Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna, the Centre County sheriff, and police chiefs from State College and Bellefonte, Spring, Patton, and Ferguson Townships and Penn State released statements Thursday on racial inequities in the United States and a police officer’s oath to protect and serve. 

I believe in love.

When I was a baby, I was adopted from China. I have always considered my adopted family my “real” family, as some would say. When I was little, I used to always ask my mom about the day I was adopted. She told me it was one of the happiest moments of her life. She knew I was very scared. I had lived in the orphanage for a full year, so when I suddenly had a family it was very overwhelming. But, my parents were very patient with me and did everything they could to show me they loved me and cared about me.
 

In March, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered Pennsylvania’s K through 12 schools closed to help stop the spread of COVID-19. That meant high school students had to adjust to a new “normal” of learning remotely. 

For Ronit Patel, a senior at State College Area High School who is also a musician, that has meant turning to music.

“To let out all my frustrations about quarantine and stuff, I just sing. I belt my heart out and sing," Patel said. "And, I feel like it’s really helped me stay kind of positive in this horrible, horrible time.” 

In-person turnout for the primary election Tuesday was low in Centre County. Many voters opted to vote by mail, an option significantly expanded last year and especially encouraged because of COVID-19.

Jordan Emely is a judge of elections in State College. About ten percent of the voters registered in his precinct had sent in their mail-in ballots before the primary. 

Junior journalism major Lexy Leidlein is back home in her childhood bedroom in Waterbury, Connecticut. In mid-May she visited State College to move out of her dorm. While she was in town, Leidlein noticed several downtown houses hosting “porch parties.” It made her think students will not follow social distancing protocols. 

You’re listening to WPSU’s Health Minute, a collaboration with Penn State’s College of Nursing.

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, over 5 million Americans live with dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common type.

Brain health is influenced by lifestyle choices. Here are some steps you can take that may lower your risk for memory and thinking problems as you age:

This is another episode that we recorded in our final days together in the office before COVID-19. However, the topic is just as relevant — if not more so — in our new reality.

The topic is free speech and our guest is Stephen D. Solomon, Marjorie Deane Professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University and founding editor of First Amendment Watch. He is the author of Revolutionary Dissent: How the Founding Generation Created the Freedom of Speech.

An archive recording of the WPSU Blues show as aired on May 23, 2020 and hosted by Max Spiegel. 

In the first hour, hear tracks from David Bromberg, The Temptations, The Black Keys, Taj Mahal, Ken Schwartz & The Palace of Sin, Blind Willie McTell, Little Feat, Dave Van Ronk, Rhiannon Giddings & The Silk Road Ensemble, Doc Watson & Clarence Ashley, Rodriguez, Jorma Kaukonen, and more.

In the second hour, hear The Dixie Hummingbirds, Leon Redone, Mississippi John Hurt, Cory Harris, Bob Dylan, Brownie McGhee, Peter Green, Ray Charles, Rev. Gary Davis, and more.