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Editorials category, Page 24

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Editorial: Gainey’s ‘Downtown is doing well’ assessment ignores realism of Pittsburgh’s bigger picture
Everything is just fine in Downtown Pittsburgh. That’s what Mayor Ed Gainey said Tuesday in a forum at Point Park University. “Our Downtown is doing well,” he said. It is the kind of stiff-upper-lip optimism that may give some confidence. When the Tribune-Review asked people, their opinions were mixed. “The...
Editorial: Is Westmoreland Co. DA’s fusion center right for law enforcement collaboration?
Collaboration is a great way to maximize public resources. It puts everyone together on the same footing. It shares information. It reduces workload. It prevents redundancy. On Thursday, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced an effort to promote better collaboration between detectives from her office and state and federal...
Laurels & lances: Art and ammo
Laurel: To a beautiful journey. Art can be taken for granted. It can be locked away in museums and require a ticket to view. But a new art installation in Natrona is a way to promote community and provide an opportunity for exercise. The mosaic trail off River Avenue opened...
Editorial: Arnold vote on manager skirts law
The people get to be a part of the process. That is why we have elections. It is why we have school boards made up of the people who live in the geographical area of the district. It is why we have local government instead of just ceding all responsibility...
Editorial: Jails, police departments need to address losses in leadership
It’s hard to fill empty jobs when even the people on top are leaving. For years, the corrections field and police departments have faced challenges in keeping staff numbers up. Even before the coronavirus pandemic created a widespread upheaval in hiring across many industries, turnover and unfilled positions in these...
Editorial: Change the language of bullying
Why do we use the word “bullying?” The roots are Dutch and German and go back to an origin that means “brother” in the 16th century, but it took just about 100 years to go from the kind of brother who is an ally to the kind who is an...
Editorial: Put brake on revolving Capitol door
Even when legislators lose an election or decide not to seek reelection, or an administration changes because of term limits or a lost election, the Capitol remains full of the same familiar faces. Lawmakers and high-ranking administration officials often don’t leave — they just change sides. While in office, those...
Editorial: Easier voter registration is better for everyone
The more people vote, the more votes count. It shouldn’t matter what party someone joins. It shouldn’t matter whether someone picks no party at all. Ideally, everyone would cast a ballot. Everyone would have their say. That should be a point on which everyone agrees. But there are no points...
Editorial: Pittsburgh Promise is one worth keeping, and worth mourning when money runs out
In 2008, a bargain was struck with students at Pittsburgh Public Schools. Stay in school. Get at least a 2.5 GPA. Graduate. And in return, get a scholarship toward education in a Pennsylvania post-secondary institution. The Pittsburgh Promise nonprofit made this pledge, using donated money including a $100 million commitment...
Laurels & lances: Fires, speakers and votes
Laurel: To trying new things. Volunteer fire companies are having problems filling their ranks. They are addressing this with a combination of ideas. There are recruitment outreach programs and courting of teens who could grow in the departments. There are incentives for members, such as small stipends for taking calls...
Editorial: 5 former Pa. governors agree on open primaries
On Monday, five former governors came together to espouse a common cause. Tom Ridge, Mark Schweiker, Ed Rendell, Tom Corbett and Tom Wolf represent an unbroken chain of the Keystone State’s top executives that extends back to 1995. Three are Republicans. Two are Democrats. Wolf and Corbett were even adversaries...
Editorial: Is the Senate dress code that big a deal?
People in Pennsylvania knew who they were electing to the U.S. Senate in 2022. After a knock-down, drag-out statewide battle that included Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz talking about the price of crudité and then Lt. Gov. John Fetterman trolling him all over social media, Fetterman had a stroke days before...
Editorial: New Shuman Center plans don’t mean Allegheny County responsibility is over
In August 2021, the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center in Allegheny County closed its doors. It wasn’t just that the county decided to get out of the business of detaining young people who are accused or adjudicated of crimes. The closure was not the county’s idea. It came after the Pennsylvania...
Editorial: Dental care would spread more smiles
Fear of visiting the dentist is a long-running trope in American culture, but in terms of maintaining good health, the bigger problem is not having access to dental care. Dental health long has been treated as a separate part of the health care system, even though a large and growing...
Editorial: Marc Fogel is becoming the forgotten prisoner among Biden administration officials
On Wednesday, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, visited Paul Whelan, the former U.S. Marine convicted of espionage in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Whelan, who has been in Russian custody since 2018, showed “tremendous courage” and reiterated the often...
Editorial: Media policies don’t trump First Amendment
Some municipalities — as well as school districts, counties and other government agencies — talk out of both sides of their mouths when it comes to releasing information. Coincidentally, they do so by limiting who is doing the talking. Take Aspinwall. The Allegheny County municipality with a population less than...
Laurels & lances: A tale of two ordinances
Laurel: To taking time. In Murrysville, elected officials aren’t rushing into an ordinance that would address short-term home rentals. Council is taking time to debate what needs to be regulated and what doesn’t when it comes to homeowners making their properties available through services like Airbnb or VRBO. It’s an...
Editorial: Does Hempfield need an owner’s rep for its $150 million building project?
The Hempfield Area School District’s building project just keeps adding layers of issues without ever breaking ground. The project is conceived as a “revitalization” of the senior high school. It would bring the outdated structure up to today’s needs and provide improvements to the sports facilities, including a swimming pool...
Editorial: Why no bail for a $1.6 million drug arrest?
Bail is money that serves as a guarantee that a defendant will show up in court. It is not meant to be punitive but simply a surety that the process plays out as intended. Don’t show up? You not only have a new warrant for arrest, but you also lose...
Editorial: Rational pot enforcement up in smoke
As state lawmakers ponder fully legalizing marijuana, a new Senate bill points to a persistent related problem that Congress should resolve. Like 37 other states, the District of Columbia and three territories, Pennsylvania allows the use of medicinal marijuana. Those territories, the District of Columbia and 23 states also have...
Editorial: We grieve together
We remember the losses our nation and our state felt on Sept. 11, 2001, with this updated editorial from the 20th anniversary of the tragic events. For two decades, America has had one shared cultural touchstone. Every Sept. 11, we are transported to the day when the whole country held...
Editorial: Dropping college credits could solve police staffing problems
Do police officers need to go to college? It’s a question that many places have struggled to answer in recent years as it has become harder to fill the vacancies in police departments large and small. There are a number of officers walking away from the job, either retiring or...
Editorial: Why are prisoners escaping county jails?
What’s up with all the prison escapes? Pennsylvania has seen a number of high-profile incidents in 2023 when someone in custody has gotten free and gone on the lam. As of Friday, one was still ongoing. Danelo Cavalcante, 34, is a Brazilian native convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend. He was...
Editorial: Findings, hiring and fighting
Laurel: To finally getting answers. On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission ruled on the cause of an explosion at a home in Plum. No, it was not the August incident in Rustic Ridge that claimed the lives of six people and destroyed three homes and damaged others. The PUC...
Editorial: Police trust is earned with high expectations
It is critical that people have trust in the police. The relationship between the public and police officers depends on an understanding of best interests. Like child and parent or student and teacher, it is more than just authority. It is a belief in doing the right thing. At least,...


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