Opinion category, Page 284
Letter to the editor: Hempfield tax hike
Regarding the article “Tax increase included in draft Hempfield Area budget” (May 22, TribLIVE): No one would argue against better curriculum or more police officers for the district. But can someone please explain to me how a $30 million increase in the construction costs is not the reason for a...
Editorial: Electric vehicle fee for road use is only fair — but is there a better path forward?
Changing technology doesn’t just affect business or industry. It also affects government, sometimes in how it regulates and sometimes in how it taxes. We are seeing that now with electric vehicles. In Pennsylvania, roads and bridges are funded, in large part, through gas tax. The Keystone State has some of...
Letter to the editor: Politicians should study financial literacy, too
I read the article “Show me the money: Teachers, education experts advocate for financial literacy” (May 21, TribLIVE). We should make it mandatory for all politicians to take a financial literacy course and be tested afterward. If you talk to a financial adviser, the first thing he or she will...
Gary Franks: Kudos to CNN and CBS for some great reporting
Recently, CNN and CBS each earned kudos for digging deeper on an issue. They asked the tough questions that made folks in authority extremely uncomfortable and had equally as challenging follow-up questions. Adroit investigative reporting better serves the public. When the media does its job, it ensures that we have...
Ken Hersh: We must work to protect democracy
The United States is in the middle of a two-front war. We face dangerous external adversaries at a time when many inside our country doubt the benefits of our own leadership and the integrity of the very institutions that are designed to support our democracy here at home. 9/11 taught...
S.E. Cupp: Mike Pence 2024 still thinks he’s Pence of 2014
At a spry 64 years old, former Vice President Mike Pence is celebrating. On Wednesday, he marked his birthday — and formally announcing his run for president. It’s a strange and circuitous series of events that led him from a promising future as a GOP rising star to here, polling...
Colin McNickle: High costs, poor results — the troubling PPS story
Despite per student annual expenditures of nearly $30,000 that rank among the state’s highest, Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) continued to be a major disappointment when it came to academic achievement in 2022, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “Clearly, money is not the answer,” says...
Peter Morici: Americans may have to start working younger and retire older. That might be a good thing.
China announced earlier this year that for the first time since the 1960s, deaths outnumbered births and its population slipped in 2022 by 850,000 to 1.41 billion. Covid-19 brought this event forward a few years. More fundamentally, the legacy of China’s now-abandoned one-child policy and the high cost of raising...
Letter to the editor: Verona farmers market open for business
Our Verona farmers market, from 2-7 p.m. every Thursday at 736 E. Railroad Ave., has been around since the early 2000s. It was started by our current mayor, Dave Ricupero, and is currently run by the Verona Chamber of Commerce. This season, we have an abundance of vendors selling everything...
Letter to the editor: Rain would have helped with smokestack dust
After reading about the discomfort caused by the dust when the Springdale smokestack was imploded (“Amid dusty cleanup, Springdale residents remain unsettled in the wake of smokestack implosions,” June 2, TribLIVE), I have what might be a simplistic solution: wait till it rains. Now, it might take some planning and...
Lori Falce: Where there’s smoke, there’s wildfires — and serious questions to answer
Problems can get out of hand when you decide they don’t affect you. Maybe it’s because you don’t have the time or the money or the ability to do anything about them at the moment. I get it. That’s why my mail accumulates on the passenger seat of my car...
Laurels & lances: Strange story, bad decision
Laurel: To a strange story. OK, we have to admit right up front that, sometimes, it’s hard to decide exactly whether a story should be a laurel or a lance. Sometimes, it could be both, depending on how you look at it. Sometimes, it could be neither but is just...
Letter to the editor: Look past politicians’ spin
Q: How can you tell when politicians are lying? A: Their lips are moving. Rep. Summer Lee and Sen. John Fetterman’s statements justifying their votes against the debt deal lend credence to this truism. Lee said work requirements for able-bodied food-aid recipients 54 and under with no dependents (up from...
