The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau

           A high-stakes clock is ticking inside the Pennsylvania General Assembly.  After declaring skill games to be illegal, the state's high court paused enforcement for 120 days, giving the General Assembly until October 13th to either ban them completely or finally enact a regulatory and tax framework to make them legal.  But with that deadline looming, the legislature appears to be sitting on its hands.           Meantime, small business owners, volunteer fire companies, and veterans groups remain in limbo, having heard next to nothing from lawmakers.  Today, an update, or lack thereof, from Willie Shay of Shay's Vending, about the status of skill games legislation.           Then, a shift to a story about about resilience, imagination, and learning to breathe a little easier with childhood asthma.  A discussion with Clearfield County budding author, Jake Lockett, who's book, "My Life as an Aasthmanaut" is now out.  

It seems like trains are having a moment in America these days, and a very well-funded startup rail company is hoping to capitalize on that moment.  On this edition of The Commonwealth Beat, a look at a bold proposal from Ameristar Rail, based out of Wilmington, Delaware.  The company is pitching a public-private partnership to overhaul Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor in a way that's never been tried, while giving Americans the chance to travel at 160 miles per hour in modern, high speed trains that expand corridor service by 35%, require no government subsidies or tax breaks, and would make Amtrak profitable for the first time, ever.  Scott Spencer, CEO of Ameristar Rail, discusses his background and the company's proposal, in detail.  

         Dipping into The Commonwealth Beat archives, the spotlight shines on a state-provided service that gives victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and stalking an opportunity to begin their lives anew, without their abusers tracking them down.  It's called the Address Confidentiality Program.           Then, in an extended PA-mazing segment, you'll hear from a Bucknell University Professor who knows all about the Susquehanna River.  Like many Pennsylvanians, you may cross over it on a bridge, or spend the day on a boat in the middle of it.  But did you know it's been following its path longer than humans have walked the earth?   The Susquehanna River is PA-mazing, as you'll discover.  

 A "behind the headlines" look into the miraculous rescue of "The Quecreek Nine."  They were the team of nine coal miners who accidentally penetrated an underground wall separating an abandoned, flooded mine adjacent to the active coal mine they were working in during the evening hours of July 24, 2002 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.   

A little old, a little new.  We'll hear a "Best Of" segment on TICKS from last summer, with a look at East Stroudsburg University's Tick Research Center and everything you never new you wanted to know about ticks and Lyme Disease, with the center's director, Dr. Nicole Chinicci.  Then, a new segment about Cryptocurrency; what it is, how it works, and whether it's safe to invest in crypto.  

         Is a college degree still necessary in today's workforce? Between shifting corporate demands and the rising appeal of specialized technical fields, the traditional academic path is under the microscope.  Hear a Higher Education Roundtable discussion featuring leaders at three different levels of the educational spectrum, to gauge whether college is still the best bet for today's high school students.          In the PA-mazing segment, we'll take a trip to the southwestern PA and Greene county, where the town of Waynesburg is getting ready for their annual Rain Day celebration!  Find out why their citizens bet on rain on one particular summer day.  

         Summer’s in full swing, and for many, it’s a chance to pack some shorts and a t-shirt in a bag and hit the road for a much needed weekend getaway.   If you’re into handmade art - and independent film - the perfect weekend awaits in one of Pennsylvania’s most quaint, and truly artistic locations, Mount Gretna, PA, nestled in the mountains straddling Lebanon and Lancaster counties.           While the Mount Gretna Art Show has been around for 52 years, this will be the third year that patrons of it may attend the Mount Gretna International Film Festival, free of charge.  Hear all about it from the director of the film festival, Claire De Boer.            Then in our PA-mazing segment, the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive has made a triumphant tour of Pennsylvania during this Semiquincentennial celebration of America.  One of its stops was not too far from Mount Gretna, and the Big Boy brought out big crowds during its visit.  Hear some of the highlights of Big Boy's visit to the City of Lebanon, PA. 

