Laurels & lances: Food, first aid and free speech
Laurel: To Pittsburgh in a cone. With the advent of baseball season, PNC Park will once again become not just the place to catch the great American pastime, but eat some great Pennsylvania cuisine. On Tuesday, the Pirates gave a glimpse of some of that, including a new signature item. Take a crispy waffle cone. Fill it with savory sliced kielbasa, potato-y pierogies, sauerkraut, cheese and Russian dressing. Home run.
Laurel: To a real life skill in school. The Pennsylvania Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would add cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction to the state educational curriculum. The senators unanimously agreed that giving high school kids training in something that could save lives was worthwhile, even if it is the kind of thing that you can’t really measure on a standardized test. Hopefully the lifesaving proposal doesn’t die in the House of Representatives.
Lance: To making a difficult situation worse. John Placek, the owner of an Armstrong County gas station, used his digital billboard to voice his opinion on the Michael Rosfeld trial, which has sparked tension and protests over the past week.
“God wants us to be united,” Placek said in an interview about the controversy.
But it’s hard to see any unity in his message, which contained pictures of former East Pittsburgh police officer Rosfeld and Antwon Rose II, the 17-year-old boy Rosfeld was tried and acquitted of killing.
“Legal System Works, Justice Served, Get over it,” the billboard said.
Laurel: To speech being free of government restriction but not without consequence. Placek used his platform to speak his mind, as he has every right to do. But so did the people who responded, including the businesses that severed ties or distanced themselves — like Sunoco, Bradigan’s Inc., Glassmere and the local Subway franchise — saying they could not support his divisive message.
“In a situation like this, we strongly believe that our values, our principles, must override profits and revenue,” Andy Bradigan said.
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