it provide? In a relatively recent discovery, it was found that natural gas could be extracted from beneath the black shale known as Marcellus that runs throughout many areas of Pennsylvania. Land has already been leased and drilling has begun. In his budget proposal, Governor Ed Rendell is counting on tax money derived from the drilling to add to the state's coffers. However, there are environmental issues -- the process utilizes a lot of water and some are concerned that
waterways near drilling sites could become polluted.
Guests:
Lou D'Amico, Executive Director of the Independent Oil & Gas Association of Pennsylvania

Tom Murphy, Penn State Cooperative extension educator

Tom Beauduy, Deputy Director and Counsel, Susquehanna River Basin Commission

J. Scott Roberts, Deputy Secretary, Mineral Resources Management Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Radio Smart Talk, Wednesday, April 22 - Global Warming - a fact?

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:03:00 +0000

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Is the climate changing? The universal answer is yes, but when the question is re-phrased to "is global warming a fact?" -- then there is some disagreement. You may not be able to find a breakdown by percentage, but by all appearances, most scientists believe the earth is warming and point to slightly rising temperatures and ice melts as evidence. However, a conference of scientists last month concluded global warming never was a crisis. How do we know what is fact?

Guests: Robert Giegengack, Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, and Jan Jarrett, President and CEO, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture).

Read "Al Gore is a Greenhouse Gas Bag" that profiles Prof. Giegengack in a recent Philadelphia Magazine article.

Tuesday's April 21, 2009 Radio Smart Talk

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:31:00 +0000

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Chesapeake Bay Clean Up: For more than 20 years, Pennsylvania along with the states of Maryland and Virginia and the District of Columbia have been spending millions of dollars and implemented dozens of environmental changes, all designed to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. According to its annual report, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation says the nation's largest estuary is still in danger and gave the bay a "D" grade. The report says the bay continues to be harmed by high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that come from sewage plant discharges, lawn and farm fertilizers and animal waste. After 20 years, is there hope?

Guests: Matthew Ehrhart, Executive Director, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Pennsylvania Office, and Hedrick Smith, Producer, Frontline: Poisoned Waters.

Watch Poisoned Waters Tuesday at 9 PM on WITF-TV:

Where do you find your info?

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:15:00 +0000

In today’s media environment, with so many newspapers folding, and online media becoming more ever-present each day, do you have the information you need to be an effective citizen? WITF's Radio Smart Talk, The Knight Foundation and PBS Engage would like to hear from you.

Click on the question you want to answer below.
1. Where do you find your information? Newspapers? Online? Television? Radio?
2. Do you think everyone in your community has access to the networks they need (online or in-person) to find important information?

Radio Smart Talk recently discussed the future of our local newspapers.
March 4, 2009 program (MP3).

Radio Smart Talk, Monday, April 20 -- Green jobs

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 01:11:00 +0000

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UNDERSTANDING GREEN -- A BASIC PRIMER ON WHAT IS GREEN, WHO IS GREEN AND WHY GREEN. ALSO, GREEN JOBS AND BUSINESS. What is the motivation for this green movement and what it’s supposed to accomplish on a global, local and personal scale. How do we understand labels and where to go for accurate information? Also, we hear a lot about creating "green" jobs and establishing new "green" businesses.

GUESTS: Kathleen McGinty, Operating partner, Element Partners L.L.C., a private-equity firm that invests in growth-stage clean-technology companies. It has a regional headquarters in Radnor. And Rich Madeira, Vice President EnginuityEnergy.

RESOURCES:
Read a recent Q&A with Kathleen McGinty (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Engery Star
PA Department of Environmental Prodtection
U.S. Department of Energy

The Search for Safety

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Monday marks the 10th anniversary of the horrific massacre at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colorado. Two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, unleashed their fury on teachers and students taking 13 lives and their own in a hail of gunfire that shattered the town’s and this nation’s sense of safety at school. We’ll examine the lessons and legacy of Columbine on Friday night’s Smart Talk at 8:30.

Our guests include Dr. Jemry Small, Superintendent of the West Shore School District, and Chris Laudo, Crisis Response Chair for the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association. Dr. Small was the principal at Highland Elementary School in Lower Allen Township on May 17, 2005 when a domestic dispute in the parking lot sent the school into lockdown. Kim Keefer had come to Highland Elementary to pick up her child but her boyfriend, James Zeigler, confronted her with a handgun in the school parking lot. They argued and he shot her to death and then committed suicide. No children witnessed the slaying and no one else was injured.

