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Editorials category, Page 31

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Editorial: Norfolk Southern lawsuits are necessary enforcement of railroad’s promises
Norfolk Southern was hit with a lawsuit Thursday. The U.S. Department of Justice filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in reaction to the Feb. 3 train derailment near East Palestine. Some train cars held hazardous materials, including the chemical vinyl chloride. The spilled...
Editorial: Reporter arrested in Russia should remind White House of Marc Fogel
Evan Gershkovich has been arrested in Russia. A Wall Street Journal reporter, he is charged with espionage. It is the first time Russia, as the nation it is today, has arrested an American journalist. Many outlets point to the 1986 arrest of U.S. News & World Report journalist Nicholas Daniloff,...
Laurels & lances: Service and sentencing
Laurel: To honoring the past. Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the last American troops leaving Vietnam. In Pittsburgh, that date was remembered with a Vietnam Veterans Day service at the memorial on the North Shore. It was a reminder of not just a date in the past but of...
Editorial: Pain, panic and fear: the fallout of a faked school shooting report
How dare you? This short sentence — equal parts earnest question, alarmed utterance and angry interjection — is directed at the person or persons, organization or movement behind computer-generated “swatting” calls made Wednesday reporting active shooter situations. Allegheny County 911 received calls about Central Catholic and Oakland Catholic. Both schools...
Editorial: Is Zappala holding Kennywood to a higher standard than other shooting scenes?
Gun violence has become common to the point of being mundane. In Allegheny County, the crime level has drawn concern from the community, businesses, law enforcement and politicians. Shootings bleed together, becoming hard to separate from one another. There were 119 homicides in Allegheny County in 2022, most attributed to...
Editorial: The balance between colleges and communities — and the quest for responsibility
There has always been a complicated relationship between colleges and the communities where they are located. The schools are economic engines that drive employment and business. At the same time, they can drive real estate prices out of local reach or create law enforcement issues with problems like binge drinking...
Editorial: Is Westmoreland County GOP being fair to all candidates?
Why would a candidate not be expected to support his own campaign? Westmoreland County commissioner candidate Paul Kosko of Hempfield hasn’t gotten in line with the county Republican Committee, and it is costing him his involvement in the party. In February, the committee announced its endorsement of a full slate...
Editorial: Ethics should be top priority for every candidate
Ethics are the set of principles that steer someone’s actions. Sometimes they are easy to follow because they are clearly spelled out. Sometimes they are harder to navigate because they are vague suggestions of morality rather than hard-and-fast rules. There are different definitions for different jobs. The ethics of an...
Laurels & lances: Riding and parking
Laurel: To getting feedback. When it comes to providing services to the public, it’s important to know what people are going to need or want. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of time, money and resources. The Westmoreland Transit Authority addressed that Tuesday with a public input session to talk with...
Editorial: Justice, compassion and the lesson of 2 mothers
The justice system is all about scales. They tip. They balance. They measure. They determine who is guilty. They weigh out the punishment. But they are often skewed toward retribution. Courts struggle with calculating the entirety of a crime’s gravity. It is understandable. How do you measure the impact of...
Editorial: Does mandatory death penalty for cop killers make sense?
On Friday, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office filed a notice that it would seek the death penalty for Johnathan Morris. Morris, 31, is charged with criminal homicide, attempted homicide, assault of a law enforcement officer, murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault and carrying a firearm without a...
Editorial: What is the value of tradition in deer hunting?
The start of deer season is not just a date on the calendar. It is a lot more complicated than that. It involves the science behind how deer move and feed, where they live and when they breed. It is part of a management process that looks to keep a...
Editorial: Shapiro hears Gideon’s trumpet
State capitals from Honolulu to Augusta, Maine, heard Gideon’s trumpet when the U.S. Supreme Court sounded it in 1963. But Harrisburg has remained deaf for 60 years to the clarion call to provide lawyers for indigent criminal defendants. The court ruled on March 18, 1963, in Gideon v. Wainwright. A...
Editorial: The educational insanity of March Madness
“It’s the best three weeks in basketball, Pennsylvania,” Gov. Josh Shapiro tweeted. It seems like just about everyone has caught the rabid athletic bug that sweeps across the country every year as winter turns to spring. Welcome to the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. The brackets come out with people...
Editorial: Will Norfolk Southern CEO’s response leave a bad taste?
“I said at the very beginning, ‘I want to do this and do things right today, tomorrow, a year from now, five years from now and 10 years from now,’ ” said Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw. Apparently part of doing things right is chugging a glass of tap water...
Laurels & lances: Communication and court
Laurel: To staying connected. On Jan. 2, the people of Harrison, Tarentum and Brackenridge were trying to follow what was happening with the manhunt for a wanted fugitive. Social media was lighting up with information — not all of it accurate. The day ended with the death of Brackenridge police...
Editorial: Should UPMC and other nonprofits worry about Tower Health ruling?
Tower Health might be the canary in the nonprofit coal mine. The Reading-area health system has four hospitals. It has joint ventures with Drexel University. It has about 11,500 employees and was ranked No. 8 in Pennsylvania by U.S. News & World Report in 2022. In 2020, it had total...
Editorial: Westmoreland GOP chair says lawsuits are about eliminating rivals
So what is up with the Westmoreland County commissioners’ race? The primary election that will decide the two Republicans and two Democrats who advance to the November general election still is two months away. While legal catfights over legitimacy have become the default in Pennsylvania politics, that seems like something...
Editorial: Oscar speech a reminder of imprisoned teacher Marc Fogel
On Sunday, in front of a glittering array of Hollywood luminaries and the eyes of millions, a documentary about a man unjustly held in a Russian prison was honored with an iconic golden statuette. In accepting the Oscar, “Navalny” director Daniel Roher stood alongside a team of others — including...
Editorial: Motor License Fund bill could mean decisions for municipalities
A Pennsylvania Senate bill would see state police get less money from a dedicated pool with a different purpose. The Motor License Fund is a coffer set up to collect money from various automotive-related sources. It is filled by things such as the 61-cent gas tax, a chunk of the...
Editorial: Let the sunshine in
To remind us all of the importance of open records, Right to Know Law and government conducting business in the bright light of day, a classic Trib editorial: Sunshine Week is an annual March observation that celebrates the importance of shedding light in the darkness. It might seem like a...
Editorial: Vandergrift missed learning opportunity with playgrounds
There is no greater lesson we can teach our kids than the importance of being involved in their communities. It’s important because we need children to step up to the plate. They need to be prepared for the day when they will be the voters and taxpayers. One day, they...
Laurels & lances: Fitness, finances, found
Laurel: To the gift of fitness. Firefighters need to stay in shape. They have to be physically able to haul hoses, climb ladders, carry incapacitated people, swing axes and do it all wearing almost 50 pounds of gear. You can’t do that without making exercise a priority. And so a...
Editorial: Zabel harassment shows common ground and political division
Most problems people encounter are not specific to one party or the other. Your house can burn down regardless of how you vote. You can lose your job or get bad news from the doctor without any relationship to politics. And you can be a victim of sexual harassment despite...
Editorial: Shapiro’s budget address encourages cooperation. Is it likely?
The governor’s budget address is a landmark of Pennsylvania government every year. At least it should be. More precisely, it is the first pitch in the baseball season of state politics. Ceremonial, it lays out goals that are not likely to have much relationship to the final budget. It is...


Editor's Picks

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Folk legend Bruce Cockburn gives uplifting performance at City Winery
‘Champagne & Chapeaux’: Westmoreland Symphony’s annual soiree for a good cause
Jimmy Stewart’s P-51 Mustang stops in hometown for museum anniversary
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