Featured Commentary category, Page 96
Ron Perkins: College degree should not be lifetime barricade to a good-paying job
Over the last decades, the education to workforce ecosystem has myopically evolved into a standardized pipeline, where graduates are not necessarily set up to succeed. The standard high school diploma now offers 50% fewer opportunities for family-sustaining careers versus 30 years ago, and 40% of recent college graduates are underemployed...
Cal Thomas: The Rittenhouse verdict
Before the right to keep and bear arms is stated in the Second Amendment, the Founders wrote why they believed it necessary for people to arm themselves as part of a “militia.” They said it is a “necessity to the security of a free state.” The Founders knew that liberty...
Rep. Joanna McClinton: Federal bill invests in Pa.; state legislative leaders need to do the same
After four years of false starts and one year of hard work and compromise, there’s finally a federal bill that mirrors what we’ve been fighting for here in Pennsylvania. A bill that brings real money to our communities and creates jobs that cannot be outsourced. It includes investments to connect...
Ryan Shafik: Jake Corman runs for governor, Josh Shapiro rejoices
Dynastic career politician Jake Corman, president pro tempore of the Pennsylvania State Senate, is the latest Republican to toss his hat in the ring for governor of this great commonwealth. Given Corman’s insatiable ambition, his decision to enter the fray isn’t necessarily surprising. What is shocking is that someone with...
James Knights: We’re not learning — genocides on rise
On Veterans Day, I was asked to give a few remarks at an exhibition hosted by the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. The focus of the exhibition was a collection of my father’s wartime photographs of the little-known German massacre of 1016, mostly...
Kirk Allen and John Kraft: Fauci warned about coronaviruses in 2003 — but didn’t act on it
Few would argue the United States, or any country for that matter, was prepared for the covid-19 pandemic, even though, starting in 2003, the U.S. devoted $5.6 billion to fund Project Bioshield, running through 2013, and another $2.8 billion of funding through 2018. Project Bioshield was designed to prepare the...
Rep. Mike Kelly: Parents deserve — and have earned — a greater voice in children’s education
Since Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s decisive win in Virginia, education has been deemed the top issue that propelled him to victory. Specifically, the infiltration of critical race theory (CRT) into some classrooms nationwide. Parents in Virginia revolted and ultimately awarded Youngkin the governorship, and he became the first Republican to win...
Cathy Bordner: 3 projects hamper Pittsburgh’s climate progress
Recently there has been a lot of news coverage about awards being won by the city of Pittsburgh for progress against climate change. These are certainly major accomplishments, but if you look closer at Southwestern Pennsylvania, you’ll recognize the irony of these awards. The Nov. 10 Public News Service article,...
Mark Kempic: Help is available for those struggling to stay warm
Autumn’s chill air means that winter is quickly approaching, and with it, colder temperatures increase our reliance on natural gas to stay safe and warm in our homes. Each year though, many Pennsylvanians struggle financially with heating bills during the winter months, and utility providers like Columbia Gas work to...
Turahn Jenkins and Robert Perkins: Addressing racism in Allegheny County courts
According to a recent TV news story, a meeting of Allegheny County judges this month “erupted in protest” over the draft of a new court mission statement proposed by President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark. The disputed portion of the statement proclaims that “We are committed to being fair and consistent,...
Leslie Poston and Sara Goodkind: It’s time for UPMC to do more than fly banners for our health care heroes
Around the country and across industries, workers are standing up to demand fair pay and treatment. The worker shortage — called “The Great Resignation” — is particularly acute in health care, where the staffing crisis has left many concerned for worker and patient safety. Essential care workers are being pushed...
Sheldon Jacobson: Team sports require team decisions on covid vaccination
Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers’ star quarterback and reigning AP NFL Most Valuable Player, tested positive for covid-19. He also admitted that he was not vaccinated. Individuals living in isolation are free to make any choice they wish when it comes to vaccination. However, when personal choices have community...
