(Mechanicsburg) -- The state's largest Alzheimer's and dementia advocacy group is heralding a new national plan to fight the disease as a step in the right direction. Kevin Tucker is a board member with the Alzheimer's Association Greater Pennsylvania Chapter. He says he's hopeful the strategy will help the more than five million Americans and 400,000 Pennsylvanians affected by the disease, as well as their families, cope with the sixth-leading cause of death in the country. Tucker says it's important to look into revolutionary treatments, such as a nasal insulin spray that could help improve memory function. "There have been a lot of examples of things that have worked in the early phases of the drug approval process that didn't pan out," he says. "So, it's one of these things where we're cautiously holding our breath in the hopes that it will have some kind of impact, but at the same time, we've been burned a lot." The plan ultimately aims to prevent and cure Alzheimer's, a fatal form of dementia that attacks the brain, by 2025. This morning's Radio Smart Talk at 9am on witf will take questions and comments on Alzheimer's and the plan to eradicate it.

(Gettysburg) -- One of the most recognizable tourist attractions from the Gettysburg National Military Park could be auctioned off soon. The National Park Service is looking to sell its 51-year-old electric map, which lit up to show the movements of Civil War troops during the Battle of Gettysburg before it was retired and placed in storage four years ago. But the federal General Services Administration must first grant a waiver to the park to sell it, since it contains asbestos on the surface. NPS Spokeswoman Katie Lawhon says despite the map's deteriorating condition, people still have fond memories of it. "It did have a place in time, and it's well-loved by people who visited the park often," she says. "A lot of school students remember seeing it in the eighties and nineties." Lawhon says it's not known when the GSA would make a decision on the waiver or how much money the map would fetch. She adds several organizations have previously expressed interest in purchasing it.

(Belmar, NJ) -- The U.S. Postal Service is going back on a plan to close some small central Pennsylvania post offices in an effort to cut costs. But the agency is still looking at other ways to save money at the facilities in several midstate counties, including Cumberland, Franklin, and Lancaster. Spokesman Ray Daiutolo says early retirement may be an option for some employees. "We have about 160,000 employees that are eligible to retire, so we'll use attrition, and some other mechanisms to try to move those impacted employees either into other locations or to incentivize them to retire," he says. Daiutolo says some offices would also operate on reduced hours, while others could merge or move to a business or large store, like Walmart. He adds many customers in rural areas were unhappy with the original proposal to close 3,700 offices nationwide. The two-year plan is expected to be complete in 2014, and could save the Postal Service $500 million annually at that time.

(Gettysburg) -- A new tourism report shows increased visitor spending in central Pennsylvania in 2010, despite a somewhat shaky economy and rising gas prices. Visitors spent, on average, eight percent more in 2010 in Adams, Cumberland, and York counties than they did the year before, and nearly nine percent more in Juniata and Mifflin counties. Carl Whitehill, spokesman for the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, says many Pennsylvanians are visiting tourist attractions close to home instead of going on more expensive vacations. He says the report highlights another interesting trend in many midstate counties, including Adams. "What kind of intrigued us was that the number of employees that are impacted by tourism went down, but the wages to those employees went up. So, that's an encouraging sign to us," he says. Whitehill says he expects the number of visitors in Adams County to climb this year and next summer, which marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Tourism spending increased by more than nine percent overall in Pennsylvania in 2010. The industry is one of the top two sectors in the state.

(Mount Joy) -- More than fifteen years ago, scores of firefighters from central Pennsylvania helped put out a fire at the PennDOT headquarters in Harrisburg. Later, they'd find out they were exposed to asbestos and other substances that could lead to lung cancer. Bruce Henry of Mount Joy, Lancaster County was one of those firefighters. He's recently taken part in a new lung cancer screening program spearheaded by PinnacleHealth for firefighters who responded to the PennDOT fire or to the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. As part of witf's multimedia Facing Cancer Together intiative, Henry spoke with Megan Lello to discuss the free screening process:

