Laurels & lances: Star power and shots fired

Laurel: To a special delivery. Madonna and Beyonce may have let Pittsburgh down with canceled concerts this summer, but then a redhead from the United Kingdom came to town to show a little love to his fans.

Ed Sheeran has a kind of everyman Brit image — like he’s the kind of guy you could find at the bar or sharing some fast food. “Takeaway pizza” even makes an appearance in the lyrics for his song “Don’t.” Because of that, his pre-concert activities in Pittsburgh were delightfully in character.

Before taking the stage at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday for his Mathematics tour, he dropped by Caliente Pizza and Draft House in Crafton. What was he doing? Handing out boxes of pizza with concert tickets tucked inside.

It might have seemed spur of the moment, but it was a detour that really started when Sheeran’s team asked Caliente owner Nick Bogacz to create a pizza for Pi Day in March. Then Friday, they asked if the Grammy winner could swing by.

Was it a stunt? Sure. Was it appreciated? Absolutely.

Lance: To more violence. Gun crimes are something that pull attention at the same time they are dismissed as something that happens in another place, another circumstance and to other people. It’s a kind of denial that is increasingly hard to sustain.

Violence in the South Side has become almost a given. While it is alarming, it is no longer shocking. Violence in schools is unacceptable and depressingly common. But what we see less is violence that leaves seniors afraid of gunfire directed at their homes.

That happened early Sunday when a number of residents say they heard at least seven shots fired at the Harrison Hi-Rise building.

“You can’t be safe anywhere anymore,” said Ruth Ann Kilgore, 83.

Another resident pointed out the path of a bullet through her sliding glass door and into the wall.

“I have been through so much,” said Maryann, 72, who declined to use her last name. “But if the bullet was a little bit farther down, I would not have made it.”

Gun crimes in our community are making our most vulnerable populations unsafe. These aren’t people who are committing crimes or can be dismissed as instigators. If senior citizens aren’t safe in their homes at 5 a.m. on a Sunday, where can anyone be safe?