Featured Commentary category, Page 100

Another cellphone video captures the sin of racism, the nation’s slumbering conscience awakens, and political solutions are forcefully advanced. Yet at the most fundamental level, do we not face a moral reckoning demanding a moral diagnosis and a moral cure? At such moments in our past, the Hebrew Bible, traditionally...

While President Trump has touted his tariffs and ongoing trade war as a tool to force manufacturers to return jobs to American soil, the reality in states like Pennsylvania paints a very different picture. Instead of strengthening America’s economy, it has weakened domestic manufacturers by raising their costs, thus making...

As the covid-19 crisis continues to unfold, new concerns continue to surface in the community. Health inequities. Food insecurities. Job losses. Achievement gaps. Digital divides. Isolation and anxiety. To name a few. Although covid-19 doesn’t discriminate, it does hit Black communities harder with a disproportionate number of diagnoses and deaths....

The South Park and Greensburg Salem school districts are struggling with the harsh reality facing schools across the nation whose budgets simply could not withstand the financial consequences of a global pandemic; they have decided to make budget cuts. The loss of teachers, administration and programming is always upsetting, but...

The covid-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons, including not taking for granted such things as jobs, family and life milestones. For the horsemen and staff at The Meadows Racetrack in Washington, the pandemic left people without the ability to race four days a week and earn a living. Live...

President Donald Trump was elected in part on his promise to change the direction of U.S. trade policy so it would put America first. He has kept that promise with new trade agreements and tough enforcement actions that break down foreign trade barriers, protect America’s competitive edge and stop the...

A retirement wave that could fundamentally change the makeup of our region’s workforce and impact the ability for businesses to secure local talent is on the horizon. This “silver tsunami,” as it’s termed, coupled with rapidly evolving workplace pandemic changes, is a problem that can be studied, understood and solved...

Proclamations demanding war on law enforcement officers echo wide and deep across our country. As community leaders, stakeholders and citizens advocate for police reform, it is imperative that people know decent law enforcement agencies will welcome this opportunity for improvement and regularity. Need for standardization, however, does not vindicate the...

After a two-year investigation, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro released the findings of the Statewide Investigating Grand Jury looking into misconduct by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The report found that the DEP “did not do enough to properly protect the health, safety and welfare of the thousands...

It is, finally, illegal to fire or refuse to hire someone because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer or transgender, thanks to a June 15 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court affirmed what the ACLU has said for years. Discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation...

The old 2020 election was supposed to be about many familiar issues. It is not any more. Up until now, the candidates themselves would supposedly be the story in November. The left had cited Donald Trump’s tweets and erratic firings as windows into his dark soul. The right had replied...

In April, Pennsylvanians got a lesson in “believing the science”— the political science, that is — driving Gov. Tom Wolf’s response to covid-19. From refusing to release data behind his shutdown order to ignoring requests for transparency on his business waiver process to closing Open Records offices to failing to...

In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt addressed the nation’s governors with a call to consider impending challenges: “The time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted … if we do not exercise that...

In case you haven’t checked on labor unions in a while, you might still have an image of workers in squalid factories, forced to work night shifts or lose their job, who band together and strike for fair wages and safe conditions. But things have changed a bit since the...

Thanks to President Trump’s well-thought-out policy decisions since the beginning of the global coronavirus pandemic, Americans should have confidence that better days are ahead. Policies the president enacted like the Payment Protection Program provided much needed relief for businesses affected by the coronavirus and brought Pennsylvanians back to work. The...

One day, a fully automated vehicle may drive you to work, take your elderly parents to the doctor or deliver packages to your doorstep. With the appropriate testing, safety protocols and public trust, this transformational future could be sooner than you think. Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National...

Amid the rapidly evolving coronavirus pandemic, parents continue to face new challenges when it comes to their children’s education. In a time where stay-at-home orders, social distancing and travel restrictions have become the new norm, parents have to make important — and potentially tough — decisions about their child’s education...

As a black man in America, I live in constant fear, and as a leader of an organization that aims to end the war on drugs in Pennsylvania, I also have tremendous fear for people who use drugs — especially those of us who are black and brown. What we...

Recent history in Pennsylvania has shown that it’s possible to grow our energy economy and make important environmental gains. During my time as secretary of our state’s Department of Environmental Protection, for example, Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry grew significantly, created unprecedented job growth and lowered costs for consumers, while harmful...

Barber shops and hair salons across Pennsylvania have sparked controversy during the prolonged business shutdown. Many have risked crushing fines and license suspensions to defy forced-closure orders and serve their customers. Cindy Schindler, owner of Papillon Salon and Skin Care Center in Lemoyne, says salons could have been operating all...

As a soldier for more than 38 years, I cannot imagine being ordered into the streets of America to use military force against protesters. The country I served is becoming unrecognizable. We need to slow down and take stock. We must acknowledge we are in a fight for the soul...

As work continues in Washington, D.C., on future phases of the federal response to the pandemic, we are coming together — business and labor — to urge strong support for a robust transportation and infrastructure package. With unemployment heading to previously unimaginable levels and every country in a race to...

In these trying times, it’s difficult to find something to smile about. But I’ve found some modicum of mirth watching very sympathetic liberals go the extra mile to help hone the message of activists calling to “defund the police.” For instance, Katy Tur, an MSNBC anchor, had Isaac Bryan, the...

The vision of the Pennsylvania Department of Health is a healthy Pennsylvania for all. This includes vulnerable populations like residents in rural communities and minority communities, as well as seniors and those living in skilled nursing homes. Since the start of the Wolf administration, we have made it a priority...

Pennsylvania state troopers don’t enlist for medals or to win popularity contests. Many of us grew up wanting to be troopers, proud to serve our communities and willing to lay down our lives if necessary. Since the formation of our department in 1905, our ranks have suffered 98 line-of-duty deaths....