Laurels & lances: Staff, sale, seats and schools

Laurel: To staffing up. Westmoreland County is making sure there will be plenty of people working on Election Day come November. The county is hiring up to 1,800 poll workers for its 307 precincts.

While many people are expected to use mail-in ballots for the election to cut down on covid-19, keeping the individual polling places running smoothly could be just as instrumental in making sure lines are manageable and social distancing is possible. At the same time, it should ensure the security of the voting process, which is particularly critical in this contentious presidential election year.

Westmoreland had a 75% voter turnout in 2016. If the 2020 turnout is as high or higher, a well-staffed precinct would seem to be a good investment in civic responsibility.

Lance: To a sad goodbye. The trio of stainless steel vehicles that were auctioned by Allegheny Technologies Inc. in a Labor Day weekend sale had a final bid of $950,000. That’s an amazing price for three stunning pieces of metalwork and machinery.

It also seems a little low for the cars that have been a part of the Harrison community for so long. What would be a good price to take away the Duquesne Incline and put it on the side of another mountain in another city? Is there enough money to get Philadelphia to give up the Liberty Bell?

Sadly, the people didn’t own the shiny steel cars produced in their backyard. ATI did. The sale was the company’s right, especially in tough financial times. But the people still get to mourn the loss.

Laurel: To more seats at the table. Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that Pennsylvania restaurants can up service to 50% of capacity instead of the 25% that has been the limit since July.

The date for that is Sept. 21. That gives Pennsylvanians almost two weeks to prove they can handle the responsibility of behaving safely to limit the spread of covid-19. If you want to go out to dinner, now is no time to stage a war over masks.

On the watch list: To the start of school. Some classes have been back in session for weeks, but for others including Pittsburgh Public Schools, things didn’t get going until after Labor Day. PPS is not the only school district in the area or the state or the country that has experienced technical problems getting back to business.

It’s easy to throw stones there, but the number of changes and challenges school districts have faced this year due to the coronavirus pandemic makes for a very different measure of what merits an A or an F for the administrators.

It is worth allowing a little makeup work before issuing a final grade. But take note, educators. Families and communities won’t grade on a curve forever.