Hits and Misses
Making the power we generate and the vehicles we drive more environmentally friendly isn’t just good for the air we breathe and the climate – it’s also good for jobs and the economy. There was no better illustration of this than the announcement Tuesday that General Motors Co. plans on investing $2 billion in a factory in Tennessee so electric vehicles can be manufactured there. Set to go into production in late 2022, it will be GM’s third electric vehicle factory, with the two others located in Michigan. An added bonus is the battery cells that will be in the vehicles are set to be produced in Lordstown, Ohio, near the massive plant GM shuttered in 2019. Daniel Flores, a GM spokesman, said on Tuesday, “Today’s announcement is another step toward an all-electric future.” That’s something we all should applaud.
Farley Toothman announced Monday that he is resigning as president judge of the Greene County Court of Common Pleas, and will also not seek retention next year. He characterized it as the right decision for the court and “right for my own wellness.” It was also, perhaps, inevitable. Toothman has been under a cloud since the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline lodged 21 counts of misconduct against him in the spring, including an allegation that he intervened in a retail theft case involving a law clerk. Depending on the court’s verdict, Toothman could be facing a fine, censure, suspension or outright removal from office. Whether Toothman departs sooner or later, Greene County voters can at least know that they will soon be able to elect a judge untainted by the scent of impropriety that now surrounds Toothman.
Amid the coronavirus and presidential election, it’s been easy to forget that this is also the time of year when drivers are most likely to collide with deer. According to the annual survey released by State Farm, Pennsylvania ranks No. 3 on the list of states where vehicle-deer collisions are most likely to occur, with drivers facing a 1-in-51 chance of striking a deer when they are out on the roads. As always, the best advice for drivers at this time of year is to slow down, particularly at dawn or dusk, pay attention to deer crossing signs, never assume that deer lingering on the side of the road will stay there, and if they do bound into the road, avoid swerving. If there’s a silver lining to the coronavirus, it’s that many people are working from home, fewer people are out on the roads, which means there will perhaps be fewer vehicle-deer collisions this year.
In the spring, there was no small amount of concern on the part of elections officials that there would not be enough volunteers to work at polling places due to concerns about COVID-19. But, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, there has been a huge influx of young people and fresh volunteers who have stepped forward to check in voters and set up machines on Election Day. In fact, some counties have reserve lists of volunteers. According to Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, “Every county is in better shape than, I think, maybe ever in the history of elections because of this huge, huge influx of volunteers in the community.” Let’s hope all these volunteers want to lend a hand for future elections, particularly those that don’t attract as much interest or draw a similar turnout.