Editorials category, Page 10
Laurels & lances: Hoping, paying & reopening
Laurel: To not giving up. Cherrie Mahan, 8, was last seen at a Winfield bus stop in February 1985. Forty years later, although Cherrie has been legally declared dead, there is still a search for answers in her case. Steve Ridge, a private investigator from Iowa, has stepped up with...
Editorial: Westmoreland County crisis teams address critical need
There might be no single issue in the United States that affects more areas than mental health problems. They can be caused by physical health issues, such as chronic pain or a dire diagnosis. But they also can exacerbate those issues as depression or anxiety can delay treatment or interfere...
Editorial: Voter ID compromise would be ideal but only if parties let it be
Should a voter be required to prove identity to cast a ballot? It’s a question that has been argued in Pennsylvania for years — just like it has in other states. A recent Spotlight PA and Votebeat article looked at how the partisan divide on the issue has narrowed over...
Editorial: Transparency versus security over arson at governor’s residence
Journalists are big fans of transparency. We like the windows of information open and the lights of access turned on. If government is doing something, we think the people should be able to know about who is paying for it, who proposed it, who benefits from it, and who voted...
Editorial: Virginia Giuffre’s crusade against Jeffrey Epstein changed how we listen to survivors
Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most outspoken victims, died by suicide late last month at the age of 41. In 2015, Giuffre was the first Epstein victim to go public about the sexual abuse and forced participation in a sex-trafficking ring allegedly led by Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine...
Editorial: PBS, NPR and being the helpers Mister Rogers talked about
After any tragedy or disaster, it is a virtual guarantee that someone will quote Fred Rogers. The man behind “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was known for his lifelong efforts to help children make sense out of what happened around them, from how crayons were made to having big feelings. Among those...
Editorial: Denning’s downfall is object lesson for other officers
Fifteen months. That is how long Shawn Denning, 44, of Delmont will spend in a federal prison. The former Greensburg police chief was sentenced Thursday on charges of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. Perhaps U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon was being ironic in...
Laurels & lances: Recovery & refuse
Laurel: To community resources. The storms that rolled through the region on Tuesday were harsh. Three people died, property destruction was widespread and downed trees and electrical wires left many in the dark. The fallout of that has been difficult. Some schools cancelled classes, going to remote learning, but how...
Editorial: Pet owners suffered double loss from shocking charges
Pets are not just animals that live in our homes. For many people, their cats and dogs, birds and ferrets and other critters are a part of the family. There are 59.8 million American homes with at least one pet, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). And just...
Editorial: What’s up with Westmoreland County Prison numbers?
Westmoreland County Prison’s population has been on the rise. The jail has a capacity of 720. Last week, there were 708 inmates. It isn’t an anomalous spike. The March population averaged 695 inmates. That was up 11% from 2024. More inmates are being admitted than released. This isn’t a universal...
Editorial: What can Pittsburgh learn from Green Bay and the NFL Draft?
Hosting a large sporting event can be a shiny brass ring that cities are eager to grasp. Sometimes it’s scored by merit. If your baseball team makes it to October, your city could be home to the World Series. Check off opponents along the way, and the puck could drop...
Editorial: The Webb Telescope is making incredible discoveries. It may go dark
Even in the depths of space, there’s no escape from politics. The $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope is parked 1 million miles away. In the nearly three years since it became operational, “Webb,” as it’s called, has made some incredible findings. Webb uses infrared scanning to show how stars...
Editorial: Data centers’ power usage must be monitored and managed
Computer data exists in a series of electronic blips. They are the 1s and 0s of a code that compiles, catalogs and categorizes billions of pieces of information. Storing information physically takes up a lot of space. Think about how much room your cassette tapes, compact discs, DVDs, VHS tapes,...
Editorial: PennDOT should up the speed on completing Route 356 property purchases
Route 356 in Buffalo Township sees lots of traffic. It also sees a number of crashes. To address that, PennDOT believes the best solution is to widen the road. The agency plans to take the two existing lanes and bump them up to five. The project is projected to cost...
Lori Falce: Want women to have kids? Value motherhood more
If the Trump administration wants to encourage women to increase the birthrate in America, there are ways to do it. We could create a culture that values women’s decisions to have a family. That might be what proposals being bandied about are intended to do. A $5,000 cash bonus to...
Laurels & lances: AI and air
Laurel: To new technology. Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence and its impact on various industries. We know it can help write letters for offices and chat with customers on a website. It can help personalize marketing materials, automate manufacturing and protect information. But it also can help in public...
Editorial: Less participation in local government is a lost opportunity
Pennsylvania has 67 counties, 500 school districts and 2,560 municipalities. With each step down that ladder, there are more and more opportunities for people to step up and participate in their government. There are commissioners, controllers, registers and clerks at the county level. There are directors for school boards. There...
Editorial: Delay in announcing Penn State campus closures will impact student choices
Penn State is making decisions about which of 12 Commonwealth Campuses the university might close. The decision has been dangled since February. President Neeli Bendapudi announced then that she had a team compiling recommendations. The university has its flagship campus at University Park and 19 branches scattered across the state....
Editorial: Pope Francis provided a voice for many — and an example to be emulated
Requiescat in pace. That is the Latin phrase abbreviated as R.I.P. on so many memorials. The common English use “rest in peace” does not do it justice. “Rest in peace” is a direction or an order. A more accurate translation is “May he rest in peace.” The simple addition of...
Editorial: The financial crisis of 2025? Better to be ready
If there’s one thing investors have learned in recent days, it’s that there’s no way to guess what America will do next. With its on-again, off-again tariffs, the administration has demonstrated a willingness to shock markets. Amid such radical uncertainty, a financial crisis isn’t out of the question. Policymakers need...
Editorial: Hunting for joy at Easter
Easter is about a joy that isn’t given. It is sought. On the Fourth of July, joy lights up the sky. On Halloween, we knock on doors and ask for it. On Thanksgiving, it is spread out on the table. On Christmas, it is wrapped up and tagged and placed...
Editorial: How did Pittsburgh’s overtime budget go so wrong?
In November, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey proposed a 2025 budget that didn’t just hold the line on 2024’s spending, but it also reeled it in by 3%. In December, Pittsburgh City Council passed that budget with few changes. They did so despite concerns over aspects that felt unrealistic. Specifically, there...
Laurels & lances: Cancer & crime
Laurel: To cancer research. Luca Bertucci, 17, of Murrysville understands what it’s like to have cancer. As a sophomore, he received inpatient chemotherapy for Burkitt’s lymphoma, a rare, aggressive lymphatic cancer. After seven months of treatment, today he is in remission. When his girlfriend, a member of a Leukemia &...
Editorial: For college students’ sake, let’s be reasonable with visa enforcement
Imagine for a moment having your whole life derailed by a traffic ticket. You decided to study business in Mississippi, and, after getting that degree, you applied to graduate school. You looked at all of your options and picked Carnegie Mellon University. Just getting in is a coup. Carnegie Mellon...
Editorial: Right to Know Law can be fixed, if lawmakers would do the right thing
A Pennsylvania court has decided the people don’t need to know about communications between state lawmakers and lobbyists who court them for influence. Nonprofit newsroom Spotlight PA asked for communications between some state senators or their staff members and lobbyists. It was part of a corruption investigation involving the city...
