Opinion category, Page 458
Leslie Poston and Sara Goodkind: It’s time for UPMC to do more than fly banners for our health care heroes
Around the country and across industries, workers are standing up to demand fair pay and treatment. The worker shortage — called “The Great Resignation” — is particularly acute in health care, where the staffing crisis has left many concerned for worker and patient safety. Essential care workers are being pushed...
Letter to the editor: Let’s have BLM testify about violence, too
Let’s have President Trump testify in regard to his involvement with inciting violence at the Capitol. However, let’s also have the leaders of Black Lives Matter testify in regard to their involvement with promoting violence leading up to the 2020 presidential election. Russell Dejulio Mt. Lebanon...
Letter to the editor: Following science saves lives
Just a story. My daughter-in-law told me that her best friend’s sister recently died from covid but not before she infected her husband and grandchildren. She was not vaccinated. Nor her husband. She and her husband believed covid was a hoax and they had the freedom to choose. They did...
Editorial: Toll bridges could cost municipalities
Bridges need to be repaired so that people can continue to use them. That doesn’t seem to be a hard idea to process. The bridges were built for a reason. They need to be used to get from one place to another by going over something else. Sometimes they cross...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland Democrats need new leadership
Another election and another “shellacking” for Westmoreland Democrats. This time they managed to lose all countywide elections as well as most school board seats and local municipal seats. The last three chairwomen have pushed a social agenda alienating the voters in this county. It’s time this party refocuses on the...
Letter to the editor: Thank educators during American Education Week
With American Education Week upon us, I want to take a moment to recognize everyone who makes Pennsylvania’s public schools terrific. That includes the educators and support professionals in our schools as well as the parents, guardians and community leaders who partner with them. When it comes to educating the...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Nov. 15
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Nov. 15....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Nov. 15
Editorial cartoons for the week of Nov. 15....
Mona Charen: Welcome to the Daddy Wars
After what seems like 150 years of “Mommy Wars” in America, we haven’t solved anything. So we’re applying what we haven’t learned to a new front: We’re adding men to the fray. Welcome to the Daddy Wars! When it was revealed that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was taking four weeks...
Colin McNickle: PASSHE must do more to reform itself
Even though efforts have begun in earnest to right-size the struggling Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), enrollment continues to decline. And even more fundamental reforms must be undertaken for it to survive, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “The time has come to...
Letter to the editor: Union protects community
I appreciated the article, “Pandemic bonuses approved for Westmoreland Manor staff” (Oct. 21, TribLIVE), reporting on workers finally receiving pandemic pay to improve bedside care for residents, reduce short-staffing and retain our overwhelmed workforce during the covid-19 pandemic. But what many readers don’t know is that our fellow nursing home...
Letter to the editor: Biden racking up dismal record
Numerous times, candidate Joe Biden stated that because of his long tenure in the Senate, he would be most uniquely qualified as president to reach across the aisle with his agenda, bring Republicans to the table and get bipartisan legislation passed that would unify the country and benefit all Americans....
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Max Cleland, American hero
When Max Cleland died last week in Atlanta, America lost a hero, in this case a man who also left a blueprint for how to live a life of service. Cleland was a U.S. senator, Veterans Affairs administrator, state senator and Georgia secretary of state. And he was a constant...
Letter to the editor: Bring on the election investigations
Republicans “won” many seats in this election. Every row office in Westmoreland County is now in Republican hands, as is the governorship of Virginia. So I’m sure that they will do the responsible thing and investigate the obvious election fraud and conduct responsible audits of the voter rolls. After all,...
Editorial: Mask appeal is latest political power play
On Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that Pennsylvania schools could set their own mask policies as of Jan. 17, opening the door for districts where parents have bristled under the state requirement to ease or eliminate the demand that students, staff and visitors mask up in the face of the...
Letter to the editor: Mandatory reporting of lost, stolen guns unconstitutional
In her letter “We’ll all be safer when stolen guns must be reported” (Nov. 8, TribLIVE), Vivienne Selia highlights the importance of reining in the misuse of lost and stolen firearms. What she fails to mention — and what gun control proponents frequently fail to mention in their calls for...
Letter to the editor: Celebrating organ donation
National Donor Sabbath, this year Nov. 12-14, is an annual interfaith commemoration when people come together to celebrate the gift of life made possible through organ donation. Faith leaders, donor families, transplant recipients, and donation and transplantation professionals have joined to raise awareness about the lifesaving and healing gifts made...
Sheldon Jacobson: Team sports require team decisions on covid vaccination
Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers’ star quarterback and reigning AP NFL Most Valuable Player, tested positive for covid-19. He also admitted that he was not vaccinated. Individuals living in isolation are free to make any choice they wish when it comes to vaccination. However, when personal choices have community...
Sounding off: Taxpayer money for vaccine compensation is wrong
Where does this idea come from when the government can take taxpayer money and decide to spend it by giving government employees five days of vacation time for simply accepting the covid-19 vaccination? The state treasurer estimates this is going to cost $100 million. It comes from the arrogance of...
Ronald A. Smith and Terry Engelder: Jerry Sandusky should be retried
Ten years ago, Joe Paterno, the Brooklyn-born winningest football coach at Penn State University, was fired at night over the telephone, five days after the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office released the presentment charging defensive coach Jerry Sandusky and Penn State administrators with crimes of child abuse. Paterno was never found...
Scott Brown: A case for city ownership of Greensburg parklet
Greensburg’s Pennsylvania Avenue parklet, built in 1988 and gifted to the city in 1989 by nonprofit Go Greensburg, is the subject of debate about who should own the park. Constructed for $30,000, the park was funded entirely by donations from benefactors and generous citizens. In May 2020, the city sold...
Letter to the editor: Loss of Bacha as coroner a shame for Westmoreland residents
Thank you to Ken Bacha for your 20 years of service as our Westmoreland County coroner. Bacha has done so much for the fire departments and the opioid issues in our county, and was trained and skilled in the position. It is sad that elections have come down to party...
Letter to the editor: We’re getting what we voted for in Biden, Harris
The saying “you get what you pay for” also holds true for “you get who you vote for”: a clueless president and vice president who are destroying this great country in a mere nine months. Plus: a clueless cabinet, a secretary of transportation who takes a two-month paternity leave in...
Editorial: Respecting employees can fix employment crisis
Businesses, especially the boots-on-the-ground variety like food service and retail, are in the midst of an employment crisis. Many are being forced to scale back hours or days to deal with the availability of staff. It’s a problem that was kicked off by the coronavirus pandemic and its layoffs amid...
Letter to the editor: Adult-use cannabis laws can reduce crime, improve law enforcement resources
With homicide rates and gun violence rising nationwide, law enforcement faces significant challenges. It stands to reason that police departments that are freed from marijuana arrests will have more resources to devote to serious crimes. According to a June 2020 study by the National Institute of Justice on the Effects...
