Bad Flu Season Likely Has Not Peaked Yet

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Influenza is now widespread across Pennsylvania and it doesn’t appear the season has slowed down yet.  More than 11 thousand lab confirmed flu cases have been reported, with many more coming in each week.  That compares   to just over three thousand cases for all of the last flu season.

Holli Senior of the Pennsylvania Department of Health says they’re hoping the numbers will peak in the next few weeks.  She adds we’re seeing more cases involving one particular strain, the Influenza A H3N2 strain, which is also associated with more severe cases, especially among the elderly. There have been nearly one thousand hospitalizations and 22 deaths blamed on complications from the flu in Pennsylvania this year.

Senior says people can still get a flu shot to protect themselves and others.  This strain is covered in the vaccine.   She adds that even if you got a flu shot, you should still take precautions, such as washing your hands and staying home if you have flu like symptoms. The effectiveness of the vaccine is affected by whether a person has underlying health conditions and other factors.

The department has been providing free flu shots at the Farm Show in Harrisburg.  For those who cannot make it to Harrisburg, Senior says there’s a flu vaccine finder at flufreepa.com. If you still need help getting a flu shot, call 1-877-PA Health.

Cattle Shine at PA Farm Show

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Many of the cows at the Pennsylvania Farm Show will never make it to market, instead they’re more than happy to live out their days on the farm.  Such is the case with Zinny, a Red Angus from Slate Wind Farm in Franklin County.  She won’t be a yearling until March, but Zinny has already been named the Grand Champion in the Farm Show’s “All Other Purebreds” class. 

Exhibitor Kevin Stahl tells us Zinny gets a daily rinse, blow dry and exercise.  “Working with the hair is the big thing,” he explains. 

In the ring Stahl works hard to set Zinny’s hooves just so, in order to look good for the judges.  He’s worked with her enough on the farm to know exactly which angles suit his 800-pound heifer best.       

The judges examine the cows’ composition to pick the winner.  “Their chest, their back… do they have a good undercarriage?  Are their legs and feet in good shape? All those things that you look at in an athlete or something, in terms of what kind of shape they’re in,” says beef cattle judge Dave Miller who came to the Farm Show from West Virginia to ensure an unbiased evaluation. 

Miller, a Texas Longhorn judge, reveals that a cow’s horns don’t factor into his critique all that much. “You can’t eat horns,” he says with a chuckle.

There are only a few more days to check out the 97th Pennsylvania Farm Show.  The beef cows have since moved out to make way for the dairy cows.  The dairy judging will take place Friday morning in the Equine Arena.

PA Preferred

Farm Show Epitomizes “PA Preferred”

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Walking through the 97th Pennsylvania Farm Show, it’s hard not to notice the vivid blue and gold signs boasting “PA Preferred” products.  From blue ribbon-winning veggies to the pork barbeque being served up for lunch, PA Preferred products are all around you.  When you see that logo, you know you’re purchasing a product that was made or grown in the Keystone State.    

“When you purchase local products, you’re helping strengthen our economy,” explains PA Preferred Coordinator Bryan Keister.  “If every household in Pennsylvania spent $10-dollars a week on PA Preferred products, $2.9-billion dollars could be reinvested back into the state.” 

First Lady Susan Corbett – a familiar face at the Farm Show this week – was slicing up some Pennsylvania mushrooms on the Culinary Connection stage, as she and Governor’s Residence Chef Barry Crumlich prepared tarts at one of 50-different cooking demonstrations on the schedule.  “I strongly feel that it’s best if we buy fresh, buy local,” Crumlich told the Farm Show visitors who crowded in for a better view.

Each day is themed at the popular PA Preferred Culinary Connection, located in the Farm Show’s Main Hall.  Thursday is Apple Day, as PA is the fourth biggest apple producing state (439-million pounds), and Friday is 3-Every Day of Dairy, as PA ranks fifth in the nation for milk production (1.2-billion gallons).

State Wants to Shutter Two Prisons As It Opens A New One

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Pennsylvania wants to close two of its older prisons in the western part of the state and move many of the inmates to a newly built facility.  The plan is an effort to save money and shift capacity.

Corrections Secretary John Wetzel says closing the State Correctional Institutions at Cresson and Greensburg is a matter of replacing old capacity with new capacity.  Many of the inmates would be transferred to the newly built SCI Benner in Centre County as well as a new 300 bed housing unit at SCI Pine Grove in Indiana County.

Wetzel says the move is expected to save about 23 million in the next fiscal year.  He says the decision is the next step in the state’s efforts to reform the system.

Wetzel says the question was whether to expand capacity or keep it the same.  The recent drop in prison population was part of the decision to keep capacity the same.  They hope to complete the process by June 30th, before the state of fiscal 2013-14.

More than 800 corrections officers and other employees would be affected by the closings. The corrections secretary says they will be offered transfers to other prisons. A hiring freeze in anticipation of the move has resulted in 700 vacancies in addition to jobs that will be created with the opening of Benner.

Roy Pinto, President of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association, says he’s offended the state would be working on such a plan all these months without mentioning a word.   The union questions inmate population and savings figures and is reviewing its next step, which could include a suit or a grievance.  He says the plan needs to be properly and publicly vetted.

Pinto says transferring staff is not as easy as it sounds. He says you’re talking about uprooting families and people who have bought homes and moving them around the state.   The association also questions the impact on the economies of the affected communities in Greensburg and Cresson.

Governor Corbett Returns to “Ask the Governor” January 25th

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You’ve seen the video clips here on PAMatters.com and you’ve heard the show on radio stations statewide. Now, you can be a part of our next “Ask the Governor” program coming up on January 25th.

