Cheers & Jeers
Cheers: As the nation celebrates Independence Day, a local festival will mark the city of Uniontown鈥檚 birthday. The Founding Day Festival, slated for this weekend, offers a number of family-friendly activities. On Saturday, the 缅北禁地 has organized a free art and car show to be held between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. in downtown Uniontown. Net proceeds raised through those activities will support revitalization efforts at Marshall Park in Uniontown. The hope is that the local park, named after Uniontown native Gen. George C. Marshall, can become another centerpiece for city activities. The festival continues on Sunday at dusk with the annual Fireworks Over Fayette, a dazzling display brought to the area by the Fayette Chamber of Commerce. And on Monday at 9 a.m., the city of Uniontown will hold its Firecracker 5K Run/Walk. We hope many of you will come out to support revitalization efforts at the park and celebrate Uniontown鈥檚 founding during what鈥檚 sure to be a fun-filled weekend.
Cheers: June 23, 1972, was an extremely eventful day in the presidency of Richard Nixon. On the minus side, that was the day the infamous 鈥渟moking gun鈥� tape was recorded that led to Nixon鈥檚 ejection from the White House two years later. On the plus side, that was the day Nixon signed Title IX into law. Designed broadly to increase educational opportunities for women by prohibiting gender-based discrimination at educational institutions that receive federal funding, it has helped boost the participation of girls and women in sports and academia. When Title IX received Nixon鈥檚 signature, only about 300,000 girls participated in high school sports. Today, that number stands at more than 3 million. Also, a half-century ago, women received just 10% of all doctoral degrees. Today, 54% of those receiving doctorates are women. Title IX was meant to open doors and break down barriers, and it has done its job extraordinarily well.
Jeers: Amid all the news about the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 abortion decision, the findings of the Jan. 6 committee, the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising prices, COVID-19 has moved to the inside pages of newspapers. But it鈥檚 still out there in the world, causing about 400 deaths every week across the United States. It鈥檚 likely we鈥檒l be visited by another outbreak in the fall once colder weather arrives and school resumes. It鈥檚 also likely there will be more cases due to waning immunity and variants that continue to evolve. But the groundwork is being laid for updated booster shots tailored to fight the variants that are dominating the COVID landscape right now. This week, a committee of experts recommended to the Food and Drug Administration that a booster be made available that would combat omicron variants. The hope is that it will boost overall immune response. But will people get the revamped booster? As of the end of June, just 47% of American adults who have been fully vaccinated have received a booster shot. In Pennsylvania, it鈥檚 43% of fully vaccinated adults. The number of people getting boosters needs to improve so that we can avoid more sickness and more death in the months ahead.
Jeers: A U.S. senator should have a lot on his or her mind right now, but Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Criuz can always seem to find a minute to pick on 鈥淪esame Street.鈥� Last year, Cruz was in high dudgeon because 鈥� horrors! 鈥� Big Bird received a coronavirus vaccine on the children鈥檚 program. This week, Cruz was angry over the fact that Elmo received a vaccine and that the puppet, according to a tweet from Cruz, was 鈥渁ggressively鈥� advocating that children younger than 5 receive the vaccine. And what鈥檚 wrong with that? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that young children be vaccinated. Would Cruz be happier if there鈥檚 a 鈥淪esame Street鈥� episode where Elmo gets the virus and spreads it to his family and friends? The Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie and Grover had better watch out 鈥� they could be the objects of Cruz鈥檚 ire pretty soon. We assume he鈥檒l spare his kindred spirit, Oscar the Grouch.