The Morning Call Podcast

Lehigh Valley school districts have heard the call: Enough talk. We need action. A Morning Call survey found tangible measures of increased security and officer trainings at area schools, with one district even implementing student IDs with computer chips. What is being accomplished, and does any of it go too far? Guest-host Harrison Cann, The Morning Call's news intern, talks with Michelle Merlin to break it down. Valley View is a production of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and is sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Music in this episode is by Matthew O'Connor and Lee Rosevere.

The opioid epidemic casts a wide net of pain, and it includes those who use opioids but aren’t necessarily addicted. This week on Valley View: the story of a woman who has lived for decades with chronic pain, and why she turned to medical marijuana. Plus, an update on Pennsylvania's young medical marijuana program, which now has 50,000 patients registered. Guests include health reporter Binghui Huang and business reporter Andrew Wagaman. Valley View is a production of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Kayla Dwyer is the host and producer. Music in this episode is by Paul Lawler, George Beck, Gavin Skinner and Martyn Swain.

Audio and video recordings of children being taken from their parents at pop-up immigrant detention centers near the U.S.-Mexican border have drawn media frenzy and public outcry. But in Berks County, advocates have been speaking out for years. Outside Reading is a family detention center of a different kind: one of just three permanent shelters in the country. This week, a look at the Berks County Residential Center and its legal place in the battle over the border. Guests include Peter Hall, The Morning Call's federal court reporter, and State Rep. Peter Schweyer, a Democrat serving Lehigh County who toured the facility. Valley View is a production of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that is sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Kayla Dwyer is the host and producer.

It began as a routine traffic stop and ended with a "knock-down, drag-out" gunfight with state troopers along a busy Pennsylvania highway. In the attempted murder trial of Daniel K. Clary, the man accused of nearly fatally wounding Corporal Seth Kelly in in the brawl, jurors had to decide: Was Clary a killer avoiding arrest, or was he a man who acted in fear for his life? Riley Yates, The Morning Call's Northampton County courts reporter, explains. Valley View is a podcast by The Morning Call, sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Kayla Dwyer is the host and producer. Scanner audio provided by Broadcastify and music provided by Lee Rosevere, Paul Lawler and Martin Gratton.

Early-morning explosions have been rattling Bucks County for the past three months, straining police resources and leaving residents of this quiet country bewildered. This week on Valley View, some answers in the mystery behind the Upper Bucks Bomber. Plus, a hand surgeon's precaution for the Fourth of July, in light of the new Pennsylvania law that allows residents to purchase consumer-grade fireworks. Guests include Harrison Cann, The Morning Call's news intern; and Laurie Mason Schroeder, our Lehigh County courts reporter. Valley View is a podcast by The Morning Call, sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Kayla Dwyer is the host and producer. Music in this episode is by Paul Lawler, Timothy Whitelaw, George Beck, and Christian Lloyd.

In the third roundtable discussion of The Morning Call's yearlong series on the opioid crisis, five public health leaders -- from the local to the state level -- talk about the obstacles that keep them from preventing overdose deaths and effectively distributing life-saving medication. Has Pennsylvania's disaster declaration achieved real change? Are public health campaigns reaching those who need to hear it the most? Why are some harm reduction approaches - like needle exchange programs and safe injection sites - so controversial? Guest-host Binghui Huang sat down with reporters Carol Thompson, Pamela Lehman and Kayla Dwyer to dig into these issues. Valley View is a production of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and is sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Music in this episode is by Bob Bradley.

A group of Easton residents is suing the city government for approving zoning changes that would allow Lafayette College to expand student housing farther into town. It's the tipping point of Easton's own dance with town-and-gown tensions -- a delicate dance common to towns reckoning with growth pressures from their anchor institutions. This week: A tale of three cities -- Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. We visit each to glance at the relationships between the local population and the ever-changing college population. Valley View is a product of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and is sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Kayla Dwyer is the host and producer.

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sounded the alarm last month -- saying that the number of people getting diseases transmitted by mosquito, tick and flea bites has more than tripled in the United States since 2004 -- we decided to see what Muhlenberg College Biology Professor Marten Edwards had to say. He's been involved in a longterm study of the Lehigh Valley's tick population to better understand their size and disease-carrying proportion. Host Kayla Dwyer went out on a "tick drag" with his team to get the skinny on ticks and tick-borne diseases this season. Here's a fun fact: Ticks don't jump, they crawl. Valley View is a production of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Music in this episode is by Timothy Whitelaw, Paul Lawler, Huw Jones and Sam Brown.