Dr. Small told me both Columbine and the terrorist attacks on 9/11 had prepared the school to deal with this kind of incident. “Since Columbine security in our schools and procedures really have drastically changed. We created a very secure building. We expect all entering visitors to be screened before being buzzed in so we know who they are. And we practice, very regularly, intruder drills in the event that someone breaches the exterior and gets into the building,” she explained.

When another parent alerted Dr. Small that afternoon to the events unfolding in the parking lot, Dr. Small put the school’s crisis plan into action. She ordered the school complex into lockdown and gave the directive to call 911. “I just sensed something was wrong … we were in good stead when this incident happened. Everybody was doing what they were supposed to be doing … we have a great working relationship with law enforcement,” Dr. Small added.

Still, it wasn’t enough to prevent violence from shattering their school-day calm. School-related violence is a phenomenon that can strike anywhere. In 2003, a 14 year old middle school student in Red Lion, York County, shot and killed his principal and then turned the gun on himself. Three years ago, a local man shot and killed five Amish children in their school house in Nickel Mines, Lancaster County. And in 2006, a killer gunned down 32 students at Virginia Tech.

In the wake of Columbine, schools across the country have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade their emergency plans. Those plans include “intruder drills” in which students, faculty and staff practice what to do in the event of a violent situation, video cameras, upgraded lighting, limited access and screening of visitors, better training for their staffs, and some have used metal detectors or have police patrol the hallways.

Pennsylvania tracks incidences of violence at public schools, although some have argued the data can be arbitrary. That’s on top of the customary issues teachers and administrators have to deal with like vandalism, thefts, drug and alcohol use, and bullying. But weapons on campus -- particularly high-powered guns and even bombs -- clearly present a new and frightening escalation of the dangers in our classrooms.

Violence is on Governor Ed Rendell’s mind this week, as well. He targeted state lawmakers and members of Congress to enact stricter gun-control measures in the wake of the recent murder of three police officers in Pittsburgh. They died allegedly at the hands of a man armed with an AK-47 assault rifle. Rendell on Wednesday, flanked by mayors and police officers from around the state, urged Congress to reinstate the federal ban on assault weapons that had expired in 2004. He exhorted lawmakers to overcome their fear of political repercussions in bucking the National Rifle Association.

But even Democratic U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein, a stalwart supporter of gun-control measures, told “60 Minutes” action at the federal level is unlikely saying the NRA has a "a strangehold" on Congress.

Earlier in the week, Rendell told reporters if Richard Poplawski, the accused cop killer in Pittsburgh, is sentenced to death, he would sign the execution warrant “without a moment’s thought.” Poplawksi's attorney now asks for a gag order to prevent Rendell from talking about the case.

That statement brings us to our second segment on Friday night. There are 224 inmates on Pennsylvania’s death row. We’ll explore Pennsylvania’s application of the death penalty with Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico and Andy Hoover, Legislative Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. Several states, including New Jersey and New Mexico, have repealed their death penalty laws after questions were raised about the cost, inadequate defense counsel, racial bias, and the potential for innocent people to be executed. We’ll also feature an interview with Sister Helen Prejean who ministers to inmates on death row and appeared recently at an anti-death penalty event in Harrisburg. She became famous after Susan Sarandon depicted her in the film, “Dead Man Walking.”

Facebook, Myspace,Plaxico,Twitter, Linkedin, no there not just websites with funny names. These and many other sites are part of a rapidly growing trend know as social media. From Teens to Baby Boomers and beyond, these sites are provides a place for people to connect, create content, and share their lives, personal and professional with the rest of the world. Smart Talk producer Mark Wallace has more.

Not to worry, we'll end this week’s program on a peaceful note. Tibetan monks, participants in the Mystical Arts of Tibet Tour, visited Harrisburg's Whitaker Center to perform Sacred Music, Sacred Dance. They also created a sand painting called a mandala. Heather Muha will show us the beauty of their performance and the moving mandala ceremony.

You won't want to miss a minute of Friday's program so join us at 8:30 p.m. or catch the repeat Sunday at Noon. And, please, let us know what you think of the program. Drop us an email at smarttalk@witf.org. Peace!

