Letters to the Editor category, Page 242
Letter to the editor: Keeping nurses at Westmoreland Manor
While reading the article “Nurse shortage is crippling hospitals, centers that provide care in Western Pa.” (July 4, TribLIVE), I began to wonder what our county commissioners are doing to keep our present nursing staff at Westmoreland Manor. We have been losing staff (RNs, LPNs and CNAs) to retirement and...
Letter to the editor: Treat workers better, bring back blue laws
What are businesses going to do when college students leave in September? Families used the stimulus money to pay off bills and realized that with the cost of child care, clothing, travel and lunches, it simply costs more than it is worth working so one spouse can stay home. Now...
Letter to the editor: Investigation needed into county pension fund
I find Westmoreland County’s plan to borrow $140 million for the county pension fund irritating and unprofessional (“Westmoreland will borrow $140 million to keep pension fund solvent.”) This plan must be canceled and a detailed audit of the fund conducted. Having to borrow $140 million on a fund valued at...
Letter to the editor: Bipartisan climate effort encouraging
With a 92-8 vote, the U.S. Senate on June 25 passed the Growing Climate Solutions Act (GCSA) and sent the bill to the House, where there are 18 Democrats and 14 Republicans already co-sponsoring the legislation. The executive director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Mark Reynolds, has said, “In times like...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s spending and taxation
President Biden’s $6 trillion budget would be the highest planned spending, as a percent of the economy, since World War II, and the deficits would run above $1.3 trillion for the next 10 years. That spending would exceed $45,000 per household and push the national debt to exceed $44 trillion...
Letter to the editor: Liberal sources not fair, balanced
Letter-writer James Kvitkovich (“Trib is fair and balanced,” July 2, TribLIVE) said he believes the Tribune-Review and Associated Press are fair and balanced. At one time that was very true about the Trib; it was never true about the AP. He says he gets his news from sources such as...
Letter to the editor: Why so little coverage of border crisis?
By not enforcing federal immigration laws, the Biden administration is encouraging illegal immigration along our southern border. Mexican cartels dangerously are smuggling children, adults, lethal fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S, overwhelming the U.S. border patrol. U.S. taxpayers are paying to house and process. Neither the president nor the...
Letter to the editor: Questioning police protocols for helping the mentally ill
Pennsylvania State Police shot Christian Hall multiple times Dec. 30, 2020, in East Stroudsburg. Hall, a 19-year-old Chinese adoptee of Filipino and Black Latino parents, was experiencing a mental health crisis and called 911 himself. In late January 2021, third-party footage began circulating on social media showing Hall standing with...
Letter to the editor: Cities should focus on crime instead of plastic bags
Regarding the article “Pittsburgh, Philadelphia move ahead with plastic bag bans as Pa.’s preemption nears its end”: These cities would be better off if the cities spent time on stopping the public shootings. Clem Zahrobsky Delmont...
Letter to the editor: Pa. should invest in public health infrastructure
In Pennsylvania’s lawmakers- negotiated budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year, a sizable amount will be spent on education and human resources, which is understandable. Few of the federal relief dollars allotted to Pennsylvania will be directed toward investing in our public health infrastructure. Public health officials often have forgone lucrative...
Letter to the editor: Senior housing in East Vandergrift
East Vandergrift has benefited from Community Development Block Grants throughout the years. The continuous support of the Westmoreland County commissioners and the county Planning and Development office has contributed greatly to community development upgrades, including the stormwater-sewage separation project and repaving of borough streets. Now, borough officials are working with...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s victory, only in America
The other day I was wondering what Donald Trump was like in high school. To which clique did he belong? The jocks, science nerds, vo-techers, band members, academics? I think he was the “outcast” — the loudmouth, overbearing know-it-all who everyone avoids. How did Trump, a twice-impeached, one-term loser, win...
Letter to the editor: RGGI a win-win for Pa.
I applaud Gov. Tom Wolf for his support of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This program provides a framework for Pennsylvania to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and to fully eliminate the gases by 2050 using a cap and trade system. RGGI is a network of...
Letter to the editor: America at a crossroads
America is at a crossroads that will determine her future for better or worse. Currently, it is for the worse, as socialists seem to have the upper hand instituting critical race theory, cancel culture, etc. These convictions have great influence indoctrinating students to their style of thinking and stifling the...
Letter to the editor: With American Rescue Plan money, county must prioritize residents’ needs
Voice of Westmoreland, a grassroots community organization that is committed to making sure the voices of people who are often left out of the political conversations are heard, has been surveying residents about their most pressing needs for help from the American Rescue Plan. We have already received more than...
Letter to the editor: Carly Fiorina for president
I do not expect any of my fellow “liberal/progressive” Democrats to share my concern here, but because I believe that it will be very difficult for the Democrats to retain the pesidency in 2024 and to retain control of Congress in 2022 (because of Republican state legislatures wanting to make...
Letter to the editor: Cats don’t vanish under cruel feeding bans
By imposing a feeding ban on cats, Plum is disregarding what so many other communities have already learned the hard way — outlawing feeding policies are cruel and consistently fail as a means of managing populations of community cats (“Plum officials pass law discouraging the feeding, care of feral cats.”)...
Letter to the editor: Voter ID ensures election integrity
A bill requiring voter ID recently passed in the Pennsylvania Senate, and Gov. Tom Wolf’s office has already stated he would veto the bill. Wolf and his party claim that requiring voter ID somehow violates individual rights, that it is racist. The term racist is thrown out there so frequently...
Letter to the editor: Celebrate Fourth by helping a veteran
The eruption and crackle of vibrant fireworks across the July night sky isn’t always beautiful. The sight of the American flag being brandished, and sported on T-shirts, tank tops and sneakers isn’t always fashion. For many veterans, the Fourth of July is not a time of celebration and patriotism. The...
Sounding off: Ready-to-drink cocktails are good for Pa.
Expanding the sale of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails to additional retail outlets that already sell beverage alcohol is a commonsense way to increase consumer convenience and generate millions of dollars for the commonwealth (“Pa. Senate passes bill to legalize cocktails-to-go, sends to House with modifications”). In fact, allowing spirits-based RTDs to...
Letter to the editor: Acknowledging Jewish holidays
Dear Catholic bishops: Jesus was Jewish, as are his chosen people. Could we honor Jesus more by acknowledging the Jewish holy days throughout the year? On Sundays at Mass, could we announce approaching Jewish holy days? The Jewish feasts derive from the Old Testament and ours from the New Testament....
Letter to the editor: Hidden beauty in Western Pa.
We can live in a town or city our whole life not knowing the treasures that are hidden just down the street, places full of history and beauty. Being part of a social group that gathers for outings weekly, I have discovered so many fun and interesting places in Western...
Letter to the editor: Protecting women’s sports
Here in the United States, Title IX, enacted in 1972, defined sports as education. That opened the door for a wide-ranging menu of choices for girls and women from elementary school to college to feel the joy of winning and the emptiness of defeat. Many learned how to compete, and...
Letter to the editor: U.S.-Russia nuclear weapons freeze critical
I don’t know if nuclear first strike capability is possible. We need to determine whether an arms race with Russia could lead to our annihilation, and if so, we need to have both countries agree to a freeze on new nuclear weapons. There should of course be immediate inspection of...
Letter to the editor: Trib is fair and balanced
Howard L. McHenry’s letter “Are you a political fool?” (June 5, TribLIVE) awakened the need for a letter that I have been meaning to write for some time. McHenry seems to insinuate that the Associated Press (AP) coverage as presented in the Tribune-Review is somehow not to be trusted, and...
