Editorials category, Page 68
Laurels & lances: Art, justice and Peyton Manning
Laurel: To artistic expression. Public displays of creativity are nothing new. They were statues in ancient Greece and frescoes on the walls of medieval Europe. But art that doesn’t just decorate the community but represents it might be even more valuable. On Sunday, a new mural will be dedicated in...
Editorial: The ever-present duty to remember the Holocaust
The word holocaust has been part of our language for centuries. It is a great sacrifice, a massive destruction — especially that which has been completely consumed by fire. That made it the perfect word to explain the immense loss that the Jewish people experienced between 1941 and 1945. Under...
Editorial: A mental health clinic has to go somewhere
In a perfect world, our homes would have picket fences and pristine lawns. They would be in safe residential neighborhoods but just a short sidewalked stroll from a grocery store, a library and a good school. A garbage dump wouldn’t be anywhere near, nor would train tracks or the airport....
Editorial: Support your local restaurant — by following the rules
Eating in a restaurant can be a celebration. It can be a relief for an exhausted mom who has just done too much to think about cooking or washing dishes. It can just be a way to share a moment of friendship and relaxation while you share a pizza and...
Editorial: A narrow law against spitting is not the remedy
You don’t need to spell everything out. Just because a law doesn’t specifically mention a given act doesn’t mean there is a loophole that makes it legal. Coerce someone into giving you their Bitcoin and you will face charges of theft or fraud. The fact Pennsylvania criminal statutes predate cryptocurrency...
Editorial: Following the local money of the American Rescue Plan
Imagine someone has left you some money. It’s a good chunk of change — maybe even 60% of your annual salary. But it comes with strings. You can’t use it to pay your bills and you can’t stick it in your savings account. Your dear departed uncle wanted you to...
Editorial: At Easter 2021, the rays of hope are bright
Easter is a celebration of resurrection. It is about the restoration of life, rising back from the dead. But resurrection isn’t just about the miracle of the holiday. It is also about bringing something back in other ways. A lost art can be reclaimed. A lost manuscript can be discovered...
Laurels & lances: Building and rebuilding
Laurel: To a timely restoration. Spring is the season of rebirth. Easter is a holiday of resurrection. That makes this the perfect time to announce a construction project. In 2018, St. Mary of Czestochowa in New Kensington celebrated 125 years of worship and fellowship in the largely Polish parish. It...
Editorial: Sensible infrastructure investment can bring the nation together
Infrastructure is a crutch. A crutch can be something helpful — the sturdy tool you lean on to steady yourself when you need help getting to your feet. A crutch can also be a detriment — the tether that keeps you from standing on your own. Politically, there may be...
Editorial: Public school pension headaches on horizon?
If you get — or will get — a pension, it is something to count on. It trades today’s loyalty for tomorrow’s stability in retirement. If you don’t get a pension — and that’s most of us, in the era of the 401(k) — your association with them might only...
Editorial: Covid testing in jail is better late than never
Allegheny County Jail is making a smart move. Starting April 12, any newly incarcerated individuals will be tested for covid-19. A negative test will be required before being placed in general population. Refusing a test will mean quarantine. It’s a move that seems obvious. People have been tested before they...
Editorial: A death in county prison is public information, in real time
Government often seems to have the same attitude toward transparency that children do toward report cards. When a kid gets a good grade, it is turned over promptly and with lots of fanfare. Look how good this is! Look at my gold star! Can I have cookie? When a kid...
Editorial: 1 million covid cases, and a path forward
One million. It is the kind of number that we think we can understand because it is thrown about with such abandon. The price of a big house. A mere sliver of a school building project. The top prize on a really good lottery ticket. But it’s a huge number...
Editorial: A third path to let abuse victims seek justice
Pennsylvania has been increasingly involved in the ugly issue of child sex abuse since the 2011 charges against retired Penn State football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky were unveiled. That prompted a number of reforms to the way reports were handled and clearances were issued. Multiple rounds of grand jury cases...
Laurels & lances: Landing, leaving, learning
Laurel: To the final frontier. When NASA goes back to the moon, Southwestern Pennsylvania might have a “one giant step” moment. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic has shipped a prototype of its Griffin Mission One landing craft to Johnson Space Center in Houston to test before a planned 2023 lunar expedition. “It’s super...
Editorial: Are the swimming holes drying up?
It seems like forever that kids have equated the freedom and fun of summer with cannonballing off the side of a cement wall into the clear blue depths of chlorinated water. Pennsylvania was one of the first states with municipal swimming pools. There were nine in Philadelphia alone more than...
Editorial: On ballot questions, clear language should be the only option
When you cast a vote, it’s important to know exactly what’s going on. You need to know what the race is. You also need to know exactly who the people are. No one needs a situation like the confusing butterfly ballots in Florida in 2000 that some say had third-party...
Editorial: Westmoreland’s treasure trove of historical documents deserve a safe home
The parchment is browning in places, with the careful calligraphy stroked thinly in some spots and boldly in others. Corners and flecks of the paper are missing, chipped away like flaking paint. The page is more than just an old letter. It is a thread in the tapestry of Pennsylvania’s...
Editorial: A Pitt/CMU center to study extremist hate is smart step to stopping it
Much as we might like the message of a million romantic movies and very special television episodes, love does not always conquer all. It should. But it doesn’t. Sometimes hate wins. We know this. Deadly attacks have dotted the country for years. While the violence and the loss of life...
Editorial: State lawmakers need daily expenses accountability
What does it take to get you through the day? The price of your breakfast. A mid- morning cup of coffee. Lunch, a snack, dinner. A room for the night. How much would that total? For some state legislators, it’s quite the figure. A Spotlight PA dive into the government...
Laurels & lances: Bye, believe, bike
Laurel: To a final farewell. For so many in the last year, the greatest theft of the coronavirus pandemic has been the ability to say goodbye. Maybe there was a hug in the emergency room or a last kiss when the ambulance came, but to limit the spread of covid-19...
Editorial: A plan to fund PennDOT projects that has no sticking power
Chances are that if you go out and look at your license plate right now, there is a little remnant of history hanging onto the corner. For decades, Pennsylvania registered vehicles by issuing a tiny rectangle with the date to affix on the license plate. You would get the stamp-sized...
Editorial: A smart, phased-in return to more restaurant and bar service
Cautious optimism. That may be the best path to tread going forward in the coronavirus pandemic. Cautious optimism puts the idea of being careful first, but anchors it to a positive outlook. It focuses on the goal without being reckless. That is what Gov. Tom Wolf promoted Monday when he...
Editorial: If the gas tax dies, don’t fret — another tax will be born
Taxes are one of those things that seem as permanent as a scar, indelible as a tattoo. It is one of the reasons we bristle when one is proposed. We have come to realize that a tax is rarely temporary. It may be imposed to pay for one very admirable...
Editorial: At a distance, community groups and churches are still connecting
While everyone is eager to put the coronavirus pandemic in the rearview mirror, there are pieces of the last year that could carry through to what comes next. We may be more open to masks during flu season in the future. We may better appreciate the value of a sick...