Radio Smart Talk, Friday, April 17, Week-in-Review

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:52:00 +0000

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Week-in-review
A U.S. Navy Seal Team killed three Somali pirates who were holding an American ship's captain hostage. Other Somali pirates have vowed revenge. What do we really know about Somalia -- a nation that has been described as lawless and could be a haven for terrorists?
Dr. Raymond Gilpin, the Associate Vice President of the Sustainable Economies Centers of Innovation for U.S. Institute of Peace joins us to provide insight into Somalia.

Conservative former Congressman Pat Toomey announced this week he will challenge incumbent Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Arlen Specter in the next year's Republican primary. Sen. Specter's support of President Obama's economic stimulus package has some conservatives ready to cast Specter aside. Dr. Chris Borick, a political analyst at Muhlenberg College will be with us.

Getting Social

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:00:00 +0000

For neophyte techies like me, it is a whole new universe that is both daunting and exhilarating. I’m talking about the world of social networking, Web 2.0. Of course talking about it and understanding it are two completely separate undertakings.

MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter … almost every day, someone sends a message asking me to join their network or "friend" me. It’s flattering, tempting, but also a bit mind numbing. Who has time for all of this messaging?!? And the decisions that have to be made! Which network to join and with whom? How often to update the profile, the photos, my random thoughts of the day? And who should have access to all these musings and trinkets of inside, personal information? Several times a week I'll get an email offering seminars or webinars to maximize my use of these sites.

With so much to consider, to learn, and potentially to be misunderstood and misused, we decided to tackle the subject of Social Media on Friday night’s Smart Talk at 8:30. We’ll bring together two experts on the topic: Nathan Egan, Founder and Managing Partner, The Freesource Agency, based in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, and Ryan Coleman, Chief Executive Optimist, Nextforce, LLC. Based in Columbia, Maryland, Nextforce is a weblog, recruiting and consulting company that provides information, research, stories and perspective on what they call the “next generation of the workplace.”

Nathan Egan, who recently held key positions at Value Prop and LinkedIn, specializes "in helping corporations and individuals develop, execute and sharpen their Social Media strategies." He sent an e-mail with his thoughts on the latest social networking issues, "In terms of how social media pertains to personal life - there are two areas that are pretty regular themes for me and there is a lot to talk about! First, I think there are some major distinctions being created by how our (older) generations are adapting to social media and how new generations are actually growing up on social media. I saw a great piece about two weeks ago where they were profiling a relatively normal 15 year old whose "life" was social media... very interesting concept if you think about how her non-virtual social life is integrating seamlessly with her virtual social life. She literally doesn't know the difference. The second concept that is pretty hot right now is where, how and if there is a line separating business from personal in terms of Social Media ... individuals and corporations are really struggling with this concept as their employees are using the same social platforms (accounts) for business and personal use."

Two key concepts that Egan wants to explore Friday night are freesourcing which he described as “the act or process of using free, web-based technologies (social media, web 2.0, etc) for business. Similar to the concept of outsourcing, insourcing or homesourcing is a very powerful concept that can create incredible value for the organization in areas such as sales, marketing, talent acquisition, resource management, etc., and social influence marketing where a company uses or leverages an individual customer's influence on their personal network to change future purchasing decisions of their peers. An example of this would be when a LinkedIn member joins a group called "Satisfied Clients of ABC Corp" - this causes an update to go out to that member's trusted network. Members of his or her network are more likely to purchase services from ABC next time because they know one of their trusted colleagues endorses them.”

You quickly can see how powerful social networking can be in the hands of a tech-savvy marketing pro and how much you need to know about these new software applications and how they could affect your privacy.

Ryan Coleman’s Nextforce website notes, “The rise of the young professional is exciting and full of opportunity. At Nextforce, we embrace change, make bold statements, educate companies and live to tell the stories of the next generation.” Coleman earned his MBA in 2007 with an emphasis on “creativity in the workplace.” He’s compelled to explore how technology and Generation Y will affect how business is done in the 21st Century.

Via e-mail, Coleman offered some insights on the power of social media in 2009 and made the point that for most companies, it’s far more dangerous not to be engaged in social networking than to engage. “Some companies, organizations and individuals struggle with understanding that social media and new media is already woven into the fabric of our culture and lifestyle. Students who are not active, participating or engaged in social media are not going to be as marketable as those who 'get it.' Employers are not going to be able to attract the next wave of the workforce if they don't 'get it.' Being comfortable and branding yourself on social platforms provides great opportunities that far exceed the old styles of communicating, connecting and engaging,” he argued.

