Recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Pennsylvania’s newspapers:
Protect the students of Spring Grove
The York Dispatch
June 24
A vocal contingent of Spring Grove Area residents is urging that public schools reopen in a business-as-usual format this fall, regardless of coronavirus-related health concerns.
No masks for students or teachers. No social distancing. No kidding.
Schooling is, indeed, badly needed in the district - for these tragically misinformed residents.
Among the lessons: The coronavirus is not a political ideology; refusing to take precautions is not an exercise of rights; and not being afraid of contracting the virus is inconsequential.
They’d likewise benefit from a few lessons in consideration for others. Same goes for a couple of Spring Grove school board members, including Douglas White, who could also use a remedial course in civility.
Willful ignorance is infuriating enough when it comes to climate change. Claiming to “not believe in” the preponderance of evidence that human-generated greenhouse gases are causing the planet’s temperatures to spike is a convenient excuse for inactivity. It’s also an embarrassing admission of foolishness.
For all that, climate change is not directly killing hundreds of Americans every day. COVID-19 is.
And yet, at Monday’s Spring Grove school board meeting, you’d think the virus that has claimed more than 120,000 American lives was little more than a liberal fantasy. Fake news. “A crock of s—-,” as White so inarticulately put it.
Yes, that’s how an elected member of a board overseeing the education of children characterized the pandemic. Never mind Pennsylvania’s 82,000-plus cases and nearly 6,500 fatalities. Douglas is more interested in manufacturing a political battle over state health guidelines intended to protect him, his neighbors and students in the district he’s supposed to be leading.
“Sometimes you have to say to the government, ‘F you,’” he stated, offering a civics lesson any educator would be proud of.
He had plenty of support among those attending the meeting, where several residents argued that no one is afraid of the virus (as if that should have any bearing on public health policies). But then, public health is the last thing on their minds. They cited a 400-signature petition in support of reopening the district’s schools without following any state or federal health guidelines.
Some dismissed social distancing while others denounced wearing face-coverings - a key component to stemming the spread of the coronavirus - because they might frighten students. Better that elementary school kids risk contracting a life-threatening illness, apparently.
This is madness. A majority of Americans are worried about opening school at all this fall, let alone without safety measures.
We get it: Like everything else under sun, from the increasingly sizzling planet to the efficacy of vaccinations, the coronavirus has become a political issue. President Donald Trump has led the charge, finding it easier to point fingers than oversee a response.
His self-serving decision to return to mass indoor campaign rallies absent masks and social distancing is a rebuke of his own government’s guidelines and a dereliction of his office. His politicizing of the issue by targeting Democratic governors’ responses egged on protesters who used public-health guidelines as an excuse to air partisan grievances. And his suggestion that face-coverings are not only a sign of weakness but a political statement against him are beyond irresponsible.
But in the words of Spring Grove social studies teacher Josh Newark, an oasis of sanity at Monday’s school board meeting, “This is not a political issue. It is a public health issue. Wearing a mask does not make me weak. It does not infringe upon my freedoms.”
The school board is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss the district’s health and safety plan, which will determine the use of masks, social distancing and other safety measures. A final vote is planned for July 13.
That discussion - and that vote - must center on one thing: the health and safety of the district’s students and employees. Any suggestion that safety guidelines aren’t needed, or that scoring political points is more important than public health, or that the virus won’t infect those who aren’t afraid of it, are, to paraphrase White, a crock.
Online: https://bit.ly/2YwzTX5
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Tracking the money: The federal stimulus package needs better oversight
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
June 24
There’s a lot of federal stimulus money - $2.6 billion - targeted to provide relief for Pennsylvania’s nursing homes, small businesses and local governments. What there isn’t at the moment is much oversight as to how the money is to be spent and accounted for.
The state agencies responsible for overseeing the programs that will distribute the money need to provide clear rules upfront in an effort to stave off fraud and waste. And there needs to be transparency in detailing who received funding and for what purpose.
The money is part of the state’s $3.6 billion share from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act approved in March. The remaining $1 billion has yet to be allocated.
Spotlight PA, an independent newsroom of which the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is a partner, reported that a federal oversight committee created by the CARES Act warned that the money, intended to be distributed quickly to those in need, also carries “unmatched prospects for fraud, misuse of the funds and other criminal conduct.”
