Letter to the editor: Why the turnpike toll hike?
A 4% Pennsylvania Turnpike rate increase as of Jan. 1. How is it that the Ohio Turnpike can charge only about $0.09 per mile and New York about $0.045 per mile with E-ZPass while Pennsylvania charges about $0.18 per mile with E-ZPass? Pennsylvania is about $0.35 per mile without E-ZPass...
Letter to the editor: Those who use the most electricity should pay more
Pennsylvania residents are being told that rising electricity costs are partly driven by the massive power demands of data centers and other high-volume users. If that is true, then the way electricity is priced needs to change. Under the current flat per-kilowatt-hour rate, households and small businesses that conserve energy...
Letter to the editor: Resolutions for 2026
As a terminally diagnosed ALS patient unlikely to see the end of 2026, I offer the following New Year’s resolutions from the wisdom and experience of my 64 years of life. First, lose weight. Whatever is weighing you down — envy, jealousy, grudges, past hurts, guilt — lose it! Shed...
Editorial: What does Pennsylvania’s 2026 governor’s race tell us?
If you want a measure of where 2026 will take Pennsylvania politically, this week has been a great yardstick. Gov. Josh Shapiro formally launched his reelection bid with events on opposite ends of the state, beginning in the Pittsburgh region and closing in Philadelphia. At the same time, Republicans learned...
Philip Martell: The significance of Greenland
In American life, Greenland feels distant, an icy expanse far removed from daily routines in Pennsylvania or elsewhere in the continental United States. But in national security terms, Greenland is anything but remote. It sits on the front line of America’s homeland defense, and how the United States approaches Greenland...
S.E. Cupp: Trump’s ‘America First’ is now just imperialism
In early 2025, before Donald Trump was even sworn into office, he sent a plane with his name in giant letters on it to Nuuk, Greenland, where his son, Don Jr., and other MAGA allies preened for cameras and stomped around the mineral-rich Danish territory that Trump had been casually...
Sheldon Jacobson: Football teams that squander great start are the exception, not the rule
The NFL playoff picture has been set. Fourteen teams are preparing to battle for a spot in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara on Feb. 8. Then there are 18 teams that will have an early off-season, each hoping that this year could have been different. One tipped pass, one...
Andreas Kluth: Trump is tying his legacy to whatever happens in Venezuela
Possibly, just possibly, Donald Trump just scored a foreign-policy success that could define his legacy. By striking Venezuela and whisking away Nicolás Maduro (along with Maduro’s wife), the president removed a patently illegitimate dictator and, in theory, opened the door for a wretched nation to return to democracy and stability....
Letter to the editor: Nuclear is the answer
Regarding the letter “We must focus on renewable energy sources” (Dec. 29, TribLive): You’re right — climate change is a massive threat, risking water shortages, food crises and global tensions. That’s exactly why nuclear is the slam-dunk solution you’re overlooking. Worried about “enormous” environmental risks and water contamination? Nuclear’s lifecycle...
Laurels & lances: Showing up & holding out
Laurel: To a good trend. Scott Township is expanding its police department with a new hire. This one will not be a police officer. It will be a social worker. The department looks to add the employee by summer. The goal is a full-time position to augment response to cases...
Lori Falce: Keeping our eyes up after ICE shooting
On Wednesday, a woman was shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis. Video of the encounter has raised questions about the government’s claim the shooting was an act of self-defense and its subsequent description of the woman as a domestic terrorist. I did not know Renee...
Letter to the editor: Thank a law enforcement officer today
Law enforcement officers are often seen only through the lens of the uniform they wear. Before the badge is pinned on and the shift begins, they’re people just like everyone else. They wake up early, tie their shoes and drink coffee before heading out the door. The difference is that...
John S. Brenner: A call for civility
As we mark the fifth anniversary of the insurrection that took place Jan. 6, 2021, let us pause and reflect, not just on the unnecessary events which unfolded and included the worst kind of political violence, but also ask ourselves how we’ve grown from it. Our civil discourse has become...
Jonah Goldberg: Zohran Mamdani’s call for warm ‘collectivism’ is dead on arrival
The day before the Trump administration captured and extradited Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, many on the right (including yours truly) had a field day mocking something the newly minted mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, said during his inaugural address. The proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America...
Letter to the editor: Trump continues to show his cruel side
Rather than promoting compassion like other presidents, President Donald Trump chose to post an ugly rant regarding the murders of Rob and Michele Reiner as being caused by “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” illustrating his self-obsessed persona. Nothing is sacred with this guy. Nobody should have respect for him because it seems...
Editorial: The cost and value of regional EMS
It takes time to move from an idea to implementation. It also takes discipline to recognize when the time for that shift has arrived. Two years ago, the conversation about the future of emergency medical services in the Alle-Kiski Valley was still largely theoretical. Communities were talking about sustainability, staffing...
Letter to the editor: Deluzio ‘doesn’t get it’ on Venezuela
In his Jan. 3 statement concerning our two-hour military/justice action in Venezuela, Congressman Chris Deluzio touts his Navy and Iraq experience as the lead-in sentence. He also states that “young people” should not participate in our actions in Venezuela. And that our military action is unconstitutional. Then he states that...
Mark Z. Barabak: Democrats are on a roll. So why not fight one another?
Democrats are starting the new year on a high. A series of 2025 victories, in red and blue states alike, was marked by a striking improvement over the party’s 2024 showing. That over-performance, to use the political term of art, means candidates — including even some who lost — received...
Cal Thomas: Maduro’s downfall
Venezuelans are celebrating in the streets of Caracas and around the world after U.S. forces staged a flawless removal of brutal dictator and narco-trafficker Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Not celebrating are most congressional Democrats, a few Republicans and the new mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, whose foreign...
Letter to the editor: Trump must prove that Venezuela action justified
Last time I checked, kidnappings by military force were contrary to international law. Can anyone credibly say that this wreckless unilateral action reflects anything more than presidential ego? That America’s reputation and world trust are improved by it? The Senate must demand proof from President Trump that this action in...
Letter to the editor: 2025 was a success
The Dec. 30 political cartoon stated that the year 2025 was “defective.” Well, our border was finally put in control (after four years of basically ignoring American laws and allowing chaos). The two years of “major” conflict in Gaza has ceased. The amount of illicit drugs smuggled into our country...
Editorial: Health insurance costs drive benefit cut in Westmoreland County
The rising cost of health insurance — and how to pay for it — is a question many families are debating around kitchen tables, strained checkbooks close at hand. Westmoreland County leaders are confronting that same reality. The county salary board, composed of the three commissioners and Controller Jeffrey Balzer,...
Letter to the editor: Vulgarities unfortunately now the norm
When my grandma would hear words she thought to be inappropriate for the age of the speaker, she would always say, “They don’t suck that out of their thumbs.” To her it mattered not whether it was profanity, a racial slur or a lie, nor who said it. Grandma wouldn’t...
Peter Morici: New Year’s resolutions for Washington policymakers
President Trump is the most activist president since Franklin D.
Roosevelt. No institution is safe from his scrutiny, but entering his final three years, we should consider the global challenges that confront the nation, no matter who controls Washington. Regardless of its origins, climate change is here. Whether Americans employ...
Letter to the editor: Moving the A-K Valley forward
As 2026 begins, the Alle-Kiski Valley faces a choice. We can continue managing aging systems, stretching them, patching them and hoping they hold, or we can decide, deliberately, what kind of region we want to be going forward. For generations, our communities carried the weight of industry and adapted when...