One of the key concepts for all of us to embrace with this new technology is the rapid shrinking of the globe and our interconnectedness. "The world just got smaller,” Coleman pointed out. “The web is only 5,500 days old. My have things changed from the Html clunky webpages to the social web of today! Globalization is a click away and communicating with friends, family and colleagues happens in a matter of a status update, a tweet, a post or a text. Building stronger relationships has never been easier. Now, if only everyone 'got it.' The Social Media tools are vehicles and tools... they are not solutions! Too many organizations jump into the various tools like Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter but they don't really know why they are there or what they should be listening to, or how this will influence their business,” he cautioned.

Companies like McNeil Consumer Healthcare and Amazon.com have received the social media wakeup call. McNeil was forced to pull the plug last fall on a new TV and magazine ad campaign for its painkiller Motrin after Twittering moms took offense to the ad's message. But some marketers wondered if McNeil caved too quickly to the Twitterers' complaints. Amazon ran into trouble over the weekend when it reclassified gay and lesbian books as "adult" and Twitterers and bloggers protested. Social media provide yet another minefield for companies to traverse.

Both Egan and Coleman emphasize that social networking is all about listening and having a conversation. Sharing, as Coleman said, “ignites the power of the web.” We’ll start the conversation for Smart Talk viewers Friday night at 8:30. Please join us!

Radio Smart Talk, Thursday, April 16 -- school safety

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Listen to MP3 of program.

April 20, 1999 is a day that will live in infamy in the U.S. On that day near Littleton, Colorado, two high school students shot and killed 13 of their classmates. Columbine is still considered the worst school shooting the nation has ever experienced. There have been others since, but all schools re-examined their safety and violence policies since Columbine. What have they done and are schools safer today?

Confirmed guests:
Chris Laudo, Crisis Response Chair, PA School Counselors Association

Tim Allwein, Assistant Executive Director for Governmental and Member Relations, PA School Boards Association

Dr. Elizabeth Coyle, Professor of Education, Elizabethtown College

Dave Cullen, author of the new book "Columbine"

Radio Smart Talk Today: Finances in Hard Times

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:49:00 +0000

Personal Finances: WITF is taking a multi-media approach to examination of personal finance, savings, investments or even the family budget.

Listen to MP3 of program.

Wednesday's Radio Smart Talk focuses on questions such as when will the stock market come back, should I make moves with my money with the markets down, and what is safe today?

You can read more about getting back on track in hard times in the April issue of WITF's Central PA Magazine.

Guests: Ken Eshleman, Principal at Wealth Management Group with EHD Advisory Services in Lancaster and Stacey Gibble Barrick, President and Certified Financial Planner Masland & Barrick Advisory in Camp Hill.

Tuesday's April 14, 2009 Radio Smart Talk

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Electric rate caps

Listen to MP3 of program.

Household budgets are taking a beating. Businesses have had to cutback or even layoff workers. The recession has spread the pain across all sectors. On the horizon here in Pennsylvania though are what could be massive rate hikes for electricity. Rate caps are scheduled to be removed for most utilities by the end of the year (some have already come off) and it could mean rate increases of 30-60%. How will we afford it? What steps are being taken to soften the blow?

Some say energy conservation is the answer. Click here for a list of conservation tips.

Check out the Office of Consumer Advocate's Residential Consumer's Electric Shopping Guide
Or call 1-800-684-6560 to request a shopping guide

Sonny Popowsky
Consumer Advocate of Pennsylvania

James Cawley
Chairman, PA Public Utility Commission

Monday's April 13, 2009 Radio Smart Talk

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:39:00 +0000

COLLEGE SELECTION

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Prospective college students and their families have May first circled in red. That’s the deadline for college declarations to be made and until then many are going nuts figuring out offers of admissions as well confusing financial information. Deciding on college...on the next Radio Smart Talk.

Guest:

Peter Van Buskirk, creator/presenter, The Admissions Game

Friday's April 10, 2009 Radio Smart Talk

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:48:00 +0000

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson
Listen to MP3 of program.
When the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium in New York re-opened after a renovation in the year 2000, it did so with a display of the solar system and its eight planets. Not nine. Eight. Why? Because, according to most scientists Pluto is, in fact, not a planet. Members of the public expressed their dismay. The Director of the Hayden Planetarium, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, collected this correspondence for a new book entitled The Pluto Files.We'll talk with Tyson about The Pluto Files and his "summer job" as host of NOVA ScienceNOW on WITF-TV.

