Hits and Misses
Signs have started to crop up around Washington County urging voters to reject “home rule” in next month’s general election. The only problem, though, is that voters are not being asked whether the county should adopt a home rule charter like the one in place in Allegheny County. Instead, they are merely being asked whether a commission should be established that would explore how Washington County’s government operates, and what improvements might be made. If such a commission would recommend that Washington County go the route of home rule – and there’s no guarantee that it would – voters would have an opportunity to accept or reject it. Whoever is putting those signs out is being wildly dishonest about what is actually on the ballot.
We are entirely sympathetic to anyone who doesn’t want to listen anymore to baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that some kind of pointless and pricey audit of the election needs to be carried out. After a year, we’ve heard more than enough. But, in an apparent attempt to not have different speakers chew over the same tired talking points, Washington County’s commissioners may have prevented the right of some residents to speak out. Last week, commissioners voted to expand the amount of time that one speaker has to expound on one topic on behalf of a group. But the new policy may well edge out speakers who want to offer thoughts on a topic that differ from the spokesman for the larger group. Melissa Melewsky, legal counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, suggested that the policy needed to be modified to ensure all viewpoints are aired. She explained, “I’m not saying (commissioners) have to sit there and listen to the same canned speech 50 times, but people have the right to let their elected leaders know where they stand. The assumption is the problem. They’re assuming people are taking a position when they have no idea what people are going to say.”
Canada celebrated Thanksgiving on Monday, and America’s Thanksgiving celebration is just a little more than a month away, so that means the 2000 Turkeys campaign is underway. It’s sponsored by the Washington radio station WJPA and the Observer-Reporter, and helps provide Thanksgiving meals for families served by Washington County’s network of food pantries. Generous county residents and businesses have already started making donations toward a goal of $100,000. To make a donation, a check can be sent to 2000 Turkeys, P.O. Box 2000, Washington, PA 15301.
A report released last week by the Pennsylvania Department of Health clearly laid out the reality of the coronavirus – if you are vaccinated, your chances of being hospitalized or dying decrease significantly. The Health Department found that 74% of those who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 in the month before had not been vaccinated. In addition, from January to October, 93% of those who died as a result of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania had either not been vaccinated or had received just one dose. Acting Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson offered a lucid explanation on why “breakthrough” cases of COVID-19 will increase as more Pennsylvanians are vaccinated: “It’s like what we saw with seat belt use years ago. As the number of people wearing seat belts increased, the number of car accidents involving people wearing seat belts went up. However, the overall fatality rate from car accidents dropped. … So, too, your chances of dying from COVID-19 drop substantially if you are fully vaccinated.”