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Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Quentin Langley: Time’s up for Andrew Cuomo
Twelve months ago, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was admired and seen as a future president. Some Democrats were wishing that Cuomo was the one limbering up for the fight with then-President Donald Trump. Had the Democrats made an error by not skipping a generation to choose Cuomo? Today, New...
Rep. Greg Vitali: Pa. should enact methane regulations
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry is a major methane emitter. More than 5½ years ago, Gov. Tom Wolf promised regulations to reduce methane emissions from existing oil and gas industry operations. It’s time to finalize these regulations. Methane reduction is critical in addressing...
Addison Del Mastro: Pa. is a microcosm of America’s housing crisis
In recent years, an acute housing crisis has engulfed both America’s coastal metros and Rust Belt regions. California’s Bay Area, for example, confronts a crisis of affordability and limited supply that hastens a population exodus. Midwest cities like Detroit face low real-estate prices and low demand, intensifying urban decline. Pennsylvania...
Sheldon Jacobson: TSA must mandate covid-19 vaccines for airport security screeners
Airport security checkpoints have become the nation’ measuring stick for the state of our war with covid-19 and the Delta variant. The picture is not pretty, and is likely to get worse before it gets better. Over 8,500 Transportation Security Officers have been infected to-date, with 18 deaths. At the...
Gov. Tom Wolf: Strategic investments in Appalachia help make Pa. best place to live, work, play
With 52 of our 67 counties calling Appalachia home, Pennsylvania is no stranger to the rich geography of the region filled with stunning mountain views, rivers and streams, and wildlife. It’s home to tremendous cultural and historical resources and 5.6 million Pennsylvanians who live, work and play in our commonwealth....
Adam Marles: Wolf doubles down on nursing home crisis of his creation
Everyone knows America is experiencing a hiring crisis. Many local restaurants and stores are struggling to find staff to open. Now imagine running a nursing home, where the pandemic remains a real threat, and trying to retain and find new employees. Even if you could find potential candidates, nursing homes...
John Allison: Jury duty, the (possible) antidote to civic despair
American democracy has been taking a beating lately. When people are feeling lousy about their country, experts usually recommend civic pick-me-ups to alleviate the aches and pains. Attend a veterans parade. Play bingo at a volunteer fire department. Witness a Blue Angels air show. All of those are nice, and...
State Sen. Dan Laughlin: ‘Audit’ the 2020 election results? Let’s be real Republicans.
The emerging spectacle of a state senator trying to audit Pennsylvania’s 2020 election absent credible evidence of fraud isn’t going to change the 2020 outcome and will only further the paranoid atmospherics, poisoning both parties. I’m a Republican. I believe in my party’s core values: personal liberty, free markets and...
Feyisola Akintola and Amy Eusebio: Congress needs to act to protect our immigrant neighbors
The covid-19 pandemic laid bare the truth about deep inequalities in our society. Communities of color were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and our noncitizen neighbors were among the very hardest hit because they were unable to access covid relief benefits despite the fact that they make up a disproportionate...
Susan G. Sterrett: Amazon wants to sell Churchill a ‘pig in a poke’
Hundreds of years ago, a seller might bring a pig to market in a cloth bag (or “poque”). Smart buyers knew to look inside the drawstring “poque” before agreeing to buy. A buyer on the wrong end of a con could end up with a cat and no bacon. Hillwood...
Gov. Kay Ivey: Federal-state-local partnership helps tap into Appalachia’s potential
This commentary is part of a series from governors of the 13 states in the Appalachian Regional Commission. ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and state governments focusing on 420 counties across the Appalachian Region. The hit country song “Mountain Music” by the band Alabama may...
Rep. Emily Kinkead: Pa. leaders must focus on recovery
More than 75% of Pennsylvania adults have received at least one covid vaccination dose and 61.5% are fully vaccinated. Our state is finally reopening. But the long road to economic recovery is just beginning. With campaigns for 2021 and even 2022 underway, new statewide and local leadership is on the...
