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Reflections on a year and COVID-19

Like most folks, at this season of joy, hope, and renewal we look back on the year that’s ending and ahead to the one about to begin. It’s a time of sharing, and we decided to ask a few Let’s end COVID! team members to share their thoughts with you. It wasn’t COVID Scare. It was COVID Care. When Let’s end COVID! formed three years ago, our goal was to help the community access COVID-19 vaccines and reliable information. Through an incredible team of volunteers and “trusted messengers,” targeting specific hesitant populations in extensive public outreach, dispelling ...

How Pennsylvania’s government can prevent deadly blackouts

Having heard witnesses say America’s largest power grid remains unreliable nearly a year after a close call with blackouts last Christmas, Pennsylvania State Sen. Gene Yaw called the testimony “a little scary.” Glen Thomas, a former Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission chairman who consults on grid issues, testified during a joint hearing of Pennsylvania and Ohio legislators. “Reliability challenges are likely to get worse, not better,” he said. Other witnesses were no more encouraging. “We cannot operate a system with 100 percent renewables,” said Asim Haque, a ...

Democrats in state House want taxpayers to pay striking workers

Publicly funding people not to work is too radical a policy even for California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Though he has every reason to curry favor with labor unions during his shadow campaign for president, Newsom vetoed legislation that would have allowed workers in a labor dispute to qualify for unemployment compensation. In support of his veto, Newsom cited the unfeasible cost of paying striking workers to stay home. In Pennsylvania, however, Democrats are undeterred by the indefensible. They want to put this radical experiment to the test with House Bill (HB) 1481, which passed the ...

A prayer at Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone! May your holidays be filled with an abiding faith in your beliefs and in the hope for a bright future for our world. And if you believe in the reason for the season, may you be inspired with awe over the birth of Christ and the sacrifice of the man named Jesus. He and his Father bring hope to our world. While this holiday is a time for hope, it’s also a time to remember that many people out there are suffering — and need solace. Peace. Love. Forgiveness. Many have trouble paying their bills. Many go without proper medical care because of ...

Congress, here are two bipartisan gift ideas for our children

As the festive season arrives, with its twinkling lights and merry carols, the item topping my Christmas wish list is fiscal responsibility from Congress and the administration. If this sounds like an economist conflating policy with goodwill, remember this: In a world where holiday wishes usually lean toward “stuff” — gadgets, games, and glittering jewels — my wish would bring long-term prosperity, stability and cheer far beyond the fleeting joy of unwrapping presents. Here are two small steps Congress could take to jumpstart the fiscal stability process that are ...

The loss of a rabbi and a friend

HaRav Yirmiyahu Fox was not a Rabbi of any congregation I ever belonged to. He was simply my friend, who fulfilled the role of confidant and, in large measure, adopted family. I knew Jerry Fox in high school. He was one of the really smart kids. He spoke several foreign languages, hung out with the erudite top-of-the-class types, and was gifted in the arts and letters. We hung out in different crowds. He helped to start a Reform Synagogue in Great Neck, Temple Isaiah. My crowd were the more religious types, and our paths rarely crossed. In fact, I am not sure that we liked each other ...