Editorials category, Page 102
Editorial: Voices heard at gun control hearing?
It was a hearing. Not a listening. On Thursday night, 101 people stepped up to the microphone in front of Pittsburgh City Council and Mayor Bill Peduto. They wanted to have their say. They each were allotted three minutes to tell their story or plead their case. They spoke on...
Laurels & lances: Art and history and crimes and punishment
Laurel: To “Hamilton” for prioritizing education. The hottest ticket in town is a free ticket for 2,700 Pennsylvania students who scored a shot at seeing the Tony Award-winning megahit at the Benedum Center on Friday as part of the Hamilton Education Project. It brings kids from low-income districts to the...
Trump is trapped and tanking in polls
Even this White House, infamous for self-delusion, must realize it’s in deep trouble. Two more polls released Wednesday show the depth of President Trump’s problem. The Morning Consult-Politico poll finds that “57 percent of registered voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance — more than any other survey in Trump’s two...
Editorial: Gigs are up with Walmart announcement
The news of Walmart grocery delivery in the Pittsburgh area was met with interest. A way to go to Walmart without actually going to Walmart? A chance to casually select ice cream, laundry detergent, half a pound of chipped ham, six frozen pizzas and a dozen bagels from a phone...
Editorial: A beautiful day…to be snubbed?
While some read the lists of Academy Award nominees with questions about how Bradley Cooper and Emily Blunt could be snubbed and why were no women nominated in the director category, in our little corner, the question is more about documentaries than blockbusters. What about Mr. Rogers? “Won’t You Be...
Editorial: Amnesty could stop avalanche of legal trouble
A little amnesty can be a good thing. A lot of people in Allegheny County have a chance to find that out. The county is swimming in about 450 bench warrants issued to people who didn’t show up at court appearances. It’s just about the easiest way to guarantee a...
Editorial: Whose shutdown is it?
Whose problem is it anyway? President Trump sat in a meeting with Democrats and pushed for a border wall. He did it emphatically and without question. “I am proud to shut down the government for border security,” he said Dec. 11. “I will take the mantle.” And government shut down....
Editorial: STEM doesn’t have to mean college
A good job. A good paycheck. A balance between work and home. These are the things most of us want, and the things most of us want for our kids. They aren’t things that have to come with a college degree. Maybe your child really wants to go to college....
Editorial: Is record casino revenue enough?
What is $3.2 billion? It’s $10 for every human being in the United States. It’s enough to bridge most of the gap between Congress and President Trump on the border wall. In short, it’s a lot of money. And it’s how much money was made at Pennsylvania casinos in 2018....
Laurels & lances: Mobility, community and an Amber Alert
Laurel: To the Joy Riders. The community biking program wants to bring together cyclists like the Mighty Tri Girls and Total Chaos — two Pittsburgh-area groups whose members train for triathlons — with individuals who have limited mobility. The result would be almost symbiotic. Using tandem bikes that have integrated...
Editorial: Shooting joke wasn’t funny
“My client didn’t make an actual credible threat.” Defense attorney David Shrager made that statement in court Wednesday, dismissing the actions of Jason Bowen, 18, of Middlesex as an inappropriate joke. Inappropriate? Yes. Joke? Not funny. The “joke” was a Snapchat video showing Bowen shooting a semiautomatic rifle with the...
Editorial: Everyone counts in census
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, 17 other attorneys general, six mayors including Pittsburgh’s Bill Peduto and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have won a federal court battle. They argued against a Trump administration directive to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. The decision? The census means counting everybody,...
Editorial: Mayor’s plan needs more details
“We welcome more details on the mayor’s full plan.” That’s what Highmark spokesman Aaron Billger said about Mayor Bill Peduto’s OnePGH idea. We second that. It’s not that we are critical of the plan or the goal. We don’t really have enough information to be critical. The initiative wants to...
Editorial: Taking care of elderly pays debt
Pennsylvania has learned hard lessons about protecting its children in recent years, from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal to the failures of ChildLine to the Catholic Church grand jury report. We’ve taken deep looks at the value of our kids and the consequences of not protecting them. Hopefully,...
Editorial: Defense makes courtroom work
Everyone deserves a defense. Scratch that. It isn’t that everyone deserves a defense. Let’s face it — if some people did the crimes they were accused of doing, there really is no “deserving” involved. But everyone is entitled to a defense. The American system of jurisprudence is built on a...
Editorial: Cardinal Donald Wuerl’s lies come to light
He lied. Sometimes Cardinal Donald Wuerl concealed the truth of sexual abuses in “secret archives.” Sometimes he didn’t acknowledge. Sometimes he stayed silent. But now we know the former bishop of Pittsburgh didn’t just commit sins of omission. Now we know that he took a commandment and snapped it like...
Laurels & lances: Girl Scouts, girl power and secret votes
Laurel: To the sweetest philanthropy. It’s cookie sale time, and the Girl Scouts are out in earnest, selling those Thin Mints, Trefoils, Do-Si-Dos and more at $5 a box. Funds raised help subsidize camp registration costs, pay for community service projects and troop activities, and assist girls and troops with...
Editorial: What is a crisis?
A crisis is a fork in the road. Go one way, things get better. Go another, they get worse. It’s a word that came up repeatedly Tuesday as President Trump gave his first national address on the government shutdown and the situation on the southern border. It is a humanitarian...
Editorial: Police just did their job
They did what they are there to do. When two Westmoreland County residents seemingly disappeared on Thursday, Greensburg police didn’t brush it off. They didn’t say “come back in a week and let us know if they show up.” They didn’t raise an eyebrow and throw the report on a...
Editorial: Gun owners, opponents need to read the room
Situational awareness. It’s the idea that you should be aware of what’s happening around you. It’s why Secret Service agents scan rooms and note all the people in them. It’s why many law enforcement officers won’t sit with their back turned to a door or window. It’s what Shawn Thomas...
Editorial: Bringing malls back to life
In 1989, malls were the place to be. They weren’t just stores. They were entertainment and food courts and social scenes. They were the place to be for kids after school. They were where retirees gathered to walk in the morning. They were there for a quick lunch or a...
Editorial: Shutdown could hit Pa. in tax season
In a press conference Friday, President Trump confirmed that he told Democrats in a negotiation earlier in the day that he would be willing to keep the lights out and the employees off the clock in federal offices for months or years to get the border wall that is the...
Editorial: Replacing hate with tolerance
Hate. When hate is written in capital letters and bold font, we recognize it for what it is. It looks like blood on the walls of a synagogue or a black boy beaten to unrecognizability before being dumped in a river. It sounds like ugly words that leave you shocked...
The cost of a kid’s medication
The first time I went to the pharmacy with my new insurance, I held my breath and stiffened. I looked away and braced myself the same way I do when I get blood work or a flu shot. It was going to hurt. “That will be $35.” What? Oh, no....
Laurels & lances: A baby, a DUI, deaths and support
Laurel: To Miles Everett Bartko. It isn’t every kid who gets this much attention, especially at just a couple of days old. But kudos to young Miles for his keen sense of timing. He wasn’t just the first baby born in Westmoreland County this year. He was the first birth...