(Harrisburg) -- Some central Pennsylvania arts groups could have more money to spend on music, theater, and dance programs this year. The Cultural Enrichment Fund raises money for 13 arts organizations in the region, including Theatre Harrisburg and the Susquehanna Art Museum. In the last 12 months, it's brought in more than $514,000, a 2.5 percent increase over last year's total. Campaign Director Taylor Ranker says even with an uncertain economy, people understand the importance of having a thriving arts community. "When you see Danzante, who does dance and art classes for inner-city kids, who might never know how to paint were it not for them, [and] you realize that last year, there were about 50,000 people who attended classes put on by our groups, you know the arts affect many more people in our community than you might initially think," he says. Ranker says most of the Fund-supported groups have educational outreach programs that bring the arts to rural and poor communities. The organization is also offering grant money to school districts and arts groups that help expand arts throughout central Pennsylvania through its Arts for All program.

(Carlisle) -- Governor Corbett's proposed spending plan would cut human services programs around the state by about 20 percent. But one midstate county commissioner says state lawmakers should look at the performance of each county's services before deciding on such a drastic cut across the board. Cumberland County Commissioner Barbara Cross says the plan would slash Cumberland and Perry counties' programs for things like drug and alcohol treatment and children and youth programs by about $3 million. She says the counties had already consolidated services and established group programs, especially after the Harrisburg State Hospital closed, so there's not much more to cut. "There were considerable concerns when the state facility closed, and the opportunity for many of these consumers to come into a community setting, and for those that have, that has worked very well," she says. Cross says more than half of the programs her county offers, including mental health care, are part of its human services arm. Commissioners in both Cumberland and Perry counties have held a forum for the community about the proposed cuts. The deadline to pass the state budget is June 30th.

(Camp Hill) -- Soot, metal, and salt particles smaller than the diameter of a human hair are contributing to some of the air pollution in central Pennsylvania. The American Lung Association's annual "State of the Air" report ranks the Harrisburg, Carlisle and York metropolitan areas as the 17th most polluted region in the country. The association's Kevin Stewart says toxins can do more harm to the body than people may think. "They get into the deepest parts of the lungs where they are very good at delivering whatever bad chemicals are on their surfaces to the lung tissue. In some cases, some of the chemicals do find their way into the body through the bloodstream," he cautions. The study also gives several counties, including Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster, and York, an "F" grade for their poor air quality. Stewart says the elderly, young children and infants, and people with heart disease are especially at-risk of becoming sick from air pollution.

(York) -- A number of public buses in central Pennsylvania could soon be fueled by natural gas in an effort to help cut energy costs. rabbittransit, which provides transportation throughout Adams and York counties and northern Maryland, may switch from using diesel to compressed natural gas, or CNG. Executive Director Richard Farr says if its plan is approved, the company would purchase up to 40 new buses to run on natural gas. "CNG could potentially cost half as much as diesel per equivalent gallon. If that's true and you have a vehicle that runs 600,000 miles, you could potentially save $1 million in fuel alone, so that in itself could pay for the vehicle over its life," he says. Farr says a fueling station could be built at the company's new headquarters on Zarfoss Drive in York that's slated to open soon, in addition to a site in Adams County. He adds switching to natural gas is just one way to help boost Pennsylvania's economy in the wake of the recent natural gas drilling boom. Farr says the company could make a decision on the proposal by the end of the summer.

(Hanover) -- A York County community is exploring ways to attract more conferences to its downtown. Hanover Borough currently doesn't have a space to hold these types of large events. But that could change in the near future. Borough Council has voted to go ahead with a study that would look at the cost of opening a convention center. President John Gerken says he believes such a facility would help keep money in the borough. "We have a lot of fairly large businesses in Hanover, and when they have conferences, it would be great to have the conferences in Hanover," he says. "That would keep the income in Hanover, rather than going to Gettysburg or York, which is quite an inconvenience for some of these organizations." Gerken says some vacant buildings in the downtown could be renovated to house the convention center. The borough will pay about a third of the total $21,000 cost of the study. There's no word yet on when a decision would be made.