Laurels & lances: Neighbors, risks and connections
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Laurel: To good neighbors. The Tree of Life Congregation still has no permanent home since the 2018 shooting at its synagogue, where two other congregations worshipped, as well. The attack killed 11 from the three congregations in the largest, deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. The synagogue in Squirrel Hill still stands silent and empty since the Saturday morning when worship was interrupted by bullets.
But there is progress, and part of that was the naming of honorary cabinet members for the “Remember. Rebuild. Renew” campaign, working to create a new place for the Jewish congregations to call its spiritual home.
Among those honorary cabinet members are Joanne Rogers, wife of beloved television legend Fred Rogers; Academy Award-winning actors Tom Hanks, who played Mister Rogers on the big screen in 2019; and Billy Porter, a Pittsburgh native.
“The Jewish community of Pittsburgh has been present for me and my family for decades,” Porter said. “They took care of me in my early years. They took care of my mom in my absence, as I pursued my career. My love for this community is unwavering.”
If there was ever an effort that needed some unwavering love and support, it is this one.
Lance: To reckless risk. From the very beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, we have known one thing for sure. Unnecessary gatherings of large groups of people create a risk of spreading covid-19. It happened at spring break in Florida. It has happened at weddings and conferences and choir practice.
And maybe Plum High School will join that list.
Several students have tested positive for the disease since attending the Class of 2021 Senior Parent Committee’s Homecoming Dance, held Saturday at the Five Pines Barn. Families of more than 150 students who attended are being contacted by the district. More attendees came from other schools, and even from Ohio.
It is understandable that parents would want to find ways to help their kids have the fun and social aspects of a normal senior year. But to be safe, that has to be done with the realization that — like it or not — this is not a normal year.
Laurel: To connection. Some things underscore haves and have nots. Cars. Clothes. And in 2020, you can tell a lot by internet connectivity. Some people just don’t have access to what other people take for granted.
A new program is trying to help with that. Meta Mesh Wireless Communities, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and the Keystone Initiative for Network-based Research (KINBER) have formed Every1online to provide high-speed internet for school-aged children in New Kensington, Coraopolis and Homewood. In a poetic yet practical touch, the Wi-Fi signal will be beamed from the atop Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning building, itself a beacon of knowledge for the region.
In a time when so many kids are relying on the internet for their schooling, this is more than a good idea. It’s a wireless lifeline.