Simply look to the top of this page and click on the link for Ask the Governor. Fill out the form to submit your question or comment for our January 25th show. Video clips of the governor answering your emails will be posted on PAMatters.com immediately following our taping.

Have advice for the governor on his upcoming state budget address? Need help in dealing with a state agency? Have a question about the laws of the Commonwealth? PAMatters.com can take you to the top with Governor Tom Corbett each and every month.

 

Survey Shows Knowledge Gap About Pennsylvania’s Teen Driving Law

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Pennsylvania’s update of its graduated driver licensing law for teens marked its one year anniversary last month.    A new survey shows there’s still a knowledge gap about some of the provisions.

The changes increased the number of supervised driving hours and limited passengers for junior license holders for the first six months of driving, while making  seatbelt use a primary offense for  all junior drivers and passengers under age 18.  But a survey conducted for Allstate Insurance finds only 36% of parents and 56% of teens claim to be confident   in their knowledge of the law.

Chris Conner of Allstate says there’s also a gap between parents and teens when it comes to enforcement.  Nearly half the teens said they’d broken at least one requirement and only 19% said their parents were aware of the infraction.

Conner says the survey shows parents can influence their teen’s behavior behind the wheel. About 73% of the teens surveyed said they considered conversations they had with their parents about the graduated driver licensing law to be very valuable.  He says the increased time of behind-the-wheel instruction required by the law gives parents an opportunity to have those conversations.

Conner says parents and teens should become familiar with the law before the teen even applies for a learner’s permit. There is information about the law on PennDOT’s website and also at the Allstate newsroom.

Heard it Through the Grapevine… at the Farm Show

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The Farm Show celebrates agriculture.  It’s Pennsylvania’s biggest industry, and wine production is widely considered one of its fastest growing segments.  “The number of wineries has more than doubled within the past decade,” explains Pennsylvania Wineries Association Director Jennifer Eckinger.  “At this point we have more than 150-wineries throughout the state of Pennsylvania.  They’re located in every portion of the state.” 

Eckinger helped to award three of those wineries with the 17th annual Governor’s Cups this week.  The large trophies that represent ‘Best of Show’ wines went to Karamoor Estate Vineyards (Montgomery Co.), Greendance Winery (Westmoreland Co.) and Crossing Vineyard & Winery (Bucks Co.).

Crossing Vineyard & Winery vintner Tom Carroll Jr. knew he wanted to make wine from the time he was 10-years old.  After mastering the craft in California, he moved back to southeastern Pennsylvania to start his own winery on his parents’ farm. 

Carroll’s Best of Show Fruit Wine is called Wild Berry.  The concoction started out as a blueberry wine, but Carroll added some blackberries and raspberries to find just the right flavor.  “I remember the first time my dad tasted it he said, wow this is wild,” Carroll says of how the wine got its name. 

Carroll and all of PA’s winemakers are working every day to convince people that good wine doesn’t have to come from Europe or California.  Based on the crowds at the new wine tasting display in the Farm Show’s Main Hall… it would seem they’re converting hundreds of people this week alone.

Long Lines are Worth the Wait in the Farm Show Food Court

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If you can fry it, you’ll find it at the 97th Pennsylvania Farm Show.  While this reporter can vouch for the tastiness of the fried cheese, mushrooms and blooming onions… you don’t have to prefer your food battered and dipped in hot oil to enjoy the Farm Show food court. 

For instance, you can satisfy your sweet tooth with some honey-sweetened waffles, topped with honey-sweetened ice cream.  Aaron Fisher of Mifflin County, a member of the PA Beekeepers Association, says the honey replaces the corn syrup and sugars of traditional ice cream.

“I’ve got a truck outside that door that’s full of ice cream, and we hope by the end of the week it’s all gone,” Fisher says, looking forward to a week of mild weather.  Last year they went through 750-gallons of honey ice cream. 

Across the room, you’ll find a bevy of maple syrup products, including cotton candy, which is a best seller for the PA Maple Syrup Producers Council.  “There’s no comparison… the imitation compared to the real maple syrup,” says Laura Dengler of Crawford County, who was offering up free samples.  Pure maple syrup is all natural with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, and Dengler says you can taste the difference.    

Both of these food court stands are prepped to dish out their goodies as fast as possible, but there will inevitably be food court backlogs.  To avoid the long lines, Fisher suggests snacking at off-peak hours and Dengler reminds us to be patient – because the Farm Show food court is worth the wait.

Pennsylvania PUC to Discuss Utility Response to Superstorm Sandy

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The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will hold a special electric reliability forum to hear from utilities that were affected by Superstorm Sandy.  It’s similar to the process that took place after Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee and the October snowstorm of 2011.

In addition to reviewing how the utilities handled damage from Sandy, it will also give the PUC a chance to see how changes made since the storms of 2011 worked during last year’s hurricane turned superstorm.

PUC spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher says the forum will also bring all affected utilities together, so they can   hear from each other and share information about their successes.

The forum will be held at 1:30 pm, on January 10th in hearing room 1 at the Commonwealth Keystone Building on North Street in Harrisburg.

Kocher says Sandy caused double the damage to infrastructure such as poles, cross arms and wires compared to Irene. It was either the top or one of the top storms faced by the utilities. The storm caused 1.8 million Pennsylvanians to lose power. The storm hit the state on October 29th.  90% of those who lost service had their power back on by November 3rd.

Kocher says details from the forum will be made available on line at the PUC web site after the session.

RadioPA Roundtable

Radio PA Roundtable 01.04.13

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On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable, Brad Christman and Matt Paul bring you Governor Tom Corbett’s take on his lawsuit against the NCAA; we review the fiscal cliff deal in Washington and its impact on PA; and we have a preview of the 97th Pennsylvania Farm Show which begins Saturday.

Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable01-04-13.mp3]