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

Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook joins to discuss the cause of death statistics for 2025, along with an explanation of the investigation report issued on the deceased Marchello Woodard.

We had two prominent CEO's in our studio Monday, with Jeremy Peterson, CEO of the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority, and Dr. Ben Wilson, CEO of the Greater Erie Community Action Committee, talking about transportation and EMTA's new Transit Development Plan, and the overall lived experience for underresourced individuals in our region.

On a fun Friday, we had a joyful conversation with one of Erie's First Families in the performing arts, Fr. Shawn and Almi Clerkin, as we reviewed the year in the arts. We remembered the brilliance of John Burton, who passed away over the holidays, and looked forward to a new year of performances in theater, music, and dance.

On Thursday, David González, the CEO of St Martin Center in Erie, to discuss their agency's efforts to provide for basic needs and help for people to achieve homeownership.

On a Wednesday health focus, we talked about getting fit in the new year.

Joel Natalie Show regular guest and commerical real estate expert Chuck Peters, Managing Partner at Altair Real Estate returned Tuesday to discuss the "lay of the land" in the Erie commercial market over the past year and what to look for in 2026.

Last week, the Erie Regional Airport Authority had two big announcements regarding new service from Erie International Airport. On Thursday, they announced that American Airlines was starting daily service to Chicago O'Hare airport beginning May 22nd. Then on Friday, it was released that United Airlines was returning to ERI with three daily flights to O'Hare beginning on June 1st. Executiv...

On a breaking news Friday, we heard from Michael Woodard, part of the Justice for Chello movement, who reacted to the arrest of the state parole officer allegedly part of the officer-involved shooting of Marcello Woodard in July 2025 in Erie.

The CEO of Erie Events, Gus Pine, joined us to update listeners about their efforts to activate Erie's entertainment and hospitality venues. He also shared the latest developments in Erie Events taking over the Erie Zoo property from the City of Erie. Editors Note: Erie City Council passed the first reading of a resolution to complete the transfer of 96 acres including the Erie Zoo to Erie Eve...

Bishop Lawrence T. Persico of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie joined us Wednesday to discuss the Episcopal Transition for the Diocese, as the bishop has submitted his resignation at age 75, along with the opportunity for spiritual growth in season of Advent.

Brandon Mendoza, President and CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership is with us. We reviewed 2025 from the Chamber’s perspective, and took a look at their new Erie 300 Strategy.

On Monday's episode, Joel spoke with both Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), who was in town for a business roundtable, and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA16) on the phone to discuss affordability, tariffs, and what Erie-area constituents are feeling here at year-end.

Dr. Roché Vermaak, Executive Director of the Greater Erie Area Habitat for Humanity joins us to share about Build 81.

The Executive Director of Erie's City Revitalization and Improvement Zone Authority, Brian Polito, joins us for a year-end update on the CRIZ and the kinds of projects in the pipeline for investment using this powerful economic development tool.

We started the week getting an understanding of how the Erie residential real estate market is doing at the end of 2025, with team leader Josh Kitchen of Remax Real Estate.

Pam Parker, Project Manager at the Hagen History Center, came by Thursday to discuss Victorian Holidays at the Watson-Curtze Mansion this month, as well as describing Christmas celebrations at the turn of the 20th Century on Erie's Millionaire's Row.

Thomas Laird, the CEO of OttoQA & Expivia talks AI with us to discuss Artificial Intelligence and how Erie can benefit from embracing it.

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis joined The Joel Natalie Show for his December and final monthly meeting at TalkErie as the elected CE. We reviewed his four-year tenure and the people who served to make it happen.

Joining us on Monday was Dr. Jeffrey Bloodworth to talk about his article, titled “Erie Portends an Ominous Path for PA’s GOP,” which was recently published on the Real Clear Pennsylvania website, reviewing the 2025 Municipal Election results and what it could mean for the 2026 midterms.

Dr. Fernando Melaragno, an endocrinologist with LECOM Health returns to discuss obesity, diabetes, and watching your weight.

Temple Anshe Hesed Rabbi Robert Morais joined us Tuesday to talk about the latest updates on how the Israel - Gaza situation affects us all.

Local historian George Deitsch returns to talk about the American Revolution and how our region was impacted.

The author of the book America's Early Frontier: Economic History of Northwestern Pennsylvania (1753-2024), Dr. Judy Lynch, was our guest Wednesday. We discussed Erie and the region's importance to the nation's geographic and industrial growth, including great success and missed opportunities.

Erie County Council District 3 representative and Finance Committee chair Rock Copeland returned to The Joel Natalie Show to unpack budgetary priorites and forecast what 2026 might look like.

On Monday, we welcomed back Infinite Erie Executive Director Kim Thomas as we examined the highlights from the recently passsed Pennsylvania state budget and what it means for our articulated local priorities.