Program originally aired February 25.

Thursday's April 9, 2009 Radio Smart Talk

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:05:00 +0000

ASK A LAWYER. When is the best time to write a will? What options do I have if I'm injured? I was pulled over for a traffic violation but don't think I'm guilty. Have a legal question? Thursday's Radio Smart Talk featured one in a series of professionals providing some direction or options you may have. This time we focus on your questions about the law.

Listen to MP3 of program.

Guests:

Paul Adams, Esq., Anthony Foschi, Esq.
Shumaker Williams, Legal and Business Counsel
Offices in Harrisburg, York, and Towson, MD

Wednesday's April 8, 2009 Radio Smart Talk

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:13:00 +0000

Listen to MP3 of program.

Pennsylvania's Secretary of Transportation Allen Biehler appears on Radio Smart Talk Wednesday to discuss transportation projects and needs in the state, including those underway or about to start as the result of the federal stimulus package.

Secretary Biehler's office: (717) 787-5574

Tuesday's April 7, 2009 Radio Smart Talk

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Listen to MP3 of the program.

The NewsHour's Gwen Ifill discusses her latest book and current events.Gwen Ifill is moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."

Read an excerpt:
The Breakthrough:
Politics and Race in the Age of Obama

The best-selling author of "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," (Doubleday, 2009), she also moderated the Vice Presidential debates during the Presidential elections in 2004 and 2008. Gwen has covered six Presidential campaigns, and during the 2008 campaign season, brought Washington Week to live audiences around the country as part of a 10-city tour.

Now in its 40th year, Washington Week is the longest-running prime-time news and public affairs program on television. Each week, Gwen brings together some of the best journalists in Washington to discuss the major stories of the week with the reporters who actually cover the news that emanates from the nation’s capital and affects the nation and the world.

Gwen joined both Washington Week and The NewsHour in 1999, interviewing newsmakers and reporting on issues ranging from foreign affairs to politics. Before coming to PBS, she was chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News, White House correspondent for The New York Times, and a local and national political reporter for The Washington Post. She also reported for the Baltimore Evening Sun and the Boston Herald American.

"I always knew I wanted to be a journalist, and my first love was newspapers," Ifill said. "But public broadcasting provides the best of both worlds-combining the depth of newspapering with the immediate impact of broadcast television."

A native of New York City and a graduate of Simmons College in Boston, Ifill has received more than a dozen honorary doctorates. She has also been honored for her work by the Radio and Television News Directors Association, Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center, Ebony Magazine and Boston’s Ford Hall Forum.

She also serves on the boards of the Harvard University Institute of Politics and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Monday's April 6, 2009 Radio Smart Talk

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:57:00 +0000

Listen to MP3 of program.

Three police officers were shot and killed in Pittsburgh responding to a domestic dispute call Saturday morning. Four officers in Oakland, California were shot to death two weeks ago that began with a traffic stop. This comes on the heels of the mass murder in Binghamton, New York last Friday where 13 people were killed.

Fear of violence and in at least two of these cases -- the police being outgunned -- just add to the uncertain and insecure times in which we live.

According to the Associated Press, 53 people have been killed in the past month in shooting incidents that involved multiple victims. Is there anyway to stop it? Is it a societal problem? A gun issue? An issue related to mental illness?

Studio Guest

Dr. James Ruiz-Penn State Harrisburg Criminal Justice Professor and former New Orleans police officer

Phone Guests
Kevin Gavin-News Director, WDUQ in Pittsburgh
Ed Fabriziani-Chief of Police West Reading, Deputy Commander Berks Co. Emergency Response Team
Joe Grace-Executive Director of Cease Fire PA

Gwen Ifill on Tuesday's Radio Smart Talk

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:16:00 +0000

The NewsHour's Gwen Ifill will appear on Radio Smart Talk Tuesday to discuss her latest book and current events.

An excerpt from The Breakthrough:
Politics and Race in the Age of Obama

Gwen Ifill is moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."

The best-selling author of "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," (Doubleday, 2009), she also moderated the Vice Presidential debates during the Presidential elections in 2004 and 2008.

Gwen has covered six Presidential campaigns, and during the 2008 campaign season, brought Washington Week to live audiences around the country as part of a 10-city tour.

