Hits & Misses
MISS: Woody Allen once joked, “I am not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” Along with being an event that most of us try to put off, death can also be an expensive proposition, with funeral and burial costs taking a considerable bite out of many a budget. That bite is going to get just a little larger in Pennsylvania come Aug. 21, when the cost of death certificates increases from $6 to $20. While a single, $14 increase is not something that would break most people, some families need multiple copies of death certificates for such somber but necessary tasks as closing bank and credit card accounts. Carmine Fiorillo, of Hickory Crematory and Cremation Services of NEPA, based in Scranton, told the Associated Press, “Depending on your assets, it could be quite costly, especially for someone who dies unexpectedly, if they haven’t put money aside or preplanned.” Speculation has it that the increase is happening because of the commonwealth’s new electronic filing system. Perhaps a price increase was inevitable, but tripling the cost? As one Scranton-area funeral director told AP, “I find that a little egregious.”
MISS: Sunday should have been a triumphant day for NASCAR with the crowning of first-time winner Chase Elliot, the popular son of legendary driver Bill Elliot, following an exciting race at Watkins Glen, N.Y. Instead, the struggling sport sustained another flat tire when embattle NASCAR CEO Brian France was arrested that night elsewhere in New York for drunken driving and illegal possession of oxycodone. The optics of the leader of America’s top racing series drinking and driving are horrifying. The sport seems to have run out of gas lately while experiencing a sharp downturn in attendance, television ratings and sponsorship money in the 15 years under France’s leadership – or lack thereof – since the he took over in 2003. His erratic behavior in recent years has been cause for concern. Now it’s clear it should lead to his ouster in order for NASCAR to return to its glory days that weren’t so long ago.
HIT: When a Norfolk Southern train derailed Sunday, sending seven cars plunging onto the tracks of the Port Authority’s T system on Pittsburgh’s South Side, it looked like a bomb had been dropped there. One had to wonder just how long it would take to clear the wreckage and restore the train, road and T traffic snarled by the accident. The answer, for the most part, was just a few days. Amazingly, Norfolk Southern started reopening its tracks at the site early Wednesday morning after the wreckage and debris were removed, and the tracks repaired. By Friday, vehicular traffic was moving freely again in the area of Station Square as local streets and the Smithfield Bridge were reopened. The last bit of business is repairing the tracks for the trolleys that operate in that area, and that might take a bit longer. But all in all, the recovery from this transportation mess has been lightning fast.
HIT: One month after closing because it had fallen into a serious state of disrepair, the newly refurbished Seventh Ward Playground reopened Thursday in Washington. A gaggle of civic-minded – and youth-minded – volunteers devoted a lot of time and dollars to repairing and cleaning up the park, which had been wracked by vandalism. They put in new mulch, benches, picnic tables, lighting and play equipment and painted. Police Chief Robert Wilson had asked the city to close the playground July 12 under a nuisance ordinance, but was so impressed by the transformation that he requested a reopening. Washington City Council voted unanimously to do so. A salute to everyone involved in returning the playground -a “newer,” safer one – to the kids, who need recreational outlets such as this one.