Hits and Misses
HIT: About 13% of Americans do not have health insurance, which means even getting a simple checkup can be prohibitively expensive for someone who does not have coverage. So give Walmart props for testing two health centers at stores in Georgia that offer low-cost services to people without insurance. At the health centers, an uninsured adult can get a checkup for $30, an eye exam for $45 and a dental exam for $25. Lab work and X-rays are also available, as is behavioral health counseling – a therapy session costs $60. Walmart is clearly not doing this as an act of altruism – Walmart CEO Doug McMillon recently told investors that health care “looks like a big opportunity” – but who should complain if it is making health care more accessible and affordable.
HIT: Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., was one of five Democratic presidential candidates calling it quits in recent days, as the contest narrows down to a fight between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. More than one pundit remarked on the grace and eloquence Buttigieg brought to the campaign, and there’s no doubt that his candidacy was path-breaking – it was the first time an openly gay candidate advanced so far in a presidential race. Being gay and open about it would have been scandalous, and likely would have doomed his national political prospects, as recently as the 1980s or 1990s. Biden remarked that we are certain to see a lot more of the 38-year-old Buttigieg over the years, and that’s a forecast you can probably take to the bank.
HIT: If you travel on Pennsylvania roads, take note: Starting Monday, work zone cameras will be in place at select locations to catch drivers who are going over the speed limit. Drivers going 11 miles over the speed limit will receive a written warning for the first offense, and fines for every offense that follows. Critics say it’s just another tool to raise revenue. Proponents argue, though, that it protects workers in those zones. That’s a laudable goal. And, really, it’s not that hard to slow down for just a mile or two.
MISS: Journalists don’t get much love in today’s world, particularly from the president and his acolytes, but a noteworthy journalist from the past is getting some recognition in this region. To mark National Women’s History Month and the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, a lifelike figure of Armstrong County native, journalist and women’s rights advocate Nellie Bly is being put in place at Pittsburgh International Airport. It’s a joint endeavor by the Allegheny County Airport Authority and the Senator John Heinz History Center, and it joins figures of George Washington and Franco Harris that are at the airport. Bly said and wrote many memorable things, but we like this quote: “Energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything.”