Best of The Commonwealth Beat:  The Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive is making a historic trip this summer, and Pennsylvania has a front row seat!  Hear all about this historic event with the Conductor of the Big Boy 4014, Ed Dickens, Jr.  

          Sometimes, reality can be stranger than fiction, and other times, it's just downright fascinating.  On this edition of The Commonwealth Beat, there's a little bit of both all wrapped up in the fairly small body of a parasitic blow fly with a very misleading name:  the New World Screwworm.  Pennsylvania agriculture officials are implementing new rules to keep the New World Screwworm far away.  State Beterinarian, Dr. Alex Hamberg has all the details.            Then, with the nation's Semiquincentennial happening in just a few weeks on July 4th, we'll make a "best of" PA-mazing pit stop to a place of revolutionary importance to this nation, the Brandywine Battlefield in Chester County.

          If it feels like Pennsylvania has become the center of the sports universe this year, that's because it has.          From a record-setting NFL Draft in Pittsburgh to the PGA Championship outside Philadelphia, to this weekend's Nascar Cup Series race at the famed "Tricky Triangle" in the Poconos, 2026 has already delivered a remarkable run of marquee sporting events.  But the biggest spotlight may be yet to come.          In the days and weeks ahead, soccer fans from around the globe will descend on Philadelphia for six matches in the FIFA World Cup, alongside visitors from across the nation who are making their way to PA to celebrate America's 250th birthday.          It's a once-in-a-generation convergence of sports, tourism, and history, and Pennsylvania finds itself squarely at the center of it all.  Kaitie Burger, Executive Director of the PA Tourism Office is helping coordinate all those events, as well as all the Semiquincentennial events statewide. 

School's out for summer and vacation is on the mind!  This edition of The Commonwealth Beat is a bit of a best-of-mash-up, featuring two previous reports from earlier editions of the show, featuring destinations not too far out of bounds for budget-conscious vacationers.    In the first segment, we'll revisit Erie County, Pennsylvania, the commonwealth's only "Gateway to the Great Lakes."  Then, in the second segment, it's off to a place that was incredibly important to winning the Revolutionary War.  In this "Summer of the Semiquincentennial," let your revolutionary spirit take hold at the historic, Cornwall Iron Furnace in Lebanon County.  

As officials in cities and towns across the nation finalize their plans to mark America's 250th birthday this July 4th, a marvel of 20th Century industrial and technological innovation is on a historic tour east of the Mississippi. It's Union Pacific's Big Boy 4014, a massive steam locomotive that has rail fans coast to coast lining up for a glimpse.  And likely when the Big Boy rumbles past them, they'll see conductor Ed Dickens poking his head out the window, waving at them, and blowing the Big Boy's booming whistle.  But before he fired up its engine, Ed Dickens took some time for The Commonwealth Beat, to give us the low-down on the Big Boy 4014, and what to expect if you live in one of the 12 Pennsylvania cities or towns where it will stop this summer.  

With school ending in a few weeks and summer on the horizon, many Pennsylvanians are counting the days until their much-anticipated summer vacation.  But while there's plenty of concern over the economy, health experts worry that rising measles cases may put many people in the hospital, rather than on the beach.  We'll discuss the risks associated with measles, and why the two-shot measles vaccination is your best bet for a lifetime of protection.  In our PA-mazing segment, a chat with Gary Cee, Program Director and Morning Host on Seven Mountains Media's POCO 103 in Stroudsburg.  He's been published over 40 times in the New York Times and other prestigious publications, not on the front page, but on the puzzle page!  

Part 2 of an exclusive interview with Igal Feibush, Founder and CEO of Pennsylvania Data Center Partners.  He discusses the energy consumption used by data centers, and why he believes they won't drain the grid dry of electricity, while jacking up prices for ratepayers.  In fact, he thinks they'll actually be a catalyst for lowering electric prices.  Also discussed, his massive hyperscale data center project in Carlisle, Cumberland County.  Is PAX-1 the wave of the future for data centers?  Find out in this exclusive interview with one of the foremost leaders in building data centers all across the country.  

