UP ARROW END King James I, a wise but cheerless monarch, is alleged to have observed that "no news is good news," and with all the pain and despair in current events lately, it's surprising -- but not at all displeasing -- to see there's still some space for Little League Baseball and baby pandas.
Harrisburg taxpayers are getting a taste of what can happen when the shine starts wearing off those once-cozy relationships between pro sports and local governments. The dispute over $100,000 in stadium upkeep pales in comparison to the megabillions the citizens are on the hook for in struggling big-city markets like Minneapolis, where public funding accounts for nearly half the $1.1 billion cost of the new U.S. Bank Stadium where the Vikings might frolic in luxury. Hey, where are U.S Bank and the NFL when this hat is passed?
UP ARROW END On a similar note, it's interesting to note that Metro Bank Park is filling some of the down time between Harrisburg Senators baseball games with pro wrestling. While these grunt-and-groan theatrics are arguably a more acceptable amusement than dogfighting or pigeon shooting, please don't call it sport.
UP ARROW END Always encouraging to see the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board do something that makes sense. In this case it has asked to intervene on behalf of a doomed cache of 1,000 bottles of expensive wine -- evidence seized from an illicit collection in Philadelphia and slated for destruction by the state. Cars, boats and family pets that wind up as evidence are not automatically destroyed; why waste good wine? At least put it up for adoption.
DOWN ARROW END Area residents who may have heard reports of a disaster in Palmyra should be aware that it was an act of religious terrorism in Syria and not another sinkhole on Cherry Street.
UP ARROW END Ah, those Calvinists! American kids celebrate the back-to-school ceremony with the latest smart phone. In Scotland all students are sent off with a new library card, courtesy of the national education system, which expects them to use it.
Wiley McKellar is a veteran PennLive Opinion writer. The Meter appears weekly.