Featured Commentary category, Page 101
Jessica Tomko: Disability representation in the entertainment industry
Representation. We see this word used a lot these days. It has become associated with the fight for social justice, a quantifiable goal, a hashtag, a marketing effort. In short, it has become a buzzword. I am a 31-year-old disabled woman, and I can safely say that I didn’t even...
Filippo Menczer: Battling social media manipulation
On the surface this seems reasonable. If people like credible news, expert opinions and fun videos, these algorithms should identify such high-quality content. But the wisdom of the crowds makes a key assumption here: that recommending what is popular will help high-quality content “bubble up.” We tested this assumption by...
Cara Ciminillo: Congress must extend Child Tax Credit to support child care gains
Since the Child Tax Credit was significantly expanded as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, working families in Pittsburgh and across Southwestern Pennsylvania started receiving up to $300 per child per month starting July 15. While the tax credit expansion came as a way to tackle the economic fallout...
Rep. Eric Nelson: Creating an election system for 2021, not patching one from 1937
What was America like in 1937? Slower-paced, to be sure. Less than half of us owned cars. Boarding a plane and traveling from New York to Los Angeles in a few hours was basically unheard of. Communication was slower too. There were no computers and no internet. On the rare...
Ciora Thomas: How Toomey can help protect, empower next generation
The other day, I stood on the steps by the river at Pittsburgh’s Point State Park getting my photograph taken, along with several other colleagues, to add to my nonprofit organization’s website. I founded SisTers PGH in 2013 for fellow TGNC (trans and gender-nonconforming) folks after years of struggling with...
Don Walko: We can create jobs without sacrificing environment
Both of my grandfathers were coal miners in Westmoreland County, and my mother and father worked in factories in South Greensburg. They were like most Appalachians: They were hard workers who took care of their families and loved their communities. Until I was in first grade, my family lived across...
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler: Gaming is good for Pa. economy
Covid-19 devastated Pennsylvania, shutting our state down for months. Our economy felt the impact, contracting by $32 billion. The road to recovery has not been easy, but thankfully, the Keystone State is back on the rebound. Part of this is due to obvious factors, like stores reopening and people returning...
Christie Lagemann: Love your library, this month and every month
There wasn’t a public library in every neighborhood in my hometown of Santa Rita, a community tucked into the province of Pampanga, Philippines. Public libraries were few and far between, scattered and not easily accessible. There was, however, a room being renovated in the private school I attended; a room...
Kathy Hochul: Revitalizing Southern Tier with help of ARC
New York’s Southern Tier region is part of the rich, geographically diverse fabric that makes up the state of New York . It is home to highly sought-after educational institutions, a mix of innovative industries, more than 5,300 farms and nearly 5 million acres of forestland that contribute to climate...
Brooke Barry: We must solve child care challenges to rebuild, recover
With communities still navigating the pandemic, families and child care providers are encouraged by the much-deserved attention being given to the essential role that early care and education play for families, educators and our economy. The child care industry is still recovering from near-collapse, and so, the question is, will...
Counterpoint: Scrap gerrymandering, adopt ranked choice
Partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts has been a uniquely American problem since our founding: As long as we’ve had politicians, they’ve exploited the power to pick their own voters before the voters get to pick them. It’s wrong, and it’s getting worse. Politicians have fancier tools and greater incentives to...
Point: Gerrymandering is inevitable in a democracy
With the Census Bureau finally releasing its population data to the states, they will now begin the process of redrawing political boundaries for local, state and congressional seats. Anyone who believes that there is some magic way of keeping politics out of the redistricting process must still believe in the...
Trudy Rubin: After Afghanistan failure, what is America prepared to fight for now?
As the news shifts, many Americans may think the war in Afghanistan is over. Not so. The searing scenes of Kabul’s fall are having a powerful impact on America’s global image, including the abandonment of Afghan allies. Chinese and Russian propaganda outlets are gleefully trumpeting scenes of America’s “defeat.” NATO...
Mark Compton: Turnpike users must pay fair share
Our goal at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is to collect all revenue that we generate. While leakage is an established part of the tolling business, as it is in any retail business model, it is something we take seriously. It has always been a part of tolling, even in a...
Lawrence Tabas: Pennsylvanians demand accountability for Afghanistan failures
This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken faced Congress and the American people to answer questions about his key role in orchestrating one of the biggest failures of foreign policy in our nation’s history: Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. The disastrous and hasty removal of U.S. troops left 13...
Chuck Cooper III and Sean Gibson: Making equity and education a mission
When we established foundations in honor of Chuck Cooper, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and the first African American drafted into the National Basketball Association, and Josh Gibson, catcher for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays and the second Negro Leagues player to be inducted into the National Baseball...
Tina Doose: A modern Civilian Conservation Corps could transform Pa., beyond
Braddock has never recovered from deindustrialization, a phenomena that led to mass blight, unemployment and the drug epidemic. In addition, we have been targeted by large companies for our rail, river and road access without much thought or consideration for the long-lasting and life-changing effects such industries would have on...
Gov. Tate Reeves: ARC partnership leads to economic growth in Mississippi
Mississippians are hard-working and constantly seeking opportunities to better themselves, their families and their communities. One of my priorities is making Mississippi the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family, so I am committed to increasing economic development, improving infrastructure and investing in workforce training....
Stone Washington: Proposed legislation could revitalize cities, reduce crime
The signs seem to be popping up in city centers everywhere. “For sale,” “For lease,” “Vacant.” They lie posted on the walls of buildings in downtowns across the country, where large office structures once filled with thousands of employees would arrive each morning for work. These now-empty spaces sit quiet....
Flora Cardoni and Michael Mann: Keys for Keystone State to tackle climate crisis
Tropical Depression (formerly Hurricane) Ida hit us hard, depositing torrential, flood-inducing rains across a huge swath of the eastern United States. Here in Pennsylvania, dangerous flash flooding and tornadoes destroyed homes and vehicles, disrupted and contaminated water supplies, devastated communities, and resulted in tragic and avoidable deaths. Unfortunately, Ida is...
Christopher Antypas: As we enter flu season, we must prioritize our seniors
As an independent pharmacist, I’ve made a living advising people on the benefits of both curative and preventative medicines. However, never in my career have I seen more attention paid to the importance of mass vaccinations. For the better part of two years, we’ve been hyper focused on creating and...
Joe Lafferty: Carrying on in Tunch’s memory
On Saturday, we, as the proud, loving and awesome city of Pittsburgh and internationally reaching Steeler Nation, lost a titan. We lost Tunch. Tunch Ilkin was born in Istanbul, Turkey. He was the first Turk to play in the National Football League. His family immigrated to America, and he played...
Sheldon Jacobson: Delta variant is having its way with air travel. What can help turn it around?
What a difference a month makes. On Aug. 1, over 2.2 million passengers passed through airport security checkpoints, the largest number dating back to March 2020. It was only on June 11 when airport security checkpoints screened 2 million passengers for the first time since early 2020. In contrast, on...
Kira Yeversky and Tom Fisher: Celebrating the Pittsburghers Behind Carnegie libraries, museums
Generations of Pittsburghers have expanded their horizons through the vast collections at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and explored the world through captivating exhibits at the Carnegie Museums. While these buildings bear the name of the steel baron who funded their construction, we believe it’s important this Labor Day to...
Gov. Andy Beshear: Eastern Ky.’s economy accelerating
This commentary is part of a series from governors of the 13 states in the Appalachian Regional Commission. ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and state governments focusing on 420 counties across the Appalachian Region. Kentucky’s economy is on fire, with economic momentum in every corner...
