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Is tonight on Q A local technological breakthrough that is changing lives. We'll show you how a computer program called Dinah box is breaking down communication barriers. Also tonight it is a key issue in the 2002 race for the governor's seat. What will it take to spur new economic growth in Pennsylvania. We'll take an up close look tonight. And a local hot dog in their lover's paradise made in Regent square on Cuba's it's Sixpack undocks. Why would 07:30 tonight on cue as.

Good evening and welcome to On Q magazine. I'm Stacey Smith. We begin tonight with a story of a very special teenager from the area. Imagine what it would be like to go through life in a wheelchair and unable to speak. Well all of your wants and all of your needs would have to be interpreted by someone else. Well now imagine a device that could help change your life a device that could help you communicate with everyone around you. Sixteen year old Sarah Pashka has spent most of her childhood and teenage years striving for independence and some of her accomplishments recently have been amazing. You're going to see what happens when technology meets an incredible human spirit. On to Correspondent Tanya Caruso has tonight's cover story. An intelligent young lady inside that body. She's my pride and joy and she

is my life. And life has certainly handed Sarah Pushkov Bethel Park her share of challenges. She didn't have a diagnosis Cohoes a body here. We knew there was something wrong because her lack of oxygen for Sarah was born with cerebral palsy a condition that affects the control of the muscles and in Sarah's case it is severe. Basically Sarah's mind works. It's like she's trapped in a bowl of jello. Nothing on her body works and a motor development that controls her speech. If it's not there. But she's smart enough to communicate. But there was no way to do it or at least that's the way it used to be. Are you serious. Oh my gosh. I'm sorry. Now 16 is a bright determined teenager with a whole new way to communicate.

Right now Fox tells me it's a device called a Dyna box. It's one of a number of speech assistants or augmentative devices as they are called on the market. Most simply put it's a computer with special software Sarah types what she wants to say using her head by tapping a device secured to the head rest of her wheelchair. She can control this special keyboard. It allows her to spell out words letter by letter or to create and store longer messages I have. I have to read your work. But can I go. What is a camp for which extra work. And then I can only go if there is a stage show. Sometimes I don't get go and this is a real let down.

I guess why I love it so much because everybody is like me. They just don't look at me like I am a freak. I have a whole bunch of friends up there my guy I love you. It was about two and a half years ago at a special camp in New Jersey that Sarah first used the dean of arts. She had been using a different device but found this one to be much easier. Ironically her family would soon learn it was a device made right here in Pittsburgh could actually be done about systems. Welcome to dine a box located on Pittsburgh's south side. It's a company that began 19 years ago with just four employees. It now has more than 150 a product that affects people's lives. People who never speak you know couldn't speak couldn't

communicate with the world. We now get more voice. We walk around our offices walk down into the repair areas manufacturing areas people are very passionate about this business everybody gets up and we're pretty serious about the mission. This area right here is from the engineers to the customer support staff. There's a mistake with an order or they need a particular pot or cable that would help them to use the device better. And this is the folks that they talk to to the workers who assemble each machine by hand. Dyna box manufacturers about 6000 devices each year. That's new hope for 6000 people who would otherwise be unable to communicate with her. So there are adults that have had strokes adults who have Lou Gehrig's disease and a goal for this company is to reach as many people's we can. It was PJ music who first helped to reach Sarah and helped her set it up. I helped her learn how to do it but now she programs everything herself

with the of rocks. Sarah became amazingly independent amazingly independent so quickly and just turned into this you know regular teenager going off and do our own thing and going to the movies and going to the mall and going to school just like any other teenager. Sarah who's attended regular schools since the fourth grade is now a freshman at Bethel Park High School a freshman with a three point eight grade point average. She's a smart young lady. She's a character. She's very intelligent and she's fiercely independent. She wants to do things on her own she doesn't want help and assistant principal Jerry Roman will tell you Sarah zips around campus like nobody's business. Once inside the classroom she gets right to work although she doesn't always enjoy

it. And this study hall Sarah is working on a history assignment with the help of an aide. She's typing the man on the box her answers. And then I'm just transcribing it onto the paper and then she turns into the class. Question number four how to the American Colonization Society hoped to end slavery. I don't like history at all. Sarah has a great sense of humor. She's like any other normal teenager she's in the Britney Spears in-sync doesn't like homework and her mom explains with the help of her Dinah box Sarah will quickly tell you all of that and more. Just let Sarah be Sarah. Just like that she can talk to the way as any other 16 year old talks to a parent.

