Hits and Misses
HIT: The downfall of comedian Bill Cosby is hardly something to celebrate, but the punishment that was meted out to him Tuesday by a Philadelphia-area judge for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman 14 years ago was long overdue. The 81-year-old Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for his crime, and will also pay a $25,000 fine and be classified as a sexually violent predator until he draws his last breath. Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill told Cosby, “This was a serious crime. Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The day has come, the time has come.” Despite Cosby’s carefully cultivated image over the decades of being a kindly – and occasionally moralizing – father figure, he was apparently carrying on a decades-long spree of drugging and raping women, many of whom viewed him as a mentor. At least 60 women have claimed Cosby assaulted them, but many will not be able to press charges since the statute of limitations has run out. For them, the three to 10 years Cosby will be sitting behind bars will never be enough.
HIT: At another moment of cultural and political turmoil, Americans were briefly united by the triumph of a man planting his feet on the surface of the moon. The mission of Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong taking a “giant leap for mankind” is sure to be commemorated widely when the 50th anniversary of the first moonwalk happens next July. Residents of the Pittsburgh region will be able to get a jump on the remembrances thanks to the Senator John Heinz History Center landing the exhibit, “Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission.” Opening to the public today, it includes more than 100 artifacts from the voyage, including the command module Columbia, the living quarters for Armstrong and fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins for most of the mission. The history center is just one of four museums in the country and the only one east of the Mississippi River that is getting the exhibit. This is a coup for the region, and an opportunity that should not be missed.
MISS: The state House this week approved a bill that would require people found guilty of domestic abuse or under certain protective orders to surrender their guns to police, a licensed gun dealer or a lawyer within 24 hours. The Senate, which OK’d a similar bill unanimously earlier this year, will now take up the House measure, which has Gov. Tom Wolf’s support. But not everyone was on board with the House bill. State Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth, sees it as some kind of nefarious step toward disarming the populace, calling it “a gun-control bill disguised as protecting domestic abuse victims.” Saccone is simply as wrong as he could be on this issue. As bill sponsor Rep. Marguerite Quinn put it, “The fact is that this bill does not apply to any reasonable gun owner. The fact is, if you don’t want to be told by the bench that you need to relinquish your guns, don’t commit a crime of domestic violence.”
HIT: Monessen has a massive problem with blighted, abandoned buildings. There are hundreds of them in the city, and the local government doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of money necessary to address them all. But they haven’t given up. Monessen officials are asking the Pennsylvania National Guard for help in dealing with the decrepit structures. Councilman David Feehan said at a meeting Wednesday that the National Guard, under the auspices of a federal anti-drug program, sent an engineering crew to tear down dilapidated houses in Beaver Falls this week, and he’s hoping they might lend a hand in Monessen. The National Guard certainly can’t solve all of Monessen’s blight-related problems, but we credit local officials for seeking any help they can get.