Opinion category, Page 78
Editorial: Untaxed tips is not so easy — tax earnings equally and progressively
In his record-long address to Congress, President Donald Trump reiterated his aspiration to have taxes on tips and overtime pay eliminated, a position that has enough bipartisan cachet that it also forms part of Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral run agenda. This falls into the bucket of a policy that sounds excellent...
Letter to the editor: Unfreeze the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been the most consequential legislation ever passed to speed the migration of the United States from fossil fuels, which harm the planet, to the use of green energy solutions for the rapidly increasing demand for electricity. The spread of wind and solar farms, the...
Letter to the editor: State budget season offers hope for an energy future ‘Made in PA’
Pennsylvanians have a real opportunity to see dramatic new investments in our commonwealth’s energy economy in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget, which includes a plan to jumpstart economic growth through the energy sector, following federal commitments of up to $2 billion for clean hydrogen production and industrial decarbonization. Democrats and...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 17
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 17....
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 17
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 17....
Letter to the editor: A common language binds us together
Annie Abbott’s opinion of the president’s declaration of English as the U.S. official language reveals a clear misunderstanding of history and political reality (“Multilingualism not a threat. It belongs in our country,” March 7, TribLive). Countries need a key core concept that cultivates “commonality” which binds them. The U.S. was...
Letter to the editor: Council must approve increased fees to reduce pollution
Events like the one reported in the article “Damage reported at U.S. Steel facility in Braddock, followed by increase in air pollution,” Feb. 24, TribLive) make Allegheny County’s already bad air a lot worse. The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) is charged with enforcing the Clean Air Act and keeping...
Editorial: Allegheny and Westmoreland counties show why Pennsylvania is a swing state
If you want to know how political power is ebbing and flowing in Pennsylvania, take a look at Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. Pennsylvania’s politics swing like the clapper of a bell. It can be Democratic one year and Republican another. The 67 counties run the gamut of deepest blue to...
Letter to the editor: Pa. must prioritize funding for AAAs
As an older Pennsylvanian and advocate, I’m deeply concerned about the funding challenges facing Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs). AAAs are vital because they offer seniors information and support. For 25 years, I’ve served on the Southwestern Pennsylvania AAA Advisory Board and visit my AAA, the Masontown Senior Center, three...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Don’t mess with the Strip
Pittsburgh’s Strip District is a treasure. This uniquely Pittsburgh neighborhood has flourished without government planning and is beloved by generations of Pittsburghers and hundreds of thousands of annual visitors. Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration is about to permit the ruin of all that. You may have seen the billboards that say...
Lara Williams: Woolly mammoths? Mars? Let’s take care of what we’ve got.
Earlier this month, science delivered a really cute experimental result. Researchers created a “colossal woolly mouse,” a fluffy rodent that’s purported to be a step on the way to resurrecting woolly mammoths from the age of dinosaurs. But that project — along with Elon Musk’s obsession with establishing a colony...
Counterpoint: STEM is key to our future
By nearly all objective measures, the U.S. education system is not fulfilling its primary duty of ensuring that today’s students are prepared to achieve in the world of tomorrow. As we all know, modern society is becoming ever more dependent on technology. Hence, if American students are to compete in...
Point: STEM is important, but economics is destiny
In late February, students at dozens of U.S. high schools participated in the first round of an international competition in economics. The top five American students will travel to historic Olympia, Greece, this year to compete against students from other countries. The Economics Olympiad, as the competition is called, is...
Letter to the editor: Consequences of USAID shutdown
One of the first actions of the Trump/Musk regime was to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development. “Heck yeah!” says MAGA. The decrease to the federal budget is estimated at about $36 per American. But the impacts are extreme: tens of thousands of middle-class Americans losing their jobs,...
Letter to the editor: Trump evokes memories of Chamberlain
President Trump’s shameful performance at the Feb. 28 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his lack of support for Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine conflict remind me of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s performance at the Munich Agreement in 1938, at which Chamberlain...
Letter to the editor: Increase permit fees to curb county pollution
Dr. Iulia Vann, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, cites 50 department vacancies which limit her capacity to control the air pollution that makes this one of the unhealthiest places to live in America. In September 2024, the Allegheny County Board of Health recommended increasing air quality operating permit...
Editorial: Audit results make argument for clearer rules on credit card purchasing
Things can be broken and functional at the same time. It’s not ideal, but it’s true. Boiled down to its basics, that’s the message of Pittsburgh Controller Rachael Heisler’s report on the audit of use of city purchasing credit cards by the parks department. The audit was prompted by concerns...
Letter to the editor: Time to find common ground with Trump
My letter was originally intended to show support for President Trump’s harsh dealings with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but 48 hours later my defense became unnecessary since the truth became obvious and Zelenskyy recanted his position. Such is the rapidity of Trump’s successes. After watching Trump’s joint address to Congress,...
Letter to the editor: When did decorum disappear?
In 1964 if you sat at the family dinner table with a ball cap on, you were told to remove it. In 2004 Howard Dean on the campaign trail yelled “YEAH!” and that one action doomed his presidential campaign. Today we have a president who constantly wears a baseball hat...
S.E. Cupp: Trump’s Fifth Avenue scenario has finally arrived
It was January 2016, with just two weeks before the Iowa caucus. Then candidate Donald Trump delivered to a Christian college audience what would become the line of his political career: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose voters, OK?” Since...
Letter to the editor: Bravo to Pine-Richland performers, staff
I recently attended a performance of Pine-Richland High School’s musical “42nd Street.” What an enjoyable evening. Professionals couldn’t have staged a better show. The set decorations and scenery rivaled what you see in major cultural sites. The cast was no less amazing. Vocals and dance routines were top notch, especially...
Letter to the editor: This Land is MAGA Land
MAGA Land: This once was your land But now it’s MAGA land From Panama’s canal To the Greenland island From Canadian forests To a strip called Gaza Your land, it now belongs to me. This song, thankfully, has yet to be written. But it’s easy to imagine that MAGA songwriters...
Lori Falce: Calling everything ‘fraud’ doesn’t make it so
My favorite part of “The Princess Bride” is when Vizzini, a sly criminal mastermind who is not that sly nor much of a mastermind, responds over and over to events with a shout of “Inconceivable!” The swordsman Inigo Montoya — brilliantly played by Mandy Patinkin — eventually looks at his...
Laurels & lances: Birds, cheese & QBs
Laurel: To flying high. The Fox Chapel Parks Commission has been singled out for its efforts in education. The borough has set the gold standard in environmental preservation and educating people about birds, according to a statewide grassroots program. Bird Town Pennsylvania works with communities and organizations such as the...
Letter to the editor: Trump is getting results
Despite his occasional off-putting communication style, President Donald Trump’s actions are proving the adults are now in the federal government room. He has almost totally secured the southern and northern borders against the flow of illegal immigrants and deadly fentanyl, a complete reversal of what people saw on TV as...
