It was ‘The Kick’ heard all around Philly

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.

LAUREL: To Jake Elliott. Don’t know who he is? You’re probably not an Iggles fan. It was Elliott’s team record 61-yard field goal at the buzzer that lifted the Birds to a thrilling win over the Giants. And of course touched off wild celebrations all across the Delaware Valley. Always amazing how much better Monday is after an Eagles win, especially one as thrilling as this one was. Everything’s Jake!

DART: Of course, there has been a lot of other news surrounding the NFL in recent weeks. Players are exercising their constitutional right to free speech by taking part in various protests before and during the National Anthem that is played before each game. Eventually, they even get around to playing a game, and setting up the kind of thrill that Elliott delivered last Sunday.

DART: To President Donald Trump. He decided to pour gas on what was already a volatile situation, urging some NFL owners to fire protesting players. He even tossed in a casual reference to an SOB, while using the full expletive, to show his disdain for the players. That sparked a league-wide show of unity by both players and coaches alike last Sunday.

LAUREL: To those Republican senators who took a stand and once again defied their own party and its obsession with overturning the Affordable Care Act. Sen. John McCain, R-Az., Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, all indicated they would vote against the latest version of repeal and replace. Good for them. The Graham-Cassidy legislation was bad legislation that would have caused millions to lose their health care. Pennsylvania would have been particularly hard hit.

DART: Maybe it’s the name that drives Republicans nuts. Do you think if the health care act was not known as something other than Obamacare there would be nearly this blind zealotry for having it dismantled?

LAUREL: To the residents of Middletown. They are not about to let their township officials off the hook when it comes to the controversial Mariner East 2 pipeline issue. They packed another meeting this week – on the one-year anniversary of the township move to grant Sunoco the needed easements for the pipeline – to demand an outside risk assessment of the project, as well as a town hall meeting where residents could air their concerns.

LAUREL: To all those who gathered Monday night once again in Upper Chichester for the annual vigil held by Parents of Murdered Children. It’s not an easy thing to do. But it’s an exercise in support and compassion as they deal with the pain they continue to endure with the loss of a loved one.

DART: It is the one group that no one wants to join. And the problem is not going away. In too many towns, random gun violence continues to leave a deadly legacy across Delaware County.

DART: To the three grown men who police say went on a vandalism spree with BB-guns in three Delaware County towns. Car windows were shot out in Glenolden, Ridley Township and Darby Township. All three suspects were from Philadelphia.

LAUREL: To Ridley Police Capt. Scott Willoughby. He did not mince words when it comes to such vandalism. This isn’t kid stuff. These were grown men. They should know better. Willoughby also had a warning for parents in his town. “Their kids are inviting kids from out of town to come here and many times, these out-of-town kids only want to make trouble,” Willoughby said. You’ve been warned.

DART: To Barry Baker. He’s the Chester County man who rocketed to fame when a video of him sucker-punching a man with cerebral palsy exploded on the Internet. After initially refusing to admit to the scenario laid out by the District Attorney’s office last week, Baker finally entered his plea. Turns out there was no prior interaction between him and the suspect, as Baker had indicated in an interview.

LAUREL: Here’s a tip to would-be criminals. Keep in mind how much of our lives is now being captured on video. Yes, that includes as you walk into and out of most convenience stores. Good thing in this case.

LAUREL: To Jameira Miller. She’s a 2017 graduate of Penn Wood High who was interviewed for a National Geographic Channel documentary on education funding. “Without a Net: The Digital Divide in America.” The show described the stark differences in education supplied by William Penn and Lower Merion, just a few miles away. Miller talked about her experience at Penn Wood High and the hurdles she and other students had to overcome. This week the Miller family and others won a huge victory in court when the state Supreme Court ruled they should get their day in court.

DART: The unequal funding that dogs William Penn is not new. We have written about it many times. It continues to elude our state legislators, as do so many other important issues in Pennsylvania.

LAUREL: Speaking of education, a huge tip of the cap to Delaware County Community College. The school celebrated its 50th anniversary last weekend. Hundreds toured the impressive campus, which has come a long way since it started at Ridley High School with 307 students. It now is home to 28,000 credit and noncredit students, no doubt drawn to what is still the best value in higher education in the county.

LAUREL: To the kids at Lakeview Elementary School in Ridley Township. They raised nearly $900 for hurricane victims. They’re not alone. Again several groups in the county, among them Mike McIntyre from Proaction Restoration in Ridley, answered the call when the need was the greatest.

LAUREL: To Bob Dimond. They got the name right. Bob’s a gem. He’s retiring after years of service as Media Borough tax collector. He’s not going far, just moving to Middletown. Thanks for your many years of service, Bob.

DART: Yes, here is our weekly jab at our state legislators. Another week has gone by and the state still does not have a funding mechanism in place to pay for the state’s $32 billion budget. The talk now is that Republican house leaders are refusing to allow a vote because they continue to oppose a new tax on the state’s natural gas drillers that the Senate supports, but they adamantly oppose.

LAUREL: To Bob McMahon, Marsha Four, Ralph Galati and all those who served the country in the Vietnam War. Fifty years after it ripped the country apart, the war is being revisited with Ken Burns’ documentary ,”The Vietnam War.” These men and women should be saluted for the heroes that they are.

LAUREL: To the Bennett Community Farm. This experiment in urban farming, and getting project residents involved in farming and growing some of their own food was a rousing success. Last week they shared their bounty with local veterans and children living in Chester Housing Authority properties.

LAUREL: To the Phillies. Hey, at least they managed to avoid the ignominy of losing 100 games. And this team shows real promise for next year.

LAUREL: To Ben Simmons. The sky is the limit for this superstar in the making. He is about to become the face of the Sixers.

DART: All that excitement surrounding the Sixers continues to be tempered by the fact that the team still does now know exactly what they are going to get from big man Joel Embiid. He is still not cleared to play five-on-five and whether or not he will be on the floor on opening night is anyone’s guess. DART: To Doug Pederson. Yo, coach, you want to explain what you were thinking about on that fourth-and eight call at the end of the first half against the Giants? Then again, you’re 2-1 and face another winless team Sunday against the Charters. 3-1 would sure be sweet.