Stories / News, Events and Issues from Central Pennsylvania

Saturday afternoon, January 21st on radio and in select theatres, the Metropolitan Opera will present a new production that’s the first of its kind for the Met. WPSU’s Kristine Allen gets the inside story from the Met, through a Penn State connection.

On Martin Luther King Day, actor and playwright Barry Scott brings his one-man show about Dr. King to Penn State, University Park. Scott talks with WPSU’s Kristine Allen about the play, and about his own life-changing experience during the Civil Rights Era.

Tony Gaskew talks with his former criminal justice student Timothy Rooke. Gaskew worked in law enforcement for years before becoming a professor at Pitt Bradford. Rooke is now a police officer at the school. Gaskew talks about his early life and how he got his start in law enforcement.

Richard Biever is a rofessional actor, singer, composer, teacher and long time State College resident. He’s also the new Executive Director of the State Theatre. He talks with WPSU’s Kristine Allen about the future of this community arts venue in downtown State College.

State Senator Jake Corman represents the 34th Senatorial District, which includes Juniata, Perry and portions of Centre, Mifflin and Union Counties. Now in his fourth term, he's chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. This past December, WPSU's Patty Satalia talked with him about state funding for Penn State, his legislative priorities and about life in politics.

The Marcellus Shale drilling boom has brought thousands of industry workers to drilling areas across Pennsylvania. That influx is putting a strain on housing. WPSU’s Emily Reddy says rural areas are opening their first ever homeless shelters.

When the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board was established in 1933, its purpose, according to then-Governor Gifford Pinchot, was to “discourage the purchase of alcoholic beverages by making it as incovenient and expensive as possible.” In the last 40 years, three governors have tried—and failed—to privatize liquor sales in Pennsylvania. WPSU’s Patty Satalia reports on House Bill…

Choral music is big this time of year – choir concerts are a centuries-old holiday tradition. But, as WPSU’s Kristine Allen reports, there’s a concert Saturday, December 10th that ventures off-the-beaten-path: it’s definitely NOT your grandmother’s Christmas music!