Laurels & lances: Gift, grant, open, loss

Laurel: To the gift of learning. Many parents are weighing their choices for the coming school year as schools struggle to plan for educating in an age of social distancing. Should the kids stay in public school? Cyber charter? Should they just be homeschooled?

About 250 students could have another option thanks to a generous donation to the Diocese of Greensburg.

The diocese’s largest single family donation — a gift of $2.4 million — will couple with the $1.7 million available through donations under the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program to create a $4.1 million pot of money that could fund the education of a large number of kids in the diocese’s 12 schools spread throughout Armstrong, Fayette, Indiana and Westmoreland counties.

Principal Cathy Collett of Mary Queen of Apostles School in New Kensington called the donation “a blessing and an opportunity we could not have foreseen.”

Laurel: To granting access. The coronavirus pandemic has illuminated a number of problems in our communities, from medical needs to child care to education. One thing that connects all that and more, however, is internet and Wi-Fi access.

The R.K. Mellon Foundation is addressing that with $5 million in grants to 37 organizations to improve that critical connectivity.

The Economic Impact and Recovery Initiative is part of the foundation’s $15 million covid-19 response funding. It was awarded by soliciting proposals. Eighty finalists were identified from 235 applications.

“I should know better than to be surprised,” said foundation Director Sam Reiman. “This impressive response is yet another compelling demonstration of our region’s creativity and compassion.”

Laurel: To feeding optimism. While some restaurants are closing their doors, Jamilka Borges is opening them. Wild Child, her new Etna eatery, is on track to open in late July or early August.

The restaurant will open in stages, starting with counter service and takeout for breakfast and lunch and building toward dinner and liquor later. While that might seem typical for pandemic dining, it also seems like a smart way to open a restaurant any time, allowing for a slow start and building momentum. Borges is an accomplished chef who has worked in a range of adventurous Pittsburgh kitchens. Wild Child, her first solo venture, adds to the good things happening in Etna, an Allegheny River town.

“When you think about opening a restaurant during a pandemic, it’s kind of like, ‘What’s the worst thing that can happen?’ It fails?” said Borges. “Sadly, that’s life. People fail and rebuild. Hopefully, that’s not going to be the case, but I think, at some point, you really have to go for it.”

Lance: To a sad end. Tammy, the family dog of Allegheny Valley Regional Police Chief Mike Naviglia, died after being shot by former Springdale police Chief Julio Medeiros.

The Dutch German shepherd escaped her yard with its electric containment fence and approached Medeiros and his wife who were taking a morning walk.

State police responded. Naviglia said he is not pressing charges. Medeiros and his wife were uninjured.

Maybe no one is to blame. But that doesn’t mean that there is nothing to learn from an incident that prompts a shooting in broad daylight on a Fawn street.