Hits & Misses
HIT: People take clean and reliable drinking water for granted. So it’ll be a boon for customers living in the Greensboro area currently hooked into the Dunkard Valley Joint Municipal Authority system who will have a fully upgraded water line system in their neighborhoods when they’re connected to Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority’s modern system later this year. The $12.849 million project, which will get underway next week, almost didn’t happen. A state grant and loan came in less than expected, forcing the project’s planners to get creative to find savings, while still offering the quality service the new customers should expect. More importantly, though, the cost will remain relatively affordable, with a monthly surcharge of $20 per bill. Some customers balked at that price, but it’ll be worth every penny.
MISS: The United States presidency is said to be the most demanding job on the planet, but the current occupant of the White House seems to have plenty of time on his hands. So much so, in fact, that he has been testing out derisive nicknames he can use against 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. According to the Associated Press, “Inside the West Wing and in conversations with outside allies, Trump has been workshopping other attempts to imprint his new adversaries with lasting labels, according to two people on whom the president has tested out the nicknames.” Perhaps a better use of the president’s time, rather than workshopping juvenile taunts, would be to actually work to elevate the dialogue and absorb the lessons of Melania Trump’s anti-bullying campaign.
MISS: Some Americans have made a sport of bashing immigrants to this country, contending, among other things, that new arrivals don’t want to assimilate. But, chances are, the newcomers know more about the United States, its history and ideals than many native-born Americans. According to a survey conduct by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation between November and January, only 40 percent of Americans would get a passing grade on the U.S. citizenship test, and only 27 percent of those under age 45. So, if you don’t know what three countries the United States fought in World War II, or when the Constitution was written, you might want to ask an immigrant.
MISS: All too often, people are inclined to jump to conclusions when allegations of some type of misdeed are first reported in the media, only to find out later that the initial report wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Such was the case in Chicago, where a few weeks back, actor Jussie Smollett, who appears in the TV drama “Empire,” claimed that he was attacked and beaten by white men who were shouting something about “MAGA country,” apparently referencing President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. But Smollett’s story starting showing some major cracks, and on Wednesday he was charged with disorderly conduct and filing a false police report for allegedly making up the whole thing. In most cases, we’d be better off letting things play out before rushing to judgment in matters like this.