Due to the boxing match of the Democratic Primary, Howard Dean has been out there a lot lately.  We think we’ve noticed something. Is it just us, or  is he looking slimmer and in better shape now than he did four years ago when he screamed his way out of his own Democratic primary race? If he has gotten himself into better shape, as it appears he has, good for him.  Always nice to see doctors practicing what they preach.  We can count on politicians almost never to do that.

Things have been going his way for a while, but Barack Obama had a tough week courtesy of Reverend Jeremiah Wright.  This is a pretty big wrench thrown in to the works, but we’ll have to stay tuned to see the extent of the damage.  Maybe we’ll know May 6, when voters in Indiana and North Carolina hit the polls.

The American Lung Association had some bad news for Pittsburgh this week, reporting it as the country’s worst city for soot levels and air pollution.  A bright spot in this sooty mess, however, is Duquesne University.  The EPA reported that Duquesne purchased more green energy for 2007-2008 than any other school in its league, the Atlantic 10 Conference.  Hats off to Duquesne for leading the way for going green in Pittsburgh

E! was on TV in the background of the Sy Snyder house during spring cleaning, and there was Dr.  Cyril Wecht, on some old show talking about an unsolved murder case.  Strange seeing him in that capacity again after all his personal drama of the last year.  The judge in his case this week refused to bar a retrial on double-jeopardy grounds.  We vote for E! making a True Hollywood Story about his life.  Trading bodies for lab space, sending staff on tennis ball and hot dog runs… It fits, no?

And belated congratulations to Larry Farnese and the team behind him, media consultant Ken Snyder and managers Renee Gilinger and Brian Abernathy, for their win in the First Senatorial District primary last week.