Opinion category, Page 249
Lori Falce: Group shot spoiled picture-perfect ending to manhunt
For almost two weeks, Pennsylvania State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, U.S. marshals and other law enforcement were combing Chester County for one man. Convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante spider-walked up a wall in the county prison like a spy in an action movie. The man who brutally stabbed his...
Letter to the editor: Second coming of covid
Oh no, here we go again! After finally emerging from the most devastating medical and psychological operation ever waged upon humankind, there are rumblings of a new covid variant coming. Along with all of the mandatory, ritualistic lockdowns, social distancing, face masks and injections? After four years of untold damage...
Letter to the editor: Wilkinsburg fertile soil of community spirit
“Where in the world of Western Pennsylvania is Wilkinsburg?” That was my first thought after reviewing search results for rental space. The borough’s website says, “Wilkinsburg is a community known for the wonderful spirit of its residents.” I’m intrigued yet recall Momma’s wisdom of my great-grandma Mamie, “All that glitters...
Paul Kengor: Selling out your Steelers
During the end of my time at Pitt in the late 1980s, I lucked into a prized possession, coveted by many a Pittsburgher. Courtesy of my good friend Scott Fedorek, I secured my share of the local holy grail: Steelers season tickets. In those days, you waited decades for such...
Laurels & lances: A tale of two ordinances
Laurel: To taking time. In Murrysville, elected officials aren’t rushing into an ordinance that would address short-term home rentals. Council is taking time to debate what needs to be regulated and what doesn’t when it comes to homeowners making their properties available through services like Airbnb or VRBO. It’s an...
Brendon Slotterback: Making Forbes through Frick safe for all
In Pittsburgh, 2023 is on track to be the deadliest in recent memory for people walking in our city. In 2022, according to the City’s own data, 25 people died in car crashes within city boundaries. The transportation sector, including the cars and trucks we drive, is now the largest...
Rep. Mike Kelly: Here is the budget Congress is — and is not — actually debating
Picture this: A family of four earns $50,000 a year but spends $69,000 a year. This seems unsustainable, right? That’s because it is. Yet, the federal government does that every day — in the trillions of dollars — all with your money. This year, President Biden presented Congress with a...
Letter to the editor: The right to criticize police
To those who insist on criticizing the police at every turn (“Citizen overwatch of police needed,” Aug. 27, TribLIVE), I issue a challenge. Instead of playing armchair quarterback to situations you have no firsthand knowledge of, put your money, or in this case, your judgment, where your mouth is. Go...
Letter to the editor: Defund Planned Parenthood
Buried deep (section A, page 7) in the Labor Day weekend edition was a three-paragraph blip with the headline “Pa. to end state funding for anti-abortion counseling centers” (Sept. 1, TribLIVE). Apparently, the governor has the power and the desire to defund pro-life agencies despite the fact that half of...
Editorial: Does Hempfield need an owner’s rep for its $150 million building project?
The Hempfield Area School District’s building project just keeps adding layers of issues without ever breaking ground. The project is conceived as a “revitalization” of the senior high school. It would bring the outdated structure up to today’s needs and provide improvements to the sports facilities, including a swimming pool...
Letter to the editor: Andrew Mellon not quite a hero
In “Andrew Mellon, hero of the 1920s” (Aug. 9, TribLIVE), Lawrence Reed presents Mellon as the “best” secretary of the Treasury in history. Reed’s account is startling for its omissions; the stock market crash of 1929 was directly attributable to Mellon’s policies. Income inequality under Mellon was the greatest in...
Jonah Goldberg: Mike Pence is railing against populism among Republicans. But he’s late to the game
Last week Mike Pence gave a speech at Saint Anselm College that, depending on your view of the man, was either courageous or desperate — or both. Titled “Populism vs. Conservatism: Republicans’ Time for Choosing,” the speech was an homage to his hero, Ronald Reagan, who in 1964 gave a...
