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Editorials category, Page 47

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Editorial: Suicide prevention programs need to utilize and support students
Suicide is an issue everyone needs to note. It’s something to understand, something to keep at bay. After several years in 10th place on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of the top causes of death in the United States, suicide was finally knocked off the podium in...
Editorial: Delayed petitions latest sign of redistricting drama
If you want a practical example of why deadlines matter, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has given it. The process of changing districts for lawmakers is not something that sneaks up on us. It’s prescribed by law. It’s enshrined in the Constitution. It is a tradition more than 200 years in...
Editorial: Bridge failures have courtroom costs
The cities and counties of Pennsylvania need to pay attention. The same goes for PennDOT, too. They need to note what happened on Friday as attorneys for a Penn Hills couple confirmed what was as sure as gravity at 6:41 a.m. Jan. 28. That was one minute after the Fern...
Laurels & lances: Victory, defeat and opportunity
Laurel: To an obvious fact. In a year that we are forced to watch the Cincinnati Bengals — the Bengals, for Pete’s sake — vie for the Lombardi Trophy on Super Bowl Sunday, it is nice to get a little bit of acknowledgement that some things are still right with...
Editorial: Addressing Pennsylvania’s unseen blight of abandoned mines
While a large part of the nation’s infrastructure — especially its older construction — involves steel that was born in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the process started earlier with another industry. None of that steel was made without coal. The steel industry is a large part of the reason that about 5,000...
Editorial: Wolf’s last budget address leans on familiar ideas
Gov. Tom Wolf has given his last budget address. In many ways, it played like a greatest hits album. His farewell concert included old standards that have defined his campaigns and budgets of the past — items like increasing the minimum wage and his signature song about increasing education funding....
Editorial: Pittsburgh City Council salary vote was poorly timed
What difference can two days make? In the great scheme of government, two days is usually not a big deal. Government generally moves at a sloth-like speed with the number of committee meetings and debates and questions and sending things back to the start before decisions are made. It’s like...
Editorial: Constables have to follow law to enforce it
Why does Westmoreland County have so much trouble with the people enforcing the rules playing by them? For years, it was the sheriff’s office that was the problem. There were times that multiple leaders in the department were charged with crimes or on suspension or both all at the same...
Editorial: Clerical error doesn’t mean PSERS has no responsibility
There’s nothing like a good scapegoat. Who wouldn’t like to be able to just put all the blame for things that go wrong on someone else? It’s a good deal if you can find one. Except that just because you blame the goat doesn’t mean you don’t have any responsibility....
Editorial: Pennsylvania bridges need regular attention
Bridges are being taken seriously right now. The collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in Frick Park in Pittsburgh on Jan. 28 was one of those bellwether moments — the clanging bell that alerts everyone about impending danger. Of course, the bell clanged a little late for the people on...
Laurels & lances: Support, shutdowns and hold music
Laurel: To community coming together. When Richard McCloskey of Etna hung a swastika flag on his porch late in 2021, some people in the area were understandably upset at a symbol tied not only to the Nazis but also other hate groups. “I don’t hate nobody,” McCloskey said, claiming he...
Editorial: Journalism Competition and Preservation Act serves communities by keeping news accessible
Local news is necessary news. All news serves a purpose. National news helps us identify what is happening in our country and how it affects us and how we affect it. State news narrows that focus to the decisions being made in our capital and by our lawmakers and in...
Editorial: Funding emergency equipment is vital responsibility
The siren of an ambulance, a fire truck or police car can herald a pricey proposition. For most people, that would seem to be about the hospital bill or the insurance deductible or that speeding ticket. But first responders know just how much it costs to keep the specialized equipment...
Editorial: Keystone State built on bridges
So what happened to the Fern Hollow Bridge? While most people might not necessarily know the name of the bridge that transported traffic through Frick Park, it gained national attention when it broke apart Friday and plummeted into the ravine below. The timing of the collapse, just hours before a...
Editorial: Nursing shortage can use rescue plan funds
A shortage of nursing care is the kind of problem everyone can notice and everyone agrees needs to be addressed. It’s not, however, the kind of thing where the answer is readily apparent. See a fire, grab a hose. The solution is literally as simple as water. But the nursing...
Editorial: Logical failings with Act 77 challenge, court ruling
On Friday, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court narrowly decided that voting by mail without being sick or working isn’t how things should be done. It isn’t just not legal, the court decided. It’s unconstitutional. The five-judge panel that came to that decision split along party lines — three Republicans to two Democrats....
Editorial: Pittsburgh bridge collapse shows infrastructure failings
Pittsburgh is more than a city of steel. It is also the City of Bridges. It has more of them than Venice, Italy — a city that is most easily traveled by boat. Venice has 443 bridges. Pittsburgh had 446. Today it has 445. That last bridge, where Forbes Avenue...
Laurels & lances: Partners, verdicts and a voice
Laurel: To assembling assistance. Chris O’Donnell is the state humane officer for Armstrong County. That means she has more than enough on her plate trying to handle cases of abused or neglected animals. But some cases are bigger and more challenging than others — like the St. Patrick’s Day 2021...
Editorial: Rallying around missing monkeys and a curious canine
Monkeys on the loose during a pandemic? It was a little too perfect — too deliciously ironic. When the news broke about the Friday crash near Danville, it seemed like just the latest in the never-ending series of jokes about the new and different variety of apocalypses on the horizon....
Editorial: Just draw the redistricting maps already
Pennsylvania is less than four months away from the 2022 primary. The ballots will include one U.S. Senate seat. Right now, that is the only legislative position that isn’t in dispute about who it will represent because it represents every Pennsylvanian. But when it comes to the rest — the...
Editorial: Is gambling growth a good thing for Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania has a lot of industries working inside its borders. Manufacturing, agriculture, recreation, health care, banking, education. The diverse landscape and workforce make for fertile ground to plant a business. One industry is showing the kind of year-over-year growth that would make internet billionaires green with envy. Despite the shutdowns...
Editorial: Food deserts demand change in thinking
New Kensington is not a desert. Not in the classic definition, at least. Nowhere in Southwestern Pennsylvania really is. In an area crisscrossed with rivers and streams, scarcity of water is seldom a problem. But food deserts are a different story. A food desert is an urban area where it...
Editorial: Truth is kids need to be safe from gun violence
Marquis Campbell should not be dead. Campbell, 15, of Pittsburgh was shot at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday in a school van where he sat, waiting to go home from Oliver Citywide Academy in Marshall-Shadeland. As a society, there is often an attempt to make sense of tragedies by blaming the victims....
Editorial: Judge Mariani’s murder verdict dismissal in Club Erotica case is all drama
There are things that happen in television courtrooms with regularity that don’t pop up the same way in real life. The Perry Mason moments when a lawyer gets a witness to admit she really committed the crime. Surprise evidence admitted at the last possible minute. Cases heading in front of...
Laurels & lances: Donations, driveways and change
Laurel: To a great birthday present. When legendary comedic actress Betty White died on New Year’s Eve, it was both a crushing end to 2021 and the way everyone should go out — living 99 years and having the whole world agree it wasn’t long enough. But in celebration of...


Editor's Picks

Front Porch Theatricals’ musical ‘Baby’ is a labor of love

Washington townhouse on the market for $1,225,000
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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