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Editorials category, Page 55

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Editorial: Let small businesses set their own covid sick-leave policies
The last year or so has been some big trouble for small businesses. It wasn’t unexpected. When stay-at-home orders were issued and capacity restrictions put in place because of the pandemic, everyone knew businesses would be hit hard. That’s why $10 billion was included for them in the federal CARES...
Editorial: Human trafficking, a scourge too close to home
The coronavirus pandemic changed how a lot of businesses operate. Restaurants, offices, movie studios — everyone had to rethink how they do things. So did criminals like human traffickers. You might think that at a time when the whole world was locked down because of a contagious disease, the number...
Editorial: State Supreme Court is right to protect Oil and Gas Fund
When it comes to environmental issues, it often seems like a struggle between protecting nature and protecting the bottom line. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court just made a decision that puts them on the same side — even if the state wouldn’t see it that way. The court ruled that Pennsylvania...
Editorial: Rental assistance tied up in strings
Westmoreland County received almost $13 million in emergency rental and utility bill funding to help residents who were at risk of losing a place to live or the means to heat or power it because of the coronavirus pandemic. But according to Union Mission Executive Director Dan Carney, just 11%...
Editorial: Hospitals shouldn’t have to force vaccines on employees
In December 2020, after months of wondering when a vaccine for covid-19 would be finished and when it would be available, bringing the end of the pandemic into view, people watched as trucks left loaded with shipments bound for hospitals across the country. The delivery was highly anticipated. Once in...
Editorial: Nursing homes, covid and what’s right
Just because something isn’t illegal doesn’t mean it is acceptable. On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department informed Gov. Tom Wolf that it would not be opening an investigation into whether this order to Pennsylvania nursing homes requiring admission of residents treated for covid-19 in hospitals violated federal law. Pennsylvania wasn’t...
Laurels & lances: Tuition, trademarks, transportation
Laurel: To prioritizing education. The Diocese of Greensburg announced a massive demonstration of support for parochial schools Wednesday. Donations totalling about $20 million will help make it possible for more kids to attend diocesan schools through tuition assistance that will extend over the next five years. There also will be...
Editorial: Don’t let more ’emergency contracts’ be a Harrisburg habit post-covid
Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware. It’s the kind of advice everyone has heard. The most common of common sense. If you spend money, know what you are getting in return. And if it is good advice for someone on a fixed income double-checking a grocery receipt to make sure...
Editorial: Funding pensions on credit is crazy
Some people say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Does that count if you do the same thing someone else did and expect it to turn out differently? The Westmoreland County Commissioners are giving that a try with $125...
Editorial: Today’s labor shortage, however unexpected, has multiple causes
Help wanted. Help needed. Positions available. Apply within. The signs are everywhere. Whether you are talking about your local grocery store or the gas station, your favorite restaurant or that summer-fun attraction, everyone seems to be looking for someone to do the work that keeps the doors open to keep...
Editorial: Suicide prevention that starts close to home
Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States. In 2019, 47,511 people lost their lives to whatever combination of pain or trauma or mental anguish made ending everything seem like the only solution. But as awful as that number is, there is another that might be worse....
Editorial: No masking the opioid epidemic that’s destroying lives
The coronavirus pandemic stole the spotlight in 2020, but it was not the only epidemic threatening lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the opioid crisis didn’t just fade into the background while people worried about masks, respirators and social distancing. The 2020 numbers hit a record...
Editorial: A reform that promotes and respects police professionalism
P olice departments across Pennsylvania have a new law to enforce. This law is a little different than most. It is one they will have to enforce against themselves. It requires police departments to participate in a database that keeps track of complaints and misconduct allegations against officers. The goal...
Laurels & lances: Scooters, seller, saviors
Laurel: To a new way to move. The City of Pittsburgh is planning to get people up and running with a Move PGH pilot program launching in the Manchester neighborhood. The program will put 100 electric scooters in use to push the city’s efforts for Universal Basic Mobility — a...
Editorial: A compounded error on unemployment payments requires state to come clean
The government is trusted with a lot just because it is the government. It is easy to balance your checkbook and figure out if the bank overcharged you for a fee. It isn’t hard to glance over your receipt from Walmart to make sure that you weren’t charged for two...
Editorial: Giving constables an updated role in local law enforcement
Do you know what a constable is and exactly where the position falls in the tangle of law enforcement and court duties in Pennsylvania? No? You aren’t alone. The position is something of a relic — a leftover from a time before police departments, when sheriffs could be far removed...
Editorial: Recognize the need for low-income senior housing
The percentage of people over 65 living in poverty is not as high as it used to be. According to the Congressional Research Service, the slice of the senior population living in the lowest income brackets has dropped by two-thirds over the last 50 years. In 2019, it was just...
Editorial: The inspiring example of the lemonade stand of Yukon
Over the last year, a lot of people have wondered about the skills and knowledge that children haven’t learned because of the coronavirus pandemic’s disruption of the education system. Sure, kids were going to school remotely or masked and at a distance from their peers. But the 2020-21 school year...
Editorial: State prison system takes necessary step with dementia unit
Pennsylvania has a prison problem, and it’s not the one most people think. Yes, like most states and like the federal government, the Keystone State has a lot of people behind bars. The most recent population report for the Department of Corrections has just under 40,000 people in the state’s...
Editorial: Adding insult to unemployment fraud injury
Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation program has been a problem for years. While some states have struggled under the burden of a massive increase in claims during the coronavirus pandemic, in Pennsylvania, that was only half the story. The system itself has been a problematic labyrinth. It was hard to apply. It...
Laurels & lances: Hot tickets, hot topic, hot dog
Laurel: To a rash of good luck. Everyone who buys a lottery ticket has that moment of hope and imagination, dreaming of walking away with the big prize. Lately, though, it seems like a lot of those big prizes are popping up in Southwestern Pennsylvania. It started in May. The...
Editorial: Celebrate local libraries as they emerge, and value their role
Libraries frequently are underappreciated services. They shouldn’t be. The coronavirus pandemic was not the first time that public or community libraries have seen their doors close in the face of a crisis. It probably will not be the last — although you would think that, at some point, the powers...
Editorial: Everyone’s health depends on nurses on call
When it comes to essential employees, there are a lot of positions that come to mind. During the pandemic, people came to realize how much they depend on grocery store stockers and fast food workers. Most parents came to look at teachers with new appreciation. Day care providers, bus drivers,...
Editorial: Westmoreland voters deserve straight answers on elections bureau
Westmoreland County commissioners need to be more forthright about what is happening in the elections bureau. This is becoming a very familiar topic. We have discussed it as three people in the office’s leadership have left under largely undisclosed circumstances in the last year. We have revisited it three times...
Editorial: The blood you give sustains the life we lead
For blood to do its job, you have to have enough to stay in circulation. That goes for blood inside the body — taking oxygen from the lungs to the heart and back again. It also goes for the blood that circulates out in the world. Having enough blood to...


Editor's Picks

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