On Saturday, March 10, a wrestler from Easton Area High School failed to make weight at a state wrestling tournament in Hershey Pennsylvania, disqualifying him from any awards or advancement. The following Wednesday, Coach Jamarr Billman was informed his contract would not be renewed. Two days later, the school administration reversed its decision. This week on Valley View, we look at the backstory -- including what came to light after the school requested an investigation into what actually happened that Saturday. Music in this episode is by Lee Rosevere, Gavin Skinner, George Beck and Matthew O'Connor. Valley View is a production of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and is hosted and produced by Kayla Dwyer.

The Moravian Book Shop in historic downtown Bethlehem, the nation's oldest bookstore, has been independently owned and managed by the Moravian Church since its founding in 1745. But that is about to change. In this episode: A history of the shop, and what will happen to it with the sale to Moravian College, who has selected Barnes and Noble to manage the operation. Guests include Moravian College President Bryon Grigsby; Richard Santee, president of the Moravian Book Shop board; and Leo Atkinson, a book shop employee. Valley View is a production of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, produced and edited by Kayla Dwyer. This podcast is sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Music in this episode is by Paul Lawler, George Beck, Lee Rosevere, Sam Brown and Huw Jones.

Since the 2016 presidential election, and especially since the mass shooting at Marjory Stone Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, young potential voters have been the subject of intense focus: While many high school students have been leading walkouts and encouraging their peers to register, national organizers have mobilized in Pennsylvania by holding registration drives and knocking on doors. But is it working? We dug up some data to find out. Here to explain is Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick and senior journalist/data guru Eugene Tauber. Special guests include Samantha Roth, a rising senior at Lehigh University, and Jarrett Smith, state youth director for NextGen Pennsylvania. Valley View is a production of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Music in this episode is by Paul Lawler, Matthew O'Connor, Timothy Whitelaw, Huw Jones and Sam Brown. This podcast is hosted, produced and edited by Kayla Dwyer.

Mothers' Day has new meaning for these three families. This episode of Valley View tells the stories of how a new Pennsylvania law launched three men, adopted as children, on journeys to find their birth parents and learn about their origins, more than 50 years later. Guests include Marcus and Scott Lingenfelter, PA Rep. Kerry Benninghoff and Morning Call court reporter Laurie Mason Schroeder. Music in this episode is by Huw Jones, Sam Brown, George Beck and Paul Lawler. Valley View is a production of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and is sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research.

All three of the Lehigh Valley's major cities have had marijuana decriminalization ordinances on the table in the last two months. But they would join six other Pennsylvania cities going against state and federal law, which still considers possession of small amounts of marijuana a misdemeanor charge -- a mark on one's criminal record. These ordinances propose to lessen the penalty to that of a traffic ticket: a summary offense. This conflict leaves many questions to be answered. Here to do just that is Emily Opilo, The Morning Call's Allentown City Hall reporter; Joshua Vaughn, cops and courts reporter at The Sentinel, a newspaper in Cumberland County that partially covers Harrisburg; and Jeff Riedy, executive director of the Lehigh Valley chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in 1953 - within view of a dozen homes, including their own - a brother and sister were bludgeoned to death and thrown in a creek in Upper Nazareth Township. 65 years later, there are no known witnesses, no murder weapon, and no clues but a broken pair of glasses and a bloody scarf. The murder of Paul and Gail Schultz is the coldest cold case in the Lehigh Valley. Pennsylvania State Police recently published details on this and 15 others on a new Crime Stoppers website in hopes of getting clues to solve them. Guests in this episode include Barry Ihle, a step-cousin of the murdered siblings, and Pam Lehman, a Morning Call cops reporter. Valley View is a podcast by The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Music in this episode is by Thomas Brown, George Beck, Paul Lawler and Martin Gratton.

Being a high-profile athlete is as much about your game as it is about your brand. It seems Saquon Barkley, the Lehigh Valley-native-turned Penn State football star running back, is taking this into his own hands as he promotes himself as a No. 1 draft pick in the NFL. What does this mean for him, for the NFL, and for media access to his story? And where does he fit into Lehigh Valley history of NFL draft picks? Our experts, longtime sports reporters Mark Wogenrich and Keith Groller, weigh in on Barkley's NFL prospects and whether he could really become the next "Face of the League." Valley View is a production of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and is sponsored by the Lehigh Center for Clinical Research. Music in this episode is by Ty Frankel, Moritz Schmittat, Huw Jones and Sam Brown.