Paul Kengor: Remembering the contributions and lessons of Andrew Mellon
The Mellon name certainly doesn’t go unrecognized in the Pittsburgh area. But a Mellon who might not get the recognition he fully deserves is Andrew Mellon. Sure, he’s hardly unknown in these parts, but I think Andrew Mellon isn’t appreciated quite the way he should be. One native who doesn’t...
Maurizio Vasania: Political compromises — like the debt-limit deal — have never been substitutes for lasting solutions
The compromise to avoid default on the U.S. debt passed muster, eventually. President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy pulled it off. The nation can breathe, at least for the next two years. And yet, the far right is unhappy, many Democrats from the progressive wing are...
Featured Commentary: Scandals have the potential to affect the legitimacy of judges — and possibly the federal judiciary, too
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is no stranger to controversy. In 1991, during his confirmation hearings in the Senate, Thomas faced accusations of sexual harassment from a former colleague and law school professor, Anita Hill. More recently, Thomas’ personal relationship with a real estate billionaire, Republican donor Harlan Crow,...
Letter to the editor: Thanks to caring community for letting teen be all he can be
As the Class of 2023 celebrates graduation, the Gratzmiller family would like to extend their appreciation to the residents of the Alle-Kiski community. To everyone who has allowed Andrew to be Andrew, we say thank you. When Andrew was diagnosed with autism, we were not sure what life would look...
Editorial: Will minimum wage bill set up a new veto showdown in Allegheny County?
Just 11 months ago, Allegheny County was facing a veto showdown with County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. It’s not something that happens often in a county where one party dominates — although the Democratic-heavy county council is not always on the same page as their fellow party member with the veto...
Letter to the editor: Rejecting today’s ‘reality’
At 67 years old, I recently discovered that my entire reality is based upon misinformation. I have been living a lie. I was told that my masculinity is toxic. Doing the things that a traditional man has always done is now considered harmful. I thought that strength, courage and assertiveness...
Jonah Goldberg: Why Trump’s childish bullying of his Republican opponents works
“Congratulations to Nikki Haley for following President Trump’s lead and doing a CNN town hall. Ron DeSanctimonious is too chicken to ever do something like this.” — @TrumpWarRoom Here, in microcosm, is the dysfunction plaguing the GOP presidential field, thanks to the Trumpian captivity. As with most Trumpian pronouncements, there’s...
Stephen L. Carter: The Supreme Court’s confusing water ruling, explained
The Supreme Court’s recent decision on the limits of federal authority under the Clean Water Act has been celebrated or condemned, depending on the ideological predilections of the observer. Everyone agrees, however, that the opinions themselves make for rather rough reading. They boil down to a squabble over the words...
John Kleindienst: With volunteering, you get more than you give
Most of us have heard people say something along the lines of “I get more out of it than they do” when talking about the volunteer experience. Some will even couch that statement with “I know it sounds cliché, but …” as if others may not believe the genuine feeling...
Letter to the editor: Biden and Kennedy are the best Democrats have?
On May 25, Laura Ingraham had on her program this guy Robert F. Kennedy, who is running to be the Democratic pick for president in 2024. To say this guy has a terrible speaking voice would be an understatement. When he speaks, I can only understand every 25th word out...
Letter to the editor: Let’s work together for our children’s future
This graduation season, I reflect on the roller coaster this last decade has been. In 2009, I graduated — a child psychiatrist, a medical doctor, ready to serve my community and raise my children in Westmoreland County. In 2007 and 2010, I was fortunate to become a mother. I was...
Letter to the editor: Rep. Eric Nelson a pro-life advocate
John Ventre’s letter “Questioning Westmoreland County Republicans” (May 25, TribLIVE) claimed state Rep. Eric Nelson “voted for fetal tissue research.” This is 100% inaccurate. This issue is very near and dear to my heart. As a Life PAC of Southwestern Pennsylvania board member and an active pro-life volunteer for years,...
