Editorials category, Page 98
Editorial: Cohen latest cage match over winners and losers
“He is all about winning.” Michael Cohen made that statement to the House Oversight Committee Wednesday. It was an indictment of the actions of the president. It doesn’t really matter if you believe Cohen or not. It doesn’t matter if you support President Trump or not. Because Cohen’s statement doesn’t...
Editorial: Drug crisis is in your backyard
A reader wasn’t happy with the opinion of two people who deal with Westmoreland County’s drug epidemic every day. Detective Tony Marcocci handles the criminal side of the crisis. Tim Phillips, director of the county’s Drug Overdose Task Force, works with the social and treatment aspect. In a Tribune-Review editorial...
Editorial: Robert Kraft charges no reason for celebration
It always comes down to us versus them, and it’s getting exhausting. The New England Patriots are the team that everyone south of Connecticut and west of Vermont loves to hate. Come from another NFL powerhouse location — like, say, Pittsburgh — and the animosity doubles. It’s easy to say...
Editorial: Election rules have real world consequences
Okay, here’s the deal. You probably shouldn’t work on a political campaign while you are at your job — unless, of course, working on a political campaign actually is your job. Regardless of whether you are an accountant or a short order cook or an airplane mechanic or a kindergarten...
Editorial: Does Norfolk Southern proposal double rail cars and risk?
When you have a lot of rivers, you’re going to have a lot of bridges. When you are a city that was built on coal and steel, you’re going to have a lot of trains. And sometimes that’s double the trouble. Norfolk Southern wants to rebuild a bridge on a...
Editorial: Is a new PIT terminal a $1 billion bargain?
The designs for a new Pittsburgh International Airport terminal are beautiful. They are filled with light pouring in through huge windows. There are ceilings high enough to park an airliner in the concourse. There is enough greenery to give you the feeling you are visiting Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens....
Laurels & lances: Tax breaks, empty bowls, inmates and moving home
Laurel: To Irwin Council for giving borough residents who are active volunteers for the Irwin Volunteer Fire Department a break on their real estate and earned income taxes, if they meet certain criteria for the number of emergency calls they respond to and amount of training they undergo. Unfortunately, North...
Editorial: Highlands needs to let the Sunshine Act in
The people have the right to know. The people have the right to care. The people have the right to question. And in most cases, the government doesn’t have the right to say, no. Highlands School District does not have the right to shadowy decision-making. In January, the school board...
Editorial: Vaccines fears are going viral
Human beings have made a lot of progress over the years. We turned the wheel into the cart and then the car and then stuck it on rovers that went to Mars. (Rest in peace, Opportunity.) We set wood on fire, and then rocks, and then oil, and then we...
Editorial: Would Pa. prison beds be better used for drug treatment?
There are increasingly more women behind bars in Pennsylvania. A Tribune-Review project looked at women in the Westmoreland County Prison, where the female population inhabits two units with 115 beds. When we think about prison, we don’t tend to think about women, despite the ratings for “Orange Is the New...
Editorial: Community events require community support
A community that is close-knit is generally one that survives if not thrives. That’s not just everyone knowing each other’s names. It doesn’t have to have a “Cheers” corner bar or a Mayberry sheriff. It doesn’t have to be a sitcom with pies cooling on the windowsill and kids engaged...
Editorial: THON raises money and hope for cancer cure
Cancer is scary. It is a dark monster that steals joy and causes pain. It takes away people we love. It is no reason to dance. Except at Penn State. Except during THON. The largest student-run philanthropy in the world, the annual dance marathon to raise money to battle pediatric...
Editorial: Trump’s emergency highlights battle lines
On Friday, President Trump declared a national emergency to go about spending $8 billion on barriers at the U.S.-Mexico border. This brings to an end the stare-down between the White House and Congress over budgeting. It likely begins a new battle over who has the power to do what. The...
Laurels & lances: Perfection, Parkway, Pittsburgh Dad and payment
Laurel: To Olivia Grace Fertig for keeping it real. The Highlands High School senior has a following of thousands on her social media accounts, but unlike many “influencers” and celebrities who keep their fans with a Photoshop view of a life with perfect skin and perfect hair and perfectly fake...
Editorial: Pittsburgh, Parkland linked by tragedy
Load. Pull back. Take aim. On Valentine’s Day, that scenario should be about Cupid loosing arrows, inspiring love and leading to bouquets of roses and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. It should not be about high school kids lying dead in pools of their own blood in hallways where minutes before...
Editorial: Highlands hearing shows need for public engagement
There is a reason that government meetings are public. It is because the public has a right to know and participate in what the government is doing. The leaders represent the people. The people, therefore, aren’t supposed to be cut out of the process. The people delegated the responsibility of...
Editorial: Amazon money coming to Pittsburgh without HQ2
So what if Amazon doesn’t want to build a second headquarters in Pittsburgh? Southwestern Pennsylvania is more than capable of becoming the home of the next big thing in technology. That’s not just sour grapes. It’s an awareness of what is in the backyard. Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas are...
Editorial: Tarentum tax shaming is only fair
If there is one thing we learned from the Puritans, it’s the societal value of public humiliation. They might not have had good ideas about witch trials, but when it came to smaller offenses, they realized quickly that if everyone knew you did something wrong, you were probably less likely...
Editorial: UPMC, Highmark show charities are big business
When Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Thursday that he was going to court to break up the UPMC-Highmark catfight, it put a spotlight on something that frequently gets forgotten when dealing with the big business of health. They are both nonprofit organizations. Neither of them hide that. In fact, it...
Editorial: Penn Hills grand jury report, recovery plan short on teaching lessons
You can’t keep digging a hole without making plans to climb out. Right now, it doesn’t seem like Penn Hills School District will ever find a way out of the dirt. On Tuesday, a grand jury report used words like “economic ruin,” “egregious” and “catastrophic” to paint a picture of...
Laurels & lances: Marijuana, Scouts, violence, drugs, and the Super Bowl
Laurel: To the Wolf administration for committing to gauging the public’s sentiment on marijuana legalization. Can’t get much more thorough than Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s plan to visit 67 counties. Oh no, Toto, I don’t think we’re in Harrisburg anymore — or even Braddock! Laurel: To the Boy Scouts for...
Editorial: Is Wolf’s budget feasible?
Wow, does Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget sound good. He started out his 2019-20 budget address — a kind of “State of the Commonwealth” — with what he acknowledged was the thing people really wanted to know. “This proposal asks for no new taxes. Not one dollar. Not one dime. Not...
Editorial: Trump talks unity, doesn’t achieve it
The State of the Union address hit all of its marks. President Trump danced through the annual speech, following all the footprints on the floor to pull off a waltz that moved from point to point. Acknowledge everyone. Applause. Use the buzzwords. America. Jobs. Economy. More applause. And as usual...
Editorial: Shapiro’s PWSA charges show need for public trust
People just want to know what is going on. So many issues that arise with public service go back to public trust. The people need to have information and communication to believe that the people in power are doing the right thing. And that is the problem with the Pittsburgh...
Editorial: Hempfield vote review invites questions
Investigating yourself doesn’t work. Hempfield’s solicitor is reviewing whether or not the municipality made decisions outside the public eye after Supervisor Rob Ritson raised the issue of four times he says that has occurred. The instances weren’t petty. Occurring between 2016-18, they include a $125,000 union settlement agreement, a $4.3...
