Signs of life

THUMBS UP: It is nice, in this time of COVID-19 pandemic inactivity, to see some signs of life. People are finding ways to be engaged with each other. The Brown County Fairgrounds are hosting a “Taste of the County Fair” weekend, with food trucks and concession stands offering the usually variety of fair food. Gibbon is holding a slimmed down Fun Fest this weekend, and the Flying Dutchmen Motorcycle Club is holding its flat track racing. And Crazy Days is coming this week. It wouldn’t be summer without that.

With a little attention to social distancing and appropriate wearing of masks, people should be able to have a good time without putting each other at risk.

Baseball returning

THUMBS UP: Major League Baseball is set to return to action on Friday. It’s going to be a wild, short 60-game run up to October. It will be odd to watch the players play in front of empty stands, however. The crowd and the noise it makes is an essential part of the game. A home run won’t be the same without the roar following the crack of the bat as a ball flies over the outfield fence. Who’s going to boo the umpires. Will the viewers at home get tired of the incessant, “HEY, battah-battah-battah, HEY, battah-battah-battah!” from the players on the field? And who is the Kiss-Cam going to focus on?

Whatever it sounds like, it will be better than a summer with no baseball.

Don’t hide virus data

THUMBS DOWN: The White House has ordered hospitals to bypass the CDC and send all coronavirus patient information to a central database in Washington. One has to wonder the motivation behind this decision? The move has alarmed health experts who fear the data will be politicized or withheld from the public. Trump officials say the change will streamline data gathering and assist the White House coronavirus task force in allocating scarce supplies like personal protective gear and drug treatments. We question that argument, because that data was always been available to the White House, health officials, researchers and the public. Any hint of politicizing or hiding data for any reason will violate the trust of U.S. citizens.