Michael Churchill: School funding lawsuit could help students across Pa. get what they need
In the article “Massive boost in state education funding is not much help to Franklin Regional” (July 14, TribLIVE), Franklin Regional School District Finance Director Jon Perry suggested that a ruling in the school funding lawsuit headed for trial this fall could cause his district to lose revenue. I am...
Alexandra Wimberly and Shawna Murray-Browne: Want to reduce overdose rates? Treat poverty first.
Overdose rates are higher in areas where people live in poverty and even higher among people of color living in poverty. In the last decade in Maryland, the proportion of opioid-overdose deaths involving Black people has continually risen, while the proportion involving white people has declined, mirroring nationwide trends. This...
Baltimore Sun Editorial Board: Insurrection investigation — will GOP rise to the moment?
Whatever one may think of Donald Trump or the circumstances of last year’s election or even the bitterness of this nation’s partisan divide, it ought to be easy to condemn the events of Jan. 6 and to support a broad inquiry into what happened and how to prevent it from...
Ronn Pineo: More pandemics coming; will we heed warning signs?
We should have seen it coming. There had been too many near misses for devastating human pandemics: the Ebola virus, beginning in 1976; the “bird” flu H5N1, first appearing in 1997; SARS in 2003; Zika, beginning in 2007; MERS, starting in 2012. There were others. We had ample warnings before...
Kevin Mooney: In Pa., scientific, economic realities unsettle climate morality plays
Urgent action is needed to combat climate change for the benefit of Pennsylvania’s children and grandchildren, Gov. Tom Wolf said while commenting on his administration’s Climate Impacts Assessment for 2021. The governor claims that rising temperatures, heat waves, flooding and sea-level rise associated with global warming will directly affect what...
Kathy Buechel: Pittsburgh comes together philanthropically to help community
History repeated itself during the pandemic in many ways. Students of philanthropy braced themselves for the usual dips in giving that occur during recessions, but donations actually rose in 2020. Surprising patterns of donor responsiveness are also evident in Pittsburgh’s own philanthropic history. According to data released by Giving USA...
Mike Misic: Skill games are valuable to Pa. communities
Too many times important decisions are made that impact everyday people without getting their input. Skill games is a great example. I hear chatter about them from big out-of-state gaming corporations and powerful gaming lobbyists that tell me they know nothing about them. Last month the state Senate held three...
Gov. Roy Cooper: Building a stronger, healthier future for Appalachian region
With a low cost and high quality of living, it’s no surprise that more than 1.7 million North Carolinians call Appalachia home. The 29 North Carolina counties that are a part of it offer great opportunities to families living in the region — welcoming communities, a strong small business environment,...
Amanda Cylc: Pa. Legislature can save fitness industry
Like so many others, the fitness industry has been devastated by the covid-19 pandemic. Leaders on both sides of the aisle in Harrisburg introduced legislation to help, but no action was taken before they adjourned for the summer, leaving gyms and health clubs waiting for assistance. Action is needed to...
Ben Bear: Pittsburgh’s innovative spirit is making it a leader in car-free mobility
I grew up in the East End, steeped in Pittsburgh’s history of innovation and entrepreneurship from Carnegie Steel to Heinz Ketchup to Salk’s polio vaccine. Yet, more and more, I see my hometown innovating and transforming in ways that could make it a blueprint for cities around the world. When...
Sheldon Jacobson: FAA weighing in on weighing air travelers
Air travel is surging as more passengers pack onto more airplanes. The month of June 2021 saw four times the number of air travelers compared to June 2020. With that, airplane weight is back in the news. The FAA is requiring all airlines to provide better methods to estimate the...
Gov. Larry Hogan: Creating opportunity in Maryland
Since taking office in 2015, our administration has charted a new course, one guided by simple, commonsense principles. Our focus has been on creating jobs, assisting Maryland’s families and restoring our economy. As Maryland continues to recover from the unprecedented crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic, we remain focused on...
Danielle Reiff: We can still prevent political violence in America
I predicted the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. In the preceding weeks, as my Trump-loving, gun-toting cousin Chad was getting hundreds of likes on social media for threatening to hang liberal politicians, I realized the extent of popular support for political violence. Having supported democracy and conflict mitigation...


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