We don’t hear much about COVID-19 these days. That’s not to say that it’s gone, but the fewer number of cases and deaths do not make it top of mind awareness as it used to be when it virtually controlled our daily lives. It’s nothing short of stunning to look at the number of deaths worldwide from this pandemic. Nearly 7 million have died. To put this into context, the population of New York City is about 8.5 million. In the United States, there have been 1.1 million COVID deaths (roughly the population of Dallas, Texas) and about 103.4 million confirmed cases. The number of deaths nationwide from the 1918-19 flu pandemic was about 675.000 and 50 million worldwide. In Pennsylvania, the number of COVID deaths was 51,258 (roughly the population of our state capital Harrisburg) along with 3.56 million cases. Even in our own five-county Times News area, there have been 4,400 deaths (more than the entire population of Lansford) along with nearly 326,000 cases. This breaks down to: Carbon, 356 deaths and 20,414 cases; Schuylkill, 774/43,055; Monroe, 604/48,626; Northampton, 1,271/101,056, and Lehigh, 1,423/112,605.

Millions in storm damage

The heavy rainstorms in eastern Northampton County last month caused more than $10 million in damages, much of it to roads and bridges in the area between the Slate Belt and Easton. The county is still assessing impact from the ravages of the flash floods that accompanied nearly 5 inches of rain in a matter of an hour or two. In addition, 235 homes in 12 municipalities in the county were damaged. Since then, there was an EF-1 tornado that touched down in the Allentown area causing substantial damage to some properties. Lehigh County officials have not given any damage estimates as yet.

Learning a new word

Being a journalist, I have always been fascinated by words, and I still try to learn at least a new word every day. I came across the word “Aevidum” in a Times News headline recently which sent me into research mode. The word was used in conjunction with “The Aevidum Club” at Palmerton High School, which would be one of the beneficiaries of a fundraiser. It is one of numerous such clubs in Pennsylvania schools. Its goal is to “create positive mental health environments where all students feel accepted, appreciated, acknowledged and cared for.” The word “Aevidum” means “I’ve got your back” and was created several years ago by students in Lancaster County.

‘Black lung’ compensation

When I was a kid growing up in the Panther Valley in the 1940s, and the coal mines were still very productive, I would hear customers at our family grocery store in Summit Hill speak to my parents about the ravages of “black lung” disease that afflicted many of the men who worked in the various “strippings,” as they were sometimes called, and led to their breathing difficulty and ultimate premature death. According to statistics, the life span of someone with black lung disease is just 57.4 years, compared to 76 years for men without the disease. Congress established the Black Lung Benefits Act in conjunction with the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 to provide monthly compensation and medical coverage for coal miners who develop the disease and become totally disabled. The monthly benefit this year is $738, more for a miner with dependents.

Budget is in place

Six Democratic and six Republican rank-and-file members of the state House of Representatives requested a suspension of their $8,570 monthly pay for July. Some indicated that they would not accept a paycheck until the 2023-24 budget is adopted, which it now has been. The Senate reconvened ahead of schedule to handle a technical sign-off to allow most of the $45 billion to be shipped to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. The Democratic governor quickly signed the document while vetoing a line item for a private school voucher scholarship program intended to help students in low-performing public schools have broader educational choices. Shapiro said he still supports the proposal but will revisit it later as a separate initiative so as not to hold up the budget any longer. The budget is supposed to be approved no later than June 30. Shapiro signed it 34 days after the deadline. None of those legislators who chose not to take their pay for a month represents districts in the five-county Times News area. The other 191 representatives and 50 senators got their full pay despite the lack of a budget being in place for more than a month.

Mom is right there

The announcement by state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh, that he is a candidate for the 7th Congressional District seat held by Democrat Susan Wild comes with the decision that he will leave the General Assembly after he completes his current sixth term on Nov. 30, 2024. The 7th District is comprised of Carbon, Northampton and Lehigh counties and several municipalities in the West End of Monroe County. Mackenzie and his mother, Milou Mackenzie, R-Lehigh-Northampton-Montgomery, are the only mother-son duo to hold seats simultaneously in the state legislature. She is in her second term. Mom and son car pool together to Harrisburg and sit next to each other on the House floor. Mackenzie will be vying along with at least two other Republicans for the nomination next spring - Maria Montero, an Easton attorney, and Kevin Dellicker, who ran unsuccessfully for the office two years ago. Republican Lisa Scheller, CEO of Silberline of Tamaqua, who won the nomination in 2020 and again in 2022 but lost both times to Wild, said she is not running this time.

By BRUCE FRASSINELLI|tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.