How much do you really know about DATA CENTERS? What they do, what's inside them, who works there, and why do we need them?  Igal Feibush, Founder and CEO of Pennsylvania Data Center Partners will break it all down in an extended, two-part interview.  In Part 1, he also discusses concerns about noise coming from Data Centers, and some of the new technologies being used to cool down the thousands of servers inside Data Center buildings.  

It's a reality we all must face at one time or another:  the death of a loved one.  And whether it's expected or not, it can still be an emotionally charged time.  But when the death comes because they are incapacitated, and someone has had to make potentially end-of-life decisions, a completely different set of emotions settles in.  Encouraging folks to think about the kind of care they would or would not want if something were to happen that would render them incapacitated has been one of Dr. Ira Byock's missions throughout his 50-plus year career as an Emergency Room physician and Palliative Care specialist.  Alongside Roberta Geidner of Lebanon County's Aging Inspired Advance Care Coalition, Dr. Byock discusses advance care directives, and what we all must know.  

          Founded on ground purchased by Richard Allen, a freed slave who became a prominent Methodist pastor in the late 1780's, Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia is one of the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission's 50 Pennsylvania places to see.            The oldest African-American-founded Methodist church in the nation proudly sits at the corner of 6th and Lombard Streets in the Old City neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia, just a stone's throw from Independence Hall.           Fast forward 232 years since its founding in 1794 and Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church has established a commanding presence and history of speaking truth to power.            In an extended PA-mazing segment, we'll hear more about Mother Bethel, and how that congregation is marking the Semiquincentennial year.  

If you're old enough to remember "Must See TV," then you remember that 8 to 11 Thursday night time frame when you were parked in front of your television, watching your local NBC affiliate.  One of the most legendary shows from that period was Seinfeld, a show about nothing.  What made the show an instant classic was the rapport of the four main characters, coupled with a strong supporting cast who each carved out their own niche on the show.  Among the most popular was actor John O'Hurley's portrayal of J. Peterman, a mail order catalog owner and world explorer who always had a story to tell about an obscure tribe he came across in his world travels, or a product he discovered somewhere in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil.  But O'Hurley is equally recognizable as a cartoon voice actor, doing 14 different characters for various cartoons.  He was recently in Harrisburg at a Comic Con, which he attends across the country.  He discusses Seinfeld's impact on his life.  Then, we move to the literary world, for a conversation with Harrisburg-based author Tory Gates, who's just dropped his ninth novel, "The Legend of the Black Swan."  He discusses the book, and how he builds story, narrative, and his particular writing process.

America is in the midst of the largest bird flu outbreak in its history.  As birds migrate this spring, avian influenza is spreading along the major flyways used to get to their spring and summer destinations.  As they travel, these wild birds are inadvertently spreading contagion through droppings, contaminated water, or direct contact with domestic birds.  Commercial poultry producers and egg laying enterprises had had to destroy hundreds of millions of birds to eradicate bird flu in their flocks.  So what can be done?  Dr. Chelsey Shivley with the USDA is leading the effort to get this terrible disease under control.  Then, in the PA-mazing segment, a trip to "the sweetest place on earth,"  Hershey, Pennsylvania to discuss the town's latest dining option, Hershey Social Restaurant and Bar.  Can you infuse Hershey candy into adult beverages and all manner of food?  Danielle Short and Chef Chris Emlet will explain that to their way of thinking, you can, indeed!

Training  Pennsylvania's physicians of the future has been a major part of the mission for the Penn State College of Medicine, based at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Derry Township, Dauphin County.  Since graduating their first class of med students in 1971, the Hershey Medical Center physician staff has grown to over 1100.  Overseeing them is Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Michael Kupferman, a reknown physician executive, clinician and researcher who's been on the job since the end of May, 2025.  He discusses his job, the community, the goals he has for Penn State Health, and much more in this extended interview.