Gwen joined both Washington Week and The NewsHour in 1999, interviewing newsmakers and reporting on issues ranging from foreign affairs to politics. Before coming to PBS, she was chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News, White House correspondent for The New York Times, and a local and national political reporter for The Washington Post. She also reported for the Baltimore Evening Sun and the Boston Herald American.

"I always knew I wanted to be a journalist, and my first love was newspapers," Ifill said. "But public broadcasting provides the best of both worlds-combining the depth of newspapering with the immediate impact of broadcast television."

A native of New York City and a graduate of Simmons College in Boston, Ifill has received more than a dozen honorary doctorates. She has also been honored for her work by the Radio and Television News Directors Association, Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center, Ebony Magazine and Boston’s Ford Hall Forum.

She also serves on the boards of the Harvard University Institute of Politics and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Get Your Finances Back on Track

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Wondering how to get your personal finances back on track? Catch SMART TALK TV Friday night at 8:30pm for tips from the region's top financial advisors.

Use Twitter to submit your personal finance, savings, or retirement question to us and the experts will answer it.

Send your tweets to twitter.com\witfnews throughout the day.
Or you can call 717-910-2879 and leave us a voicemail with your questions or comments.

Then, tune in to Smart Talk TV Friday night at 8:30pm on WITF-TV and find out how to get your personal finances back on track!

Killing Cancer

noreply@blogger.com (WITF) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:00:00 +0000

One of America's pre-eminent cancer experts, Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the American Cancer Society, joins us Friday night at 8:30 on Smart Talk to talk about the latest research into this deadly disease and our nation's efforts to eradicate it. Dr. Len, as he's known, is a native of York and a graduate of York Suburban High School. He appeared last week on Radio Smart Talk and shared excitement about breakthroughs in the field of cancer research.

"We’re looking forward to new types of treatments, what we call targeted therapies, which are more specific and take advantage of what makes a cancer cell a cancer cell. And we’re also learning a lot about how cancer behaves and trying to sort out which cancers are really dangerous versus those that probably wouldn’t cause people any difficulty through their lifetimes,” Dr. Len told listeners.

He is particularly bullish about advances in the early detection and treatment of breast cancer, one of the biggest killers of women in America. “… the women in that situation instead of having a 50 or 60 or 70 percent chance of living for five years, now we’re up to 98%. So that’s a pretty significant move forward," he noted.

For generations, though, we have heard this country declare war on cancer and while we've won a few battles, clearly Dr. Len admits, the seige continues. “We’ve gone through what I call the ‘Hope and the Hype Cycle’ over the past 20 and 30 years where we promised a lot and couldn’t deliver. But all that time we were understanding more and more about the genetics of cancer, what makes a cancerous cell cancerous. And it’s taken us this long to finally get our arms around it … the results of that research are … that we have now a large number of new drugs in the pipeline that are really making a difference in the lives of cancer patients.”

And one of the most frustrating and charged aspects of cancer research involves the political tug of war over funding ... which cancer, which treatment, which institution should get the most attention and dollars? It is as much a public policy debate as a scientific one. The ACS' focus has been on young investigators. It invests its funds in the careers of young scientists through early-stage financing for their projects. "We participated in early funding of 42 scientists who have gone on to win the Nobel Prize for groundbreaking drugs," Dr. Len explained.

President Obama vowed in February to seek "a cure for cancer in our time." It is the nation's number-two killer after heart disease. “We’re probably going to be able to bring cancer under control, make it a chronic disease, much like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. And ... by understanding the fundamental mechanisms of cancer and being able to measure the genetics of a particular individual cancer … take these targeted therapies that we are, and will be developing, literally off the shelf and apply it. We will make cancer a chronic disease …. It’s happening right now,” said Dr. Len.

Two-thirds of people diagnosed with cancer today will live beyond five years. That number in the 1970s was just 50%. That's real, measurable progress with more advances sure to come.

HealthSmart Producer Heather Muha brings us an intimate look at the survival stories of several local cancer patients. Each of them battles a variation of the disease but each brings a fighter’s sense of optimism and grit to the challenge. Kim Mallett of State College was diagnosed with breast cancer at 31. After undergoing genetic testing that showed she carried the breast cancer gene, BRCA 2, she made the tough decision to undergo a double mastectomy. “I wasn’t willing to risk my life to keep my breasts,” Kim explained.

