A thank you to all who keep us safe

We are, as everyone else, so saddened by the loss of so many people in our community to COVID-19, and in particular those individuals who are in nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and senior-living communities.

While it is necessary to inform us of those places that have the virus within them, I also would like to see a list of the ones that have not had the virus since its inception.

My mom is at Willow Lane, a personal care home that is part of The Willows in Kennedy. It has not had one incident of the coronavirus, and that includes the staff. I am sure there are others, and we would love to see the list of those places as well.

On another note, we are constantly hearing of how places have to be disinfected prior to and after there is a public function, whether it be a grocery store, a church, a hospital, an office building, etc. I think a big word of gratitude and thanks should be going out to them as well. We owe them a big thank you for their continuing work on keeping us safe from germs. KATHY THOMAS Moon

Need a compromise

The latest news from Washington is that the talks in Congress to come up with a new stimulus package are going nowhere. Each side is “digging in” and refusing to budge.

Many small businesses are failing and will not recover. When the family “breadwinner” cannot afford to put food on the table and cannot pay his rent or mortgage, he will resort to what he feels he must do. This could result in an increase in the crime rate.

Members of both parties must realize what is at stake. Compromise is essential to break this logjam. “Half a loaf” is better than none, which is what we now have. A reasonable solution will not be perfect; no one will like it, but it will do until there is a return to some sense of normalcy.

PAUL J. SHAPIRO

Mt. Lebanon

Improve health

While this time has presented many challenges and unknown variables related to COVID-19, one known factor that is being ignored by nearly everyone in decision-making positions is the overall poor health of our population. The vast majority of individuals who have a severe reaction to COVID-19 have at least one other health factor. Most often, this factor is obesity or related to obesity.

It is time that Gov. Tom Wolf, Dr. Rachel Levine, other health officials and the media accept the fact that this is something that is within our control. Asking people to stay in, social distance and wear a mask is fine, but those actions do nothing to address the fact that we are already in poor health and that we have some control over our own health.

In the U.S., 40% of the population is obese. In Pennsylvania, we do slightly better than the average, but it is likely that during the pandemic many people have gained weight. Obesity is a complex issue, but in most cases only slight behavior modification can lead to positive results. Small changes in diet or increasing physical activity to as little as 20 minutes per day have been shown to be effective in improving health outcomes.

It is time to stop avoiding this fact and for our leaders to stop worrying about shaming people. Many of the countries that are showing better COVID-19 outcomes can likely attribute this to better health and lower obesity rates than the U.S. Accepting the facts of this disease and addressing our overall poor health will improve our chances against COVID-19 as well as the largest causes of death in the U.S. prepandemic.

GREG KINGSTON Slippery Rock

Double standard

As I read the Aug. 2 editorial “Careful, Joe,” I laughed out loud twice — first, when I read that “some humility” would be a characteristic for a vice president. Has the writer never heard of Dick Cheney?

Second, the writer judges that Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., is “all ambition.” Is this writer naive? Does anyone running for public office need this quality? Is a woman held to a double standard?

REV. GREGORY SWIDERSKI Carnegie

Baseball fans

Bob Nutting is destroying a legacy of baseball in a town that loves its team. He is stamping out the spirit of all the young Pirates players who are trying to remain competitive in a league of teams that actually pays its players. He is unwilling to bring other talented players to complement the talent that we do have. His strategy of signing old, injured pitchers has worked occasionally, but to no avail, because if they succeed, Mr. Nutting won’t pay to keep them.

The current state of the country is overwhelming and depressing. Many of us are looking to baseball to lift our spirits. My family and I will be Pirates fans forever, but Mr. Nutting’s lack of financial commitment is sucking the life out of this team, this city and this sport.

SUE ORNSTEIN Chappaqua, N.Y. The writer is a former resident of Squirrel Hill.