Featured Commentary category, Page 4

The 2026 midterms are more than a year away, but some high-profile primary election battles in the Democratic Party are gaining national attention. Much of that attention is focused on the age of the candidates. Thanks to Texas’ proposed mid-decade redistricting, a showdown is looming between two Democrats serving in...

If President Donald Trump were to issue an executive order to abolish mail-in voting, as he announced he would on social media Monday, it would almost certainly be unconstitutional. It would also be baffling — because eliminating vote-by-mail would probably hurt Republicans more than it would help them in next...

By hosting an unprecedented short-notice summit with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders last Monday, President Donald Trump significantly raised the prospects for ending Russia’s 3½-year-long war against Ukraine. The vibe at the opening was affable and positive. The participants genuinely looked determined to work out compromises that...

Vladimir Putin came to Alaska and got the red-carpet treatment, complete with a fighter-jet flyover and a warm presidential handshake. The state was an ironic location for a summit given Russia’s continuing seller’s remorse over having sold it to America in the mid-19th century. While expectations were low for a...

As many in our business community know, the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce recently released the long-awaited feasibility and economic impact study for a hotel and conference center in our region. The results are not just promising — they are transformational. This project stems from a clear message: The loss...

Public transit keeps Pittsburgh and Allegheny moving. It gets people to work, to school, to the doctor, and to see family and friends. It keeps our economy running and our neighborhoods connected. In fact, I know firsthand the need for a safe and reliable public transit system because this is...

Many of Pittsburgh’s biggest developments are taking far too long to move from vision to reality. The Lower Hill redevelopment, the Bakery Square expansion and the Esplanade riverfront development project are all examples of projects that could be transforming neighborhoods right now but are instead bogged down in prolonged review...

I sank into Randy Carter’s comfy couch, excited to see the Hollywood veteran’s magnum opus. Around the first floor of his Glendale home were framed photos and posters of films the 77-year-old had worked on during his career. “Apocalypse Now.” “The Godfather II.” “The Conversation.” What we were about to...

Every time I chased stability to build a future, chronic illness pulled me back into a hospital bed. Sometimes it has been for days, sometimes weeks. My life with sickle cell disease is a relentless cycle of excruciating pain, nerve damage and blood transfusions. I’ve survived two kidney transplants, countless...

Democrats, bless their hearts, keep trying to figure out the magic formula to stop President Donald Trump. But here’s a cold splash of reality: If Trump’s popularity ever collapses, it will probably be because of something completely beyond their control. In 2020, it wasn’t some brilliant strategy that defeated Trump....

Promising severe consequences if Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine and then apparently reversing himself is what sends a signal of weakness, not only to Putin, but to the world. On Saturday, Trump posted this on Truth Social: “It was determined by all that the...

When an explosion at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works tore through the quiet summer day last week, it affected every single town along the Monongahela River. For those of us who grew up here, a plant explosion isn’t just news — it’s something we feel in our bones. This was...

New data shows a rise in colon cancer among adults ages 45-49. That’s wonderful news. Celebrating an increase in cancer rates might seem counterintuitive, but it comes amid a push for more screening of adults in this age group. And the result is more tumors are being caught in the...

Who can forget George Gershwin’s memorable song “Summertime and the Living is Easy”? Summers meant picnics in the park, vacations, camping, lounging at the pool, jumping in the lake, and reading favorite books. That was then, this is now. Now, we have children attending academically focused summer programs or athletic...

Contrary to a widely held perception, public school summer vacations are not getting shorter. And that’s a shame. Despite some movement toward “balanced schedules” that include more breaks during the school year, summer vacations still average 10 weeks, unchanged from 20 years ago. Trimming back this mind-numbing break would improve...

Venus Williams returned to the professional tennis circuit in July with a win in the first round of the DC Open. (She lost in a late round.) In an interview on the court following the match, the 45-year-old made a somewhat surprising admission on why she decided to return to...

Actress Gina Carano, Lucasfilm and its parent company Walt Disney Co. have settled the federal lawsuit filed in which Carano claimed that, in 2021, she was wrongfully terminated from her role in “The Mandalorian” after she expressed her conservative political views on social media. The settlement details have not been...

The American Dream has long promised that homeownership is the gateway to stability, security and wealth. But a newly released report from the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG), “Black Homeownership and Wealth Building in Allegheny County,” shows that promise is far from reality — especially for Black residents. After eight...

This month we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the single most influential pieces of legislation in American history. The policy that finally, almost 200 years after our nation’s inception, brought us to the cusp of living up to our founding truth that...

“Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt I have vivid memories as a 10-year-old helping my Italian-immigrant grandfather in his one-acre garden of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and I forget what else. I remember the smell of ripe vegetables, soil and how everything seemed...

As President Trump prepares to head to Alaska to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop the killing” in Russia and Ukraine, what is being done to stop school shootings in America as millions of children begin returning to their schools this week? In my school days we had...

As we look to the future of our city, we all have a responsibility to ask, “how are the children”? Data from 2023-24 shows challenges in our schools: • Few complete post-secondary education: 343 out of 1,614 Pittsburgh Public Schools freshmen in 2014 finished college or trade school by 2024....

Americans are losing faith in higher education. Nearly half of adults believe a college degree is less important to get a well-paying job than it was 20 years ago, and only a quarter believe a four-year degree is a very important part of getting a job that pays well. The...

Believe it or not, Vice President JD Vance has said a number of things over the years that I agree with. For example, when he suggested “the American people will not tolerate another endless war” with regards to sending aid to Ukraine, I felt seen. When Vance told podcaster Theo...

When it comes to local government, every dollar counts. Smart investments are essential to make precious public resources go further and improve as many lives as possible. The goal is always finding ways to stretch taxpayer dollars while delivering better services and stronger communities. But now, a new budget challenge...