An archive recording of the WPSU Jazz Show (from home edition) as broadcast on July 30, 2021, and hosted by Greg Petersen, sitting in for the vacationing Tom Beebee.

In the first hour, hear Count Basie, David Sanborn, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Betty Carter, Dream Session ’96, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, and more.

In the second hour, hear Paul Desmond & Gerry Mulligan, Paul Seaforth, Milt Jackson with Joe Williams, Kenny Barron, Louis Armstrong & Oscar Peterson, The BBC Big Band, Billie Holiday, and more.

Voters in the city of DuBois and nearby Sandy Township will likely get to decide whether to consolidate the two municipalities in November. A petition that will present the choice to voters was submitted to the Clearfield County Elections Office on Tuesday.

In June, Sandy Township’s Board of Supervisors voted four to one against looking into a consolidation plan. They said a survey they conducted did not show enough support to pursue a merger with DuBois. 

More people have felt anxious and isolated during the pandemic. At the same time, mental health services have been harder to access.

Aimee Burns, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Blair County, talked with WPSU's Min Xian about COVID-19’s impacts on the mental health care system and shared her personal story of living with mental illness.

Here’s their interview:

Min Xian: Welcome to Take Note on WPSU. I’m Min Xian.

A 2017 Pennsylvania law that lets residents buy consumer-grade fireworks has some local communities worried about their safety, including Bellefonte in Centre County, which plans to step up enforcement.

The state passed the law, which lets Pennsylvanians buy fireworks. It also brings in money for the state, with a total 18% tax on firework sales.

Bellefonte Mayor Tom Wilson said fireworks complaints are at a high this summer.

WPSU’s Health Minute is a collaboration with Penn State’s College of Nursing. 

An archive recording of the WPSU Blues show as aired on July 24, 2021 and hosted by Adam McMillen. 

In the first hour, hear tracks from Ollabelle, Paul Pena, Eric Clapton, Soledad Brothers, Alex Bradford, Eddie Hinton, The Blasters, Charley Crockett, The James Hunter Six, and more.

In the second hour, hear Ken Swartz & The Palace of Sin, Nina Simone, Link Wray, Junior Wells, Paola Nutini, T Bone Burnett, Mamie Smith, Alvin Robinson, Fantastic Negrito, Saun & Starr, and more.  

On this episode of Take Note, we talk with Nyla Holland, an active member of the 3/20 Coalition in State College and the former president of Penn State's Black Caucus. She spent her four years at Penn State as an activist at the university and the local community. In the fall, she will continue her education at Penn State in pursuit of a master's degree in public policy where she'll continue as an activist.

Here is the interview:

The Penn's Woods Music Festival is a decades-long tradition: a professional festival held each year in June on Penn State’s University Park Campus. Like so many events, it was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. And it couldn’t be held in June this year, either, due to pandemic restrictions.  But at the end of June, hope was suddenly on the horizon.

“We had been looking at all the restrictions starting to lift,” said Russell Bloom, assistant director of Penn State’s School of Music. 

Bloom said Penn State’s School of Music put all kinds of options on the table.

An archive recording of the WPSU Jazz Show as broadcast on July 23, 2021 and hosted by Rana Glick. 

In the first hour, hear the Billy Harper Quintet, Angelique Kidjo with Carlos Santana & Josh Groban, J+1, Archie Sheep & Dus, and more.

In the second hour, hear Chuck Magione, Esperanza Spalding, Germaine Bazzie, Dan Gibson’s Solitudes, and more.