America is gearing up for a celebration 250 Years in the making!  And if you're even remotely interested in how the very first Americans lived, there's a little-known historical site in Philadelphia just waiting to share one of the most authentic slices of colonial life you'll ever receive.  For nine generations spread over the 283 years between 1690 and 1973, the Wyck House and Farm served as the homestead for one Philadelphia family that brought their traditional Quaker culture and values not only to the land they occupied, but also the burgeoning society around them. Hear the amazing story of this little-know historic gem, as they prepare to celebrate the nation's semiquincentennial.  

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has been in office for a year, and in that time, he has brought forth a number of new initiatives for the prosecution of crimes in this Commonwealth, while also advocating for programs that give Pennsylvanians who've made mistakes or who've become addicted to drugs, to receive treatment, as opposed to prison.  In an exclusive interview with The Commonwealth Beat, Sunday describes moving from being the elected District Attorney of York County to Pennsylvania's top law enforcement official.  

The first Tuesday of February is set aside for the Pennsylvania Governor to address a joint session of the General Assembly, and bring forth their budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year.  Governor Josh Shapiro offered quite a proposal February 3rd, with his nearly 53.3 billion dollar budget, the largest in the history of this commonwealth.  So how did the 90 minute speech play to one key business leader?  Luke Bernstein, President & CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry analyzes some of the key points made by the Governor, including AI and data centers, and whether or not PA will ever raise its minimum wage.   

Pennsylvania and its citizens are preparing for the first major winter storm of the season, now dubbed Winter Storm Fern.  From border to to border, snow is expected.  That means the men and women who work at PennDOT are gearing up for a long weekend of work, made even more troublesome by the extreme cold we're enduring.  We'll hear how PennDOT is prepping for their mission of clearing the state's interstate highways and other major arterials with PennDOT Safety Press Officer, Fritzi Schreffler.  Then, we'll tackle another very pressing issue, the extremely depleted national blood supply.  It's gotten to such a low point nationwide that hospitals have begun cancelling elective surgeries, and patients who count on transfusions for life saving care face serious risk.  We'll speak with the Executive Director of the Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania, Laura Burke. 

The 110th Pennsylvania Farm Show is now one for the history books, after finishing its eight day run on January 17th at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.  The annual celebration of Pennsylvania's agriculture industry took on an even greater meaning this year, with the Semiquincentennial coming this July 4th.  Everything from the butter sculpture to the Farm Show milkshakes  paid tribute to this momentous occasion.  This edition of The Commonwealth Beat takes a look back at the 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show, and how the commonwealth's farmers helped grow a nation.

With more adverse effects of social media on adolescents coming to light almost daily, a move by the Australian government to ban social media for youth under the age of 16 is being looked at very closely around the world.  And it begs the question, "Should the U.S. adopt a social media ban for teens?"  Dr. Candice Biernesser, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh concentrates her research on the effects of social media on teen mental health.  She weighs in on the idea of a social media ban for American teens on this edition of The Commonwealth Beat.

As Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro enters into the 4th and final year of his first term in office, he discusses some of the issues he's tackled, and previews 2026, which he says is going to be "one hell of a fun year."  

If you're a person of a certain age and can remember back 50 years, then you remember America celebrating it's bicentennial on July 4th, 1976.  It was a time when kids marched around in tricorn hats and store shelves were lined with commemorative items, such as silver spoons and plates bearing the likeness of George Washington, and Liberty Bells everywhere.  Now, as we approach July 4th, 2026, Pennsylvania is preparing to take center stage once again, as the nation marks its Semiquincentennial.  Years of statewide coordination have already gone into this historic milestone, spearheaded by the statewide planning organization, America250PA.  Executive Director Cassandra Coleman provides an update to all the Semiquincentennial planning.

