The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.   The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development is tasked with spearheading the Commonwealth's efforts to grow its economy and build a better future for all Pennsylvanians.  That's a lofty set of goals, but under the dir...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  A quartet of Pennsylvania lawmakers, led by 48th District State Senator Chris Gebhard, plan to introduce legislation authorizing the PA Gaming Control Board to license and regulate skill games in the Commonwealth.  They're concerned, because th...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  Could this be the year the Pennsylvania General Assembly authorizes recreational-use cannabis?  Big picture:  except for West Virginia, adult-use recreational marijuana is all around us.  As Pennsylvania stares down the barrel of a looming budget cr...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  Powering Pennsylvania.  That was the theme of the 2025 Pennsylvania Farm Show.  With annual revenue totaling $132B, the impact of the work farmers do in this commonwealth cannot be overstated.  Agriculture touches every single Pennsylvanian, since w...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.   An end-of year wrap up featuring clips from previous episodes from 2024.

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.   Pennsylvania is one of only four states in the nation with a full time state legislature.  The 203 house members and 50 state senators receive the third-highest annual salary in the nation, behind only California and New York state.  But when when...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.   On November 3rd this year, Daylight Saving Time ended and nearly all Americans turned their clocks back one hour, to adjust to standard time, lapsing the country into longer days of darkness, but marginally earlier sunrises.  But when Lebanon Count...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  For many high school seniors in the Keystone State, this is the time of year when they begin receiving early acceptance letters to college.  However, with the thought of college comes the reality of paying for it.  That's where many students st...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  Firearms Deer Hunting has begun and there is much to be excited about.  In an extended interview with the new Executive Director of the PA Game Commission, Stephen Smith discusses some of the the issues facing hunters these days, including the threa...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations. The illegal entry of two animal rights activists onto a Northumberland County mink farm October 19th has once again put the fur industry in the spotlight.  Is it ethical?  Is it profitable?  Is there even a demand for natural mink fur nowadays?  Sinc...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  With a full 25% of Pennsylvanians living in rural communities, can a new center devoted to bridging the gap in healthcare education and services for the Commonwealth's rural and underserved communities make a difference in the overall health of...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations. Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity wants another four years in office.  As the first Republican to hold the post in 16 years, she's hanging her reelection efforts on what she calls "record-breaking" accomplishments modernizing the of...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.   Schools across Pennsylvania took part in activities to celebrate National School Lunch week (Oct. 14-18), with state and federal officials fanning out to schools across the Commonwealth, touting the U.S. commitment to feeding America's youth d...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations. With just a few days left until the November 5th election, what do the latest trends in polling show for the two most consequential races in Pennsylvania, the presidential election and the race for U.S. Senate?  The Commonwealth Beat's political...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  Among the statewide races that will be on the ballot November 5th is the race for PA Treasurer, pitting incumbent Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity against Democratic challenger, Erin McClelland. After a surprise win in the Democratic Party primary...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.  As a result of the widespread devastation affecting a 500 mile swath through ten southern states, the American Red Cross has mobilized a massive response to Hurricane Helene.  There are currently well over 100 emergency shelters open, offering refug...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is the new, statewide Public Affairs program airing on all of the Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.   On this episode, Laura speaks with Eric Epstein, former Chairman of Three Mile Island Alert about the proposed restart of the Unit-1 nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island.  A deal made headlines across the nation last week, when parent compan...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.      This spring, the Democrats and Republicans running for their party's nomination for the Office of Pennsylvania Attorney General were profiled.  There were five Democrats and two Republicans.  From that field, voters elected Eugene DePasquale as th...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.     It's been over 50 years since the Pennsylvania Lottery began operations, and things have certainly changed!  More games, bigger jackpots, different ways to purchase tickets are just some of the changes that have come about.  Hear more about the Pen...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.    There's a shortage of sports officials in this country, and Pennsylvania is not immune.  So if there's no one overseeing the games, especially at the junior and senior high school levels, what will become of interscholastic sports?  Dr. Robert...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.   If you're a person of a certain age, you might remember America's Bicentennial in 1976.  The USA is coming up on the next milestone in the American timeline, the Semiquincentennial, marking the nation's 250th birthday!  On this episode, we&...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.   While the song, "Mr. Sandman" is a lighthearted tune about drifting off to sleep and having sweet dreams, the reality is that 1 in 10 Americans suffers from chronic insomnia.  However, there are precious few substantive studies on the issue of c...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.      The American Red Cross routinely sees declines in blood collections during the summer, in one part of the country or another.  However, to experience a decline across every state where the Red Cross collects blood has officials extremely worried, espec...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.      Does it seem like every road you want to drive on is currently being worked on by PennDOT contractors?  You're not imagining things, there's a lot of road construction all throughout the Commonwealth!  PennDOT Safety Specialist Fritzi Schreff...

The Commonwealth Beat with Laura LeBeau is a statewide Public Affairs program airing on all Seven Mountains Media Pennsylvania radio stations.     Is Governor Josh Shapiro the "odds-on favorite" to be the choice of Kamala Harris, in the current VEEP-Stakes underway in the Democratic Party?  Former PA Lt. Governor Mark Singel thinks so, and will explain why.  He'll also discuss his l...