Opinion category, Page 224
Colin McNickle: Pittsburgh Public Schools must confront budget realities
Difficult decisions await Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) in 2024, says the research director of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “PPS is again in a critical situation of its own making,” Eric Montarti says. “Keeping the commonwealth and the school district taxpayers in mind, the PPS board needs to begin...
Letter to the editor: PennDOT crews should be out picking up litter
Since the weather has not really been conducive to highway repair projects and there has not yet been a snowfall that requires PennDot intervention, why aren’t there litter crews out picking up the massive amounts of litter on the highways? Monica Yuhas Smock...
Lori Falce: Feeding into fatphobia
My inbox is jammed with emails about Ozempic. The drug, generic name semaglutide, is an injectable used to treat Type 2 diabetes. Combined with diet modifications and exercise, it has seen effectiveness in lowering or stabilizing blood sugar for those patients. That’s important to me. I’m not diabetic, but my...
Letter to the editor: Take care of communities first
The op-ed “Opening the door to people-based economic development in Western Pennsylvania” (Nov 20, TribLive) hit the nail on the head. We should focus on the well-being of our communities rather than the false promise of new jobs from big business. Let’s not court big corporations like Amazon, with a...
Laurels & lances: Rebuilding, increasing, concealing
Laurel: To rebuilding. On Dec. 4, 2021, St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold was gutted by a massive fire that seemed like the end of the 74-year-old house of worship. Two years later, a $2.2 million sanctuary is rising from those ashes. “We rebuild our church, but we are...
Letter to the editor: Natural gas a win for Pa.
The natural gas industry is pushing Pennsylvania’s economy forward. While the energy sector has always represented a core segment of the commonwealth’s economic pie, in recent years, natural gas has expanded the national and international influence of the state’s role in the global energy market. A new report found that...
Paul Kengor: Wake up to women’s volleyball
Any discussion of sports in Western Pennsylvania leads to the Steelers, the Penguins, the Pirates — our reigning triumvirate of football, hockey, baseball. Also high on the list is Pitt football, or any local football, high school included. There’s also Pitt basketball. What am I missing? The vast majority wouldn’t...
Robert F. Powelson: Scrutiny will benefit PWSA customers
The realities of America’s growing water and wastewater infrastructure challenges are front and center in Pittsburgh. The Steel City’s vital infrastructure has long exceeded its life span. Across the country, water utilities, in close collaboration with a diverse range of stakeholders, are proactively addressing some of their failing infrastructure challenges....
Letter to the editor: Stamps could bring fentanyl awareness, remembrance
For the many families that have had a child or a parent taken by fentanyl, I think it would be appropriate to offer what I call a U.S. memory stamp, a stamp with a photo of a loved one, not only for rembrance but also to bring awareness. Let us...
Letter to the editor: Mandatory water restrictions coming?
Due to very low water levels in the Beaver Run Reservoir, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (“Rain fails to ease concerns over falling water level at Beaver Run Reservoir,” Dec. 4, TribLIVE) may shortly impose mandatory water restrictions. They initially have asked for voluntary restrictions, which will fail. The...
Editorial: Let Hanukkah candles be new prayer for peace
The first candle will be lit tonight. As the sun sets, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins — an eight-night celebration of a miracle in a time of war. In the second century B.C.E, a struggle between the Jewish people and the Syrian Greeks resulted in the temple in Jerusalem...
Letter to the editor: Abortion and overpopulation
I have one question for the writer of “Unborn Americans have right to life” (Nov. 28, TribLive) and other “right-to-lifers”: Would you really choose an unborn life over your own? Because really, that is the choice. Nature is cruel, and if we don’t do something to limit our population, nature...
Jonah Goldberg: George Santos hasn’t been convicted of a crime. Congress was still right to kick him out.
George Santos, the infamous fabulist, got the boot from Congress last week. The first member to be expelled in over 20 years and one of only three members to be kicked out for something other than fighting for the Confederacy, Santos was the only representative since the Civil War to...