          Nearly eight decades after its theatrical release, "It's a Wonderful Life" is even more popular now than it ever was when it debuted in theatres in 1946. And its given one of the only cast members still alive a chance to spread its simple message of gratitude to thousands of people across this country.            85-Year old Karolyn Grimes is the child actress who portrayed Zuzu Bailey in the film.  Nowadays, she travels to Christmas shows across the country with a collection of knick knacks and other "It's a Wonderful Life" items, taking pictures, signing autographs, and mostly, modeling a life filled with love, compassion and gratitude, just like her on-screen father, George Bailey.  And she's coming to Harrisburg next weekend for the Pennsylvania Christmas and Gift Show at the PA Farm Show Complex.

In the story of the founding of America, Pennsylvania figures prominently.  But in 2026, not only will the Keystone State figure prominently in marking the nation's 250th birthday, it will also play host to some of the biggest sporting events in this country.....the NFL draft, the PGA Championship, the MLB All Star Game, and the FIFA World Cup.  Any one of those major events means big business for hospitality and tourism officials.  Now imagine having all of them.  That's the reality of 2026 for Kaitie Burger, Executive Director of the PA Tourism Office, who will tell us all about them! And in the PA-mazing Segment, we're off to the Susquehanna River Valley of Central PA, where each year since 1989, the oldest, authentic outdoor Christmas market in the U.S. has been held.  It's the Mifflinburg Christkindl Market in Union County.  Market president Matt Wagner will give us the lowdown on this year's market, just a couple of weeks away.  

Penn State University and Penn State Health officials are no doubt, still riding high, following the announcement October 28th that the Children's Hospital at Hershey was being accepted into the Golisano Children's Alliance, and would be receiving $50M from Tom Golisano, the founder of Paychex, an internationally-reknown provider of payroll, employee benefits, and HR services for small and medium-sized companies.  Hear Tom Golisano's announcement and reason for giving away his vast fortune, plus reaction from Penn State President, Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, in an exclusive interview for the Commonwealth Beat.  

Since taking office in January, 2024, Governor Josh Shapiro has made agriculture central to his administration's success.  The emphasis is paying off, as the state recently celebrated a major milestone in its history:  the preservation of more than 6600 farms and 650,000 acres of farmland for agricultural use across the Commonwealth.  That milestone makes Pennsylvania the state with the most preserved farms of any state in the nation.  In the PA-mazing segment, suggested by a Commonwealth Beat listener, we head to Delaware Water Gap, PA to hear about the quaint little town that boasts a big and impressive musical history, emanating from one grand hotel there, called the Castle Inn.

Part 2 of this exclusive interview with Gopal Balachandran, the lead appellate attorney handling the case of Subramanyam "Subu" Vedam, the man who spent 43 years in SCI Huntingdon for the murder of Tom Kinser, who was killed in December, 1980.  While Subu proclaimed his innocense throughout his incarceration, it was Attorney Balachandran's discovery of one line of a handwritten note of then-Centre County D.A. Ray Gricar, that proved Subu was not Kinser's murderer.  Hear how Subu's conviction was overturned, and now confronts his newest plight:  being held for deportation in the Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center.  It's a Commonwealth Beat Exclusive! 

If there ever was a case of justice delayed, it may be that of 64-year old Subu Vedam, the State College man who now stands as Pennsylvania's longest-serving prison exoneree.  However, he currently stands in the Moshannon Processing Center in Philipsburg on an immigration detainer, fighting a deportation order dating back to 1988.  In Part 1 of this exclusive interview with Subu's lead attorney, Gopal Balachandran, hear how he was able to get Subu's conviction overturned, based on hard investigation of thousands of pages of police files, and many strokes of luck along the way. 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Y for the tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians who hunt, with the start of the deer archery seaon on October 4th, 2025.  And this year, their time on the hunt just got longer, now that Pennsylvania has Sunday hunting, thanks to the passage of Act 36 of 2025 in July.  While hundreds of state lawmakers and many Game Commission executives championed the cause for decades, it was a second term, female State House member who got the bill over the finish line.  And no one could be happier about that than current Game Commission Executive Director, Steve Smith.  On this first weekend of archery season, he'll discuss Sunday hunting, his admiration for Representative Mandy Steele's tenacity to make it a reality, and other hunting issues

