Hits & Misses
HIT: Many Americans are flummoxed when it comes to this country’s history and the workings of its government, and they’re not much better when it comes to understanding other nations and how their governments function. But Peters Township resident Shaun Hay received a firsthand education on how laws are made by our northern neighbors thanks to a summer internship with the Canadian Parliament. The Ohio State University sophomore was able to get an up-close view of the sometimes raucous proceedings in the House of Commons and work with a member of Parliament. “You learn about the Canadian system in class, but when you’re there, you see how it actually works,” Hay told us. “And it interested me in my own government and if it works the way it is supposed to on paper.” It was Hay’s first trip abroad, and the knowledge he and other students like him acquire on trips like this can only enrich our own democracy.
MISS: When the Pittsburgh Steelers had a mini-camp in mid-June, star wide receiver Antonio Brown had a bone to pick with the assembled media. Brown chastised the reporters, at length, for paying too much attention to him. Said Brown, “Am I really free? I’m just stating the reality. You guys make up pressure and put pressure on guys like myself, and it’s not fair.” It sure sounded like Brown was a guy who wanted to fly under the radar and not have the spotlight shining on him so brightly. So, do you know how he decided to show up for training camp last week at St. Vincent College? By making a grand entrance … in a helicopter. You can’t make this stuff up.
HIT: Pennsylvania is one of three states in the nation that has the most municipalities (the other two being Illinois and Texas), and we have long championed the idea of municipal mergers to save taxpayer dollars. We should take a note from New Jersey, where municipal mergers are being explored by lawmakers and economic experts. A proposal being talked about would force communities of 5,000 people or fewer to combine with their neighbors. This would lead to the consolidation of 200 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities. If the same population criterion would be applied in Pennsylvania, a full 1,800 communities would be consolidated. Sure, the New Jersey proposal is meeting with resistance in some quarters, and it’s still a ways from fruition, but at least Garden State officials are talking about it – something we are conspicuously not doing in Pennsylvania.