Editorial: Arnold Palmer Regional Airport and the truth about rumors
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Rumors can be hilarious.
They are what sell supermarket tabloids. They make gossiping with friends entertaining. They are the little whispered snips that make a great story.
The problem is that rumors are not always accurate. And sometimes, by the time that’s been figured out, the rumors have run too far and too fast to be reined in.
There was a time those rumors might have become urban legends, like the kid from the old Life Cereal commercials dying from a mixture of soda and Pop Rocks or that there is a large plane missing in the Monongahela River.
Today, rumors are becoming integral to political campaigns.
It’s not a problem exclusive to one party. Democrats, including vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz and marquee surrogate former President Barack Obama, have leaned into salacious tidbits by making winking references to couches and diapers. Republicans have gone from bigger targets, like FEMA and Haitians eating cats, to smaller ones like whether Walz really has a dog.
And we can’t ignore the blizzard of rumors surrounding the assassination attempts on GOP nominee and former President Donald Trump.
But the newest rumor in Southwestern Pennsylvania is about planeloads of immigrants flying into Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.
It’s an idea that brought laughter to the Westmoreland County Airport Authority at a recent meeting.
“I just want to dispel that rumor, and do that emphatically, that we are not doing that,” said Executive Director Gabe Monzo.
The authority has been getting calls about the allegations that thousands of immigrants are being funneled through the airport. Some are from regular residents. Others are from people in law enforcement or politics.
Monzo cited cameras that would record such flights. He noted that the airport has no air traffic control at night.
Will that matter? It hasn’t made a difference when facts have been brought out to fight rumors regarding hurricane response or the Haitians in Springfield, Ohio. The JD Vance couch rumors continue to dog the Republican vice presidential candidate as jokes even though what started as an internet meme was quickly debunked.
The problem is frequently people prefer the story to the truth. Again, this is not exclusive to one party.
But with a large focus on immigration in this presidential campaign, it is important to tell the truth. And it has to start at the top of the ticket and trickle down to the grassroots supporters. In this case, the truth appears to be that a small Westmoreland County airport is not a major hub to shuttle immigrants around America.
“It’s really frustrating to even consider these issues,” Monzo said. “These are just a nuisance.”
Rumors often are.