Hits and Misses
Courtesy of Marcia Webber
Zane Webber plays in front of the playhouse he received from Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Tom Gralish/Associated Press
Larry Krasner
Observer-Reporter
Washington guitarist Dan Baker is the vice president of the Washington Jazz Society.
In the weeks before Christmas, both the Observer-Reporter and the Herald-Standard are looking at nonprofit organizations within Washington, Greene and Fayette counties in a series called Helping the Helpers. The articles highlight the important work these organizations carry out and how people can support them, whether through donations of money and time, or through goods and services. For instance, the Washington Jazz Society takes donations of gently used instruments that are used in music lessons for young people in the area. And Elana’s Blessings offers beauty sessions for women battling cancer. It’s a season of giving, and these groups deserve wholehearted support.
In the Pennsylvania governor’s race that was decided last month, Josh Shapiro won by 781,000 votes. To put that in perspective, John F. Kennedy won the popular vote in the 1960 presidential race by only 118,000 votes nationally. Shapiro took 56% of the vote to 41% from his Republican opponent Doug Mastriano. It was a landslide, and there’s no other way to slice it. However, supporters of Mastriano have been submitting petitions across Pennsylvania, including in Washington County, making allegations of fraud or demanding recounts. They say they want an “accurate” vote count, but there’s no indication that there were any widespread problems or irregularities in the election, and they certainly would not be able to unearth enough votes to change the outcome. Mastriano has also conceded. Republicans who want to retake the governor’s mansion in 2026 or beyond would be better off thinking about appealing to a wider range of the commonwealth’s voters, rather than obsessing over the election that’s been completed.
A wish came true for a 4-year-old Rice’s Landing boy who is in treatment for a cancer that attacks his blood and bone marrow. In early November, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia gave Zane Webber his own home, sort of. The boy wanted a playhouse for his backyard, so the foundation commissioned one that was a replica of his actual house. Zane, said his mother Marcia Webber, has moved a pillow, stuffed chair and blanket into the loft of his new “home.” Climbing to and from the loft is helping his physical recovery, but beyond that, the joy it has brought him has been a bright light in the young boy’s days. Zane’s wish was one of many granted by the organization. And like so many nonprofits, the local chapter is in need of volunteers to help continue its mission serving 57 counties in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For more information about the foundation, visit wish.org/greaterpawv/.
Larry Krasner, the Democratic district attorney for Philadelphia, was impeached by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives last month. Krasner was not accused of malfeasance but for being “derelict in his duties” as the city’s rate of violent crime has escalated at the same time Krasner has instituted policies that include not prosecuting some low-level drug cases and not seeking the death penalty in murder cases. House Republicans also allege Krasner has mismanaged his office. Last year, however, voters in Philadelphia overwhelmingly reelected Krasner. Krasner’s policies are, of course, subject to debate and criticism, but the House has set an alarming precedent in usurping the power of local voters to decide his fate. There was one Republican in the House who voted against impeaching Krasner: Mike Puskaric, the representative from Union Township who was defeated in the primary election in the spring by fellow Republican Andrew Kuzma. Why did Puskaric buck his party? He told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he believed his fellow Republicans were “attempting to make Krasner their villain for basically campaign or political purposes. He noted that Krasner had not been charged or convicted with any crime and that the House is “setting some dangerous, dangerous precedents here.” Puskaric deserves credit for bucking his own party on this issue. If only more of his fellow representatives had similar courage.