Letter to the editor: Rail merger will negatively impact Western Pa.
The freight rail system is critical to Western Pennsylvania’s
economy. It supports farms, factories and businesses that all depend on timely deliveries and competitive rates to thrive. I know, because I spent much of my career as a supply chain manager for a major glass manufacturer in the Pittsburgh area....
Cal Thomas: Sports gambling, a bad bet
It wasn’t that long ago when sports betting was illegal. Then suddenly it was as though profit, rather than controlling this vice, became paramount. It was inevitable, given human nature, that bad things would follow legalization. Last week, The Wall Street Journal carried a front-page story that reported “one of...
Hugo Balta: Washington loves blaming Latin America for drugs — while ignoring the American appetite that fuels the trade
For decades, the United States has perfected a familiar political ritual: condemn Latin American governments for the flow of narcotics northward, demand crackdowns and frame the crisis as something done to America rather than something America helps create. It is a narrative that travels well in press conferences and campaign...
Letter to the editor: Garrity should replace Shapiro as governor
Gov. Josh Shapiro is clean cut and speaks well; don’t let that fool you. Here are some of the policies he has voted against or will not support: He is anti-ICE and wants Pennsylvania to be a sanctuary state. He wants transgender athletes to be allowed to compete in girls...
Letter to the editor: Legislature must enact sales tax plan
As TribLive has reported, a plethora of local and county governments, along with school boards, have followed political status quo by increasing property taxes in order to pay for doing business. Gotta hand it to Westmoreland County Commissioner Ted Kopas, as he stated, “We need to rethink the way we...
Letter to the editor: Congress must step up
The invasion of Venezuela and threats of the president’s little team of thuglings (Miller, Hegseth, Bondi, Noem) to Colombia, Cuba and Denmark tragically show the world the U.S. as an aggressor. Yes, yes, to Venezuelan democracy, but, fellow citizens, do you want sons and daughters to die in Latin America...
Letter to the editor: Collaboration can save Shaler pool
The planned closure of the Shaler Area School District (SASD) pool is more than a school district decision — it is a regional loss. For decades, this indoor pool has been one of the few accessible, year‑round aquatic facilities serving Shaler, Etna, Reserve and Millvale. Its disappearance would leave a...
Editorial: Can we talk? Colleges invest in civil discourse
Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh are spending nearly $5 million to teach students how to talk to one another. IUP received a $2.29 million federal grant to create a Center for Dialogue and Civic Life. Pitt was awarded about $2.7 million to build a regional model...
Letter to the editor: Vote in people who can stop Trump
Typically I submit my letters a week to 10 days before publication. Forgive me if this imitation of a leader does something else to harm this nation in the meantime, and I fail to address. We the People? Does anyone who can slow or stop this criminal exist in Congress?...
Erika Strassburger: Clean energy provides jobs, consumer savings
It’s a challenging and uncertain time for America’s clean energy industry. Congress repealed the federal clean energy tax credits through President Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” last summer, and Trump has made his love for fossil fuels and disdain for renewable energy clear through his statements and his policies. In...
Colin McNickle: Is Pittsburgh trading one vacancy problem for another?
It is a deeply troubling number by any accounting: Nearly a full quarter of all classes of downtown Pittsburgh office space was vacant through the third quarter of 2025, concludes the latest report from the Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) real estate firm. “Keep in mind (that) one year ago, the...
Jason Lias: High school theater politics — Democrats take stage against ICE
Some Democrats treat Immigration and Customs Enforcement like the villain in a high school play — except they forgot they’re in the real world. Lots of yelling. Fake crying. Dramatic gasps. Signs, hashtags and calls for “resistance” everywhere. Meanwhile, most Americans are just trying to get through the day. Front...
Letter to the editor: ICE are the domestic terrorists
Masked ICE agents are the domestic terrorists, not 37-year-old mothers. An ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Some government officials have called Good’s attempt to drive away from the ICE agents as an act of domestic terrorism. The reason for ICE presence in Minneapolis, and elsewhere,...
Letter to the editor: ‘Ugly war’ against Palestinians began in 1948
Regarding the letter “Thoughts on two recent letters” (Dec. 11, TribLive): The author claims that two Dec. 3 letter-writers distort history about the Gaza war by decrying Israel’s genocide of Palestinian women and children. (To date up to 70% of over 71,000 total deaths.) He further claims the letter-writers are...
Letter to the editor: More advice for Hegseth
In response to the letter “Suggested reading for Hegseth” (Jan. 4, TribLive): For Charles Brown and Franz Stigler, things turned out well that day, but many others died at the hands of each afterwards. Before Stigler escorted the B-17 to safety, he attempted to get the pilot (Brown) to surrender...
Editorial: If you believed the McRib was a real rib, we have some chicken nuggets to sell you
Another day, another class-action lawsuit, this time about what kind of meat is in a sandwich. Four lead plaintiffs, including Chicagoan Dorien Baker, are suing McDonald’s, claiming the fast-food giant is misleading customers over what kind of meat it uses in its cult classic “McRib” sandwich. “Despite its name and...
Letter to the editor: Supreme Court corruption
After reading Chief Justice John Roberts’ words concerning our Constitution (“Chief Justice says Constitution remains ‘firm and unshaken’,” Jan. 2), I almost choked. Those words from a man whose court is, in all probability, the most corrupt in our history, who shredded our Constitution through its shadow docket, who enabled...
Letter to the editor: Inflation lesson
Many people think inflation causes prices to increase. In fact, it is just the opposite. Inflation is a measure of how fast prices are rising. The faster prices increase, the higher the inflation rate. More importantly, prices remain at their elevated levels and continue to increase even as inflation decreases....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Jan. 19
Editorial cartoons for the week of Jan. 19....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 19
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 19....
Talla Mountjoy: ‘This is the time the regime will fall.’ Iran’s protests as seen through my family’s group chat
A WhatsApp group serves as a lifeline for my maternal family, including my aunts and uncles, all still in Iran, and my cousins, who have left Iran. With the protests in Iran growing by the day, the conversations in our chats changed to signs of hope even amid grave concerns...
Letter to the editor: Trump blind to human dignity
President Trump’s deepest flaw has always been his blindness to human dignity. This was visible from the “Access Hollywood” tape, the playground‑level insults, the smears against anyone who checks his power and the broad slanders of whole communities. That same contempt now shapes ICE, an agency that can only succeed...
Letter to the editor: Hostility doesn’t get things done
Winter makes me think of dogs like Saint Bernards and Huskies. With the holiday season bounding away, and a new year skittering on linoleum like a puppy, it’s a swell time to evaluate relations between New York City and Washington, D.C. Lucky for all, the new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, hasn’t...
Letter to the editor: After Renee Good, any of us could be next
According to the Gospel of Matthew, Christ listed bearing false witness as an evil that comes from the heart, alongside murder and adultery, illustrating its deep moral corruption. In fact, one of the most egregious examples of false testimony in the Bible is that during his trial, the chief priests...
Letter to the editor: Some things I think I think
1. If John McCain would have voted yes to do away with the Affordable Care Act during President Trump’s first term, we would not be in this predicament we are today. But he let hate vote instead what is best for the country. 2. If President Biden would have continued...
