Featured Commentary category, Page 8

Every Fourth of July, Erwin Knoll, the late editor of The Progressive magazine, would host a party. He’d grill burgers and brats and tack copies of the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights to trees in his backyard in Madison, Wis. The U.S. government has never had a fiercer...

One year from now, the nation will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I fear it could be a shame, even possibly a sham. Don’t get me wrong. Our founding principles of freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are worth celebrating. The optimist in me still...

As Pennsylvania lawmakers work to finalize the state budget, our communities face countless priorities competing for limited resources — from infrastructure needs and public safety to workforce development and education. This year, with so much uncertainty surrounding potential cuts to federal funding that could impact vital programs across the commonwealth,...

In July 2022, a tenant called to say her apartment thermostat read 89 degrees Fahrenheit and her infant had developed a painful heat rash. I drove to the store, bought the only A/C unit still in stock and installed it that same day. But afterward, I kept thinking about the...

I was a scared 17-year-old when I first went to Magee-Womens Hospital for my prenatal care. I had a high-risk pregnancy, and as a teenage mom, I had no idea what to expect. There was never any question about which hospital to go to. Magee is where my family has...

Pennsylvania is evolving, and our workforce development system needs to adapt to this change. For years, there have been flashing red lights on Pennsylvania’s demographic dashboard. Our population is aging, and retiring workers are not being replaced by new workers quickly enough. It’s leaving employers understaffed. Beyond that, there is...

On June 24, Rep. Leslie Rossi, R-Westmoreland, announced that more than $1.3 million in impact fee revenue from Marcellus shale gas drilling will be distributed to Westmoreland County and municipalities in the 59th District, including Latrobe, Derry, Ligonier and Mt. Pleasant. She framed the announcement as a win: “These funds...

Imagine a criminal speeding down an interstate highway, crossing from Ohio into Pennsylvania and then into New Jersey, stealing from homes in each town and vanishing before police can react. Now imagine if that same criminal didn’t need to travel at all — because with a few keystrokes and a...

It’s rare these days to find a proposal out of Washington that checks every box: common sense, bipartisan and pro-worker. That is exactly what Pennsylvania U.S. Sens. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman have delivered with their bill to relocate the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management...

I have Thanksgiving dinner every year with only teachers. My mother, father, sister, brother-in-law, aunt, cousin and grandmother, along with all my great-aunts, have served as educators. While I’m the odd one out professionally, I value their work and service and the path they took to get there. My mother...

Congressional approval for military engagement still matters. Here’s why. The June 21 strike against Iran was perhaps the most consequential U.S. military action in the Middle East of the past decade. As it stands, early indications suggest the strikes significantly eroded but did not eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, and a...

President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear capability represents a turning point in modern foreign policy — one that will keep the United States, the American people and Americans abroad safe for years. It sends a signal to our adversaries: America will not tolerate the threat of nuclear-armed rogue...

Pennsylvania’s nickname of the Keystone State, as variously reported, originates with the deciding vote for independence by a Pennsylvania member of the Continental Congress or in the commonwealth’s central location among the 13 colonies. The state’s prominence continued through the 19th and 20th centuries when its oil, coal and manufacturing...

The health of America’s children is in crisis. Nearly 75% of young adults in the United States do not meet the basic health requirements for military service, which is a sobering statistic that reflects the consequences of preventable health problems beginning early in life. Obesity, diabetes, behavioral health disorders and...

Decades before I was diagnosed with HR+/HER2 breast cancer in 2022, it was the norm for clinical trials to exclude women. Women were “messy”; they experienced hormone changes each month, they could become pregnant. I am grateful to the doctors and scientists who fought to include women, and ultimately, study...

My two daughters are thriving in their public cyber charter school. The quality of their education is better than I could have ever imagined. The Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School (PALCS) has been life-changing for my girls, who participate in a hybrid model that combines online and in-person learning. PALCS and...

In his televised address to the nation Saturday night regarding the U.S. strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump declared that the attacks targeted “the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.” He framed the...

As a superintendent who has worked to rebuild a rural school district into a nationally recognized model, I’ve seen firsthand how Pennsylvania’s flawed cyber charter funding system undermines public education. From the outside, this may look like just another policy debate in Harrisburg. But in school districts like mine, the...

This month, Aaron Rodgers finally signed with the Steelers, ending an exhausting offseason saga that directly impacted their draft. The 41-year-old quarterback’s arrival marks the beginning of what promises to be the weirdest chapter in franchise history. Good. Scouting reports paint a grim picture: diminished arm strength, slower processing speed,...

Pennsylvania’s rural hospitals are struggling. Declining patient volumes, workforce shortages and chronic underpayment have left many on a lifeline. About half are operating at a loss, according to fiscal year 2023 data from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. Another 17% are barely breaking even or operating with margins...

By July 1, the University of Pittsburgh will have made a choice: fund up to a quarter-billion-dollar commitment to pay its professional football and men’s basketball players — or protect its students, families and employees from financial ruin. The money? $246 million over 10 years, taken directly from student tuition,...

The odds haven’t been in our favor, and for towns like Tarentum, they rarely are. At its peak, Tarentum was home to over 11,000 residents and was built on industry, tight-knit neighborhoods and a strong tax base. Today, we’re a town of just over 4,200. We’ve lost more than half...

Legislation in the Pennsylvania Senate risks allowing local governments to operate in the shadows, leaving taxpayers unaware of decisions affecting their pocketbooks, their communities and their quality of life. State Senate Bill 194, sponsored by Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Adams/Franklin, would allow school districts and municipal and county governments the option...

During sessions of “The Girls Room,” which I established during my first teaching job as a safe space for high school Black girls to be seen and celebrated, we read novels like “The Skin I’m In” by Sharon Flake, talked about our goals, walked into womanhood together and discussed the...

My life pre-transition was defined by deep depression. A profound emptiness, wrongness and passive suicidality suffused every day. I saw therapists. I saw psychiatrists. I took anti-depressants. I still hated myself. I still wanted to die. Only in my late 20s, when I finally opened up to my therapist and...