Shapiro anti-choice?

I thought Gov. Josh Shapiro was for women’s choice and reproductive health? His decision to end the contract with Real Alternatives will harm tens of thousands of women and children who depend on the help they receive. A new study published in the journal Cureus found that two-thirds of women seeking abortions would have chosen life if they had better support.

Real Alternatives was established 27 years ago by former Democratic Gov. Bob Casey Sr. and has helped close to 350,000 women with 1.9 million office visits without a complaint. Real Alternatives currently receives about one-tenth the funding that Planned Parenthood receives, and yet Planned Parenthood does not provide any prenatal care and does not provide any of the services Real Alternatives does through the first 12 months of a baby’s life. Shapiro has hinted that the money already in the budget for Real Alternatives in 2024 may be redirected to Planned Parenthood, which I think more accurately should be called “Preventing Parenthood Inc.”

Our governor is already preventing needy children from accessing a better education with his budget veto of Lifeline Scholarships. Now he wants to deny children a chance at life. In bowing to the agenda of the socialist wing of his Democratic Party, he is turning his back on the real needs of the poorest and most vulnerable citizens of Pennsylvania, and it would be fair to label him as the “anti-choice” governor.

Jim Ludwig

Ross

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Just say no to Hempfield’s high-priced high school

I read with dismay the articles involving Hempfield Area School District’s proposed new high school (“Hempfield high school project plan is millions of dollars over budget, must be revised,” Aug. 9, TribLIVE). Why does everything need to be bigger, better and beyond affordable?

Help me understand. The average cost for school construction across the state per square foot is about $300. Hempfield’s price is now between $508 and $515 per square foot.

Apparently, for some members of the school board, there is little hesitancy to throw around $150 million! I applaud the few members of the board who are asking the hard questions.

Here is an idea for the board. Fire everyone involved in the project. Everyone! Pay any fees that are owed and scrap the entire project.

Just say no!

Francis R. Murrman

Hempfield

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Exercising rights can have consequences

Regarding the article “Norwin board member sues superintendent, district over criticism of social media post” (Aug. 9, TribLIVE): As a communications student at Clarion University, part of my graduation requirement was a class on communications and law. Granted, this was in the earlier years of social media, but one thing that was hammered home was that while the First Amendment does give you freedom of speech, there are also consequences that come along with that freedom. Sure, you are free to say/write something harmful, but there can be consequences/fallout from said speech. If you go into a crowded room and scream “Fire!” you get in trouble for doing something that can cause harm.

In this case, the school board member said something that’s frankly not right to say anymore, people rightfully got upset, and the consequence is the superintendent put out a statement that the district does not condone what was said.

It appears that school board member understands the right, but not the consequence.

Matt Huha

Creighton

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Republicans, don’t back Trump

This letter is to all my fellow Republicans who have concluded that they cannot vote again for President Trump.

There are many reasons why I cannot vote for him, but three come to mind:

1. He failed to take any action during the Jan. 6 mob action to keep the peace.

2. He does not seem to care about speaking what is truthful.

3. He is highly disrespectful of many people — women, former employees, fellow Republican candidates and legislators.

His ongoing multiple legal problems strengthen my conclusion.

I will be called a RINO for these comments, but I will ask to be known as a RINO-I — not Republican in name only, but Republican in need of integrity, a quality Trump lacks.

We need to determine the best “Not Trump” candidate, which cannot happen with Trump running and leading the polls.

If you believe, as I do, that Trump should not be president again, cannot win a fair general election and that the American people deserve a better race than Joe Biden vs. Trump, please speak out. Let our fellow Republicans know that Trump cannot win another general election and so should not win another primary.

Joe Stehle

Trafford

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Solving the problem of expensive education

It’s no secret that college tuitions are skyrocketing.

The University of Pittsburgh recently increased its tuition for in-state students by 2%, and 7% for out-of-state students. In the 2021-22 school year, tuitions ranged for public college in-state students from $10,740, to $38,070 at private colleges. The average living cost for on-campus students was $14,050 on top of that.

President Biden’s solution to forgive loans for some students was disallowed by the courts. So, how do we solve this problem?

Although loan forgiveness sounds good on the surface, it does not solve the problem for everyone and, most importantly, does nothing to slow increasing tuition costs and may even encourage them to rise.

Why should government solve the tuition problem, anyway, when universities have caused this mess and passed the cost of their extravagance to students through higher tuitions with minimal accountability?

One major problem is universities are increasingly hiring more high-paid administrators. For example, in the last 20 years, Harvard increased the number of administrators by 43% while only increasing the faculty by 11%.

While overall inflation averaged 66% during the past 20 or so years, college tuition and other costs increased by 175% for in-state students.

With all the brain power concentrated at universities, why can’t these smart people figure out a way to provide education more inexpensively?

Dave Majernik

Plum

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Pittsburgh’s urban decay

Tribune-Review headlines of Downtown Pittsburgh as of late paint a picture of the Golden Triangle that is equal parts accurate and disturbing. Stabbings, drug arrests and homelessness have plagued the heart of a neighborhood still reeling from a global pandemic. While numerous companies scramble to fill the growing void in the workplace as “remote” jobs become all the rage, businesses like McDonald’s and Weiner World are also vacating the area, citing safety and sanitation concerns.

Local officials, meanwhile, proudly display their lack of foresight. After putting their faith in the Second Avenue Commons (a new low-barrier shelter opened in November) to provide ample accommodation for the unhoused, the shelter was filled to capacity in less than a week.

Now with a hoard of aggressive panhandlers and drug abusers slumming along the streets, the county has announced a “decentralization” strategy which will ultimately disperse the population to other undeserving neighborhoods — this coming after the government already lured them Downtown with their shelter system.

Does foolishness have limits? How long will those holding public office continue to fumble the ball? At this rate, I see that skyline eroding into the hands of urban decay as we, the taxpayers, watch.

Michael Hughes

Shadyside

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Creating equality in high school sports

This time of year is always bittersweet. I’m filled with anticipation and excitement for fall sports but dread the reality of what faces so many teams. The reality of success weighs heavily on many players of struggling programs.

I encourage the reenvisioning of the way classification is implemented in high school sports as a whole. I strongly encourage the PIAA and WPIAL to create a rubric to incorporate a holistic approach for sports team classification taking into account socio­economics, demographics, competitive success (or lack thereof), geography, enrollment trends and participation rates. Simply using year-over-year enrollment statistics cannot accurately depict the competitive nature or makeup of a classification.

It becomes nearly essential for athletes in the largest enrollment communities to seek external training to make their respective team roster, which equates to increased performance levels. The winningest schools’ sponsorship dollars further compound the imbalance. Lack of success breeds lack of participation, in otherwise model schools for academic achievement.

High school athletics is one of the premier platforms for teaching young people invaluable lessons and life skills such as responsibility, work ethic, self-confidence, teamwork and time management. If humbleness is one of the most valuable lessons, the North Hills boys soccer players have attained mastery.

Colleen Mollenauer

West View

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