Letter to the editor: Norwin needs responsible, respectful board members
The Change4Norwin website’s content is deeply concerning to me — as a community member and as a Republican. They label opponents as “Marxists” threatening children. Using frivolous lawsuits to silence citizens and school officials raises doubts about their commitment to open dialogue. Rallying behind problematic behavior reflects their lack of...
Letter to the editor: Transparency in Allegheny Township
According to Allegheny Township Supervisor Jamed Morabito, there will be more transparancy in Allegheny Township’s government in the future than there has been in the past 50 years (“Employee exodus blamed on hostile work environment in Allegheny Township,” Aug. 18, TribLIVE). That is quite a statement from a man who...
Letter to the editor: Biden administration a joke
What a joke this administration is. Now they want to blame the Republicans if they don’t sign over millions of dollars more to advert a government shutdown. President Biden says if they shut down there will be hundreds more people that die from fentanyl because of no government funding. This...
Editorial: Why no bail for a $1.6 million drug arrest?
Bail is money that serves as a guarantee that a defendant will show up in court. It is not meant to be punitive but simply a surety that the process plays out as intended. Don’t show up? You not only have a new warrant for arrest, but you also lose...
Letter to the editor: American Rescue Plan helping Western Pa.
The article “Westmoreland home repair program filled before program launch” (Sept. 9, TribLIVE) omits an important fact about the “overprescribed” and popular Westmoreland County effort to repair low- income homes funded through a state allocation of American Rescue Plan funds. The American Rescue Plan funding the popular program was passed by...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s legacy
I believe Donald Trump’s legacy will be one of conviction for sexual battery, with more pending, plus two impeachments, and four criminal indictments, with more pending. For me, the astounding revelations and repercussions of his presidency illustrate the following: 1. How ignorant his followers are of the Constitution, federal laws...
Elwood Watson: Why should we care if a politician is unmarried?
It appears some Republican donors are really concerned that presidential candidate Tim Scott, South Carolina’s junior senator, is a 57-year-old bachelor — and whatever implications that may entail. Top party donors are raising concerns about the fact the conservative Black senator has never been married. and want some of their...
Letter to the editor: Trump doesn’t need forgiveness?
It wasn’t all that long ago when a reporter asked Donald Trump, “Have you ever asked God for forgiveness?” Trump’s reply was, “I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness. And I am good. I don’t do a lot of things that are bad.” God might disagree. It was...
Editorial: Rational pot enforcement up in smoke
As state lawmakers ponder fully legalizing marijuana, a new Senate bill points to a persistent related problem that Congress should resolve. Like 37 other states, the District of Columbia and three territories, Pennsylvania allows the use of medicinal marijuana. Those territories, the District of Columbia and 23 states also have...
Letter to the editor: Fair Districts nonpartisan
The writer of the letter “Ward correct on vouchers” (Sept. 2, TribLIVE) described Fair Districts PA (FDPA) as “a left-wing advocacy group.” I’d like correct that and other misstatements. FDPA is a nonpartisan project of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, launched in 2016 to address partisan gerrymandering. The...
Tom Purcell: NFL bets on greed
“Only bet what you can afford to lose.” That’s the message from the National Football League as its betting-company partners aggressively promote legal betting on pro football games. For years the NFL was adamantly against betting in sports. In 2012, reports the New York Post, the league’s commissioner Roger Goodell...
Emma Varvaloucas : Gen Z is dropping the college dream. It’s time for America to catch up.
For years, we have lamented the spike in college costs and accompanying student debt bloat while we teach high schoolers to covet admittance to a tiny sliver of prestigious universities — ones that refuse to enlarge incoming class sizes despite endowments the size of some small countries’ gross domestic product....
John A. Fliter and Betsy Wood: States weakening child labor restrictions 8 decades after government took kids out of workforce
A movement to weaken American child labor protections at the state level began in 2022. By June 2023, Arkansas, Iowa, New Jersey and New Hampshire had enacted this kind of legislation, and lawmakers in at least another eight states had introduced similar measures. The laws generally make it easier for...
