Editorials category, Page 19

Being poor in Pennsylvania is not a crime. It might be enough to get you punished, though, according to a new lawsuit. The American Civil Liberties Union and private law firms filed a petition in Commonwealth Court on Thursday. The demand? They want a ruling that spells out the state’s...

Making payments in time to avoid penalties is a regular occurrence at a county courthouse. It happens when people pay taxes. It can happen when closing a deal or settling a case. Taking care of the money aspect of a legal transaction can be the final piece that cements everything....

Laurel: To learning from mistakes. The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg was not spared by the revelations of Pennsylvania grand jury reports on hidden child sex abuse. It paid out $4.35 million in clergy sex abuse claims. But the question arising from all these past errors is this: What would happen...

As a society, we believe that making something false and passing it off as something real is wrong. You can’t fake money. You can’t make bootleg recordings of movies or music. You can’t forge a check and cash it at a bank. You can’t paint a picture and tell someone...

Could the question of how to save emergency services be all about authority? Pennsylvania has issues with its first response providers. Aside from police departments having trouble filling positions, there are the struggles of fire departments and emergency medical service providers. Most Keystone State fire departments are staffed entirely or...

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade did more than just upend reproductive health law. It also made back-burner issues take on more urgency. If limits on abortion result in more pregnancies, more policies will be required to respond to the resulting children’s needs. States will...

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, writing on behalf of the Continental Congress, proclaimed all people have an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A bipartisan duo of elected leaders recently argued we’re doing too little to advance that third and vitally important principle, and...

Career and technical education is important. It has become part of a growing conversation, as the reality and sustainability of university education are debated because of its cost. The requirement of a college degree for certain jobs also is being questioned. In 2023, Gov. Josh Shapiro removed that hurdle for...

Some ailments are acute. They are like an asthma attack — sudden, unpredictable and requiring an urgent and immediate response. Others are chronic and demand steady and sustained supervision, like the steroid inhaler an asthmatic might take daily to strengthen the lungs and stave off an attack. Acute and chronic...

Laurel: To pulling together. A fire can can devastate a residence. Even when there is no loss of life, it can upend a family and send people scrambling to find shelter and replace the necessities they have lost. But what happens when the residence lost is the place people go...

The former Inn at Lenape Heights Event Center and Golf Resort was sold in January for $2.5 million. It prompted a flurry of questions as people in the Manor Township community were left wondering about the impact. The closing took away a hotel, restaurant and location for weddings and other...

The three branches of government can each do or not do their jobs independent of each other most of the time. The governor of Pennsylvania never has to ask permission for staying inside the lines of his executive tasks. The Legislature doesn’t need the governor’s OK to introduce bills or...

A rainbow is just a trick of the light. There isn’t really a ribbon of color stretched across the sky. It’s just the way the sun falls through a mist of water suspended in the air after precipitation. The water acts like a cut-glass crystal, slicing through the light to...

Who holds Major League Baseball’s record for the highest batting average in a single season? It’s not Ted Williams, with his .406 average in 1941, the last time anyone topped .400. It’s not Ty Cobb, with his stunning .420 average in 1911, or even Nap Lajoie, whose .426 average in...

Penn State is a football school. There’s no denying that. The university may excel in other sports and other areas, but football is the foundation upon which its national brand is built. That can be a good thing. Plenty of schools have leaned into it. Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio...

The world seems fine with Japan’s largest steel company acquiring the grandfather of steel production in America. In December, Tokyo-based Nippon Steel made a $14.9 billion offer to merge with U.S. Steel. In April, U.S. Steel stockholders approved the proposal by an overwhelming 99% of shares represented. And yet a...

Laurel: To rebuilding. Rick and Beth Napoleon lost their home with the August 2023 explosion in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood. The blaze consumed three houses across the street from the Napoleons, but they were not the only ones with damage. Many houses required extensive repair. The Napoleon home was beyond...

It is common for people to try to avoid the law by identifying its outlines and walking right up to that border. It happens in banking, where people will try to avoid the scrutiny that comes with criminal activities by staying under the $10,000 reporting threshold. People will try to...

The pandemic changed the way many people worked. Specifically, it changed where they could do that work. There was a reason. If people were working from home, they weren’t spreading the virus. Working from home became popular. It was cheaper to work without the commute. It was affordable to make...

It is somehow fitting that the International Criminal Court prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants against leaders of both Hamas and Israel in connection with mass slaughters carried out since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s response. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar,...

For Memorial Day, a classic Trib editorial: On this Memorial Day, be grateful that Americans’ willingness to sacrifice for freedom’s sake, instilled by each generation in the next, remains as strong as ever. Today, Americans honor those most worthy of such gratitude — those who gave their lives in our...

On Thursday, Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel spoke to TribLive about his time in a Russian penal colony, where he has been sentenced to 14 years. His alleged crime: possession of medical marijuana legally prescribed in Pennsylvania. He had a simple and heartfelt plea to President Joe Biden: “Just please, bring...

Laurel: To a new hire. The first president of Pennsylvania Western University announced her departure on Valentine’s Day 2023. That was followed by interim president Lorraine Bernotsky being named the new leader of West Chester University. She will depart PennWest June 30. It has taken more than 15 months to...

Is the NFL Draft coming to Pittsburgh in 2026 really that big a deal? From a financial perspective, it definitely could be. It seems unlikely Pittsburgh will see a Super Bowl on the North Shore anytime soon. The February weather in Southwestern Pennsylvania is too changeable for 120 million eyes...

The drama in the Westmoreland County Register of Wills office continues. It started with judges ordering Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton to comply with certain timelines. She didn’t. There was a hearing that revealed more of the dysfunction in the office, including a large backlog of uncompleted work delaying...