George P. Hartwick, III and Chadwick Libby: Save our most vulnerable kids by investing in juvenile justice system
It’s often said that our children are our most precious resource. To protect and preserve this vital resource, we must invest in their care now, in order to enrich their future. In recent years, we have seen a focused investment in our juvenile justice system, which has helped lead to...
Teresa Ghilarducci and Christopher D. Cook: Why the senior poverty rate keeps rising
When it comes to seniors’ economic security, America is in poor shape. This October, an annual assessment of pension systems worldwide gave the United States a barely passable C+, ranking the country’s retirement security apparatus below Kazakhstan and just a slight notch above Colombia, two far poorer nations. How can...
Letter to the editor: Moving back to Monday hunting opener
I read with great interest the editorial “Lawmakers should pull trigger on hunting bills” (Nov. 28, TribLive), especially the last paragraph. Yes, there are valid reasons for and against moving the first day of hunting back to Monday. At least 75% of the hunters are in favor of moving opening...
Letter to the editor: Antisemitism misplaced
I am horrified by the monstrous outbreaks on prestigious campuses and big-city streets of antisemitic demonstrations, many of which terrorize Jews and have an anti-American tinge. Antisemitism has a centuries-old history in the Middle East and Europe, and the U.S. is not without fault, but these current quasi-militant protesters appear...
Editorial: Sandra Day O’Connor was a trailblazer and far more than ‘a good judge’
News that Sandra Day O’Connor, the Supreme Court’s first woman justice, had died Friday at 93 caused the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board to recall her visit a decade ago. Although retired since 2006, she politely disappointed the board by holding to the high court’s practice of refusing to comment on...
Letter to the editor: Would Jesus accept Mike Johnson’s conduct?
The writer of the letter “Mike Johnson and Democrats’ turmoil” (Nov. 22, TribLive) seems to believe that the only people who should be able to express their opinion are those who believe the way Johnson does. He should look up the rants Johnson makes, starting with Donald Trump’s threats to...
Jonathan Bernstein: What Congress can learn from George Santos
The George Santos fiasco is finally at an end, at least in Congress, with the U.S. House of Representatives — including 105 of his Republican colleagues — voting Friday to expel him. The 311-114 vote comfortably cleared the two-thirds majority needed to make him only the third House member to...
Zakiya Stewart: Helping our children learn to read
During my time as a first grade teacher, my greatest joy was watching my students begin to fall in love with reading. I watched them transition from sounding out words letter by letter to reading and composing sentences. They were beginning to discover the world around them and, on the...
Aaron Chapin: Pa. must adopt clear, sustainable plan to address unconstitutional school funding
Every morning, 1.7 million students wake up and head off to public schools across Pennsylvania, eager to learn and grow in classrooms that are supposed to provide them with a “thorough and efficient system of public education.” That’s what our state constitution guarantees to every student. But in February Pennsylvania’s...
Letter to the editor: Remembering Holy Trinity Church and Swedish Lutherans
Your article regarding the church on Chestnut Street in Greensburg was disappointing (“Former churches are finding new life after religious calling,” Nov. 26, TribLIVE). Although a small church, it once had a vibrant, active congregation of Swedish Lutherans. In fact, the service was performed in Swedish in the beginning. It...
Letter to the editor: Don’t write off Pickett, Steelers
Regarding the letter “Steelers set up for failure” (Nov. 25, TribLIVE): No, the Steelers organization is not rudderless and unrecognizable. The Rooneys pick good people, and they trust them. But how do you know if it’s a good person going through a rough patch, or you just have the wrong...
Editorial: Allegheny County Jail opioid treatment has positive potential
People incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail will receive medication for opioid use disorder. The move comes as a result of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and includes a $10,000 payment to an individual who was jailed in Allegheny County and denied the methadone he was receiving...