George Ferey of Mechanicsburg was 57 when doctors first diagnosed him with prostate cancer. While some studies show that 80 percent of men will develop prostate cancer by age 80, it’s a relatively slow-moving disease. Lots of men choose not to treat it. But not George Ferey. He opted to have radioactive seeds implanted in his prostate. "I worried whether I would set off the alarms at the airport , but short of that there was not a problem. I wanted the least invasive process that I could get because I was too busy with life. I didn’t want to be bothered with prostate cancer,” George said.

Ferey lived with the cancer for more than 10 years, but in 2007, doctors discovered it had metastasized to his bones. “I’m out of remission at the moment and I know that someday it’s gonna get me, but so what. It didn’t get me today,” he reflected.

Karen Charlesworth of York was just 37 when doctors told her she had colon cancer. Dr. Mary Simmonds, says Kim's diagnosis came at about the same time that researchers had the very first breakthrough in the adjuvant treatment of colon cancer. Adjuvant treatment is radiation or chemotherapy given after surgery. In Karen’s case, even though doctors successfully removed the tumor, there was still a chance that a few cancer cells would remain. To prevent these cancer cells from coming back, Karen received chemotherapy for a year.

She continues to get colonoscopies every three years. She’s a strong advocate for colon-cancer screening through the American Cancer Society. Karen promised, “I plan to just enjoy life. There’s plenty of fun out there and I’m going to find it!”

Sounds like sage advice for all of us. In thinking about Heather's piece and preparing for this week's program, I recalled another, more high-profile cancer survivor -- Republican Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter -- and the opening line of his most recent book, "Never Give In: Battling Cancer in the Senate." Specter wrote, "It's a hell of a shock to find out you have cancer." The Senator now has overcome two bouts with Hodgkin's lymphoma but admits that the rounds of chemotherapy and the course of the disease zapped him of energy and forced him to ponder his mortality. In one of the more thought-provoking passages of Specter's narrative, he mused about America's commitment to cancer research.

Specter wrote, "I often reflected on President Richard M. Nixon's declaration of war against cancer and thought that if we had devoted the same resources to that war that the United States does to other wars, we would have defeated cancer long ago. Perhaps my own Hodgkin's might have been prevented had we pursued cancer as relentlessly as we did Hitler and Saddam."

I will be curious to hear Dr. Len's thoughts on Specter's opinion and on Americans' willingness to fight cancer with everything in our medical arsenal.

In keeping with our Medical Week theme through WITF Multimedia, Everette James, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, will visit us. Sec. James will promote his Worksite Wellness initiative. The idea is to jumpstart an exercise and fitness routine for state workers one step at a time starting with his April 6 event, "Walk the Walk." James will walk around the Capitol complex with several other Rendell Cabinet members and legislators. Thousands of state employees are invited to join them.

Kelly Minner, from Emmaus PA, was a runner-up on Season One of NBC's hit reality show, "The Biggest Loser." Kelly, who dropped 79 pounds on the show, went from 242 to 163 pounds and now weighs 140 pounds. She slimmed down from a size 24 to 8. Kelly works at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts in Bethlehem, PA where she teaches in the Theatre Deopartment. She also serves as the school's Director of Academics. Kelly will tell us about her struggle to lose weight, how she maintains her weight loss, and the impact the journey has had on her health. Thanks to her incredible weight loss, she has overcome both high cholesterol and high blood pressure. A study by Highmark last year showed that for every dollar employers spend on workplace-wellness programs, they get $1.65 back in savings in their employee health-care costs.

How to fortify your personal financial assets is another topic we'll tackle on our show this week. Central PA magazine's April issue features an article with local financial experts who offer guidance on how to accumulate wealth, manage debt, spend smartly, and invest wisely during these turbulent times. We'll assemble the team of Stacey Barrick, Certified Financial Planner and Co-Founder of Masland & Barrick Advisory, Inc., Camp Hill, Michael Helveston, a Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor with Rodgers & Associates, Lancaster, and Kenneth Eshelman, Certified Financial Planner and Principal, Wealth Management at EHD Advisory Services, Lancaster. Ken will dial in on reevaluating your comprehensive financial plans, establishing a recovery plan, how to position investments and portfolios for the future, and something he calls "Market Psychology and Investors' Behavioral Pitfalls." Yes, there is a science to how we behave in this type of highly volatile environment!

Our panelists will explore opportunities in the bond market, both municipal and corporate, and share their thoughts on the potential impact of various monetary, government stimulus and "rescue" actions.

