Hits and Misses
For the last several years, state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, has championed legislation that would include motorcycles under Pennsylvania’s lemon law. Right now, the 366,000 motorcycles registered in Pennsylvania are not covered, with lemon law coverage being extended only to personal trucks or cars that were registered for the first time in Pennsylvania. Last month, the state House unanimously approved Snyder’s legislation that extends lemon law protections to motorcycles. Similar legislation was approved in the Senate. A new motorcycle can cost about $5,000, and including them in the lemon law makes sense. Snyder explained, “Motorcycles are significant investments, and if you purchase or lease a new motorcycle and defects are affecting its safety, value or use, the manufacturer should fix it.”
Washington’s Whiskey Rebellion Festival was called off last year due to COVID-19, and it’s back on this year, though in a modified format. It will be kicking off tonight with a performance by the Washington Symphony Orchestra and continuing Saturday on South Main Street in downtown Washington from noon to 10 p.m. Events will also be happening at the LeMoyne House. The festival celebrates the area’s heritage with street theater, Americana and bluegrass music, frontier art and more. Though it won’t be quite the same as previous Whiskey Rebellion Festivals, it’s undeniably good news that the festival is back and people will be able to enjoy it without restrictions.
Consumer fireworks are widely available across the country, and that inevitably leads to a spate of accidents around the Fourth of July. This year was no exception. A house in Illinois caught on fire likely due to fireworks, and fireworks exploded in the faces of men in Illinois and New York. A truck blew up that contained fireworks at a street party in Toledo, Ohio. A man in Missouri lost his hand and another in Arkansas lost part of his hand. In suburban Detroit, Matiss Kivlenicks, a 24-year-old goalie with the Columbus (Ohio) Blue Jackets, was killed when a fireworks mortar hit him in the chest. Initially, investigators believed he had slipped and hit his head while fleeing a hot tub. These incidents illustrate yet again why it’s best to let professionals handle fireworks.
Bill Cosby was released from prison last week, a little less than three years into a 3-to- 10-year sentence for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home in suburban Philadelphia in 2004. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court argued that Cosby’s rights to due process were violated since testimony he gave in a civil suit was used against him at his trial, despite a promise that it would not be used in criminal proceedings. If that was indeed the case, the commonwealth’s highest court made the right decision. But even if Cosby is no longer behind bars, he is far from exonerated or vindicated. Given the long list of women who have accused the comedian of sexual assault over the decades, there can be little doubt that he has engaged in unlawful and disgraceful behavior. The Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson put it well: “Cosby no longer lives in prison. He continues to live in shame.”