Ronald A. Smith and Terry Engelder: Jerry Sandusky should be retried
Ten years ago, Joe Paterno, the Brooklyn-born winningest football coach at Penn State University, was fired at night over the telephone, five days after the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office released the presentment charging defensive coach Jerry Sandusky and Penn State administrators with crimes of child abuse. Paterno was never found...
Scott Brown: A case for city ownership of Greensburg parklet
Greensburg’s Pennsylvania Avenue parklet, built in 1988 and gifted to the city in 1989 by nonprofit Go Greensburg, is the subject of debate about who should own the park. Constructed for $30,000, the park was funded entirely by donations from benefactors and generous citizens. In May 2020, the city sold...
Alison Bell: Pa.’s health care workforce needs ‘rapid response’
Uncertainty, fear and anxiety gripped the nation in early 2020 as we began to deal with the covid-19 pandemic. This was especially true for health care workers who were tasked with treating a novel virus we knew very little about other than the lethal impact it had in other parts...
Michael Torres: ‘Old school GOP’ prevailed in Pa.’s swing counties
Last week, voters in Pennsylvania’s key swing counties sent a message to Republicans: Nominate a competent candidate who cares about our quality of life, and we’ll give you a win. Given that a few thousand of these voters can easily determine statewide and even national elections, the GOP should take...
Kevin Walker: Now is the time to embrace electric mobility
When I moved to Western Pennsylvania in the spring of 2020, I immediately learned that we’re a region of opportunity. This has been true since the Industrial Revolution established Pittsburgh as the steel capital of the world and solidified our reputation for being a driven, innovative and resilient community. Pittsburgh...
Johnny Wilson: Veterans are strong assets for employers
Semper Fidelis is Latin for “always faithful.” It is a fitting credo by which every United States Marine lives — “an eternal and collective commitment to the success of our battles, the progress of our Nation, and the steadfast loyalty to the fellow Marines we fight alongside.” As someone who...
Kim Stolfer: Time to restore gun freedoms
Last month Gov. Tom Wolf railed against two commonsense pieces of legislation, Senate Bill 565 (improves citizen safety) and Senate Bill 448 (stops illegal actions by local municipalities). He then went on to show his connection to the well-financed anti-gun community by advocating for their unsafe and unrealistic agenda which...
Tim Mak: Disbanding the NRA won’t be a magic bullet for gun control
On Aug. 6, 2020, following numerous scandals at the National Rifle Association, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down the group. In the suit, James accused Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s chief executive, and a number of senior officials, as well as the organization itself,...
Ed Gainey: Fight to lower prescription drug prices continues
Over the past year and a half, not only have Pennsylvanians had to struggle with the everyday stress of living and working during a global pandemic, they’ve also had to worry about the ever-increasing price of their prescription drugs. As the covid-19 pandemic ravaged Pennsylvania, predatory drug companies took the...
Ernie Hogan: Mayor-elect Gainey, invest in neighborhood development
Last May, Pittsburgh voters decided it was a time for change, giving state Rep. Ed Gainey a Democratic primary win over the incumbent mayor. With Tuesday’s general election, Gainey became the first Black mayor of Pittsburgh. As the Gainey transition begins to unfold, Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG), a coalition...
Gabriela Maradiaga Panayotti: I’m a mother and a pediatrician. My kids are getting covid vaccines right away.
Dear fellow parents: Please get your kids vaccinated. I’m doing so this week. As a pediatrician at Duke Health, I’ve seen many children and families suffer from covid-19 over the last 20 months. The parents of my patients tell me about the fevers, body aches, headaches, and loss of smell...
Dr. Mona Gahunia: Don’t wait to vaccinate kids
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that all children 5-11 receive the low-dose covid-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech, clearing the way for shots to begin immediately. Yet a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study indicates that one-third of parents plan to take a wait-and-see approach for their...
Craig Garthwaite: If we want cures to diseases like covid, we should stop vilifying drug companies
Drugmaker Merck just shared stunning data on molnupiravir, an oral antiviral it developed to combat covid-19. In molnupiravir’s phase three clinical trial, it cut covid-19 patients’ risk of being hospitalized or dying by 50%. The company is now seeking emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. The medicine...
