Laurel: To beating the heat. While we might want to give a lance to the brutal temperatures, let’s stick a pin in that. Instead, we will show a little gratitude with a laurel for the many options the region offers for having a respite from the heat.

We’ve got great ice cream from big-name shops and local treasures. We have pools and splash pads to cool off outside, and libraries, museums, movie theaters and other indoor entertainments to escape the temperatures in air conditioning.

Speaking of indoor cooling, let’s recognize all of the municipalities providing cooling centers for those whose homes don’t have air conditioning. And speaking of that …

Lance: To lost power. Is there a worse time to have your electricity go out than during the hottest week of the year? Actually, it’s the hottest week in two years since 2023’s longest stretch was three consecutive days at 91 degrees in September.

But a whole week of 90-plus degree temperatures was kicked off by storms Monday that brought down trees and power lines at the same time cooling use was spiking. More than 100,000 households were without power between First Energy and Duquesne Light customers.

That’s not unexpected after a big storm. What has been more unexpected is how long the outages have lasted. As of Thursday, there were still 750 Duquesne customers without power and another 2,200 First Energy users in the dark.

Response times and outages have been an ongoing issue with both companies for years. In 2018, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission noted power outages were up 150% and 34% of those were with West Penn Power or Duquesne Light customers.

And let’s remember that a “customer” in this instance isn’t a single person. It’s a home or a business and can affect a lot more people.

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