You know she's upset about something. She'll let us know and if she's happy about something she'll let us know if she has. Oh yes. Sarah has even programmed her Dinah box to control her stereo and lately music has played an incredible role in her life while attending a music camp last summer Sarah worked for three straight days programming the Star-Spangled Banner. To her dying box a lot of labor for her. She would have to actually scan through each note and then select it. Sarah had to match each note to the lyrics syllable by syllable keeping pitch and tempo in mind. It was a feat so amazing. Her school asked her to perform at a basketball game

and then came another opportunity. She will never forget in a packed AJ Polumbo center. Players from Newcastle in midtown. Were getting ready to play. WPI. Playoff game. SARAH. Is getting ready to. In said do like butterflies in her. I. About just trust me be a little frustrated. I'm not I'm a nervous wreck. You're surrounded by her mom and dad her younger brother and her friends. She prepared to sing in front of. Five hundred people

excited and nervous. She made her way to the basketball. Game the whole time. And with a determined heart and spirit and a bit of technology. Sarah began her song. Showing everyone around her. She's indeed. A voice to be heard. We say a successful businesswoman is helped improve the quality and that's pretty special. The stuff she told you. I think she's a very powerful

message. She is an inspiration absolutely inspiration all the same. She puts so much in to. Doing things and she never gets up in her if the world had five percent of her motivation that it would be a better place. We. See them all the time.

The administrators of Bethel Park say they next want to see Sarah sing the national anthem at Heinz Field. Now you might be wondering how much does a Dine box cost. Well right now the company makes three products. The dine box and two smaller more portable devices. The prices range from about $2000 to $8000. The good news is most of it is covered by third party insurance. And Stacey Dinon box has an entire staff there dedicated to helping people apply for the funding and work out the funding and work things out with the insurance companies. It's an incredible device the people here in Pittsburgh who make that device. I know a couple of years ago at the Democratic National Convention there was a young man another teenager who spoke before the entire convention using one of these. So it's very heartwarming. She's done so many things but what impressed you the most. Really. Absolutely everything about Sarah is amazing. She really is just a regular teenager and she wants to be treated that way. It's just kind of funny she told me one of the things

she dislikes is when people speak to her they often speak to her in a loud tone because they think she can't hear. She'll tell you look I can hear fine. She's very sarcastic. She has a great sense of humor and you can just tell she is truly someone with great heart and great spirit. Wonderful story Tony. Thank you. Thank you. Still to come Pennsylvania's economic outlook. What does the next governor need to do to boost the economy. Chris Moore has that one on. You can see it. You're watching on magazine because these foundations are enough about local programming to help take on the Howard Dean's endowment the Everly foundation the richest Keeneland foundation. The foundation the Pittsburgh foundation the Henry L. Hilton Foundation the Jewish Health Care Foundation science and technology reporting for on cue is made possible by a grant from Nobel chemicals. And we couldn't do it without you. Members of WQED.

Pennsylvania voters will elect a new governor this year. But before that happens the Pennsylvania economy league wants to make sure that you are aware of the key issues that will affect our economic future. In an effort to help raise awareness. Public television stations around the state including WQED are airing this message right now. Pennsylvania is changing and so is its economy. During the last decade Pennsylvania added more than a million new jobs. But employment growth in this state is still 9 percent lower than the national average. That's why this year's primary election is so important. Pennsylvania's next governor is faced with finding ways that will allow the Commonwealth to compete with other states and even countries for economic growth and the jobs of promising to do that. Our next governor must encourage businesses to start to grow in Pennsylvania. Our next governor must also be able to find ways to help finance the development of industrial sites and to identify and train the skilled workforce the companies need. For more information on the economy and other issues facing Pennsylvania's new

governor. Log on to speed and keep it right here on PBS. For your chance to meet the gubernatorial candidates in this year's primary election Thursday night April the 4th. We'll sit down with the candidates at 8:00 o'clock right here on PBS. You'll be able to watch that program right here on WQED on April 4th. Joining us now for a look at some of those key economic issues is Bill Flanagan. He is the chief communications officer for the Pennsylvania economy league Western Division along with three other regional development organizations. He has a lot of jobs and a lot of heads. Bill welcome to the program. It is a phrase we have to be competitive in Pennsylvania mean anything to you. Well it does and it is a signature issue. Polling that the Pennsylvania economy has done that this is a top of mind issue with the voters of Pennsylvania. Everyone is concerned about the state's competitive performance especially over the last 20 years or so. Is it a big issue in the gubernatorial campaign.

