Cheers & Jeers
Jeers: It鈥檚 summer, and that means a lot of people are heading out to concerts. There鈥檚 a lot of pent-up demand given the way COVID-19 upended the live music industry between 2020 and 2022. But there are worrying signs that some concertgoers forgot how to behave in all the months they were sequestered at home. According to the Associated Press, there have been a number of incidents recently where artists have been struck by objects being hurled from the audience. Phones, bracelets and water bottles are among the items that musicians have had to dodge. At a Pink concert, one woman threw her mother鈥檚 ashes onto the stage, leaving the understandably flabbergasted singer to remark, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how to feel about this.鈥� It鈥檚 one thing for fans to show devotion, but it鈥檚 quite another to endanger the artists they admire by engaging in boorish and dangerous behavior. Morgan Milardo, managing director of the Berklee Popular Music Institute in Boston, explained, 鈥淓veryone in attendance at a concert is responsible for keeping one another safe. Concerts are supposed to offer a community where folks can come together to share in the magic of live music, not have to worry about a chicken nugget hitting them in the eyeball.鈥�
Jeers: When elected officials cast votes on something in a public meeting, their constituents shouldn鈥檛 be left scratching their heads wondering what the heck it was they just approved. But Charleroi residents were put in that position last week when the borough鈥檚 council voted on a 鈥渃onfidential employment matter鈥� but would not elaborate on what it was. The borough鈥檚 manager, Matt Staniszewski, was suspended for 10 days without pay and had not returned to work after that period, so the smart money is on the 鈥渃onfidential employment matter鈥� revolving around that. But why should citizens be left wondering what council is up to? Melissa Melewsky, legal counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, described the vote as 鈥渓egally suspect,鈥� and added, 鈥淲hat are they voting on? Taking an action like this just raises more questions than it answers. Folks should not have to wonder what their elected officials just did at a public meeting.鈥�
Cheers: Residents and caregivers at nursing homes got some good news last week 鈥� for the first time in 25 years, Pennsylvania鈥檚 nursing home standards were updated and, for the first time in the commonwealth鈥檚 history, a minimum number of caregivers are required to be on site during each shift. The new standards mandate that one nurse aide be available for every 12 residents during daytime shifts and for 20 residents overnight. Understaffed nursing homes are, simply put, bad for both employees and residents 鈥� the former burn out and leave, and the latter receive a lower quality of care. The standards will be updated again next year, and the Biden administration is looking at implementing national standards. According to Liz Wright, a certified nursing assistant in the Harrisburg area, 鈥淚 went into nursing because I want to help people. Residents typically get 15 minutes with us. That鈥檚 not enough time to do daily care the way it should be done. This is supposed to be their home. Inadequate staffing is unfair to residents.鈥