The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau

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 Scre...

          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....

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 G...

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 rum...

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 measl...

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 hyperscal...

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 thousa...

          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...

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...

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 su...

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 la...

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 Ku...

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...

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 Far...

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 bus...

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 t...

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...

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 Pittsb...

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...

          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 portray...

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 busines...

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...

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 a...