Cheers & Jeers
High winds uprooted trees that impacted the Nemacolin Fire Company building, resulting in exterior and interior damage estimated to be in excess of at least $150,000.聽
Mitt Romney
A shelf is emptied of Russian Standard Vodka at a Fine Wine & Good Spirits liquor store in Dresher, Pa., last month. Pennsylvania ordered the removal of Russian-made products from state-owned liquor stores.
Cheers: Kudos to Connellsville wrestling team, which had four champions at Saturday蘑菇视频 Section 2-AAA championship held at Hempfield. The Falcons鈥� Evan Petrovich (113), Chad Ozias (132), Jared Keslar (160), and George Shultz (189) all took home gold medals. Belle Vernon蘑菇视频 Logan Hoffman also was crowned a section champion at 172 pounds.
Cheers: Nemacolin Volunteer Fire Company saw more than $175,000 in damages Feb. 18 when high winds passed through the region, uprooting trees that crashed into the fire company蘑菇视频 building. The community mobilized, assisting in the cleanup and enabling the fire company to return to service quickly and efficiently. VFD President Max Brozik said that he and other officers are grateful for the community support they received. We applaud those who volunteered their time and energy, and we salute those and all local firefighters who work diligently to keep our residents safe.
Cheers: A common criticism of Mitt Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts and the 2012 Republican presidential nominee is that you never really knew where he stood on many issues 鈥� she seemed to practice what one commentator called 鈥渇inger-in-the-wind politics.鈥� He has shown more steel and principle as a senator from Utah, however, voting twice to convict President Trump in his impeachment trials and consistently criticizing figures on his party蘑菇视频 far right who are, to put it politely, unhinged. Last weekend, he called out Republicans and media figures on the right who have been heaping praise on Vladimir Putin in recent weeks. He called them 鈥渁lmost treasonous.鈥� Romney also had this to say about two members of Congress who spoke last week at a white nationalist event: 鈥淚鈥檝e got morons on my team. And I have to think anybody that would sit down with white nationalists and speak at their conference was certainly missing a few IQ points.鈥� Whether it蘑菇视频 age or the feeling that he has nothing to lose at this stage of his career, Romney蘑菇视频 candor is refreshing.
Cheers: Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin correctly noted earlier this week that Russia蘑菇视频 unprovoked attack on Ukraine is the one foreign policy issue that has most united Americans since 9/11. The overwhelming majority of Americans are completely repulsed, and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) responded to the national mood by removing Russian-made products from the shelves of the state蘑菇视频 wine and spirits outlets. Tim Holden, the board蘑菇视频 chairman, explained, 鈥淕iven the evolving political-economic climate, it蘑菇视频 just the right thing to do.鈥� The board is being careful, though, and not stopping the sale of Russian-branded products not sourced in Russia, saying that would 鈥渦nfairly and adversely impact those brands,鈥� according to a news release. The PLCB deserves kudos for going after Russian businesses while being careful not to impact those that are, in effect, bystanders.
Cheers: More than one observer has stated that it蘑菇视频 hard to come up with congressional or legislative maps that satisfy everyone, particularly in the viciously partisan era we are enduring. The maps for the Pennsylvania House and Senate are still being challenged, but the congressional map appears to be set following its approval last week by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Pennsylvania is more or less evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, and that will be reflected in the new map, which will have eight seats with a Republican lean, six with a Democratic lean and three toss-ups. The 14th Congressional District will continue to encompass all of Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, while including most of Westmoreland and Somerset counties and part of Indiana County. The pity is that it took the state蘑菇视频 highest court to break the deadlock between Gov. Tom Wolf and the Legislature, since they could not come to an agreement on a map.