TalkErie.com - The Joel Natalie Show - Erie Pennsylvania Daily Podcast

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis joins us for his monthly meeting

Joel Natalie interviews Fort LeBoeuf Superintendent Richard Emerick & Assistant Superintendent Dr. Sean Wolfrom

Joel Natalie interviews Jessica Stefano, Director of the Library

Joel Natalie interviews Marcus Jacobs, Wesleyville Borough Manager and CAO

Joel Natalie interviews Key Hunt and Adam Macrino of Hagan History

We talk with Dr. Seth Carter to discuss the opening a new Center for Memory Impairment and Neuro-Cognitive Disorders.

On Friday, Gannon University executive and friend of the show Doug Oathout shared the story of his epic journey in a lifelong quest to cycle from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.

We met with the City of Erie's two Community Liaisons Thursday to learn about their efforts to build bridges between city government and citizens. Saeed Taraky, Immigrant and Refugee Liaison, and Daryl Craig, Community Liaison were our guests.

On Wednesday, we invited Honey Stempka, Designation Project Manager for the Lake Erie Quadrangle to come and discuss the proposed Lake Erie National Marine Sanctuary.

The 2024 edition of Erie Gives is Tuesday, August 13th, and Erie Community Foundation President Karen Bilowith and Vice-President Erin Fessler give us a preview.

Every year the Erie Reader newspaper receives nominations and selects Erie's 40 Under 40. Forty local young adults making a difference in their spheres of influence. We welcomed two folks recognized: Ryan Dawley, actor and podcast host of Spotlight 814, and Ryan Hoover, Experience Director of the Erie Downtown Development Corporation to share their stories.

Tuesday, we were digging into Erie’s rich history with Jonathan Burdick, author of the popular social media profile, Rust & Dirt: Erie’s History. Jonathan is also a history teacher and writer for publications including the Erie Reader, Belt Magazine, Pittsburgh City Paper, Contingent Magazine, NBA.com, and Grunge.

On our Tuesday show, we welcomed back our expert in commercial real estate, Chuck Peters, Managing Partner at Alltair Holdings, LLC. We discussed the historically-big moves in Erie surrounding buildings and land for business.

A discussion of the new Kahkwa Bridge, housing blight, and other city issues were part of our Friday meeting with Erie Mayor Joe Schember.

Our topic Thursday was the Community Action Plan of the Erie County Policy and Planning Council for Children and Families. Joining us to explain how we’re working toward better outcomes for Erie’s children and youth was Gretchen Kerr, with the City of Erie and the Love Your Block initiative, and Amy Eisert, Mercyhurst Civic Institute Director.

The CEO of Erie Insurance, Tim Necastro, joined The Joel Natalie Show to share his professional story that began in Erie's Little Italy neighborhood. Necastro shared the promise of community initiatives like the CRIZ program and the EDDC.

On a Tuesday economic development focus episode, we invited the new CEO of Erie Water Works, Craig Palmer. He spoke about the major investments and latest technology employed in advancing the quality of our region's water.

The Executive Director of the Presque Isle Partnership, Jon DeMarco, joins us to discuss the 2024 edition of the Discover Presque Isle week-long festival.

The massive expansion of downtown Erie's ExpERIEnce Children's Museum was completed with a ribbon cutting of the final phase of the project on July 12th. Executive Director Ainslie Brosig shared the journey with Joel Natalie.

On Thursday, we welcomed Kamie Mazza, a licensed clinical social worker from the Erie Veterans Administration Medical Center. She explained the Medical Foster Home program coming to Erie. It's an alternative to nursing home care forV eterans who prefer a non-institutional, home-like care setting. The Veteran lives in the caregiver’s home and the caregiver provides 24/7 care and supervision.

President Biden is not the first president to deal with a major crisis questioning his capabilities. On our Wednesday program, we dived into the history of Presidential problems with historian and expert, George Deutsch.

On our Tuesday show, we sat down with Anna Franz. Our discussion centered around her excellent work with Our West Bayfront, and her hopes and plans for her new role as the Deputy Executive Director of the Erie Port Authority.

The PA Department of Education has added a new requirement for financial literacy curriculum in high schools across the Commonwealth. To talk about the goals and outcomes desired for students was Carey Barzeski of the Millcreek Township School District, and Grant Filbeck of Junior Achievement.

Right before the holiday we invited senior officers from the Erie Police Department to talk about major event security as well as the crime statistics for the first half of 2024. With us was EPD Chief Dan Spizarny and Lt. Jamie Russo.

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis discussed the announcement of the new business park at I-90 and Sterretannia Road and other county developments.