Among the programs that lack specific regulation are an ambitious initiative to increase COVID-19 testing capacity at nursing homes and improve their infection control practices. The state has allocated $175 million for the program, but critics say it is unknown where the money will go and how it will be used.
The state Department of Human Services, which will oversee the program, is also in charge of another initiative that would provide millions of dollars for one-time payments to all nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, adult day care centers and home health care providers. Recipients will have broad discretion in how to use the money because the law says it “may only be used to cover necessary COVID-19 related costs.” The department is waiting on more federal guidance regarding any reporting or auditing requirements.
There are similar issues with a $225 million allocation for small-business assistance; state lawmakers have yet to craft legislation detailing its distribution.
And counties that receive some of the $625 million in grant money can decide how to spend it as long it goes toward the cost of responding to the outbreak, aid for local municipalities, behavioral health and substance abuse treatment, or grants for small businesses and nonprofits. The unknown is how and in what detail the spending will be documented.
The federal stimulus money is intended to be put to use quickly for those most in need. That doesn’t, however, eliminate the need for transparency in detailing where the money went and for what purpose.
Online: https://bit.ly/3dDIHPj
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Covid-19 and cost of doing business
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
June 23
A price tag is more than just a number on a piece of paper. The cost of an item on a menu isn’t pulled out of a hat.
At least, it isn’t if a business wants to stay in business. It’s a complicated dance of expenses and projected revenues, all designed to keep the doors open.
Let’s look at a simple sandwich. There is the cost of the bread and the cheese and the meat. Add the lettuce and tomato, a little mustard inside and a little butter to grill it. You could buy those pieces for - let’s ballpark it at $2.
So why does it cost $8 on the menu?
Because the price also includes rent, electricity, the gas that fires up the grill, business licenses and insurance, and that’s before we mention even one employee and, oh yeah, like six different kinds of taxes. The ham in your ham sandwich is probably the smallest part of that cost.
That is why covid-19 surcharges are fairly unsurprising. They aren’t happening everywhere, but they aren’t being received well when they do. But if more customers appreciated what restaurant operators are facing, they might be more understanding.
Since coronavirus pandemic lockdowns and quarantine measures started in March, the story of impact on business has been second only to the coverage of the health hit of the disease.
Restaurants - one of the most common types of small business in America - are among the most hard-hit by the pandemic. Some estimates say one in five could close permanently. Others have gone as high as 75%. The truth is we just won’t know until the dust settles and the disease is under control.
What we do know is the cost of doing business is higher than it used to be.
Today, that sandwich has to make up for all the other things that aren’t being sold the way they were a few months ago, including the bar business and upsells like appetizers and dessert that have higher margins.
The rent, the utilities, the insurance and taxes? All still have to be paid. The price of the food went up. But on top of that, there are the costs of take-out containers, the fees to participate in delivery services like DoorDash or GrubHub or the cost of in-house delivery staff and vehicles.
If a restaurant is reopening its dining room as the state transitions to fewer restrictions, there are the costs of disposable menus, masks for the staff, intense and frequent cleaning and sometimes physical boundaries like plexiglass. All of that is on top of the state’s mandate restaurants operate at only 50% capacity in order to accommodate social distancing.
And that’s assuming nothing else happens. When restaurants have someone test positive, there is a new wrench thrown in the works. Closed doors. More deep cleaning. Waiting to see if anyone else is affected before trying it all again.
That’s a lot of pressure to put on an $8 sandwich.
A specified surcharge may be the more open way to address the situation. Not every restaurant - or other business - is being so transparent about their costs. There is an unfortunate but refreshing honesty to a small disclaimer that tells people up front, “We didn’t want to charge more. We wish we weren’t being hit with extra costs, too. But this is what is happening, and we just want you to know because our customers are important to us.”
Because the costs will have to be absorbed somewhere. Maybe the sandwich becomes $9. Maybe there are fewer employees. Maybe costs are cut elsewhere. But if opening the doors costs more money than it used to, the only way for the doors to stay open is to pass that fee along.
But sometimes that’s just the cost of doing business.
