Jan 26, 2024 3 min read

HIT: If you venture to Pittsburgh’s North Shore and drive by the Carnegie Science Center on almost any weekday during the school year, you’re likely to see at least a couple of school buses parked outside. The facility, which is part of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, is a magnet for field trips, and has undoubtedly helped spark an interest in science in many young people throughout the region. It’s a fun place for adults, too, it must be said. It was announced this week that while the mission of the Carnegie Science Center will remain, it will be taking on a new name. Thanks to a $65 million gift from Daniel Kamin, a Pittsburgh-based real estate entrepreneur, and his wife, Carole, it will be called the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Science Center. It’s the largest gift in the history of the Carnegie Museums – that is, if you don’t count the money Andrew Carnegie put forward to launch what was then called the Carnegie Institute on Forbes Avenue in 1895. It was noted at the announcement that Daniel Kamin was energized by childhood visits to the Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Science, a forerunner of the Carnegie Science Center. Jason Brown, the center’s director, explained, “It’s the embodiment of our mission and shows how someone can come full circle from being the inspired young person to helping provide the same opportunities for the next generation.”

HIT: Officials across the country who have the extremely tough job of running local elections have been jumping ship one after another in recent years. The problem has been particularly acute in Greene County, which has burned through five elections directors since late 2020. Earlier this month, Joe Lemley became the county’s latest elections director, and he comes with an interesting background in teaching and school administration. Lemley also noted that his background in elections goes back to his days growing up in Mt. Morris, where he would help out at a local polling location when elections would roll around. Given the election looming just over the horizon, we hope Lemley succeeds in the job and decides to stay awhile.

MISS: Sports Illustrated was the first magazine many young men subscribed to, and such storied figures as Muhammad Ali, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Evel Knievel have graced its cover since its founding in 1954. Now, the fate of the magazine seems painfully uncertain. It switched from being a weekly to a monthly publication a handful of years ago, and last week a large number of its staff received layoff notices. According to The New York Times, some staffers were immediately axed, while others were given 90 days notice. The owners of Sports Illustrated insist both its website and print publication will carry on, but, as the Times put it, “it will be severely diminished.”