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September 2, 2012 12:18 am

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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
LABOR DAY administers the last rites of summer, but lovers of warmth can be consoled that fall doesn't officially begin until 10:49 a.m. Eastern time on Sept. 22. Don't tell that to the kids who are going back to school all over the Pittsburgh area -- why, it can't still be summer if the schools have opened again for classes, as they did last week in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. If the end of vacation was tough for them, it was tougher for many of the staff. As part of a cost-cutting move, the school board recently furloughed 280 school-based employees. Of those who remain, 611 workers -- not only teachers but also counselors, social workers and secretaries -- were transferred to a new school or position. The first lesson for the year is a sad one for those whose labors in the district are done, but in this era no school district can afford to live beyond its means.

PITTSBURGH PUBLIC Schools officials have promised that, despite the cutbacks, every school in the district will have art, music, physical education and a librarian. That's good, because somewhere in this year's class may sit another Andy Warhol, who graduated from the old Schenley High School in 1945 and went on to international acclaim as an artist. Fifty years after his renderings of Campbell's soup cans became a pop art sensation, Warhol, who died in 1987, will be honored by the soup maker this week with the release of Warhol-inspired soup cans in vibrant colors. Thus does life imitate art, or are the new soup cans art imitating art?

THE CHANGING of the seasons is marked by other portents. Fall's biggest event will be the presidential election, and we have now entered that part of the year when political passions gather with the force of a tropical storm. The Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., dodged a real tropical storm last week and on Tuesday the Democrats will meet in Charlotte, N.C. It's fall-like in the world of sports, too, with the Steelers looking ahead to their first regular-season game next Sunday against the Broncos in Denver. The Pirates have their fans in a tizzy by swinging between highs and lows in their quest for a spot in the playoffs or even a winning season. Nobody has reason to be bored. If Pittsburghers become too nervous with all the excitement, a calming cup of soup from a colorful can would be the perfect remedy.


First Published September 2, 2012 12:00 am

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