Centre Focus: NCAA sanctions and the public price of flu
Last summer’s crippling and unprecedented NCAA sanctions against Penn State University continue to impact everything from area businesses to the economy of entire communities in Central Pennsylvania.
Public affairs reporters re-examine the sanctions, the precedent-setting lawsuit against the NCAA sanctions, and the ongoing impact on the business economy.
Hosts Chris Chun and Paige Waiselewski, along with Victoria Wain and Jasmine Janifer introduce team coverage of the NCAA sanctions a well as the financial and personal impact of a perennial public health problem in the area.
Also in this program, the common flu and another strain called Norovirus have seriously impacted area employers, schools and hospitals most of the winter and spring. Both viruses have kept some segments of the population at home for days or even weeks and have cost public and private employers thousands in lost productivity.
NCAA SANCTIONS IMPACT BUSINESS ECONOMY AND PENN STATE BRAND
The public and economic damage from the Jerry Sandusky scandal and last summer’s crippling NCAA sanctions, continues to negatively impact Penn State and the surrounding region. That’s what the Centre Focus team learned in the winter and spring of 2013.
Reporter Mike Stehlin along with team members Lauren O’Malley, Vicoria Wain and Mirella Wells, examine the long term economic impact by talking with area business owners, State Senator Jake Corman and Penn State marketing experts to find out how damaging the NCAA sanctions have been when it comes to the area’s economy and the Penn State brand.
THE GOVERNOR’S NCAA LAWSUIT AND ITS FATE
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett added a new chapter to the NCAA sanctions in January 2013, when he and the commonwealth announced they would be suing the NCAA. The reason is the alleged economic damages on Penn State and the entire state.
Reporter Rob Greissiner and team producers Tyler Estright, Nicole Salcito and Chris Chun, look beyond the initial outrage to see how a successful and precedent-setting lawsuit might impact the university and citizens of the commonwealth going forward. Although some veteran Penn Stater’s including historical Lou Prado, generally support the lawsuit, some think it’s being done for selfish reasons. The team talks with legal experts who believe the suit can be won on certain technicalities.
THE PUBLIC COST OF THE FLU
Flu-like symptoms took on new meaning in the winter and spring of 2013, as two different viruses reeked havoc in Central Pennsylvania and across the much of the nation.
Centre Focus reporter Paige Wasilewski along with Jessica Davidson, Ami Lighcap and Jasmine Janifer take a close look at both viruses which have kept thousands of people out of the workforce and school and have proved deadly for some.
The latest strain of the flu and the Norovirus is part of a nationwide epidemic for much of the winter and spring.
Health experts at Penn State and at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta explain to the Centre Focus team, how a new strain of a stomach virus called Nororvirus, has made the problem much worse with no current effective vaccine for that strain.