On our Tuesday show, we welcomed back our expert in commercial real estate, Chuck Peters, Managing Partner at Alltair Holdings, LLC. We discussed the historically-big moves in Erie surrounding buildings and land for business.

A discussion of the new Kahkwa Bridge, housing blight, and other city issues were part of our Friday meeting with Erie Mayor Joe Schember.

Our topic Thursday was the Community Action Plan of the Erie County Policy and Planning Council for Children and Families. Joining us to explain how we’re working toward better outcomes for Erie’s children and youth was Gretchen Kerr, with the City of Erie and the Love Your Block initiative, and Amy Eisert, Mercyhurst Civic Institute Director.…

The CEO of Erie Insurance, Tim Necastro, joined The Joel Natalie Show to share his professional story that began in Erie's Little Italy neighborhood. Necastro shared the promise of community initiatives like the CRIZ program and the EDDC.

On a Tuesday economic development focus episode, we invited the new CEO of Erie Water Works, Craig Palmer. He spoke about the major investments and latest technology employed in advancing the quality of our region's water.

The Executive Director of the Presque Isle Partnership, Jon DeMarco, joins us to discuss the 2024 edition of the Discover Presque Isle week-long festival.

The massive expansion of downtown Erie's ExpERIEnce Children's Museum was completed with a ribbon cutting of the final phase of the project on July 12th. Executive Director Ainslie Brosig shared the journey with Joel Natalie.

On Thursday, we welcomed Kamie Mazza, a licensed clinical social worker from the Erie Veterans Administration Medical Center. She explained the Medical Foster Home program coming to Erie. It's an alternative to nursing home care forV eterans who prefer a non-institutional, home-like care setting. The Veteran lives in the caregiver’s home and the ca…

President Biden is not the first president to deal with a major crisis questioning his capabilities. On our Wednesday program, we dived into the history of Presidential problems with historian and expert, George Deutsch.

On our Tuesday show, we sat down with Anna Franz. Our discussion centered around her excellent work with Our West Bayfront, and her hopes and plans for her new role as the Deputy Executive Director of the Erie Port Authority.

The PA Department of Education has added a new requirement for financial literacy curriculum in high schools across the Commonwealth. To talk about the goals and outcomes desired for students was Carey Barzeski of the Millcreek Township School District, and Grant Filbeck of Junior Achievement.

Right before the holiday we invited senior officers from the Erie Police Department to talk about major event security as well as the crime statistics for the first half of 2024. With us was EPD Chief Dan Spizarny and Lt. Jamie Russo.

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis discussed the announcement of the new business park at I-90 and Sterretannia Road and other county developments.

The WQLN Public Media series Chronicles just wrapped up its second season, and is in production with Season Three. Producers Mike Berlin and Tom Fox-Davies joined to talk about their recent Emmy win and what's in store.

The Joel Natalie Show spent the afternoon at the Nonprofit Partnership in Erie for their Nonprofit Appreciation Day lunch. The organizations Joel interviewed were: Destiny for Our Daughters, Erie Cancer Wellness Center, Northwest Institute of Research, Erie Women's Empowerment, the Chair of the Nonprofit Partnership Board, Erie Community Foundation…

On our Wednesday health focus, we took a different look at pain management with Michael Feldman, an expert in the Structural Integration Melt Method. “Rolfing” targets the connective tissues covering your muscles, and helps with pain management, range of motion, and scar tissue.

We talked Artificial Intelligence and how Erie businesses can benefit with Dr. Longfei Zhou, Assistant Professor, Industrial Engineering at Gannon University.

Erie Mayor Joe Schember returned to our TalkErie studios to talk about Celebrate Erie, the new Kahawa bridge and other city issues.

This week, Erie County officials announced to closing on 160 acres in McKean Township to be used for the first business park in the county in 25 years. We invited Erie County Redevelopment Authority director Tina Mengine to discuss this very big opportunity for jobs in our region.

As part of our Juneteenth recognition, Joel and Shani toured The Historical Institute of Culture and the African American Experience in Erie, and had a conversation with founder Bishop Curtis Jones, Sr. on the Institute's mission and vision.

On Tuesday, we heard the perspective of Rabbi Robert Morais from Temple Anshe Hesed, as we took a deeper look at the situation in Israel and the protests here in the States.

Jake Rouch, VP at the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, visited our studio Monday for a mid-year report on how Erie businesses are doing in 2024.

The Executive Director of the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority, Jeremy Peterson returned to The Joel Natalie Show to discuss 14th Fest as well as the latest developments in local transit in Erie.

On Wednesday, Christine Temple of VisitErie gave us the final numbers on the impact on tourism and commerce over the four-day Total Solar Eclipse weekend April 5-8, 2024.

Passenger rail advocates All Aboard Erie and the Lakeshore Rail Alliance are holding a Lakeshore Rail Summit in Erie, with officials from government, transportation and manufacturing in attendance. AAE's Brian Pitzer and Mark Restifo gave a preview.

Erie Society for Genealogical Research and the Hagan History Center cohosted a Family History Fair on June 9th, assembling historians and archivists from across the region. Janice Castro & Ruth Cacchione of the Society, shared about the event and their expertise on how folks can discover more about their ancestry.…

On Thursday, the Joel Natalie Show originated from Community Access Media, where we found out about all of the assets available to community members to create video and audio content. CAM Executive Director Jacob Jones was our guest.

