Cheers & Jeers
Cheers: After more than a year, it seems that there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel for reopening a district judgeĢƵ office and a restaurant at the Greene County Airport. A March 24, 2021, fire in the radio room led to smoke and water damage that shuttered both. Before repairs could begin, county officials learned the outdated schematics had to be redrawn. Additionally, the building needed to be rewired and its duct work upgraded. Recently, however, the commissioners received a nearly $400,000 insurance settlement that will allow a restoration company to come in and finish work. In the coming months, Magisterial District Judge Glenn Bates will move back from his temporary office at the courthouse, and The Airport Restaurant is expected to reopen, commissioners said. ThatĢƵ good news for both the popular eatery and for Bates, who said the cramped working conditions haven’t been ideal.
Cheers: The late playwright August Wilson has loomed large over the Pittsburgh cultural landscape for 40 years, but there has not been a permanent exhibit on his life and work available for the public to see until this week. Starting Saturday, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center in downtown Pittsburgh will open a 3,600-square-foot gallery space with artifacts, audio recordings and other items that will illuminate WilsonĢƵ creativity and the issues of race, family and community that appear in acclaimed works like “Fences” and “Joe TurnerĢƵ Come and Gone.” For anyone who is curious about exploring the work of Wilson, this exhibit is an excellent place to start. His widow, Constanza Romero-Wilson, said, “PittsburghĢƵ Hill District and its people had a profound impact on my late husbandĢƵ writing, and the universality of his characters who call for racial justice continues to speak to audiences around the world today.”
Jeers: In his U.S. Senate race, Conor Lamb has been trying to convince Pennsylvania Democrats in advance of next monthĢƵ primary election that he would be more electable in the fall than his main competitor, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. But LambĢƵ campaign has failed to gain much traction, and has committed some unforced errors. First, his campaign employed a consultant who had served time in federal prison for tax evasion, and a former Philadelphia city council member who has been convicted on fraud charges turned up at a Lamb event. Then, last week, a super PAC supporting Lamb had to withdraw a television ad that claimed Fetterman is “a self-described democratic socialist,” when Fetterman has never described himself that way. One strategist told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the super PAC “shot itself in the foot” with the ad, and the Fetterman campaign called it “desperate, and frankly sad.” With missteps like these, Lamb is demonstrating not electability, but that his campaign is not hitting on all four cylinders.
Cheers: Cracker Jack has been a ballpark staple for decades, and the cartoon image of Sailor Jack has graced boxes of the snack since 1893, when it debuted at the Chicago WorldĢƵ Fair. Now, almost 130 years later, a note for equality has been sounded with bags of Cracker Jill being introduced to the marketplace. Frito-Lay North America has announced that bags of Cracker Jill will be available for a $5 donation to the WomenĢƵ Sports Foundation and at professional ballparks. Cracker Jill is being introduced to honor women who break down barriers in sports, and the special-edition bags will feature five different and diverse Jills. Joe Ravasio, a retired health and physical education teacher in the Ringgold School District, told us this week, “I taught P.E. and, having been head coach of girls basketball for 24 years, thatĢƵ a great thing. ItĢƵ uplifting, you know, for young girls.”


