Editorials category, Page 10

So far, President Donald Trump’s tariff brinkmanship has worked out well for him. He forced Colombia to bend to his will on repatriating its migrants and brought the leaders of Canada and Mexico rushing back to the table to talk border security. But what happens should his luck run out?...

To whom should Pennsylvania’s consumer advocate be answerable? The consumer advocate is a position created in 1976. The goal is to represent the people in state and federal proceedings involving utilities, including in front of the Pennsylvania Utility Commission. The point? The state’s interests and the people’s are often the...

What is the difference between an investment and a purchase? Apparently, it could be enough to move President Donald Trump’s sentiments on the relationship between U.S. Steel and would-be buyer Nippon Steel. The Japanese company in December 2023 offered almost $15 billion to buy U.S. Steel. Most of 2024 was...

Laurel: To a sign of the times. Pennsylvania fire departments are struggling with declining volunteers. The state mostly depends on volunteer departments across its 67 counties. There were about 60,000 volunteers in 2000. By 2023, that number had fallen to 38,000. Greensburg fire Chief Tom Bell is trying a new...

What’s next for Monroeville Mall? The 186-acre retail destination was sold by CBL Properties last week. The price tag? About $34 million. That’s nothing compared with the $231 million CBL paid when it bought the mall more than 20 years ago. But the mall isn’t really the draw it was...

Gov. Josh Shapiro laid out a plan for cooperation in his budget address Tuesday. Heading into his third budget negotiation, he outlined priorities that might be consensus builders between his Democratic Party and the Republicans on the other side. He talked about seniors. He talked about kids. He talked about...

February is Black History Month. It is a time when we stop and take a moment to recognize the role Black people have played in the building of our country. From America’s earliest days, Black people were an integral part of the architecture of the nation — whether it was...

During a tour of communities in western North Carolina and neighborhoods in Los Angeles devastated by natural disasters, President Donald Trump told victims, state officials and assembled media that his administration would look to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the nation’s foremost disaster response agency, or consider eliminating it...

Gov. Josh Shapiro has made nominations for two positions in the Westmoreland County Courthouse. Both are because of vacancies, as elected officials stepped away from their positions. In 2023, Common Pleas Judge Rita Hathaway retired. More than a year later, Hempfield lawyer Matt Schimizzi, 41, has been tapped by the...

As national eyes focus on the midair collision of a commercial plane with a military helicopter over the Potomac River, concerns remain about how to prevent a different kind of disaster. U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, introduced a package of rail safety bills in March 2023, about a month after...

Laurel: To making improvements. Westmoreland County commissioners say they want to see more oversight at the secure juvenile detention center. Good. The facility was closed for about eight months between 2023 and 2024. It reopened in March 2024 with half the licensed 16-person capacity. That will require more staffing. Part...

The somewhat simplified diagrams in social studies textbooks and the catchy tunes of “Schoolhouse Rock!” have taught us a rudimentary idea of what society looks like and how government fits into that. But civics classes and cartoon shorts on Saturday mornings did not give us an appreciation of how those...

Here at TribLive, we value the news. We have to value it. It’s our job. We value the news we cover. We value the news other professional outlets cover. We value local news and state news and national news. But we also value student news. In particular, we value student...

Why is Arnold Palmer Regional Airport losing money? The Unity airport is a small alternative in Westmoreland County. If you don’t want to brave the parkway and negotiate the sometimes intimidating scope of Pittsburgh International Airport, Arnold Palmer might be a less stressful alternative. The problem? Options. To fly out...

If it wasn’t already clear — after nearly 250 years — that the pardon power is a standing invitation to abuse and corruption, two presidents confirmed it on the same day this week. On his way out of office, Joe Biden issued a “preemptive” clemency for his siblings and their...

Pennsylvania has not yet decided where it will stand with marijuana. Sure, the state has a position on medical marijuana. It’s legal with one of a list of approved diagnoses and a card issued by an approved doctor. Medical cannabis then can be obtained at an authorized dispensary. But that’s...

It’s time to think about elections. There’s a sentence no one was ready to hear. The effects of the 2024 election are just barely becoming reality. The inauguration happened Monday. Confirmation hearings for Cabinet members have only begun. Congress still is finding its footing. The state House needs a special...

Laurel: To finding the upside. It’s hard to locate the silver lining in sub-zero temperatures, but bug experts gave Pennsylvanians a ray of hope. You might not like the deep freeze that settled across the state this week, but neither do spotted lanternflies. The invasive pest has been the bane...

Commitments are agreements. They are an acknowledgment of accord. When a couple gets married, both parties agree to the love and honor, sickness and health vows. When that couple buys a house, they sign on the dotted line, with the seller and the mortgage company agreeing to their parts in...

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives is once again locked in a tie. The chamber has reflected the paper-thin margins of state politics since 2023 — or more precisely, since the moment votes were counted in the 2022 general election. That election gave the Democrats a narrow majority with one hand but...

“Today’s cyber landscape is threatened by a multitude of malicious actors who have the tools to conduct large-scale fraud schemes, hold our money and data for ransom, and endanger our national security.” That’s according to a 2023 FBI report on internet crime that was quoted this month in The (Cumberland,...

The Butler Farm Show grounds shooting will have a lasting impact on the U.S. Secret Service. That was evident from the moment the first shot rang out and when Donald Trump clutched his ear. Few Secret Service-protected events have body counts. Buffalo Township firefighter Corey Comperatore was not there to...

On Tuesday, Live Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield had some impressive payouts. It wasn’t because someone bet on black or stayed at the slot machine until a jackpot came up. The awards weren’t paid in poker chips. The prize was $19 million in casino-generated funds distributed to organizations with a public...

Laurel: To shopping around. The Greater Pittsburgh region will have a new neighbor in the grocery market. This week, popular New York-based retailer Wegmans announced its first foray into the area. A 115,000-square-foot location is planned for a 13-acre plot in Cranberry, adjacent to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. A...

The term “presidential” long has referred to the way a person carries himself and the significance of the office. It also can refer to the people with whom the president surrounds himself. After the rapid evolution of public discourse in recent years — some might convincingly call it devolution —...