BEYOND COOL NIGHTS that foreshadow Labor Day and the end of summer, some sad notes were struck in the Pittsburgh region last week. On Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, 77, announced that she had a rare form of cancer called neuroendocrine illness. Fortunately, the Democratic stalwart says she feels fine, the outlook is good and she is planning on working a full schedule, including presiding over the state Senate when legislators return in mid-September. Mrs. Knoll, a McKees Rocks native and former state treasurer, has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Good wishes came from Gov. Ed Rendell and Republican House Speaker Dennis O'Brien -- to which can be added the hopes of the Post-Gazette, and undoubtedly many of its readers, that Mrs. Knoll makes a full and speedy recovery. Mrs. Knoll was thinking about missing the Democratic National Convention anyway and now it's official.

ANOTHER LOCAL political matriarch, former Pittsburgh Mayor Sophie Masloff, 90, also won't be going to the Democratic convention. Mrs. Masloff told the Post-Gazette last week that this will be the first convention in decades she has missed and she was "heartbroken" about it. She would likely have been the convention's oldest delegate, but her doctor was worried that Denver's altitude and the stress of the convention would not be good for her health overall. Reassuringly, Mrs. Masloff, said: "There are no big problems. I have all my marbles." You better believe it: A strong supporter of Hillary Clinton in the primaries, Mrs. Masloff has made her peace with the candidacy of Barack Obama. "We're united behind 'O,' " she said. Still, between the absence of Mrs. Knoll and Mrs. Masloff, the convention has lost some of its authentic characters before it even starts.

IT'S NOT ALL bad news: The young and the fit also live or pass through Pittsburgh, albeit sometimes in unusual ways. Katie Spotz, 21, swam here down the Allegheny River -- a trip of 352 miles. Ms. Spotz was an indifferent swimmer when she was on a high school team in Mentor, Ohio, but now she has staying power, which she needed in abundance. Starting on July 22 in Raymond, Potter County, she had to hike the first 27 miles to Coudersport to find water deep enough to swim in. After covering 12 to 15 miles a day, and camping at night with a college friend who paddled a kayak, she arrived at the Point Thursday just before noon. She is believed to be the first person to swim the whole river. But why? Even if Michael Phelps came to Pittsburgh, he would probably come by plane. Ms. Spotz was raising money for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, which provides poor communities with clean drinking water. Journey done, she will now be looking for a job. Lifeguard? Mermaid?