Erie Cancer Wellness Center is an institution that is helping local patients navigate life with cancer. On our Wednesday health focus, we met the Center’s new Executive Director, Heather McLaughlin, and Program Director Kim Connelly.

On Tuesday, Erie County Executive Brenton Davis discussed the upcoming announcement of a new industrial park in McKean Township, along with other issues making news at the County Court House.

There are so many options for summer fun in the city, and on Friday we discussed the Erie Summer Recreation Guide. With us was Mel Witherspoon, Page Collins, and Erika Rutkowski about the Biddy Basketball Camp and the Spoon's League which is celebrating its 34th year in Erie, joined by Deanna Renaud for the YMCA and their summer food and Learn To S…

Build Community Development Corporation was formed from the Hamot Health Foundation with the mission of promoting Health, Homes, and Hope. Daria Devlin, Director of Social Impact, and Boo Hagerty, Chief Development Officer of Hamot Health Foundation were our guests on Thursday.

David Rinderle, Executive Director of the Erie Cemetery Association joined the show to discuss new developments, upcoming events, and community engagement for these significant local assets.

With a recertification vote coming in July for the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance or LERTA program in the City of Erie, there are many conversations around City Hall about its impact and effectiveness in encouraging new building and investment. Chris Groner, Director of the Office of Development Finance was our guest.…

Millcreek Township Parks and Recreation just released their five-year strategic action plan, and Ashley Marsteller, Director of Parks and Recreation, along with Matt Waldinger, Director of Planning and Development, joined Joel on Friday to go over the highlights of improvements and possible additions intended to improve the region's quality of life…

The three top leaders of Erie's Public Schools joined the Joel Natalie Show Wednesday for a rare comprehensive conversation on the state the region's largest school district and its over 11,000 students. Our guests were Superintendent Brian Polito, and Assistant Superintendents Neil Brockman and Teresa Szumigala. Topics ranged from building project…

Erie City Councilwoman Kathy Schaaf has been looking at the issue of the lack of public restrooms in our downtown core. Safety, cleanliness, and maintenance are all considerations to tackle Erie's "Poo Problem".

This Month, Erie Mayor Joe Schember spoke of workforce levels, the Summer Recreation Guide, and the impact of LERTA on new building projects in the city.

Every morning, Ambassadors from the Erie Downtown Partnership do clean-up and outreach to keep downtown Erie a safe, fun, and welcoming place for all. CEO Emily Fetcko discussed the work EDP is doing going into the summer months.

On Tuesday, the CEO of the Erie Downtown Development Corporation, Drew Whiting, gave us an update on the timing of another brand-new building coming online in the 5th Street corridor.

Erie City Councilman Chuck Nelson has been in the news lately, discussing the LERTA tax abatement program and his assessment that it isn't performing as promised. He is proposing a TIF, which is discussed in our Monday podcast.

It was an education focus Thursday, as we spoke with Dr. Christopher Gray, President of the Erie County Community College. We learned about their recent open house event, linstant enrollment, and discussed the new Spring programs.

March is National Nutrition Month, so we are discussing nutritional health. Are we really what we eat?! Our guest is Janet Chrostowski, a Registered Dietitian with Masters Degree in Public Health and is an Advanced Practitioner in Nutrition with 35 years at UPMC Hamot; and more than 40 in the field of Dietetics.…

Groundbreaking Erie County-based startup companies completed the Ben Franklin Technology Partners Erie TechCelerator program and were presenting their pitches as they compete for $15,000. The companies we interviewed included: Zenedge, Bodha.ai, Erie Applications, Eventive AI, Brokenstraw Outdoors, Hikes & Hose, Hydrantcare.us.…

A lively visit with Erie County Executive Brenton Davis, discussing economic development, the library controversy, and his views on the gaming revenue authority.

On Friday, Erie Mayor Joe Schember made his monthly walk to our 429 State Street studio to discuss the significant topics facing City Hall.

Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and Erie loves to celebrate this holiday. On Thursday, we talked to John Melody, owner of the U Pick 6 establishments, about the importance of St. Patrick’s Day for local restaurants and taverns. We also heard about Melody’s work with his new charity Success by Sport.…

On our Wednesday health focus, and the four-year anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdowns of schools and businesses, we caught up with Erin Mrenak, Erie County Director of Public Health, and Breanna Adams, Director of Environmental Health Services. We covered public health topics including respiratory illnesses like the flu, where are we with Covid, a…

On our Monday program, we welcomed in officials from Ascend Erie, the new rock-climbing gym that soars opposite our studio at Fifth and State. Ascend CEO and Co-owner Alex Bernstein and Erie location General Manager Christ Rosato were our guests, talking about their first few months of operations and what they are looking forward to this year.…

On Friday, March 8th we were exactly one month from the Total Solar Eclipse, a celestial event that won’t happen again in Erie until 2144. With as many as 260,000 people coming to Erie to witness the Eclipse, we were getting prepared with Visit Erie. Christine Temple joined us to talk about VisitErie’s SHINE campaign, learning more about the prepar…

Our Wednesday focus was on the Erie International Airport, with the executive director Derek Martin, and the President of the Erie County Regional Airport Authority, Dan Giannelli. Are things “looking up” in terms of air travel to and from Erie?