Smart Talk: Ag Sec. on bird flu; Justice overhaul?

What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, July 20, 2015:

Pennsylvania poultry farmers who remember the 1980s know all too well how avian influenza can destroy their flocks of chickens and turkeys.  If the disease itself doesn’t kill the birds, infected flocks have to be eliminated to prevent the spread of the disease.

Millions of chickens were destroyed in Pennsylvania when avian flu struck the state three decades ago.  The same thing is happening in the Midwest right now and Pennsylvania agriculture officials want to stop it before it reaches the Commonwealth.

The price of eggs has risen more than 80% in the last two months due to avian flu.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding and Craig Shultz, the state veterinarian and Director of the Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services appear on Monday’s Smart Talk to discuss efforts to prevent the outbreak here.

Also, not often do progressives and conservatives agree on too much in today’s political climate.

However, a new initiative launched last week by the U.S. Justice Action Network brings diverse political groups together in the name of criminal justice reform.  Specifically, the partners and the group support expunging the criminal records of offenders who committed certain non-violent crimes so they have more opportunities to become employed.  USJAN’s Executive Senior Director Holly Harris joins us on Monday’s Smart Talk.