Apr 19, 2002 4 min read

Scowl: Perhaps Philadelphia Mayor John Street was merely caught up in the moment when speaking last week before a gathering of NAACP members. The mayor said, “The brothers and sisters are running the city. Oh, yes. The brothers and sisters are running this city. Running it! Don’t you let nobody fool you. We are in charge of the City of Brotherly Love. We are in charge!” Street rightly can be proud of Philadelphia’s strides in diversifying its workforce, but his remarks belittle the very black officials he lauds by creating the impression that skin color, not depth of resume or quality of character, is the driving force behind the important positions they hold. Imagine if a white mayor had made similar remarks. Rather than cheers from the NAACP, he’d be run out of town. —

Scowl: Brace yourself for more garbage. Pennsylvania, the great dumping ground for New York’s refuse, might be faced with accepting more tonnage because New York’s Legislature is scrimping on money to fund community recycling programs. New York ended its fiscal year March 31 without having released a budgeted $125 million from its Environmental Protection Fund. Looks as though the money is up for grabs by lawmakers, which would inflict a devastating blow to New York’s recycling efforts. This is bad news for us. Let’s face it, the more New Yorkers recycle the better off we are as less of their waste is being trucked across our highways and dumped into our landfills.

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Wow: How about those Bucs! The Pirates return tonight to PNC Park in first place after an incredible road trip, having swept Milwaukee and setting new benchmarks. This was the seventh straight win on the road since 1987, and the first time since 1992 that they won their first three road series. The Pirates the last couple of years have had a hard time winning two games in a row so they are off to an incredible start. Do we dare to dream? Possibly. The next nine games played during a long home stretch ought to show if the Bucs can turn the home field into an advantage.

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Scowl: Pennsylvania attempted to slip through unnoticed an auction of mineral rights to deep oil and gas formations under half a million acres of state forests, including some in Fayette County. The online auction was advertised in a couple of newspapers but not in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, which is the bible for announcing state auctions. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources claims the slant drilling will be done from outside a 660-foot buffer around the state parks and that it will barely bother the environment or have an impact on the parks. That might be. So why try to hide it?

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Wow: It’s a brand new sky full of celestial bounty. Stargazers during the next four weeks will have the added pleasure of seeing Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn and Venus clustered in the western sky. The best part is that a telescope isn’t even needed. All it takes is the naked eye on a clear night to witness an occurrence that won’t come around again until 2040.

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Wow: Greene County commissioners did the right thing this week in refusing to forge ahead with building a Web site that none of them understands. The commissioners decided to step back and figure out if another $6,000 to a company to continue with changes to the county’s site is worth it and whether every change on out will add to the bill. There is little debate that the county needs a Web site but the commissioners must look at the best way to provide the most services at the minimum cost. And while they are reviewing the site, they might want to reconsider an earlier decision to not post property assessment records. As the county’s Web site notes these records provide a wealth of information, are public records and can be viewed by anyone who takes the time and trouble to drop by the courthouse. This physical restriction needs removed.

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Scowl: Here’s another frivolous lawsuit to add to the ludicrous file. A 37-year-old New York woman is suing a snack food company because its corn and rice puffs contained 147 calories and 8.5 grams of fat, while the labels claimed just 120 calories and 2.5 grams of fat. She wants $50 million in compensation for the “emotional distress…weight gain… mental anguish, outrage and indignation.” Indignation, indeed.

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Wow: The Perryopolis Area Heritage Society will attempt something new this year by sponsoring a summer concert series in Sampey Park. The admission price of a dollar to the once-a-month Sunday evening concerts will pay for the band and purchase a night of community fellowship. It’s a great idea that hopefully will be well attended.