Letter to the editor: Firefighters should have a say on new station
I am concerned about the way recent disagreements between Hempfield Township supervisors and the volunteers who run the Adamsburg station of the Hempfield Volunteer Fire Department were handled by the supervisors. Initially, the supervisors had planned to spend over $1 million in new taxpayer funds on a new station without...
Editorial: Good neighbors, hard moments
There may be few places where being a good neighbor carries the weight it does in Southwestern Pennsylvania. “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was not just a television show here. Fred Rogers was an actual neighbor. That instinct often shows itself when something goes wrong close to home. People show up at...
Letter to the editor: No one is above the law
At a Jan. 22 congressional hearing, Jack Smith testified, “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.” The Republican congressmen on the Judicial Committee chose not...
Letter to the editor: Trump doesn’t act like a president
Donald Trump’s supporters pretend puzzlement over the anger directed at him. They forget that, before Trump declared his candidacy in 2015, politicians did not ordinarily engage in bald-faced lies, cruel slanders, snarky contempt or foul language. Personally, I will refer to him as “President” when he starts acting like one....
Kaitlyn Buss: Jeffrey Epstein case forges a rare, cynical American consensus
Jeffrey Epstein has become one of the few scandals that unites Americans in cynicism. The case is about far more than sex crimes. It has crystallized a suspicion many Americans across party lines already carried — there is one set of rules for the powerful and another for everyone else....
Colin McNickle: PRT, other transit agencies, missed chance to rein in costs
The covid-19 pandemic caused a major decline in public transportation usage in 2020 as huge numbers of commuters worked from home instead of traveling to a workplace. That work-from-home culture has persisted and continues to be realized in languishing passenger counts, not only for Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) but for...
Letter to the editor: Stopping ICE terror
It’s incredible to see the outpouring of support for Oakmont resident José Flores (“Fundraiser for family of Oakmont man detained by ICE raises more than $75K,” Feb. 2, TribLive). He fled Nicaragua and with an active asylum case, work permit and no criminal record, he worked at Oakmont Bakery. Nevertheless,...
Editorial: Warsh looks like a smart choice for the Fed … for now
The nomination of Kevin Warsh as next chair of the Federal Reserve is good news. He’s amply qualified for the role, having served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011. He has argued throughout for the central bank to narrow its focus to controlling inflation and to rely less...
Letter to the editor: Protect Pa.’s endangered species
I hear the call of chicka-dee-dee from the Carolina chickadee and the chirp of northern cardinals outside my window. These birds have opened my eyes to the nature and diversity around me, but they have no idea what may be in store for their endangered counterparts. Congress has proposed bills...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 9
.Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 9...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 9
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 9....
Bee Vang: What Clint Eastwood’s ‘Gran Torino’ got right — and what America refused to learn
There was a deep chill in the air the day President Donald Trump said he’d consider invoking the Insurrection Act after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in south Minneapolis. Something came to mind: Inhumanity follows atrocities as the “jackal follows the wounded beast.” That...
Letter to the editor: Facts about immigrants
I’ve read yet another letter here in which the author supports the aggressive actions of DHS and ICE because they are rounding up murderers, rapists and terrorists (i.e., illegal immigrants), thereby making us safer (“America sees what’s happening in Minneapolis,” Feb. 3, TribLive). That letter, otherwise well written and logical...
Letter to the editor: Look to Churchill for wisdom
In 1941, in the heat of the Second World War, Winston Churchill visited the United States and spoke before Congress. I’ve watched this speech many times to great effect. It’s like something out of Shakespeare. After the worst week in American diplomacy of my lifetime, I watched it again. This...
Editorial: Fixing the Sunshine Act’s notice problem
Since 1957, Pennsylvania has codified a responsibility to make public meetings accessible to the people. The state law also evolved, eventually becoming what is now known as the Sunshine Act. The earlier Open Meetings Law required only the most basic transparency. If a vote was taken, the meeting had to...
Letter to the editor: McCormick’s stance on ICE
Sen. Dave McCormick voted to advance the bill for funding Homeland Security which does not include reforms for ICE, even after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. In an email response to me, he defended ICE by stating “assaults on ICE officers have increased by 1,347 percent, and...
Letter to the editor: Pa. needs strong energy leaders
When it comes to energy, policymakers in Harrisburg need to talk very seriously about future affordability, innovation and economic development in rural communities. Yet the single greatest tool to achieve all three — energy generation — remains shackled by political indecisiveness and ideological constraints. PJM’s capacity prices told the story...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: The real ‘Age of Uncertainty’
In 1977, John Kenneth Galbraith hosted a BBC series about the world economy that was called “The Age of Uncertainty.” The title was chosen to distinguish those economically uncertain times from the certainties of the 19th century. Nearly 50 years later, uncertainty is everywhere. In a June 2025 New Republic...
Counterpoint: Trump’s flawed import tariff policy
It has been 10 months since President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” import tariff announcement in April. Ultimately, that announcement led to U.S. import tariffs rising to an average of 17%, their highest level in 100 years. It is still too early to draw conclusions as to the overall damage those...
Point: Why Trump’s tariffs work
The debate over President Donald Trump’s tariffs was never really about economics; it was about framing. Instead of asking whether tariffs generated leverage, revenue or strategic correction, many observers chose a different path: emotional labeling. Tariffs were routinely described as “tantrums,” “outbursts” or “chaos.” Policy was treated as psychology. Outcomes...
Letter to the editor: Pa. needs stronger gun laws
When I was young, my grandmother lived directly across the street from me. I remember her warning us, “We have to be careful because of your grandfather’s job.” My grandfather was a judge, as was my uncle. My sisters and I would laugh off those comments and say, “Grandma, I...
Editorial: U.S. protection must not end at the border
On July 30, 2022, Marc Fogel’s name first appeared on this opinion page. It would not be the last. The Butler County native and Pittsburgh resident was a recurring topic in editorials for four years as TribLive did two things: We kept the story of his detention in a Russian...
Letter to the editor: Random thoughts
Just a few random thoughts that might give some readers a break from the endless political letters that appear on this page. Unlike those, I do not profess anything I say here to be factual, just my observations and opinions. 1. No matter how many phone calls you make, you’re...
Letter to the editor: What violent crimes did apprehended children commit?
I agree that violent criminals who are here illegally should be deported. My question is: What violent crimes did 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and the 2-year-old daughter of Elvis Tipan-Echeverria commit? Rape? Robbery? Murder? Sexual abuse of a minor? Serious assault? Domestic violence? Stalking? Child abuse? Weapons trafficking? Trafficking controlled...
S.E. Cupp: Will Trump’s moves ever awaken conservatives?
Donald Trump has rewritten the rules of the presidency in ways that could change America forever, and not for the better. His naked self-dealing, weaponizing the Justice Department against his political foes, turning on our allies, the casino-fication of the White House — none of it bodes well for the...
