Editorials category, Page 8
Editorial: Unionizing Uber and Lyft drivers may speed up their robotic replacement
Last week, Tesla unveiled a small fleet of robotaxis in Austin, Texas, marking the first time the EV powerhouse’s driverless vehicles transported paying passengers. For now, Elon Musk’s company is charging a flat fee under $5 for rides. We can’t imagine this price tag will stick around forever, but it...
Editorial: Public participation shouldn’t just happen when convenient for government
We talk a lot about transparency. The free flow of information is important. We want government to be accountable to the people for their actions, their spending and their process. When government does things without telling people what’s happening is when things go wrong. We have critiqued municipalities, school districts,...
Editorial: Cyber charters are the latest kickball in Pennsylvania’s education funding debate
Pennsylvania has struggled with a solution for public education funding for decades. How do we build schools, buy books, pay teachers, fuel buses and more from Pittsburgh to Greensburg to Kiski Township to Fayette County without shortchanging students or overburdening taxpayers? How do we make sure rural areas, suburbs and...
Laurels & lances: Violations & videosVideo
Laurel: To disciplinary action. On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board made 16 people face the consequences of their own actions. The board regularly places individuals who have violated casino regulations on its involuntary exclusion list. There are separate lists that prevent people from gambling at Pennsylvania casinos, visiting online...
Editorial: Namdar needs to sell Pittsburgh Mills
Is there a big sale coming at the Pittsburgh Mills mall? Maybe, but at just 35% occupancy of the 900,000-square-foot building, don’t expect it at a store. No, the “everything must go!” moment appears to be for the property itself. Area Realtors have received an email from Namdar Realty Group...
Editorial: Mayor’s spokesperson does disservice by denying violence, injuries
Disregarding people’s concerns doesn’t make them go away. Over the weekend, the city of Pittsburgh had several violent altercations, including three shootings. The most prominent happened late Sunday in East Liberty. ShotSpotter recorded 14 rounds fired. Five people were shot. Two adult males were transported by ambulance in critical/serious condition,...
Editorial: Sunday’s stance promises apolitical focus on AG’s job
The job of a state’s governor is to steer the executive ship. The governor takes the laws and budgets passed by the legislators and the departments of the government and finds a way to apply them. That can mean implementing policies. It can responding to changing circumstances. It can mean...
Editorial: Americans could be impacted by Iran bombing
Politics is supposed to stop at the water’s edge. That thought, expressed in 1947 by U.S. Sen. Arthur Vandenberg, a Republican from Michigan, was a call to American leaders to be a wall of solidarity on the international stage. The partisan machinations were like family squabbles to keep behind closed...
Editorial: What did the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal really do?
The Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal is done. Finally. Really. What was proposed as a sale in December 2023 and talked about frequently as a “deal,” “merger,” “partnership” or “proposal” over the ensuing 18 months has cleared its hurdles and been approved by President Donald Trump. Whatever it is, it involved...
Editorial: Pets should have legal protections from being treated like trash
Families don’t always look the same. Sometimes they are small and nuclear. Sometimes they are blended from remarriage. Sometimes they are extended with grandparents or grandchildren. And for many people, families include animals. According to Forbes, 66% of American households include pets. That’s almost 87 million families. Most pets are...
Laurels & lances: Careers & cash
Laurel: To forging new paths. High school students spend a lot of time thinking about the future. For some, that’s about preparing for college, applying to schools and choosing a major. The number of students learning new skills to enter the job market when they graduate, however, is growing. According...
Editorial: Don’t let government hide in the shadows
Government should never happen in the dark. We elect our leaders to represent our best interests, to craft laws that protect our communities and to spend our money wisely. All of that has to happen in the sunshine of the public eye for it to be trustworthy. And yet, too...
Editorial: People must be free to speak up safely
On Saturday, Americans exercised their right to gather and their right to speak up. Across the country, No Kings protests blossomed, timed to coincide with the Washington military parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and President Donald Trump’s birthday. Organizers put the number of protests at more...
Editorial: Republicans may find they need to get behind the ACA
House Republicans’ reconciliation bill seeks to pay for $5 trillion of tax cuts by slashing health care spending, potentially leaving millions of Americans uninsured. The job of averting this self-inflicted disaster now falls to the Senate. The legislation seeks to cut $793 billion from Medicaid, the health program for the...
Editorial: Is Pennsylvania the golf capital of America?
Think about golf, and your thoughts might gravitate toward warm, sunny climes where people retire to spend their days on the links. There’s a reason for that. Florida has the most golf courses at 1,262, according to the National Golf Foundation. The Professional Golfers’ Association is headquartered in Texas. But...
Editorial: Does that star-spangled banner yet wave?
O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming From inauguration ceremonies to baseball games to high school graduations and more, those words are used to celebrate the American flag. The national anthem was penned by Francis Scott Key...
Laurels & lances: Good sports & bad road
laurel: To being in the spotlight. Hey, not sure if you heard, but there’s big sports things happening in Allegheny County. No, it’s not baseball. It’s not hockey, although there are rumors of Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle looking to take back majority control of the Penguins. It’s not football...
Editorial: Senate should pass childhood sexual abuse bills
The Pennsylvania Senate has a job to do. The state House of Representatives passed two bills this week that would allow survivors of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits past the previous lines drawn. One bill frames a two-year window that bypasses “sovereign and governmental immunity retroactively to permit these...
Editorial: What could Medicaid cuts mean for Pennsylvanians?
There is a great deal of attention on what proposed changes to Medicaid could mean. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. As it stands, it would cut $723 billion in Medicaid funding to states. The bill is currently in the hands of the...
Editorial: Political parties in Allegheny need to stop infighting
It is common to see politicians in the nation’s capital attack each other with harsh rhetoric. What has become even more commonplace is to see the political parties tear themselves apart like a wishbone pulled in two after Thanksgiving. Pennsylvanians get to watch the ugly spectator sport up close as...
Editorial: Ukraine hits back hard — drone strikes show Russia has plenty to lose
Helmets off to the Ukrainians for giving the Russian aggressors a humiliating black eye and the loss of $7 billion in military hardware using 117 relatively cheap drones. Yes, war is hell and that pain should be felt by the instigators of war (like Vladimir Putin) and not just the...
Editorial: Database would help protect property values and empower municipalities
Blight isn’t interesting. No one wants to talk about abandoned buildings. No one wants to think about old structures left to rot. Those properties already haunt their neighborhoods. Can’t we just ignore them? Yeah, we don’t like to talk about blight, either. So let’s talk about the state taking action...
Editorial: Federal disruption response team may be best way to react
This week has been a carousel of action and information for a program that serves low-income youth and young adults. It started when news broke that the U.S. Department of Labor was hitting the pause button on Job Corps. Job Corps provides residential and nonresidential job training and GED programs...
Laurels & lances: Making changes
Laurel: To a new shepherd. After 18 years leading the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Bishop David Zubik announced his retirement this week. In his place, Pope Leo XIV appointed another Allegheny County native to lead the Catholic flock. The new bishop is Mark A. Eckman, a product of South Hills Catholic...
Editorial: Misidentified patient is a crisis averted
What is an identity crisis? The answers can be varied. Maybe it’s that time in junior high when a kid who loves music and football is trying to figure out if he wants to be on the field for the game or the halftime show. Maybe it’s when a woman...
