Cheers & Jeers
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, left, visits the Lungs at Work clinic in McMurray Wednesday afternoon and talks with founder Lynda Glagola, right, as Jeffrey Truax, the clinic鈥檚 patient care coordinator, looks on.
A soldier salutes the flag during the opening ceremonies of an event marking the 9/11 anniversary at the memorial in the Washington Mall parking lot Wednesday. Below, the program, sponsored by the South Strabane Township fire and police departments, was attended by a variety of area police and fire departments and the public.
Former state Rep. Pam Snyder
Cheers: A number of local projects will benefit from state grant funding to expand outdoor recreational opportunities in our area. Among the projects are $514,000 in funding to rehabilitate 10.5 miles of the Great Allegheny Passage in Fayette County, $586,900 to further develop Wisecarver Acres in Greene County and $362,000 to make improvements to Palmer Park in Donora. The grants are a welcome investment for the health and wellness 鈥� both physical and mental 鈥� of our residents. Over the past couple of years, the number of people engaging in outdoor activities has surged as people looked for ways to escape limitations created during the pandemic. This influx of funding will help continue to draw people to the natural resources of our region, creating opportunities for generations to enjoy what the area has to offer.
Cheers: Last week, the Lungs at Work nonprofit clinic in Waterdam Plaza in McMurray received some ink, thanks to a visit from U.S. Sen. Bob Casey. He was there to see how the clinic lends a hand to former miners who have black lung disease, and also to promote legislation that would, among other things, ensure that miners鈥� benefits are not eroded by inflation and they have access to legal representation. Lungs at Work deserves the moment in the spotlight Casey鈥檚 visit provided. It鈥檚 the only free-standing black lung clinic in the country, and the staff at the facility carry out essential diagnostic work and medical care. They also help miners file disability claims when they are found to have black lung, which scars the lungs and slowly takes away the ability to breathe. Casey pointed out that miners helped power American prosperity over many decades, and those who have black lung should be given the care they deserve.
Cheers: The anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will almost certainly not receive the same level of attention as last year鈥檚 20th anniversary, and that is to be expected 鈥� once this much time has passed, wall-to-wall retrospectives and commemorations will be reserved for landmark anniversaries like the 25th, 30th or 50th. Nevertheless, there will be solemn remembrances taking place on Sunday. And there will be a service during the Corks & Kegs Festival at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows on Sunday. It will be attended by former Pittsburgh Steelers halfback Rocky Bleier. There will be a lot happening this weekend, including the Steelers鈥� first regular season game, but everyone should pause for a minute or two to remember the victims of those attacks and the shock and horror everyone felt on that day.
Jeers: This week, Donald Trump endorsed Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl, who will be facing Democrat Maura Healey, the commonwealth鈥檚 attorney general, in the November election. What made Trump鈥檚 endorsement unsettling, however, is the former president鈥檚 promise that, if elected, Diehl would 鈥渞ule鈥� Massachusetts 鈥渨ith an iron fist.鈥� First, in the United States we are governed, not ruled. We shook off being ruled when we repelled King George III鈥檚 forces in the Revolutionary War. More importantly, we are neither governed nor ruled 鈥渨ith an iron fist鈥� in democratic societies. Leaders who deploy 鈥渁n iron fist鈥� typically do things like shut down the media, curtail free speech, jail political opponents and engage in other acts of oppression and cruelty. Fortunately, the odds of Massachusetts being 鈥渞uled with an iron fist鈥� by Diehl or anyone of his ilk are extraordinarily low, considering that the Bay State is such a Democratic stronghold that it has sent liberals like Ted Kennedy and Elizabeth Warren to the U.S. Senate and President Biden carried it in the 2020 election by 33 points.
Cheers: State Rep. Pam Snyder, the Greene County Democrat, has stood up for expanding rural broadband since she was first elected to the Legislature a decade ago, and that work will continue in her new role as chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority. The authority will oversee the expansion of broadband across the commonwealth and help distribute millions of dollars that have come from the federal government for broadband expansion. Having high-speed internet is crucial to economic development in rural areas, both in allowing businesses to flourish and attracting employees. The owner of an asphalt paving equipment company in rural Iowa told The New York Times last year, 鈥淗ow do you get young people to move back into these rural areas when they feel like they鈥檙e moving back into a time frame of 20 years ago?鈥� This is the challenge facing Snyder and other members of the authority. Every Pennsylvanian should hope they are successful.