     It was in 2021 that a 17-year old Amish girl came to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, suffering from fatigue, a severe headache and weakness on one side of her body.  Shortly after her arrival, she also developed brain inflammation that became so severe, physicians had to remove part of her skull to relieve the pressure.  Her team of doctors tried everything to treat her, including high doses of steroids to alleviate the brain swelling, but nothing was helping.   That's when Dr. Whitney Reid of CHOP's Department of Allergy and Immunology requested that her DNA be sequenced.            And that was the key that unlocked the mystery of her illness:  she had Complement Factor I Deficiency, something so rare, it affects fewer than one in a million people worldwide.  But the physicians made a second remarkable finding.  They discovered that the ultra-rare genetic disorder was affecting the Amish 4500 times more than non-Amish people.            We take a look at this rare disease, and a few others that affect the Amish community with Dr. Whitney Reid, because of something called the "Founder's Effect."  

The human body is the most complex biological machine ever, made up of groups of organs that work together to produce and sustain life.  Learning about the human body requires a great deal of study.  But for the students of the Greater Altoona Career & Technology Center, their education just took a huge step forward with the acquisition of "the Anatomage Table," a life-sized, fully interactive model of the human body that students can use, without ever having to touch an actual human body!  The director and the principal of the Greater Altoona CTC will explain this remarkable piece of equipment. Then in the PA-mazing segment, it's off to the Juniata River Valley for the celebration of a quirky, one-of-a-kind holiday that residents have observed for more than 200 years:  Goose Day.  The Executive Director of the Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau will tell us why folks flock to the region, and why this year will be "goose-ier" than ever.  

What does a retired state lawmaker, a couple of priests, some policy wonks, an a few others have in common?         Answer?  They were all personally selected by the Most Reverend Timothy Senior, Bishop of the Harrisburg Catholic Diocese, to serve on the “Uniting for Growth: Catholic Education Commission."   Their job over the next year will be to make recommendations about how to fix what ails Catholic education in Central Pennsylvania.   We’ll speak with Bishop Senior.  Then in the PA-mazing Segment, it's back to 16th century England , to find out what’s happening this year at one of the commonwealth’s biggest tourist draws, the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.  Sales and Marketing Director, Candace Smith has the details.  

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.    This summer has been one of the worst on record for ticks, the sometimes speck-like creatures that latch onto warm-blooded hosts, be it a rodent, a dog, a cat, or even you and me.  And if they do, there's about even odds that they may be carrying one of four common diseases found in the ticks in Pennsylvania.  That's where the Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab at East Stroudsburg University comes in.  They're on a mission to test the ticks that latch onto us humans, because knowing whether the tick that bit you is carrying a disease is the key to your speedy recovery, and avoidance of many long-lasting negative effects.  We're talking ticks with Dr. Nicole Chinnici from the PA Tick Research Lab on this edition of The Commonwealth Beat!  

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.   Will a lawsuit filed July 15th by a group of plaintiffs pry open Pennsylvania's closed primary election system?  On July 15th, four Pennsylvania voters filed a petition  asking the PA Supreme Court to exert their King's Bench jurisdiction and take the case immediately.  They hope the justices will rule in their favor, invalidating the Commonwealth’s closed primary election system, in which only party-affiliated voters can participate.  David Thornburgh, a co-plaintiff in the case and head of Ballot PA, the advocacy group pushing this issue for years, will discuss the lawsuit and its ramifications. In the PA-mazing segment, did you know there was such a thing as a Confetti Disbursement Team that works on New Year's Eve in Times Square?  There is, and Jody Potter, a Juniata county dental hygienist  made this year's team.  She talks about what the team does and  it on the team.   We'll hear all about what must be done to ring in the new year with a confetti shower.  .  

