2-day strike at DCMH hurt both sides
A look at the week that was, the issues and people who made headlines, and a few darts and laurels for those who deserve them.
DART: To the standoff that resulted in a two-day strike by unionized nurses and techs at Delaware County Memorial Hospital. To make matters worse, Prospect, the private company that bought the Crozer Keystone Health System, brought in replacement workers and had to guarantee them five days work. So instead of being off the job two days, union members actually were manning the picket lines for five.
LAUREL: To word that another round of bargaining is set in an effort to reach a new deal. The bad news is that they aren’t going to sit down at the table again until March 14. Why the wait? We know the issue. The union claims the hospital is understaffed; the hospital disagrees, saying that is a ploy by the union seeking a pay raise.
LAUREL: To Barney Boyce. The Upper Darby man and native of Donegal, Ireland, has been named the grand marshal of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Philadelphia. We’re green with envy.
DART: To those who believe St. Paddy’s Day is little more than an excuse for a bar crawl or to get fallingdown drunk. A reminder that in Ireland the celebration is more of a religious holiday than the green beerfueled party it has morphed into here in the States.
DART: To Hugh TaussigLutz. The Media man has admitted in court that he preyed on underage girls, admitting raping one and having inappropriate interactions with at least 12 others. Police believe he would lure kids from playgrounds and parks back to his apartment, where he would offer them booze and drugs and then abuse them. Police believe there are more victims out there who have yet to come forward.
LAUREL: To Media Officer Nicole Young. She led the investigation into this ugly incident. It took more than two years to bring TaussigLutz to justice. She had to overcome reluctant witnesses and other obstacles but stayed with the job.
LAUREL: To the Haverford High Hi-Q team. They ended a 20-year drought by capturing the title in this year’s academic quiz competition. Also a thumb’s up to the runners-up from Radnor and Garnet Valley.
LAUREL: To the growing push of medical marijuana into Pennsylvania – and Delaware County. So far a marijuana-growing facility has been proposed for Aston, while a pot dispensary, which would sell the tinctures, creams and ointments created from the pot grown here, is being considered in Sharon Hill. It’s good for the critically ill patients who can use medical marijuana to ease persistent pain, and it’s good for the bottom line of local towns.
DART: For some reason, Gov. Tom Wolf and some others don’t seem nearly as enthused at the prospect of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. Colorado is raking in millions in taxes generated by the sale of pot. But Pennsylvania, which is staring at a $3 billion deficit, is dragging its feet. Go figure.
LAUREL: To Auditor General Eugene DePasquale and state Sen. Daylin Leach, D-17. Both have been vocal in their belief Pennsylvania should legalize recreational use of pot, both for the revenue and to get these minor arrests and prosecutions out of our clogged courts.
LAUREL: To the senior participants at Mercy LIFE in Sharon Hill. They are reaching out to immigrants and refugees in the region by making welcoming cards for them. It’s a sentiment that seems in short supply in immigration debate. We could use more savvy seniors like these.
LAUREL: To the Strath Haven alums who are rallying to keep the memory of a slain classmate alive. Robert Payne was a well-loved member of their ranks. Now they are holding a fundraiser for scholarships money in his name. Well done.
DART: To the loss of Robert Osborne. Fans of Turner Classic Movies came to see Osborne as a friend and fellow movie buff. Osborne died this week at 84. His calm, gentlemanly approach, and his encyclopedia knowledge of film, will be deeply missed.
LAUREL: To the arrival of the Philadelphia Flower Show. Nothing says spring quite like this annual harbinger, which this year will carry a Dutch theme with its ‘The Other Side of Holland’ theme.
DART: Of course, Mother Nature continues to seem to have it in for this annual sure sign of spring. Yes, that was some snow that arrived Friday morning, just in time for the start of the Flower Show. Weekend temperatures will seem more like February than March. A peek inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center might be just the thing we need to finally shake the winter blues. Good luck to all the local entries, including Williamson College for the Trades.
LAUREL: To Christine Faris. She is retiring after leading the Haverford Library for a quarter century. She received the best compliment imaginable when one of her many supporters said she made the library “feel like a home.” Will she be missed? You can make book on it.
DART: To the increasingly scary financial picture surround Cheyney University. The nation’s oldest Historically Black College & University seems to be perpetually on life support. A recent infusion of state funding has not been able to boost enrollment. It appears some kind of merger could be in the school’s future.
LAUREL: The distressing news surrounding Cheyney arrived as the Thornbury campus was celebrating its 180th anniversary this week. That is nearly two centuries dedicated primarily to the education of African-American students. A well-deserved salute.
LAUREL: Speaking of local icons, that certainly fills the bill of the Tom Jones Restaurant in Brookhaven. Many a meal has been enjoyed there at all hours of the day by its loyal clientele, many of whom started hanging out there as teens and continue to go back with kids of their own. It appears as if the eatery will be changing hands, but luckily the prospective new owners, who run Antonia’s in Swarthmore, don’t plan to make wholesale changes.
LAUREL: To the Villanova Wildcats. They entered this weekend Big East Tournament as the favorite. They likely will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney as they prepare to defend their crown.
LAUREL: The Flyers look like they have been resuscitated and are making a late push to get into the NHL playoffs. Given the state of the Sixers, we’ll take anything the Flyers can give us.