Laurels & lances: Answers, inspection, education, cruelty

Laurel: To listening to grief. When Marquis Jaylen Brown fell to his death from the 15th floor of Duquesne University’s Brottier Hall in 2018, it left questions about why and how — and it created a hole in the heart of his mother, Dannielle Brown.

On July 4, she began a very public hunger strike on a Hill District street corner, trying to get the attention that might provide answers.

Duquesne says it is “agreeable” to giving the access and cooperation she has requested. That is good for not just a grieving mother and her lost son. It is good for every other student and parent who is concerned about safety and transparency.

It is also good for the university. Providing access and being open to finding answers is something every university should strive to achieve.

On the watch list: To a designated hitter. The City of Greensburg is no longer doing health inspections of restaurants or food trucks, passing that responsibility on to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Those establishments will still be inspected and the city will still have records of those inspections. They just won’t be the “drain on city resources” that Councilman Randy Finfrock said they have been.

That drain included at least the $45,600 salary of the one inspector who has been laid off, so this could be a way to save the municipality some real money.

Time will just have to tell wheather asking the state to take the reins has costs in time and efficiency.

Laurel: To pretty smart kids. Local schools have gone to the head of the class with some recent report cards.

Freeport Area High School did something incredible when every single student in the AP World History class passed the AP exam. That is a hard thing to do in good circumstances. It’s amazing given the school closings in March amid the coronavirus pandemic. Ten of 16 kids got the highest score possible, a 5. The others came right behind with a 4.

In Niche.com’s latest rankings of Pennsylvania school districts, Mt. Lebanon placed first for Allegheny County and fourth in the state, while Greater Latrobe was tops in Westmoreland County.

The school districts, the teachers and the students have worked hard to maintain their quality educational standards in a rough year.

Lance: To cruel mockery. Times are tough for nonprofit organizations right now, but the Columbia-Montour County Fireman’s Relief Carnival hosted by the Bloomsburg Fair crossed a line when it raised money with a dunk tank featuring a man dressed up like Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

Levine has faced hostile comments about her transgender status throughout the pandemic shutdowns, and that has been controversial. But opposing this kind of behavior does not have to be about supporting or even accepting Levine’s gender identity.

Attacking people — whether in reality or in effigy — for who they are is wrong. That is not something that should have to be explained to organizations like the fire companies that help people every single day.