After a month of hunkering down, more tough days lie ahead
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: It’s been a month since our lives were turned upside down. That’s when Gov. Tom Wolf shut down the schools and all nonessential business in the state. Welcome to the new normal. Get used to it. Most indications are that it will be with us for awhile.
LAUREL: To Gov. Wolf. Yes, his orders were controversial. Yes, they were not supported by all, in particular some business groups. But they were the right thing to do. That remains the case.
DART: The latest jarring blow from Wolf’s office came Thursday, when he announced all state K-12 schools would remain closed for the remainder of this academic year. Again, not terribly popular, but again the right call.
DART: Yes, Wolf’s call means some very important rites of passage connected to schools will look very different this year. No prom. No public commencement. Schools already are looking at virtual pomp and circumstance.
LAUREL: To the Class of 2020. Some of you came into this world amid the crucible of the 9⁄11 attacks. Now as you prepare to leave home and head out into the world, it is again a world shake to its core. We feel for you.
LAUREL: To the Easter Bunny. No, he may not be holding court over many egg hunts this year, but he is still making his presence known, offering joy to young and old alike. The bunny has
been visiting neighborhoods, often riding in the back of a truck. Eat your heart out, Santa.
DART: To the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
OK, so the Fine Wine and Good Spirits – yeah, state stores to most of us – are shut down. So citizens can simply go to the website and order a bottle of booze or wine, right? Uh, not exactly. The website has been a disaster, bogged down almost since the moment the stores closed.
DART: If that was not enough, word came in this week that the LCB rejected what appeared to be another common sense reform. That would be to allow customers buying wine and beer in supermarkets to simply put it in their carts and pay for it along with the rest of their groceries, instead of having to visit a separate part of the store and pay for the items there. That idea was shot down by the LCB. Swell.
LAUREL: Apparently all of the issues surrounding the LCB are giving new life to the various pushes in the state Legislature to get Pennsylvania out of the booze business altogether, a move that has been opposed by the governor and labor unions. It’s time.
DART: And just for good measure, Pennsylvania residents looking to acquire that bottle of wine for dinner just over the border in Delaware were greeted this week by Delaware state troopers. They were enforcing new orders to keep out-of-staters just that – out. They were turning back cars with out-of-state plates looking to enter shopping centers where popular discount liquor stores are located.
DART: To reports that there has been an outbreak of COVID-19in Fair Acres, the county’s nursing facility. Seniors are the most vulnerable members of the population. It follows on the heels of a serious outbreak at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. A reminder that those in closed-in environments – such as prisons and nursing homes, are particularly vulnerable to this nameless, faceless killer.
LAUREL: To all the nurses and others in the health care and medical fields who are doing hand-to-hand combat with the coronavirus, in some circumstances as detailed this week with a serious shortage of personal protection equipment. We salute you.
LAUREL: To Delaware County Council. This week they added their voice to the others urging county residents to don masks when they leave the house. It protects both the person wearing the mask as well as others they may encounter from sharing the coronavirus.
LAUREL: To all of the organizations that have taken up the call to create masks. Several local businesses have converted to help the cause. Any number of local social organizations have joined in.
LAUREL: A reminder that citizens should be using cloth masks that cover both the nose and mouth. Let’s make sure we leave those specialized N95 masks for the medical and health care folks on the front lines of this battle who desperately need them.
LAUREL: To word from many local police chiefs that there might be at least one silver lining to the pandemic. It appears that reports have crime have fallen while we are bunkering in our homes. Let’s keep that rolling.
DART: One distinct problem that is spiking, as you might surmise, is reports of domestic violence. Not surprising with everyone being coopedup in close quarters. Take a deep breath, folks.
DART: Less than 24hours after our story reporting the dip in crime reports, gunshots rang out on a Chester street. A 7-year-old boy was struck and killed by a stray bullet in what police are terming a drive-by shooting.
LAUREL: City officials reacted by enacting several new measure, the toughest probably being shutting down city parks – including removing the rims from basketball courts. Police also are beefing up car stops of vehicles with multiple occupants. The city asked local businesses to partner in raising a $50,000reward for information in the fatal shooting. So far, no arrests have been made.
LAUREL: To Romano’s. Nice to see some things don’t change. The Tinicum eatery made a specialty out of catering to people going to and from the airport desperately seeking a taste of Philly. They are adapting to this pandemic by boosting their mail orders and online business.
DART: To Exelon Energy. Their work on the Limerick nuclear power plant has managed to evade the governor’s “non-lifesustaining” order. In the meantime, workers raised questions about safety and non-compliance to the social distancing norm.
DART: Speaking of the waivers when it comes to the governor’s orders, there is the not small matter of work on the controversial Mariner East 2 pipeline. Earlier this week, Texasbased Energy Transfer, the parent company of Sunoco Pipeline, which is building the project to bring hundreds of thousands of barrels of liquid gases to Marcus Hook every day, announced it had been cleared to resume all work. That was followed a few hours later by a revise from the state, saying the initial waiver had been issued in error. Looks like another hold-up for the often-delayed project.
LAUREL: To Brandon Graeff. He recently took the oath to be the new top cop in Marple. Welcome aboard, chief.
LAUREL: To state Sen. Tom Killion. Sensing the public’s need for solid information on the coronavirus pandemic, Killion opted to have a teletown hall meeting. More than 4,000dialed in to ask questions of the senator and a panel of experts.
DART: Gov. Wolf’s order keeping schools closed for the remainder of the year was quickly followed in turn by officials from the PIAA pulling the plug on the interrupted state boys and girls hoops tourneys. All spring sports also have been shelved.
DART: To Major League Baseball. They are considering trying to start the season by having all teams play games in Arizona in empty stadiums. In honor of the Easter Bunny, we’ll say it: Sounds hare-brained to us.