Mar 15, 2024 3 min read

Cheers: We’re frequently told that one event or another is a once-in-a-lifetime experience when, in actuality, it is something that might well happen again in somebody’s lifetime. But the solar eclipse that is set to happen on Monday, April 8, lives up to the once-in-a-lifetime hype. As a story in the Herald-Standard detailed on Tuesday, the eclipse will cover a portion of North America stretching from Mexico to Canada, and the zone where the eclipse will be total includes cities within a reasonable drive from this region, such as Erie, Buffalo, N.Y., Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio. And even though the eclipse will not be total in this area, there promises to be some darkening of the afternoon sky. The eclipse also promises to be a tourist extravaganza for the areas within the zone of totality. Since another eclipse like this one is not due to happen around here until 2099, it will be worth clamping on the eclipse glasses on April 8 and looking toward the heavens.

Jeers: Speaking of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, this week marks the fourth anniversary of something everyone should fervently hope is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. On March 13, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency and the lockdowns that disrupted all of our lives began. We are still feeling its effects in so many ways. Many of us were lucky enough to escape catching COVID-19 until after vaccines were developed, making hospitalization and death far less likely. But there were all too many Americans who weren’t as lucky – more than 1 million deaths in the United States were attributed to COVID-19, and there are still millions of people suffering from the fatigue and brain fog that have become hallmarks of long COVID. The pandemic changed the ways many of us work, shop and go about our daily lives. And though things have largely returned to something resembling normalcy, COVID-19 is still out there – it caused about 2% of all deaths in America from Feb. 25 to March 2, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s why staying up to date with vaccines remains critically important.

Jeers: Parents are being warned of the dangers of delta-8, a psychoactive derivative of hemp that has become popular with teens and is widely available at gas stations, convenience stores, and tobacco shops as a result of a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that allows it to be sold nationwide without the same restrictions placed on traditional marijuana. The National Institutes of Health found that more than 11% of high school seniors who took part in a national survey said they had used delta-8 THC, which is chemically very similar to delta-9 THC, the molecule in marijuana responsible for causing the “high” associated with taking cannabis. Multiple studies have shown that teen use of cannabis is associated with impaired learning, memory, and attention, and changes in brain development. Dr. Joseph Aracri, Allegheny Health Network’s chair of pediatrics, told the Herald-Standard this week that there is a misperception that cannabis is safe and healthy. “But more and more is coming to light; there’s definitely things like cognitive delay, lower IQs, there’s something called amotivational syndrome, where kids don’t feel like doing anything.” He encourages parents to talk with their children about drug use at an early age. “As with any kind of drug, you have to have that open conversation with that kid, and talk with them before they reach that adolescent age,” said Aracri. “Talk with them when they’re pre-teens about the dangers.”