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  A movement that grew out of outrage over a legislative pay raise passed in the dead of night with almost no one around, had its 20th anniversary on July 7th.  The PA Cleansweep movement was the brainchild of then-Lebanon County businessman, Russ Diamond.  Its mission was to not only repeal the pay raise, but also oust every sitting state lawmaker who voted for it, in the first place.            What ensued over the next year was nothing short of a political nuclear bomb going off, with many legislators and one state supreme court justice leaving office, either of their own volition, or thrown out at the ballot box.            Now a six term State House member, Diamond reflects on the PA Cleansweep movement, two decades later.PA recently opened a brick and mortar veterans outreach center for vets and their family members to receive information about the services they're entitled to, face-to-face.  it was a long time coming, but for the department of military and veterans affairs, there's no turning back now.  Retired Army Colonel Keith Graham, who oversees veterans' programs at the center, talks about its mission.   

"This above all; to thine own self be true."  That Shakespeare quote certainly fits the Knoebel family of Elysburg, Northumberland County.  For 99 years, through five generations of family members, the Knoebels have operated an amusement park that has thrilled millions of people, mostly from Pennsylvania and surrounding states, but also visitors from every state in the union and many foreign lands.  They've done so while bucking many of the norms in the amusement industry, such as refusing to go to a "one price admission," refusing to charge for parking, and allowing patrons to bring their own food into the park.  In an extended interview, Knoebels Public Relations Director, Stacy Yutko discusses all things Knoebels, as they embark upon the celebration of their 100th Anniversary next year.

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  As state lawmakers work feverishly to come up with a cohesive budget plan for the commonwealth by the June 30th deadline, one of the biggest fights going on  concerns the development of a framework for the taxation of skill games.  There are two competing pieces of  legislation, Senate Bill 756 with a taxation rate of 35%, and Senate Bill 626 with a 16% tax rate.  That's the bill which Skill Games operators like Bill and Willie Shay favor.  They are among the most successful Skill Games operators in PA. In our PA-mazing segment, we're heading to the Brandywine Battlefield in Chester County, to hear about the largest land battle in the Revolutionary War, and how General George Washington dealt with some 18,000 British forces sent to fight his Continental Army in September, 1777.

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  While an ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure, there's debate in Washington, DC about the weight of proposed cuts to medicaid, the nation's federal health insurance program that covers millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities.             But as President Donald Trump works to transform the federal government into a more business-oriented model with his Big Beautiful Bill for the federal budget, Democrats are running counterpoint, criticizing the impact the cuts could have on the people covered by Medicaid.           We discuss those cuts with Leslie Dach, Chairman and CEO of the advocacy group, "Protect Our Care."   

What kind of impact does a teacher have on their students?  A good person to ask may be the 2025 National Teacher of the Year, Ashlie Crosson of Mifflin County High School   That's because the impact a few high school teachers had on her is the reason she's a teacher, today!  In particular, her journalism teacher's impact is the reason she decided to forego a journalism career and turn towards teaching.  Now, for the next year, she'll travel the nation and speak at over 150 function, advocating for teachers, sharing her passion for the profession, and hopefully, encouraging others to think of a career in teaching.  An in-depth conversation with the 2025 Teacher of the Year, Ashlie Crosson of Mifflin County, PA.  

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations. The Geisinger School of Nursing in Lewistown, Mifflin County, is basking in the glow of a major accomplishment, a national accreditation.  But it comes amid a continuing nursing shortage that doesn't appear to be easing.  We discuss what it took for the school to achieve the accreditation with its director, Beth Finkbiner, and what may be causing the shortage of nurses, both in PA and nationwide.  Then we discuss the growing measles outbreak in the US.  While it started in rural Texas, cases of the once-eradicated disease have spread to many other states, Including Pennsylvania.  This comes as a new bipartisan poll reveals that nearly 70% of Americans are concerned about the declining vaccination rates among children.  Candace DeMatties of the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease will discuss.

