Hits & Misses
HIT: For many of our public libraries, just keeping the doors open is a near-constant challenge. Over the years, municipalities have cut back on their support, making life even more difficult for the libraries. So, it was good news, indeed, this week when we learned that Brownsville Free Public Library will be able to continue operations in 2019. Earlier this year, the director of the library, Emma H. Beaver, said the 91-year-old facility was in real danger of closing because of a lack of funds. Fortunately, the library has received a $5,000 “bridge grant” from Community Foundation of Fayette County, as well as significant contributions from, among others, Brownsville Rotary Club, Brownsville Area Ministerial Association and First United Methodist Church. More of this type of community support is needed, and we hope the generosity of these organizations spurs others to recognize the value of the library and come to its aid in the future.
HIT: Students at Washington High School found their own way to praise our country’s warriors with a rousing Veterans Day salute Monday afternoon. During an assembly that included patriotic music and themes, the student shook the hands of local veterans and thanked them for their service. These young people’s patriotism is encouraging, although it shouldn’t be surprising. Not when every student in that gymnasium was born after 9/11. The only question now is how much longer will we continue our military operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and how many students in that gymnasium Monday will become combat veterans themselves?
MISS: After a year of hoopla and speculation it became official this week: Amazon will not be putting its second headquarters in Pittsburgh or anywhere else in “flyover country.” Instead, it will be splitting its second headquarters between communities in the New York and Washington, D.C. areas, two places that are decidedly not wanting when it comes to economic development. There are plenty of reasons to second-guess this decision, and even more reason to question the incentives that Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio, and other cities dangled in front of Amazon to try to lure the online retailer to their towns. But the reality is that Amazon officials made a dollars-and-cents decision in choosing New York and Washington, D.C., believing that the talent and infrastructure they required were in those two metropolitan areas. We felt no lack of amusement watching some observers weep and wail about Amazon bypassing “the heartland,” or even suggesting that it’s some sort of moral affront to middle Americans. It was nothing personal, to borrow a line from “The Godfather.” It was strictly business.
MISS: It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it was tough not to feel a sense of dismay that the region experienced its first serious blast of winter weather this week, as freezing rain led to school delays and some white-knuckle driving Thursday morning. The Pittsburgh region fared better than other parts of the commonwealth, which received significant amounts of snow. Forecasters have predicted we will have a mild winter this year, but if the last several days are any indication, we have reason to worry that those predictions are as reliable as those that suggested Hillary Clinton had the presidency all sewn up in 2016.