Well I think the league is hoping to make it one part of the purpose of the issues campaign is to get people asking the gubernatorial candidates what they intend to do to make sure the economy grows. Are they talking about that yet. Well I guess that remains to be seen. It is it is top of mind there mentioning various sorts of economic issues but it really demands the media demands the public in general to kind of put their feet to the fire and hold them accountable on these issues. And so we as the public as the voters have to ask these questions of the candidates to see what their ideas are. Do you see any vision out there. No you don't endorse. What do you see any vision. Well the hope is that all of the candidates will take it seriously it's something that the past three governors of Pennsylvania have looked at. Everyone has tried a variety of economic development programs. The state has improved its business climate its competitive position over the past 10 years especially so some programs do work. Hopefully the new governor will take it as seriously as the past three have some programs work. Which ones. How are we doing. Well in general you know for Pennsylvania considering what happened here 20 years ago when we had the collapse of the steel and the industrial

base we're doing pretty well. We created about a half a million new jobs over the last 10 years the population grew by about 400000. So we're on it on an upturn. The problem is when you compare this to what's happening especially in the states with which we compete that the 12 or 13 largest states in the country New York Ohio those kind of and especially when you get to Texas and California Florida places like that were lagging even though our population grew over the last 10 years by almost three and a half percent. Our competitors our competitors population grew by 13 percent in that same period of time. So we're not keeping up with them we are lagging behind to some degree and there are real economic consequences to not having economic growth in the Commonwealth. Is it a question of tax structure for corporations to locate here. There are a variety of issues that the new governor will have to address in a variety of ways and tax competitiveness is one of them exactly what we are one of the higher business tax states in the union for example. But there are other issues as well workforce issues infrastructure issues do we have the kind of

technology infrastructure that we need and in what's becoming more and more a knowledge based economy to be able to compete with other large states. When you talk about workforce issues are you talking about preparedness. It is preparedness. I mean we have some demographic issues working against us for one of the older states in the nation which means you have a smaller population of younger people entering the workforce. We also have a skill mismatch to some degree that we have a lot of people who would like to work a lot of people who may be underemployed but do they really have the skills that they need to fill the types of jobs that are being created by our fast growing companies in this region and across the state. So workforce preparedness is a big issue. It is and you look at some of the really exciting developing industries just here in the Pittsburgh area whether it's in biotechnology whether it's in fuel cell fat in the new fuel cell factory that's going into the waterfront down near Homestead in long haul. The question is do we do it how do we make sure that the people in the state have the skills that those types of companies need. Because those are the types of companies that may create the most jobs in the

future you're here with the western division of the economy league how are we doing in southwestern Pennsylvania you know in general when you look at this recession compared to past recessions it's slow slow everywhere it's slow here it's lower across the country but really over the past year or so southwestern Pennsylvania the Pittsburgh region is competitive. We're performing a ballad as well as the national average. And that's actually a big improvement because in past history we're always went much lower during the recession and we came out of it later this time out we actually have the potential to kind of come out with the nation as a whole. And this program that PBS stations including couetise air is is designed to help the voter be prepared. They ask the right question absolutely and if you need to prepare to watch the program and get more ammunition you can find it at issues P-A dot net. Bill thanks for being here. We do appreciate it. Still to come a local hotdog and beer lover's paradise made in Regent square on cue visits days six pack and dogs next. To know more about on Q magazine. Recent stories upcoming

guests on Q community calendar. And of course viewer feedback. It's all on our Web site WQED dot org. Just follow the links on cue. Fans of the Frankfurter all have a favorite in Hollywood you go to pinks and in Atlanta Georgia they have the Varsity and in Pittsburgh the best known hot dog emporium is probably the No. But there's another hot dog stop in town that you may not have heard of culinary delights include the authentic Chicago dog a poppyseed bun and plenty of chili cheese relish mustard. I'm getting really hungry reading this and more to top your dog. Hey also have close to one thousand varieties of beer always sent on cue contributor's Dave and Dave. Check out these six pack and dogs. It's a hot dog lovers paradise made in Regent Square. In. First off Tuesday. I'm D. This is

