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Editorials category, Page 33

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Laurels & lances: Big save, big shame
Laurel: To co-workers you can count on. The people you work alongside can be just like family. That means they can be a confidante, a best friend or the person who bugs you more than anything. But sometimes they can also be real lifesavers. For Alexis Simon, a Penn-Trafford special...
Editorial: Pa. state House needs to get to work
It’s time for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to get to work. On Tuesday, the voters in three Allegheny County districts did their jobs. They showed up for the special election to fill the seats of the late longtime legislator Tony DeLuca, newly installed U.S. Rep. Summer Lee and Lt....
Editorial: Support police by giving room to grieve
If you want to know the toll that a line-of-duty shooting can take, look at the pictures of McKeesport police Chief Adam Alfer. On Monday, he stood alongside other officials making statements and giving information about the death of one of his own, Officer Sean Sluganski, and the injury of another,...
Commentary: How does the U.S.-China relationship continue after the spy balloon saga?
If you thought the Chinese spy balloon saga would deflate as fast as the balloon did over the Atlantic Ocean, you’re sadly mistaken. Days after a U.S. F-22 destroyed the device with a single air-to-air missile at 58,000 feet, the story continues to hover over the news cycle like a...
Editorial: Addressing blight requires planning and action
Eliminating blight isn’t a one-time task. Like weeding a garden, it’s a continual battle against recurrent attacks. As one industry rises, another one falls. Coal to nuclear to gas. Steel to banking to health care. The same happens with evolving lifestyles. Downtown shopping districts gave way to massive one-stop malls...
Editorial: Reserve audit tells only part of story
There is little doubt that, as state Auditor General Timothy DeFoor recently reported, some public school districts move around money to avoid reporting excessive cash reserves that would preclude them from raising local taxes. But that is only part of the story. Public school districts don’t operate in a vacuum...
Editorial: Let’s not forget what working at home taught us
It’s back to normal for Pennsylvania government. Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Thursday that 2,300 state employees will be heading back to the office. That move came on the heels of President Joe Biden’s decision that federal emergency measures related to the coronavirus pandemic will end in May. These are positive...
Editorial: Is Pennsylvania using anxiety as a gateway to marijuana?
Feeling anxious? You aren’t alone. The National Institute of Mental Health puts the number of people diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder at about 6.8 million adults. That’s more than 3% of the population. It doesn’t necessarily include those suffering from social anxiety disorder, panic attacks or phobias that also could...
Laurels & lances: Vaping, heating and smiling
Laurel: To adding new tools. As the song says, “Everybody knows that smokin’ ain’t allowed in school.” That historically has been about cigarettes but has branched out to the modern version — vaping. It is illegal to sell any tobacco products, including vaping products, to those under 21 in Pennsylvania....
Editorial: Does Pennsylvania have a real-life ‘Groundhog Day’ problem?
In “Groundhog Day,” the 1993 Bill Murray movie, the holiday centered around a prognosticating Punxsutawney Phil is not the point. They are just the kick-off for the story about a weatherman trapped in the same 24 hours with the same events happening over and over again. There was never an...
Editorial: Is asking front line workers to train for crisis a good idea?
It would be great if everyone was trained to be a helping hand. But wishing doesn’t make it so. Neither does the vote of a city’s leaders. Last week, Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, put forward legislation that would create a training program to help people with crises...
Editorial: Museum commission needs to bring ideas for Bushy Run Battlefield
Teachers will tell you that finding a way to make a lesson come to life is the best way to make the material stick. It’s the difference between telling someone how to drive and putting them behind the wheel. There’s a reason that you take a book test to get...
Editorial: Colleges should stop hiding how much they cost
Whether President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive some $400 billion in federal student-loan debt goes forward will ultimately be up to the Supreme Court. For now, there’s more the federal government should be doing to rein in the costs of higher education — and thus reduce how much students borrow...
Editorial: Greensburg chief’s resignation after charges was a service
On Tuesday, Shawn Denning embarrassed the people of Greensburg when he was arrested at City Hall on federal drug charges. He immediately did what may have been the best service he offered to those same people. He resigned as the chief of police. Denning, 41, is free on $250,000 unsecured...
Editorial: The ticking clocks of Pennsylvania’s poor bridges
For the people on the Fern Hollow Bridge on Jan. 28, 2022, the unthinkable happened in a heartbeat. There was a banging sound. There was confusion. Was it a crash? There was a drop. One moment, it was a normal Friday morning, driving in the snowy January weather. The next,...
Laurels & lances: Police and consequences
Laurel: To carrying on. Though the hole created by the loss of Chief Justin McIntire remains, the Brackenridge police are getting back to business as usual. Police from across the region covered the department following McIntire’s death Jan. 2 in the line of duty, allowing the Brackenridge officers an opportunity...
Editorial: One-way public comment rules can be malicious compliance
Compliance is the term for acknowledging the rules and following them. You see the stop sign. You gently step on the brake pedal as your car approaches it. You note the speed limit and set your cruise control accordingly. But malicious compliance is different. It’s technically following the letter of...
Editorial: Will Pittsburgh nonprofits pass a charity inspection?
In order to drive a car in Pennsylvania, you have to do more than pay your registration fee. You have to pass an inspection. The mechanic looks at your registration and insurance, but he also looks over the car itself. He makes sure it isn’t just legal but that it...
Editorial: A smart, accountable gift ban makes common sense
One of the first things Gov. Josh Shapiro has done after taking office is to retool the gift ban for the offices under his control. During Tom Wolf’s tenure there was a ban, and it was handcuff-tight. Cabinet members on official visits couldn’t accept simple and affordable hospitality that could...
Editorial: Medical workers shouldn’t have to face workplace violence
Hospitals are in a pinch when it comes to staffing. It isn’t even just hospitals. Anyone looking to hire workers in the medical field is crunched. Nursing homes, clinics, schools, prisons. If you need nurses or techs, it’s not an easy time. For many places, this is a financial problem...
Editorial: Reading the crystal ball of layoffs and low unemployment numbers
Jobs numbers are never a constant. They shouldn’t be. They can’t be. The number of people who are employed is constantly rising and falling. If nothing else, the numbers will shift because the workers age. New people enter the workforce. Older people retire. Pennsylvania is a northern state, meaning seasonality...
Editorial: PennDOT should enforce right-of-way sign rules
When is taking a sign out of the ground a crime and when is it not? That was the question a Westmoreland County jury had to decide. Did former Franklin Regional School Board member Gary English, 66, of Murrysville steal someone’s property by pulling out the signs that pop up...
Laurels & lances: Leading, charging and pulling together
Laurel: To a local leader. Westmoreland County is really having a heyday in the state Capitol at the moment. In addition to all people elected to represent the county’s constituents in the General Assembly, there is the fact that Republican Kim Ward of Hempfield is the first female Senate majority...
Editorial: Let’s keep the 2023 election mud slinging to a minimum
It’s way too early for this. It’s January. The gubernatorial inauguration for the 2022 election was just this week. There are still three state House seats to be settled next month in special elections for the 32nd, 34th and 35th districts. People can’t begin circulating or filing nomination petitions for...
Editorial: Does Norwin director’s book challenge require more context?
Context is important. Context is the difference between someone running down the street being a jogger, someone trying to catch a bus or a criminal fleeing a crime scene. The actions are the same, but the intent and the outcome aren’t. Context matters. And so the context of the language...


Editor's Picks

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Jimmy Stewart’s P-51 Mustang stops in hometown for museum anniversary
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