Online: https://bit.ly/2Vhjl3g
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In the midst of multiple crises, bad time for City Council to take a summer break
The Philadelphia Inquirer
June 24
In the midst of a pandemic that has killed 1,563 people since March, and protests and outcries to upend policing as we know it, Philadelphia City Council is taking their yearly summer break. After Thursday, for 11 weeks, Council is not scheduled to meet as a body. That means no oversight functions, no hearings, bills or resolutions, no deliberations, and no public input.
Philadelphia’s City Council summer recess is among the longest in the country, according to a Pew study from 2011. Almost every year, the break prompts editorials decrying the practice — and annual arguments from Council that they are not at the beach but hard at work in their districts. But a city facing multiple crises, and where gun violence, overdose deaths, and poverty don’t take breaks needs all hands on deck.
There is much at stake. Nearly every land use decision in the city requires legislation. The next few months will hopefully begin an economic recovery. With so many Philadelphians unemployed, it is unconscionable that potential new jobs could be delayed because Council cannot issue approvals for the disposition of public land, zoning remappings, or the permits that some businesses need to survive.
That’s not even considering the slowdown that COVID 19 imposed on the business of the city. In the past 15 weeks, City Council has held their weekly meetings eight times. Two of these meetings lasted about 10 minutes.
Multiple critical information committee hearings also didn’t take place, despite being authorized by Council. Those includes a hearing on the city’s preparedness for the pandemic that was authorized before the first COVID-19 case in Philadelphia was reported — and multiple other hearings about the pandemic’s impact. Another hearing that didn’t take place: one on safe reopenings for small businesses along commercial corridors, which Council authorized in May. Small businesses along commercial corridors are opening as Philadelphia transitions to yellow and green, without City Council’s — or the public’s — input.
A hearing about the process of vote by mail in the recent primary will also need to wait for the fall, providing little time to make changes before the November election.
A common defense of the summer recess is that Councilmembers use it for constituent services. Leading up to summer, many members have been active — handing out protective gear, showing support for food banks, and assisting with testing capacity.
But the power of Council is in its deliberation, law-making and providing opportunities for the public to have input. Largely, Philadelphia residents did not have that power at its full disposal for the past three months— and it won’t until September.
The city is facing a continued public health threat of the pandemic, economic recession, a school district that needs support while trying to open a school year in uncharted waters, police response to protests that demands public evaluation, just to name a few. According to Council President Darrell Clarke, Council will meet at some point during the summer, particularly to allocate anticipated federal and state funds. There is no justification for Council not to meet every single week this summer. Council members and the public should demand it.
Online: https://bit.ly/2Z6kdZt
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State should examine the death of prison inmate Shaheen Mackey
The Citizen’s Voice
June 24
The Luzerne County Council’s approval of a $3 million settlement with the family of county prison inmate Shaheen Mackey, who died after being forcibly restrained by corrections officers in 2018, should not be the end of this horrific case.
The suit filed by Mackey’s estate makes harrowing allegations of negligence and brutality, including a disregard of Mackey’s medical condition and multiple use of tasers after he was restrained.
The prison video of the incident, which has not been made public, was apparently so shocking that two council members advocated firing county Manager David Pedri and county Director of Corrections Mark Rockovich.
In court documents, the county has denied most of the suit’s allegations, but the acceptance of a settlement of this size by the county and its insurance carrier, which will assume most of the cost, indicates this was a case neither was eager to take to trial.
The settlement likely means the county will admit no wrongdoing and Mackey’s family will agree to forgo any additional litigation and reserve further comment on the case. Those are standard elements of such settlements.
But as citizens and taxpayers of Luzerne County, we cannot settle and accept that the details of this case will remain hidden. A 41-year-old man detained under a protection-from-abuse order who suffered from seizures died after alleged mistreatment by corrections officers who work for us.
Mackey’s death raises grave questions about the procedures in the county prison and whether there are adequate safeguards for inmate safety and sufficient control of the prison staff.
Less than six months after Mackey’s death, the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office found there was no wrongdoing by the corrections officers who restrained him, a ruling that in light of the lawsuit and settlement seems questionable.
It is common practice for District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis to recuse herself from cases involving allegations against police officers or departments within her jurisdiction and forward them to state prosecutors. She should have done so in this case.
But it is not too late for the state Office of the Attorney General to intervene. It should ask for court approval to launch its own independent investigation and a review of procedures and training at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.
Two years after his death, it’s time for justice for Shaheen Mackey.
Online: https://bit.ly/37Woov9
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