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.    For the past two years, the Keystone State has had an ally on the powerful House Agriculture Committee, 15th District Republican Congressman Glenn "GT" Thompson, who serves as the committee chairman.   He's a staunch supporter of President Trump, and along with the 28 other Republicans on the committee, helped to pass a bill that would will fundamentally change the way this country pays for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.  The goal is to help advance Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Budget Bill," keeping tax cuts in place and beefing up border security by slashing many government programs across the board.   But former Biden administration Deputy Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Xochitl Torres Small says the bill will take a wrecking ball to the supplemental nutrition assistance program, known by many as food stamps, and negatively impact Pennsylvania farmers, seniors, children, and millions who rely on "food stamps" to help them buy food each month.  We speak with her about the implications of these potential cuts.May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the latest numbers from the CDC do not paint a rosy picture of Americans' mental health.  About 20% of all adults in this country live with some form of mental illness, while 1 in 6 youth have a mental health condition, and less that half of them are receiving any treatment.  Dr. Matthew Hurford, President and CEO of UPMC's Community Care Behavioral Health Organization believes talking openly about mental health issues is the best way to de-stigmatize this illness and provide dignity to those who are dealing with it.  

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.   Pennsylvanians are having a moment, with last Thursday's announcement that the successor to Pope Francis would be an American-born Cardinal from the south side of Chicago, who loves the White Sox, and traces his higher education to become a priest to the Keystone State.  In an exclusive interview, Harrisburg Diocese Bishop, Reverend Timothy Senior discusses the election of Robert Cardinal Prevost to become Pope Leo XIV.   The week of May 17-23 National Safe Boating Week.  Hear why PA Fish and Boat Commission Executive Director, Tim Schaeffer says one of the safest things you can do as a boater, kayaker, canoeist, or paddle boarder is to wear your life jacket, whenever you're on the water.           

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  What can be done about out-of-control spending in America's political campaigns?  In the 2024 election, between the presidential race and the US Senate race, nearly a billion dollars in political ads were purchased in Pennsylvania.  it didn't all come from the Ttrump or Harris campaigns, or the McCormick or Casey campaign war chests.  That's the amount that all groups who wanted input into those races spent on advertising.  But what can be done about this?  For the national advocacy group, American Promise, they're working to set reasonable limits on campaign spending, by pushing for an amendment to the US Constitution.  General Counsel Brian Boyle discusses the group's efforts.  In the PA-mazing segment, we head to the beautiful grounds of the Hotel Hershey in Derry Township, Dauphin County.  that's where a new restaurant, the 1933 Restaurant and tavern  has taken shape, celebrating the cuisine and atmosphere from an important era in the life and times of chocolate titan, Milton S. Hershey.  Executive Chef Bart Umidi discusses the menu and how they dreamt up this latest eatery at "the Sweetest Place on Earth!"

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  Fishing is big business in Pennsylvania, and for the PA Fish and Boat Commission, one of their main duties is overseeing the Commonwealth's rivers, lakes and streams.  So whether you're aiming to catch a rainbow, golden or brown trout, you can feel confident that the fish is healthy and swimming in water that is clean, well managed, and free of dangerous aquatic predators or diseases.   Hear about the Fish & Boat Commission's work, from Executive Director Tim Schaeffer.   Then, we'll stay on dry land and speak with Pennsylvania hobby beekeeper, Ray Dampman of Selinsgrove, Snyder County.  From the time he was a young boy, Dampman was fascinated with bees, but it wasn't until much later in life that he took the plunge and started his own hives.  Now, he's sounding the call about the need for more people to explore beekeeping.