Opinion category, Page 192
Letter to the editor: Reelect Jill Cooper
I am writing to endorse state Rep. Jill Cooper for reelection. As mayor of Murrysville, I have discussed with her many items that require state assistance to improve Murrysville’s operations and infrastructure. She has shown an unusual level of commitment to our community by securing acid mine remediation funds, as...
Editorial: Allegheny County DA Zappala needs to break his silence in Upper St. Clair man’s officer-involved shooting
There are times that it makes sense for prosecutors to be guarded about what they disclose and how they disclose it. A victim’s name may not be released until the family has been notified. That delay is understandable. A key detail of a crime might be kept back as the...
Letter to the editor: Don’t vote for Trump
Republicans: I am asking you to please consider not voting for Donald Trump. I find him to be a danger to our democracy based on facts. He is not the business tycoon he is made out to be, as evidenced by the many guilty verdicts surrounding his business and employees....
Letter to the editor: Supporting those touched by tragedy in Jeannette
On March 20, tragedy struck on Guy Street in Jeannette. Five lives were lost and two homes were destroyed. An adult and two children were saved by a heroic neighbor and first responders. The first responders tried fiercely to enter the burning home, but the fire and smoke were too...
Tom Purcell: A message for my digital godaughter
My 13-year-old goddaughter still can’t understand how telephone busy signals used to work. She can’t help it. At 13, she’s a member of the Gen Alpha generation, kids born between 2010 and 2024, which is the first generation to not know what life was like before social media and artificial...
Eric Weitz: Preventable medical errors a silent epidemic
One of the leading causes of death in the United States is preventable medical error. Despite the remarkable advancements in medical technology and the tireless efforts of health care professionals, preventable medical errors persist at an alarming rate. According to a study published in the BMJ (formerly known as the...
Alex Wallach-Hanson and Dr. Stephen Herzenberg: Elephant in the room — Pittsburgh’s ‘big 5’ nonprofits pay $0 in property taxes
Like cities across the country, Pittsburgh faces lost revenue with American Rescue Plan (ARP) dollars running out this year and a plunge in office building occupancy rates and commercial property values resulting from the post-covid spike in teleworking. As the city considers its response to this one-two punch, leaders must...
Letter to the editor: Trump, ‘strong men’ and bloodbaths
In the AP article “Trump ramps up dark rhetoric in Ohio stump speech for Senate candidate Bernie Moreno” (March 17, TribLive), Donald Trump is seen to be speaking randomly and with confusion about how tough he is. His supporters apparently want a “strong man” to lead them. Apparently, these supporters...
Letter to the editor: Why do politicians get raises but we don’t?
Since 1938, U.S. labor law has carved out a rule for some people with disabilities, saying they can be paid less than minimum wage. Its purpose was to encourage employers to hire the disabled. But like so many good intentions, it has had unintended consequences. In this case it is...
Editorial: Pa. taxpayers have many problems. A flat tax is one
A graduated income tax — one that collects a higher percentage of earnings from the wealthy than from those who bring home smaller paychecks — is more fair than a flat tax for an obvious reason. People with lower incomes, those most likely to be living paycheck to paycheck, spend...
Letter to the editor: Respecting our correctional officers
Studies have been done regarding the life expectancy of a correctional officer, and the numbers are staggering, 58 and 59 years of age. For our jail, using the statistics from the last 10 years, our jail correctional officer’s life expectancy is 61. This is 16 years below the national average....
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 25
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 25....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 25
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 25...
Letter to the editor: Be the match, save a life
I read with interest the story of Lucas James and his need for a bone marrow transplant ”Hempfield family fighting son’s leukemia encourages people to join transplant registry,” March 18, TribLive). I am appealing to the community to go to BeTheMatch.org and get on the registry to be a bone...
Letter to the editor: U.S. should have one primary date
The presidential candidates for the two major parties in the November presidential election are now set. The significant majority of voters in this country don’t like either one of them. We are now, thanks to our primary process, reduced to choosing not whom we like the best, but rather whom...
Editorial: Questions about hydrant in Jeannette fire require answers
You need water every day. We drink it. We cook with it. We bathe in it, wash our clothes with it, brush our teeth with it. But we also tend to take it for granted. We think about it most when it’s in short supply — when tasked with boil-water...
Letter to the editor: Founding Fathers not Christian nationalists
Republican leader Marjorie Taylor Greene recently stated that “Our Founding Fathers would’ve been considered Christian Nationalists, and I agree with them!” Greene has embraced a trope of exclusion that is factually and historically wrong. While many of the Founding Fathers were religious, they did not intend to create a Christian...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: A great tradition reborn at Duquesne
Victories are always sweet. And when Duquesne University’s basketball team qualified for this year’s NCAA Tournament, everyone who loves an underdog celebrated. The Duquesne Dukes have been great before, but it has been a while, and this revival was unexpected. In 1988, in his Los Angeles Times article “Remembering When...
Kevin Frazier: U.S. at its best when it learns from its mistakes
Learning from your mistakes isn’t just something that applies to your personal life — it’s a core lesson of political science. Ten years before the Framers of our Constitution gathered in Philadelphia to draft a new governing document, they adopted the Articles of Confederation. Our Founding Fathers were so assured...
Point: Congress is right to call for the strategic divestment of TikTok
The Chinese Communist Party in Beijing is nervous — and it ought to be. The U.S. Congress has targeted a significant tool that the CCP uses to spread disinformation among Americans, and the rulers in Beijing are not happy about it. The House has voted to require TikTok to be...
Counterpoint: Banning TikTok is a blow to free speech
The recent move by the House of Representatives to advance legislation forcing ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok represents a potentially alarming infringement on our fundamental rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. Despite national security concerns, coercing the divestment of TikTok sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the principles...
Letter to the editor: Basketball just a game? Not in Jeannette.
They say basketball is only a game. Tell that to Jeannette Jayhawks sophomore Kymone Brown, playing with flu-like symptoms after watching practice from a computer screen all week and finishing with 10 points in an unthinkable and absolutely unbelievable 48-46 overtime upset win over Greensburg Central Catholic (“Jeannette shocks rival...
Sounding off: Trump, Biden, county commissioners lead week’s topics
Don’t vote as a ‘fan’ In this forum, people write that they either favor President Trump and bash President Biden, or favor Biden and bash Trump. Whomever you vote for, I ask that you not vote if you are a fan. Fans vote for their favorite regardless of the candidate’s...
Letter to the editor: GOP must embrace mail-in voting
The 2019 Act 77 election law enabled “mail-in ballot voting” in Pennsylvania. Many Republicans are totally against this practice. I am against this practice. However, we are stuck with it. Until Republicans actually win control of the Pennsylvania House, Senate and governorship, it will not change. Recent elections substantiate the...
Editorial: Is lack of reassessment a county problem, or is it Pennsylvania’s fault?
Pittsburgh Public Schools needs more money. For school districts, there are few ways to do that. The one consistent revenue stream is property taxes, which means the easiest way to boost income is raising taxes. But why is that necessary? Yes, the cost of living goes up all the time,...
