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Pennsylvania Festival Stars Fireflies And ‘Us & Them’ Explores Mental Health Challenges In W.Va. Jails, This West Virginia Morning

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On this West Virginia Morning, every summer, fireflies emerge for a few weeks — sending love signals in the dark. Those fireflies — including synchronous ones — are the stars of a festival at a farm in Forest County, Pennsylvania. As WPSU’s Anne Danahy reports, that farm draws both firefly fans — and researchers — looking to learn more about lightning bugs.

Also, in this show, overcrowding and understaffing have pushed West Virginia’s prisons and jails to what many believe is a crisis point. It’s an issue we’ve delved into on WVPB’s Us & Them. But just last week, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to force the state to spend $330 million to improve prison and jail conditions in West Virginia.

So, this month we’re sharing an encore, award-winning episode entitled “Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars In West Virginia.”

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning