Cheers & Jeers
Associated Press
This photo shows a line of cars charging outside a Tesla dealership.
Experts and advocates say that ensuring children have breakfast every day they are in school improves diets and academic performance and reduces behavioral problems.
Metro Creative
The flu and COVID-19 vaccines help protect both the vaccinated person and those around them by limiting the spread of the viruses.
Cheers: For anyone whose concerns about climate change have been heightened by this summer鈥檚 wildfires, storms and record-setting temperatures, The New York Times had a headline that allowed for a rare bit of optimism: 鈥淭he clean energy future is arriving faster than you think.鈥� The story reported on how, even in areas where fossil fuels have reigned supreme, the transition to cleaner, renewable energy is happening quickly. Evidence of that switch could be found in the announcement this week that 54 locations in Pennsylvania will be installing electric vehicle charging stations through grant dollars included in the infrastructure law Congress approved last year. This is the first round of projects, and more will follow. Three locations will be in Washington County and one in Greene County. Probably before we know it, charging stations for electric vehicles will be commonplace. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said, 鈥淭his funding will allow us to deploy electric vehicle charging stations across our commonwealth 鈥� from cities to suburbs to rural areas 鈥� promoting energy security, creating jobs and reducing our carbon footprint.鈥�
Cheers: The 2023-24 school year will be starting in just a handful of days in most locations in Pennsylvania, and this year 1.7 million students across the commonwealth will have access to a free breakfast. The $46 million for the free breakfast was included in the budget bill recently signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro because, in his words, 鈥渙ur students can鈥檛 learn on empty stomachs.鈥� Data released by the governor鈥檚 office noted that more than 27,000 students in Washington County, more than 15,000 in Fayette County and close to 5,000 in Greene County will be eligible. Experts and advocates say that ensuring children have breakfast every day they are in school improves diets and academic performance and reduces behavioral problems. Let鈥檚 hope that free lunch is eventually added to the menu for Pennsylvania students, joining six other states that have made both meals universally available to students.
Jeers: A story in the Observer-Reporter and the 缅北禁地 this week noted that, with the arrival of fall, nasty viruses will soon likely be circulating more than they do in the summer, and that new vaccines will be available for the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and an additional COVID-19 booster shot. Though it鈥檚 largely vanished from the headlines, COVID-19 is still out there, and there has been a recent uptick in the number of cases, likely due to a new variant and summer travel. Because the coronavirus is still not going to fully vanish anytime soon 鈥� in fact, it鈥檚 likely to remain endemic for years to come 鈥� people who have already been vaccinated should get the new booster shot. However, there is reason to fear that not many will. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in May that only about 17% of the U.S. population had gotten the third booster shot, with the greatest number being those aged 65 and over. Even then, however, the number was just 43%. In Pennsylvania, close to just 19% of people got the third booster shot. Let鈥檚 hope, for the sake of everyone鈥檚 health, that more people get the latest COVID booster this year.