Editorials category, Page 49
Editorial: Is a $1.5 billion daydream worth your $2?
Have you bought your ticket yet? It almost goes without saying that the ticket in question is not for a train, plane or concert. For the second time this year, the country is gripped in lottery fever. Saturday’s multi-state Powerball jackpot will top $1.5 billion and might climb even higher...
Editorial: Why we don’t endorse political candidates
Endorsements are the way some organizations or individuals show their support for a candidate. A popular governor could throw his weight behind someone running for mayor. A major union can advocate for a legislative candidate. It’s all very familiar because of how often it happens. Frequently, endorsements can come with...
Editorial: The curious case of the missing manhole
You can fill a hole. You can fall in a hole. Climb into one, dig one, cover one up. But how do you lose a hole? You could ask the Harmar supervisors. The township’s contractor, Mele & Mele & Sons, appears to have buried a manhole that allows repair crew...
Editorial: Shuman closing failed kids in 2021 and continues to do so
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has drawn a line between the closing of Allegheny County’s Shuman Juvenile Detention Center in September 2021 and a rising tide of violent crime. “We should have never closed Shuman without a plan,” Gainey said during a news conference related to a triple homicide Oct. 15...
Editorial: Don’t take foot off pedal of autonomous driving research
The announcement of Argo AI’s closing was not what most people expected. The company was born in 2016 out of a massive investment from two major car companies, Ford and Volkswagen. The goal? The development and growth of one of the most intriguing and anticipated intersections of mechanics and technology...
Laurels & lances: Cost, defense and involvement
Laurel: To dropping prices. They might not be down much, but let’s celebrate where we can. The price of a gallon of gas is down again in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In Pittsburgh, the price is $3.95, down 3½ cents from last week, according to the GasBuddy price tracker. Sure, the national...
Editorial: Did Fetterman-Oz debate change any minds?
For weeks and months, the question was out there. When would the candidates for Pennsylvania’s first up-for-grabs U.S. Senate seat in years face off in a debate? It finally happened Tuesday. So did it change anyone’s mind? Maybe for some people. In reality, probably not for many. It is increasingly...
Editorial: Capitalize on innovation on Main Street
Even though Pennsylvania is among the nation’s foremost centers of high-tech research and development, it still is better known for the legacy industries that made it an industrial powerhouse. A revealing new study by Brookings Institution researchers puts it succinctly: “Few states possess as many of the assets needed for...
Editorial: The tragedy of wrongful conviction is the price not paid
There are two tragedies when the wrong person is incarcerated for a crime. One tragedy is what happened to Drew Whitley. He was 33 when he was locked up for the 1988 murder of a McDonald’s worker in Duquesne. It took 18 years for DNA evidence to prove what he...
Editorial: Is getting the most votes the best measure of a coroner?
The coroner’s office in a Pennsylvania county is where the justice system and public health collide. Coroners are responsible for investigating the deaths that aren’t from an acknowledged and medically attended reason. They determine whether someone died of an overdose. They have been an important part of evaluating the impact...
Editorial: Gunfire makes us all innocent bystanders
Innocent bystanders. It is a phrase of absolution. It says that in a particular instance, these people were not in the wrong. On Oct. 15, three people were killed in Pittsburgh’s North Side when an argument in a parking lot jumped from a war of words to a gunfight. Jacquelyn...
Laurels & lances: Access and delays
Laurel: To unprecedented access. When it comes to amazing art, people have traditionally had two options. Go to a museum to see what is available in the area or travel to another place to see the treasures offered in other cities. But Southwestern Pennsylvania has had other options provided thanks...
Editorial: Are residency requirements needed for government hiring?
There are times when where you live matters. Generally, that’s when the money you spend on taxes banks a return. It’s a situation most often associated with school districts. Maybe you bought a house in Murrysville so your kids could go to Franklin Regional. Maybe you bought in Natrona Heights...
Editorial: State fines should be higher than tax cuts to penalize environmental leaks
Pennsylvania has built much of its history on energy, from the coal that fueled the steel industry to the first oil pumped from the ground to the natural gas being pried out today. That has built up the Keystone State. It also has left a legacy of environmental fallout that...
Editorial: Concrete EV revenue decisions should come before charging stations
In 2011, there were just about 16,000 electric vehicles in the United States. By 2021, that number had climbed to 2 million. What was a new, quirky technology a decade before had become a growing part of the transportation landscape. That means other things have to change, too. In the...
Editorial: Home ownership is good for housing programs and redevelopment
There is a difference between a place where you live and a place you call home. You can live anywhere. It might be a mansion or a tent. It could be one room with a bed or 2,000 square feet with two bathrooms and an attached garage. It might be...
Editorial: Out-of-state money influences Pa. votes in both parties
There is a difference between votes and money. Or at least there should be. The overlap has existed forever, which is unsurprising. When the country was founded, it wasn’t just that white men where the only ones who could vote. They also had to be rich enough to own land,...
Editorial: Bigfoot fake flyers point to real problems
If you want a measure of how far off the beaten path we have gotten when it comes to facts, look no further than Pennsylvania. Is that bar about the 2020 election? Is it the endless parade of ads for next month’s gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections that are stretching...
Laurels & lances: Partnership, problems and learning lessons
Laurel: To new partnerships. With the financial accessibility of a college education being such an issue, combined with the many higher education institutions that are important job creators in Pennsylvania communities, a newly brokered deal could be a problem solver. Westmoreland County Community College is joining with Carlow University to...
Editorial: Book bans can threaten local control
It should go without saying that banning books is no way to learn — or teach. And yet, for the past few years, banning books has hit its heyday. The topic keeps coming up via protests that seem to be more political than educational. Sometimes it is a particular text...
Editorial: Anthony DeLuca’s public service set example for others to follow
In just two months shy of 40 years, Anthony DeLuca saw a lot in Harrisburg. When he took office in 1982 representing the people of the 32nd District in the state House of Representatives, Richard Thornburgh was governor. DeLuca’s Democratic Party held the majority in the House, while the Republicans...
Editorial: When a high court justice dies, who should decide a replacement?
A high court justice dies. It leaves a hole on the bench. Normally that’s a simple fix. Point to a replacement. Go through the process. Swear on a Bible. Done. But throw in an election, and you have a real wrench in the gears. This all sounds familiar, doesn’t it?...
Editorial: North Hills decision is unsatisfying compromise
Sometimes compromise is a good thing. It brings people together on a middle ground where everyone can agree to work together. That’s how houses are sold, with people arriving at a price one party is willing to pay and the other is willing to accept. That’s how employment contracts are...
Editorial: Pennsylvania needs to test schools for radon
Radon could be almost anywhere. You can’t see it like smoke. It is colorless and transparent. You can’t smell it like a gas leak. It gives off no telltale scent. You can’t feel it in the air like the moisture of a foggy day. It is as stealthy as it...
Editorial: Making naloxone more affordable is lifesaving
Naloxone is a life saver. There is no way around it. There are few drugs that even in the most untrained hands have the ability to flip the switch on a medical emergency. It can pull someone away from the edge of a deadly narcotic overdose and give a second...
