Cheers & Jeers
Cheers: With a growing demand for workers in the skilled trades, the Fayette County Career and Technology Institute is to commended for its continued forward thinking. The FCCTI just wrapped up another summer career-exploration camp geared toward elementary students, and this year鈥檚 event drew a capacity attendance of 250 participants. Among the topics offered were culinary arts, building construction and welding, auto body, first-aid, cosmetology, medical assisting, HVAC and advanced manufacturing, as well as a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program. Justin Grimm, cooperative education coordinator at the school, said the camp not only serves to provide a fun experience, but it also gives youngsters a taste of potential career opportunities that are launched through the career and technical school. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really great experience for students as far as career exploration.鈥�
Cheers: 鈥淭he drop shown in the preliminary data is astonishing.鈥� That鈥檚 what crime analyst Jeff Asher had to say recently on the website of The Atlantic about the falling murder rate in the United States so far this year. In 90 cities that have released data, murder is down 12% compared to this time last year. Cities like Atlanta and Milwaukee have seen killings decrease by more than 30%. In Philadelphia, murder rates have fallen by more than 20%, and in New York, they have tumbled by 13%. Asher noted that 鈥渁ny explanation of the current trend must remain in the hypothesis phase for now,鈥� but there are some theories about why this is happening. Federal COVID-19 relief dollars were used by some cities to hire more police officers, and the lifting of COVID restrictions has led to social supports being put back in place, along with programs that help individuals who might be inclined to violence. Whatever the cause, we should hope this encouraging trend continues.
Cheers: The states that border Pennsylvania, some solidly red, others as blue as Frank Sinatra鈥檚 eyes, all have a minimum wage higher than ours. West Virginia鈥檚 wage floor is $8.75, Ohio鈥檚 is $10.10, Maryland鈥檚 is $13.25 and New Jersey鈥檚 is $14.13. Pennsylvania鈥檚 minimum wage is $7.25, the same it has been since 2006. To put this in perspective, children who were born the last time the minimum wage was raised in Pennsylvania will be seniors in high school next year and are on the cusp of legal adulthood. Of course, many businesses have been paying quite a bit more than $7.25 per hour over the last couple of years to lure workers, but it鈥檚 well overdue to raise the minimum wage in the commonwealth. Spotlight PA reported this week that it might actually happen this year. State Sen. Dan Laughlin, a Republican from Erie, is sponsoring a measure that would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour and increase it annually based on the inflation rate. McLaughlin said, 鈥淒ue to rising costs, workers are unable to pay for basic necessities and forced to rely on public assistance. It鈥檚 time we address the issue and I believe this bill is the most responsible way to do it.鈥