my husband Mr. D. Obviously you're the boss. Well I'd say we're both the boss. Who's the real boss Frank or D. Definitely D. Who's the Boss. I would say boss our friend was on that girl and she takes command. Stay out of our way. She can handle it herself more or less. It's like a pop and. Mom's. Bit and you would be up and mom. We were at our age. We didn't want to get into anything but due to our son he thought something like this would really go right here in the. Square. So he got my dad involved in what can I say. Here we are doing the Chicago hotdog. What's the most popular hotdog here in Chicago by far. He is a flat top grill we're America our Chicago dogs. You can see all the Chicago dogs. Come on poppyseed buns are also from a movie and a beef company well a hot dog. And those dogs that company located in

Chicago. Here we have our Neil Andrian relish is a great song. It's a secret I guess a whole we get this from the Chicago pickle company. Another thing that makes us truly authentic Congo dog. I get people in here. They. Carry their Chicago dog to ours. And now it's good. Next. Day we tell them it's a long long story. Then we have our diced onions fresh from the Strip District couple tomato courters pickles and or slice little sport peppers. They're similar to cover Cheney. We have our celery just sprinkle of that and we top with yellow mustard gas. Might they find on the menu here other than the Chicago dog. Well we have the chicken soup same night I'm having a hot sausage. We also have a steak sandwich bacon cheddar dog chili dogs. Our daughter comes over here for fried as a cheese steak sandwich to start out with. There's only going to be Chicago hot dogs

the things that involve the feathers. You know it went over very well and still is. As a vegetarian Are you intimidated all by the menu. Now because they have a totally dog and that's remarkable. You strayed from the basic hot dog Why is that. Well because we're new to Pittsburgh and that's kind of a Pittsburgh thing isn't it. A kielbasa. It definitely is everywhere. I think we call it colossi. We know we are in the barricades these barricades this front section here we have all our. Microbursts. How many beers do you have here. Right around a or so striving for a thousand men. We have bought six pack holders four pack holders. So when you come in to

shop grab one and everything's price per bottle. What's the most expensive beer here. Actually that would be a Belgian Trappist in here. And that would be that was the 12 degree and that is 13:19 99 for eleven point two ounce bottle so per ounce that's the most expensive affair. So it must be really good. It is very good it's still made by the monks. There's only six Trappist breweries in the world five in Belgium and one in Holland. What would this session be. This is our 99 cent so our bargain shelf there and everything back there is always on price and on and on since it's a favorite comeback. It's not the best for all of this is you can take one dear make your own six pack and then sample it and see if you like it you might get more out of soil and you don't want to buy 24 or something and I'm 23 bottles left or something like. So if you see something you're interested you can come here pick one up if you love it. Go buy yourself a keg. The selection is just awesome We're picking stuff white label.

We've never even heard of before. If you've seen it in Pittsburgh chances are we'll have it. Mix and Match. That's the idea. This six pack of dog. Now this dog will hunt. If you're going days is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Now Thursday through Saturday we're open until midnight. Now here's a look at what's happening tomorrow on cue. A wave of bank robberies has local police and the FBI deeply concerned. Tomorrow on our cover story looks at the ongoing investigation and the new safety measures. Local banks are taking to keep employees and customers safe. Also tomorrow the closing of the fourth bridge Dix Geringer from Pennicott joins us for a look at commuter coping skills and alternate routes. And the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is on tour in the far east. QED. And Jim Cunningham reports from Osaka and

Tokyo just had a thought tomorrow on kids. And we hope that you join us again live 7:30 tomorrow night. Good night. In. Q magazine because these foundations care enough to local programming to help pay for it.

Howard Heinsohn down at the Epperly foundation Richard Kumo foundation the foundation. The Pittsburgh foundation the Henry L. foundation the Jewish Health Care Foundation science and technology reporting on q is made possible by a grant from Nova chemicals plastics companies proud to be a certain growth choice and to invest and participate in many communities worldwide. And we couldn't do it without. The vendors. Of. And