Hits and Misses
President Biden hopes to get a large-scale infrastructure plan through Congress, and if you need evidence why such a plan is necessary, look to the Hernando de Soto Bridge. The span goes over the Mississippi River, connecting Memphis, Tenn., and West Memphis, Ark., and during a routine inspection last week, it was discovered that a critical beam was cracked to the point where the bridge needed to be closed – not in a day or two, or a week or two, but immediately. There’s no indication how long the bridge will be out of commission. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, explained, “It’s fortunate that routine inspection averted a potential disaster, but the state of our crumbling infrastructure is deeply troubling.” It’s a major stroke of luck that the structural deficiency was detected, but it makes you wonder how many bridges like the Hernando de Soto Bridge are out there.
Pharmaceutical companies have wreaked havoc on hundreds of communities across the country over the last couple of decades through the indiscriminate distribution of OxyContin and other addictive opioid pain medications. It turns out that some of the executives in those companies had contempt for the very people in those communities that were harmed. The city of Huntington, W.Va., and surrounding Cabell County have sued the United States’ three largest drug distributors, and during the trial last week, it emerged that executives with Amerisource Bergen, one of the largest companies in the country, were sending around emails making fun of addicted people in Appalachia. They were laughed at as “pillbillies,” and the subject of a parody of the theme song from the old TV series “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Kentucky was dismissed as “OxyContinville.” The company these executives work for may yet have to pay a hefty settlement, but their antics put out of reach any kind of victory in the court of public opinion.
Baseball legend Josh Gibson died in 1947, and his grave in Pittsburgh’s Allegheny Cemetery was unmarked for almost 30 years after, reflecting the obscurity in which players for Negro League teams had largely been relegated. Gibson’s achievements, and those of other Negro League teams, have garnered much more recognition in recent years. Negro League statistics are going to be added to Major League Baseball’s official records, and Gibson’s image has been placed on a stamp. He’s also been honored with statues and has even been the focal point of an opera. Now, Gibson will be honored with a marker in Monessen, where the slugger is said to have hit a 575-foot home run at Page Park. It’s the culmination of a 10-year effort by Monessen resident Frank Capresti, who explained, “It’s a historical moment and I always felt it should be recognized.”
On Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf joined the ranks of Pennsylvania adults who had received both shots of a COVID-19 vaccine. The number of adults who had received both shots is close to 50%, and could be a bit more than that when you factor in the Pennsylvanians who traveled out of state in the early weeks of vaccine distribution to get their shots. An additional 17% have gotten at least one shot, so the commonwelth is inching closer to Wolf’s benchmark of 70%, which will end the mask mandate. There was additional good news early in the week, too. For the first time since last October, Pennsylvania recorded less than 1,000 new cases per day. We can only hope this downward trend continues and we are truly at the beginning of the end of the pandemic.