Talking with Stacey Barrick earlier this week, she told me, "Older investors, those at or near retirement age, should stay with safer investments like municipal bonds or taxable CDs. For younger folks, go with higher-yielding dividend stocks, stocks that will grow over the next decade. Simply by purchasing dividend-paying stocks, they will get stability but also growth."

As for how to behave in this down cycle, she advised, "People tend to overreact in this environment and cut off their contribution to their 401-K plans entirely ... and that is exactly the wrong thing to do. They should continue contributing because over the long term, they will come back. Take advantage of the tax breaks from those contributions!"

The Associated Press' Martin Crutsinger has a story this week noting that the personal savings rate for Americans sits at just over 4 percent. That's the highest level in more than a decade. Consider that personal savings used to be closer to zero percent. Crutsinger poses a key question: What does a nation in the midst of recession do if people start saving rather than spending when spending accounts for 70% of our total economic output? He reports that from 1950 until 1990, "... the rate averaged around 9 percent. But in the 1990s, it started dropping sharply, and it's averaged a minuscule 1.8 percent so far this decade. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, the rate slipped below 1 percent to levels not seen since the Great Depression." Why? Crutsinger says the stock market and housing booms led people to believe they didn't need to save because their other assets' values skyrocketed and became like personal piggy banks. When the technology, housing and stock market bubbles burst, Americans lost trillions of dollars of net worth and suddenly got thriftier. What it could mean, Crutsinger opines, is a more "subdued" rebound.

In News Around the Capitol, the Rendell administration and state workers union leaders say they've reached a tentative deal that will avoid rolling furloughs for thousands of state employees starting this month. Under the deal, the state could save $200 million by temporarily reducing its payments to the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund -- the self-insurance fund that provides state workers' health care coverage -- by 20 percent. The governor vows to make the fund whole again through higher payments starting in September 2010 when the economy and state revenues are expected to revive. Rank-and-file members still must approve the pact.

Rendell also announced a new accountability chief for the billion of dollars in federal stimulus money flowing into Pennsylvania. Ronald Naples, former CEO of Quaker Chemical Corporation in Conshohocken, is charged with ensuring transparency in how the state spends the money. Rendell will pay Naples' $120,000 salary from Pennsylvania's $9 billion share of the stimulus funding. (This marks at least the fourth high-paying Rendell appointment since he announced a state government hiring freeze in the fall.) The Governor launched the Stimulus Oversight Commission's first meeting this week. You can track the state's stimulus spending at http://www.recovery.pa.gov/.

The tab for Bonusgate keeps growing. State Democratic and Republican lawmakers say they've spent more than $6 million of taxpayer money for expenses related to the ongoing probe of bonuses they paid to caucus employees allegedly for personal and political work. That's about double what they spent ($3.1 million) on the bonuses in 2005-2006. So far, 12 Democratic members and staffers have been indicted. Most of the $6 million has been spent on legal fees.

Democratic House Majority Leader Todd Eachus stopped just short of asking Republican State Attorney General Tom Corbett to step down. Corbett's leading the Bonusgate investigation. No Republican has yet been charged in the case. Corbett is gearing up to run for governor next year and Eachus told the Pennsylvania Press Club Monday Corbett must decide whether he can balance the duties of his office while running for another. Eachus noted that Virginia's attorney general decided to step down in February in order to conduct his gubernatorial bid. A Corbett spokesman said he has no intention of resigning.

Sandi Vito, acting secretary of the state Department of Labor & Industry, is back at work after a two-week stint at rehab. Vito was charged with public drunkenness in March. Rendell says Vito has his "full faith and support."

New local unemployment numbers -- not good. Unemployment hit 6.8 percent in February in the Harrisburg-Carlisle region - the highest level since August 1984. Lancaster registered 6.9%, Lebanon rose to 6.7%, York-Hanover soared to 7.3%. The Reading area rose to 8.4%. The state unemployment rate is 7.5 percent, and the national rate is 8.1 percent. And the state looks to be on target for a $2.3 billion deficit by the end of June. Revenue last month came in short by more than $330 million, putting us $1.6 billion in the red.

That's a look at some of the stories making headlines this week around the State Capitol. Be sure to join us Friday night at 8:30 for an exciting edition of SMART TALK. As always, we welcome your comments and questions. Send an email to smarttalk@witf.org. Thanks, and be well!