Editorials category, Page 95
Editorial: U.S.-China trade war is scary roller coaster
If you have any money in the stock market, you’re going to want to close your eyes, catch your breath and hold on tight. The roller-coaster ride that is the daily ups and downs of trading is headed for a whole new set of death-defying loops. We know why. In...
Editorial: Route 30 study needs to be realistic
Good transportation moves the economy. That’s why Route 30 needs to be addressed. It’s a big road. It’s an important road. For more than 100 years, it has been there, connecting a string of communities in a dotted line east to west across Pennsylvania. And that makes it a draw...
Editorial: Nuclear energy makes its own money
Think about Pennsylvania and energy and you might think coal or natural gas. But the state really shines when it comes to nuclear. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Pennsylvania is second only to Illinois when it comes to nuclear power. What lights up most of our homes is...
Editorial: Turnpike overcharges another sneaky subsidy
Pay a toll in cash and you know exactly how many nickels and dimes you are throwing in the hopper. Drive through the E-ZPass lane where the money is automatically deducted from an account via a transponder and it should happen the same way. But sometimes it doesn’t. And if...
Laurels & lances: Running, towing, fixing and charging
Laurel: To a first-class last place. Jessica Robertson of Braddock and Alle-Kiski grad Laura Mazur of Ohio didn’t win the Pittsburgh Marathon. Not by a long shot. The two finished in 7 hours, 22 minutes and 56 seconds. They were the last people to cross the finish line. They did...
Editorial: Mass shootings compete for attention with body count
The latest school shooting seemed almost run-of-the-mill. A Denver school was the scene. Nine people shot. Only one killed. Only. The synagogue shooting in California received a fraction of the attention that the Tree of Life garnered. A few people shot. Only one killed. Only. In a culture where we...
Editorial: Are Wolf’s commutations part of reform movement?
Three more life-without-parole prisoners will be released after Gov. Tom Wolf commuted the sentences of a convicted murderer and two men who participated in crimes where someone was killed. The moves were approved by the Board of Pardons before being sent to the governor. Wolf has now commuted eight life...
Editorial: Drug collection great but still shows holes in system
Authorities in Pennsylvania seize 39,000 pounds of drugs. That would be a starting headline. Most drug arrests are about grams and ounces. When you get into pounds or kilos, it really draws attention. But we’re talking about tons here. Tons of drugs collected in an operation that took a month...
Editorial: School choice should be discussed, not automatic
Picking a school for your child can be a very personal decision. You weigh the pros and cons. You might look at test scores. You might look at graduation rates. You might be looking for just the right fit for your religious beliefs. Maybe you want a private institution that...
Editorial: Is U.S. Steel’s $1 billion upgrade good for all?
It’s an old, rickety teeter-totter of an idea. You have to choose between supporting the economy and the environment. It’s a lie. As voters, as workers, as government and corporations, we can’t fall for it. And we have to encourage and celebrate attempts to do both. U.S. Steel’s $1 billion...
Laurels & lances: Cows, comments, alcohol and ashes
Laurel: To those on the hunt for crafty cows. The Westmoreland County Animal Response Team has the unenviable task of trying to track down a small herd of cattle that have been roaming southern Murrysville since at least April 26, when a Murrysville resident snapped a photo as he followed...
Editorial: Metcalfe’s vaccine bill quarantines free speech
We can vaccinate against many things. We can take a shot to prevent smallpox, and that worked so well the disease only exists in little vials. We can inoculate ourselves against everything from the tetanus we could get from a bad cut to the chicken pox that spreads like fire...
Editorial: Every 2020 candidate should be in Pittsburgh
Everyone knew that Joe Biden was going to run for president again. His undeclared presence on every hypothetical ballot was an open assumption for months. Despite a Democratic field that contenders almost large enough to be a hockey roster, Biden consistently polled higher than even the buzziest newcomers. His declaration...
Editorial: Tree of Life to Poway, anti-Jewish hate crimes rising
It must be a terrifying time to be Jewish. When the places where you go to feel your faith most fully are the places where you are targeted with guns loaded with bullets and gunmen loaded with hatred, it must feel like being a deer in an open field. No...
Editorial: Dating violence demands awareness
Love is in the air. But sometimes love changes. Sometimes it was never love at all. Sometimes what seems like love is control. It’s possession. It’s dangerous. And sometimes we don’t know how to explain the difference to our kids. The blossoming days of spring are warming and waltzing toward...
Editorial: Prison voting is Sanders’ slippery slope
The slope’s not that slippery, Bernie. Both the federal and Pennsylvania governments are making admirable progress in criminal justice reform. They are finding new ways to structure sentences. They’re changing mandatory minimums. They’re giving people who have served their sentences Clean Slate laws that make it easier to not just...
Editorial: Gas tax covers police for areas that won’t
Pennsylvanians pay 57.6 cents per gallon in gas tax, the highest in the country. With prices ranging from $2.94 to $3.15, that means about 18% to 20% of what we pay at the pump isn’t paying for what goes into the tank. It goes to Harrisburg, where it’s supposed to...
Laurels & lances: Voting, truth and rebuilding
Laurel: To party being less important than community. The Murrysville-Export Republican and Democratic clubs have worked together this year to garner 85 signatures necessary on a petition filed in Westmoreland Common Pleas Court seeking an order to redraw the Sardis and Newlonsburg precincts. The community hopes splitting each of those...
Editorial: Westmoreland sheriff’s office raid shows problems
There is a problem in the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office. For the second time, authorities have conducted a raid on the agency. It happened Wednesday morning when state police investigators swooped in, collected documents, questioned people and left two hours later. “It’s not about me this time,” Sheriff Jonathan Held...
Editorial: Murrysville needs more polling places
If you want people to vote, you can’t make it a challenge. In two Murrysville precincts, there are just too many voters to make showing up at the polls an easy proposition. Newlonsburg has 3,454 registered voters. Sardis has 3,498. That’s almost 7,000 voters — nearly half of Murrysville’s overall...
Editorial: Casey’s call for DNC debate makes electoral sense
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, is right. The Democratic Party should hold one of what promises to be a plethora of primary debates in Pennsylvania. The Keystone State will undoubtedly be a keystone in the 2020 presidential election. It usually is. Americans have gone to the polls to pick a...
Editorial: Pennsylvania Senate’s turn on child abuse protections
Okay, Senate. Your turn. The Pennsylvania House did its job. They took a proposal to rewrite the rules on child sex abuse reporting and ran with it. One bill would chuck the statute of limitations if the reason child abuse wasn’t reported was that the mandated reporters didn’t report the...
Editorial: DeLuca plan too late for Penn Hills, not for other districts
If nothing else, Penn Hills can be a cautionary tale. The school district’s $172 million money pit of debt might not be getting any shallower but it has prompted attention in Harrisburg. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale had already issued a 2016 report that called Penn Hills out for “mismanagement and...
Laurels & lances: Food fest, fight, overcoming and outstanding
Laurel: To a really big dill. Who doesn’t love a big old pickle? Now who doesn’t love an even bigger pickle? Exactly. And that’s what makes a bigger, better Picklesburgh festival something you can really sink your teeth into. The July 26-28 festival is going to be expanded and we...
Editorial: Highlands residents have right to know
We aren’t going to give up and go away. Highlands School District can keep making decisions and taking votes without the full light of day, but the Tribune-Review isn’t going to stop going to meetings. We aren’t going to stop paying attention to what is on the agenda and what...
