Opinion category, Page 160
Luke Bernstein: Federal rules put Pa.’s hydrogen future at risk
For the past two decades, Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of the shale revolution, which has delivered incredible quantities of affordable natural gas and fundamentally reshaped national and global energy markets. What’s incredible is not just the sheer scale of production — the gas produced in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale...
Matt Smith and Tom Frank: Enhance Pa.’s Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program
Pennsylvania stands at a crossroads: Our state has a rich history of industrial, commercial and business prowess, but to remain economically competitive, we must continually compete and adapt for the future. The Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program, established in 1977, has served us well, but it’s time to...
Letter to the editor: Examining Gretzky’s stats
To the writer of the letter “Message to Madden on Negro League stats” (June 5, TribLive), who wrote that if Mark Madden thinks that Negro League stats shouldn’t be counted for Major League Baseball players, then Wayne Gretzky’s WHA stats shouldn’t be counted: If you visit this site, www.hockey-reference.com/players/g/gretzwa01.html, you...
Letter to the editor: Vote Zelenak as 59th District rep
Margie Zelenak is running to oppose Leslie Rossi this fall for the House of Representatives 59th District. I ask you to think carefully about your choice, do your homework and put politics aside. Such an examination will show the right woman to represent the people of the 59th and Westmoreland...
Editorial: It’s time to criminalize deepfakes
As a society, we believe that making something false and passing it off as something real is wrong. You can’t fake money. You can’t make bootleg recordings of movies or music. You can’t forge a check and cash it at a bank. You can’t paint a picture and tell someone...
Letter to the editor: Trump trial destroys public trust in judicial system
The only recourse for this sham trial in Lower Manhattan is for Republican state attorneys general to sue the state of New York, which would create a path to the Supreme Court using original jurisdiction allowing the court to hear and decide a case for the first time before any...
Jonah Goldberg: Immigration could get Trump elected again. Here’s how Democrats keep getting it wrong
For more than 20 years, I have held one position constant when it comes to immigration policy: We should have one. I am less concerned about the number of immigrants we take in every year than I am about the fact that we — voters, policymakers, politicians, what have you...
Elwood Watson: Black Republican doesn’t know his Black history
This month, during an event in Philadelphia supporting Donald Trump and the Republican Party, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds made the attention-grabbing assertion that Black families were stronger and more conservative under the Jim Crow era. “You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together,” Donalds said. “During Jim Crow,...
Dr. Val Arkoosh: Shapiro’s proposed budget would be life changing for people with disabilities, caregivers
This May, I visited Partners For Quality in Pittsburgh, where I had the honor of meeting Claire and her fellow Voices for Change self-advocates. I learned it took Claire, who has a disability, five months to find an employer who would hire her, and she has been on a waiting...
Letter to the editor: Pa. delegation should overturn EPA gas car ban
President Biden’s EPA recently finalized a regulation that will, in practice, ban most new gas cars and trucks by 2032. The end game is to force American drivers into electric vehicles by taking away most non-plug-in vehicle options. This policy is unlawful and un-American. It’s bad for consumers, our economy...
Letter to the editor: Farm Bill doesn’t go far enough
The House’s long-awaited Farm Bill is a doggone mess. On May 30, the House Agriculture Committee approved a Farm Bill that neglected to address the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decades-long failure to fulfill its obligations under the Animal Welfare Act. This means the extreme suffering of dogs in puppy...
Letter to the editor: Pa. must invest in Alzheimer’s
In Pennsylvania, there are more than 280,000 people living with Alzheimer’s and another 465,000-plus people providing unpaid care for their loved ones, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. I am one of these individuals. I have been the primary care partner for more than 6 years for my wife, Sara, and...
Editorial: Emergency services could use a little more authority
Could the question of how to save emergency services be all about authority? Pennsylvania has issues with its first response providers. Aside from police departments having trouble filling positions, there are the struggles of fire departments and emergency medical service providers. Most Keystone State fire departments are staffed entirely or...
Bruce Yandle: From the Boston Tea Party to today’s targeted tariffs: What happened?
For a nation with roots in a rambunctious 1773 Boston Tea Party protesting British tariffs, it’s odd to see both major-party White House contenders trying to outdo each other with promises of tariffs. We’ve come a long way from the first Independence Day, which was sparked by a fundamental notion...
Danny Tyree: Should a sense of humor be mandatory for fathers?
Some fathers are entirely too serious. They’re paranoid about their children finding out that they had their own youthful indiscretions and regrettable choices. (“I don’t make mistakes. You can ask any of your six stepmoms.”) My late father ’fessed up to his own errors in judgment, like when he was...
Letter to the editor: Trump convicted? Can’t wait to vote!
A convicted felon … of 34 counts? What a joke! Can’t wait to vote in November. Joe Marmo Cheswick...
Letter to the editor: Teachers should be respected
Perhaps if teachers were shown the respect they deserve from both parents and their children, more individuals would consider teaching as a career and, for sure, more teachers would not be leaving the profession. Monica Yuhas Smock...
Letter to the editor: Turning the tide on climate worries
What a weekend! I confessed my climate sins at the first of its kind Climate Confessional at the Center for Post-Natural History, at first Fridays on Penn Avenue Bloomfield. The climate “priest” listened to my climate worries and my friend Elizabeth’s. He absolved us, because he knows that the real...
Editorial: Paid parental leave could make Pennsylvania competitive
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade did more than just upend reproductive health law. It also made back-burner issues take on more urgency. If limits on abortion result in more pregnancies, more policies will be required to respond to the resulting children’s needs. States will...
Letter to the editor: Trump trial perspectives
I have often said, “you cannot win an argument with an idiot.” An idiot is unwilling to process factual information and adjust their opinion accordingly. In the recently completed trial of former President Donald Trump, there are many idiots who celebrate the guilty verdict and crow the jury’s decision justifies...
Kelly O’Connor: Here’s how states can optimize $50 billion in opioid settlement funds
Kudos to John Oliver and HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” for their coverage of the opioid crisis and the resultant settlement. Many states are struggling to use the settlement funds effectively, and some are already repeating the waste, fraud and abuse involving Big Tobacco settlement funds ($206 billion) in the 1990s....
Colin McNickle: Return money to Pa. taxpayers; don’t spend more
While the administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is proposing attempting to grow the commonwealth’s economy by giving away taxpayer money, a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy says a better plan would be to return money to taxpayers. “Putting money back in the hands of Pennsylvania’s taxpayers...
Letter to the editor: Gazebo honors beloved Latrobe teacher
Thank you to all of the family and friends who joined us in dedicating the Canterna Gazebo at Loyalhanna Senior Suites on May 25. It was an overwhelming feeling to see so many attend this honor on behalf of our mother, Shirley Canterna. Our mom was a lifelong resident of...
Letter to the editor: Trump lacks respect for military
Many of us have friends and relatives who have been in the U.S. military. I had a cousin in the Army who died from friendly fire. His memory is becoming faint, which I am so sorry about. So many of us have been through this agony of losing a loved...
Editorial: Americans are unhappier than ever; 2 officials want to address that
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, writing on behalf of the Continental Congress, proclaimed all people have an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A bipartisan duo of elected leaders recently argued we’re doing too little to advance that third and vitally important principle, and...
