Editorials category, Page 80
Editorial: Grand jury report on fracking indicts the state
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s latest grand jury report might seem like a diatribe on the evils of fracking. That is definitely what draws attention. The problem is that is only half the story. The other half is the failings of government. As attorney general, Shapiro has made a point...
Editorial: Our great outdoors are an asset to cherish
It’s hot out there. Southwestern Pennsylvania is in the middle of a heat wave that will see 90-degree highs all week. Seems like the perfect time to get outside and do something fun, right? But ugh, there it is again. The coronavirus pandemic. Just sitting there, ruining everything. We have...
Editorial: Mask solution could be simple smile
Sometimes addressing one problem can solve others. It’s the happy accident of a Botox shot that could smooth out wrinkles or tame migraines, or the Kleenex that was intended to polish eyeglasses but became better known for wiping noses. You never know just what issues an invention will address. Rose...
Editorial: The importance of local news
The news is everywhere. It’s filling up your cellphone and your inbox and your Facebook feed. It’s on for 24 hours on stations devoted to updating you on what they just updated you about. It crawls across the bottom of the screen while you are trying to watch something else...
Laurels & lances: Gift, grant, open, loss
Laurel: To the gift of learning. Many parents are weighing their choices for the coming school year as schools struggle to plan for educating in an age of social distancing. Should the kids stay in public school? Cyber charter? Should they just be homeschooled? About 250 students could have another...
Editorial: Think locally and logistically with manufacturing
Southwestern Pennsylvania was a major manufacturing center for decades. There is no reason that cannot be true again. There are some places that were boom towns because of resources. When a silver mine went dry, there was no reason for workers or businesses not to move on. If all the...
Editorial: ‘Bella’s Law’ right call to keep kids safe
Bubbles filled the air for a little girl who will never have a fourth birthday party. She won’t go to kindergarten. No s’mores around a campfire or sleepovers with friends. No broken hearts and no prom. Because Bella Seachrist was just 3 when she died. In pages of court documents,...
Editorial: Allegheny pumps brake on covid-19 green light
Green did not mean go. At least, it didn’t mean go that much, that far, that fast. Green meant venture, not race. And that is a lesson being learned around the country and in our backyard. Places that have opened the quarantine gates with little restriction are seeing consequences in...
Editorial: Stop county lawsuits from becoming expensive settlements
Another former Westmoreland County employee has gotten another settlement for another lawsuit. This is the worst summer sequel ever. But it’s starting to add up to one blockbuster budget problem. The county settled with Alyssa Nuss of Greensburg for $50,000. Nuss was an office clerk and cashier in the office...
Editorial: Food banks need your help
Getting back to normal doesn’t mean being back to normal. Being there is a goal. Getting there is a process. There may be no better example of that than food banks. During earlier days of the coronavirus pandemic, nonprofits that provided nutritional assistance were overwhelmed as some people were thrown...
Editorial: With fireworks fever running high, find the right social distance
Every year, as July comes into view, one thing starts popping up everywhere. Fireworks. Sparklers and firecrackers, smoke bombs and crackling fountains. Big and small, fireworks stands are to Independence Day what tree lots are to Christmas. They serve as both harbingers and centerpieces. But this year? Things are a...
Editorial: CMU should be able to handle a Richard Grenell
Politics is inherently a debate. Ideally, it is a tango of perspective and position, with one side advancing an idea and the other retreating until the music shifts and someone else takes the lead. And as everyone knows, it takes two to tango. College should be similar. You cannot go...
Editorial: Covid-19 and cost of doing business
A price tag is more than just a number on a piece of paper. The cost of an item on a menu isn’t pulled out of a hat. At least, it isn’t if a business wants to stay in business. It’s a complicated dance of expenses and projected revenues, all...
Editorial: Metcalfe’s call to impeach Wolf is a distraction
Impeachment — that constitutional mechanism for checking the behavior of an elected official and possibly removing that person from office — is vital in our system of government. It keeps good people vigilant. It keeps the ambitious accountable. It, ideally, keeps the power-hungry off the top rungs of the ladder....
Editorial: Policing partnerships prioritize coverage in affordable way
Police are in the news a lot right now. There are protests and calls to defund and reform. But not every department is old and entrenched. Some are barely walking. The Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department was just created in 2019. It was born from the fusion of Cheswick and...
Editorial: Modern fatherhood may have a new look, but the bond endures
Fatherhood isn’t what it once was, people say. In days gone by, a father was the man of the family who went away to war or spent the day working the fields or left in the morning for some other job. At home he was the decision-maker and the disciplinarian....
Editorial: Summer fun is up to us
Ah, summer. The start of the season is officially here, although that might seem hard to believe. When Pennsylvania went into coronavirus lockdowns back in March, it was still winter. Spring hadn’t yet sprung and that whole season passed while we sat behind closed doors, hoarding toilet paper and baking...
Laurels & lances: Kids, jobs, parks and options
Laurel: To students making noise. They say kids should be seen and not heard, but Greensburg-Salem students recently raised their voices (and instruments) in protest of cuts to the district’s elementary music program. First, it’s great that the kids are sticking up for role the arts plays in education. Good...
Editorial: Voluntary layoffs seem smart for ATI
Layoffs are never easy. Whether they are about a company closing down entirely, stepping back from the size and scope it once had or just going through a temporary downturn, layoffs are tough on everyone. They hit with the iron fist of being fired but wrapped in the velvet glove...
Editorial: The future of standardized tests
In July 2019, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale suggested the state’s Keystone exams — the tests taken by high school students to prove proficiency in required subjects and qualify for graduation — were too expensive and redundant. Rather than paying $18 million a year to test high school students with...
Editorial: Hot real estate market shows hope in stock
The little transactions in life have been a problem in recent months. Toilet paper. Yeast. Ground beef. Coronavirus lockdowns didn’t just it make hard to get to the store. It made them hard to find what you wanted when you got there in some cases. That’s settling back into a...
Editorial: Taxes, honesty and hope for 2020
Everybody hates paying taxes. It’s a story as old as time itself. People hated paying taxes in the Bible. They hated paying taxes in Robin Hood’s day. They hate the Internal Revenue Service. Except government. Government loves getting tax money. They might be skittish about passing the tax rate and...
Sonny Perdue: Fresh food from America’s farmers to America’s families
These past few months have been difficult for many Americans, economically and emotionally. The coronavirus has impacted the way we lead our daily lives, and that includes how we eat. With many restaurants, hotels and schools closed, the food supply chain has had to adapt to bring to market the...
Editorial: ‘Defunding’ the police is the wrong reform
There are obvious problems with the idea of defunding the police. The police are not a piece of questionable art in front of a courthouse that we can debate. They are not a pork barrel project to slice away. They aren’t a program that is there to benefit some people...
Editorial: Turzai’s goodbye is premature
There is no surprise to when an elected official’s term is due to start and stop. If you are hired to be an accountant or a lawyer or a grocery store clerk, you may face questions about that hiring date. Did you pass your background check in time to start...
