The Schuylkill river at dusk in Philadelphia. The river is a popular fishing spot. In 2018, the New Jersey DEP began testing fish for the family of chemicals known as PFAS and issued fish advisories. New Jersey has stricter limits on PFAS exposure than Pennsylvania.
Scott LaMar has worked in both radio and television for more than four decades.
Currently, LaMar is the Host and Executive Producer of The Spark program on WITF-FM, 89.5 & 93.3 in Harrisburg, Pa.
Previously, LaMar was WITF TV’s Sr. Public Affairs producer and produced the station’s award-winning weekly public affairs TV program, Smart Talk.
In addition to his on-air duties, LaMar has moderated political candidate debates, including those for candidates running for Pennsylvania governor and the U.S. Senate and was a regular contributor to BBC World News TV before and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
LaMar often emcees or moderates local events and has gone as far as California to emcee a national event.
The American Society of Civil Engineers honored LaMar with their national Excellence in Journalism award in 2020. He has been nominated for five Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
LaMar and The Spark have been recognized throughout the Central Pennsylvania community including ADVOZ Lancaster’s “Dignity in Dialogue Award”, the South-Central Assembly’s “Regional Citizen Award” and was named a “Humanitarian Hero” by The Humane Society of the United States/Pennsylvania.
A native of Coatesville, Pa., LaMar has also worked as a broadcast news anchor, sports play-by-play announcer and manager.
Susan Phillips/StateImpact Pennsylvania
The Schuylkill river at dusk in Philadelphia. The river is a popular fishing spot. In 2018, the New Jersey DEP began testing fish for the family of chemicals known as PFAS and issued fish advisories. New Jersey has stricter limits on PFAS exposure than Pennsylvania.
Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9am and 7pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.”
Several Pennsylvania cities and small towns made the list of the Safest Small Towns in America and Safest Cities in America in research conducted by SafeWise.com — a home security company. Using FBI crime statistics, the company ranked towns and cities based on the number of violent crimes and property crimes per 1,000 people.
Luzerne Township in Fayette County was tied for first in the small town rankings with no crimes reported. Other safe small towns in the top 100 include Millcreek Township in Lebanon County and West Cocalico Township in Lancaster County. On the list of municipalities with larger populations, Manor Township in Lancaster County was counted as one of the safest.
Rebecca Edwards is a Security Expert, Safety and Technology Reporter for SafeWise.com and she appears on Smart Talk Wednesday to investigate the trends.