Opinion category, Page 238
Natalie Florence and Heather Ross: Shelters can help homeless by providing quiet and privacy, not just a bunk and a meal
The city of Phoenix set heat records in summer 2023, with high temperatures that topped 110 degrees for 31 consecutive days and at least 54 days in total. In such conditions, providing basic services — including cool spaces — for people experiencing homelessness is lifesaving. In 2022, 420 people —...
Peter Morici: Cities should consider these concrete actions to house the homeless
Homeless villages under highway overpasses and tent camps in other public spaces create the appearance of a new epidemic, but historically, homelessness has been endemic to urban America. In the late 19th century, skid rows appeared in New York and other cities, where flop houses sheltered up to 75,000 people...
Letter to the editor: Government shouldn’t mandate consumer behavior
With the cost of nearly everything escalating, why would anyone advocate for regulations that further complicate life for the average American? The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal aiming to drastically increase electric vehicle sales by 2032 would do just that. Electric vehicles are much more expensive than gas cars. The data...
Sounding off: Biden and Trump, high-paid coaches, global warming on readers’ minds
Let’s dump both Biden, Trump An overwhelming majority of Americans say they want neither President Biden nor former President Trump on the 2024 ballot. Yet both are considered prohibitive favorites to win their party’s nomination. This is because extremists on both sides have co-opted the two major political parties by...
Letter to the editor: Biden impeachment a move to obstruct
The latest outrageous act perpetrated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is to accommodate the extremist members of his party’s Freedom Caucus by initiating a revenge-based inquiry into an impeachment of President Joe Biden. I do not believe the speaker is a stupid or naive man. He is, though, one whose...
Editorial: Media policies don’t trump First Amendment
Some municipalities — as well as school districts, counties and other government agencies — talk out of both sides of their mouths when it comes to releasing information. Coincidentally, they do so by limiting who is doing the talking. Take Aspinwall. The Allegheny County municipality with a population less than...
Letter to the editor: Global warming hard to deny
Global warming, primarily caused by burning fossil fuels, is becoming more difficult to deny. Record-breaking temperatures, increased wildfires and coastal regions hard hit by hurricanes are becoming the norm. The insurance companies are pulling out of states like California and Florida due to the high cost of covering the destruction...
S.E. Cupp: Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s weak impeachment folly
This week, spineless House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in fear of being ousted from his precious leadership position by far-right hostage-takers like Florida’s Rep. Matt Gaetz and Georgia’s Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, caved to pressure to mount an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden — based on little more than conjecture,...
Gary Franks: CNN poll results show that almost any Republican can beat Biden
The good news for former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley is that if the election for president were held today, she would clearly beat Biden — by six points. The bad news for her is that nearly every one of her top Republican challengers — except for...
Letter to the editor: A day to remember POWs and those MIA
Today, Sept. 15, is National POW/MIA Recognition Day. There are over 80,000 United States service personnel missing in action from our country’s past wars. Please, everyone, take time on this special day to remember the sacrifices of these brave Americans who never made it home. They are missing but will...
Lori Falce: Group shot spoiled picture-perfect ending to manhunt
For almost two weeks, Pennsylvania State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, U.S. marshals and other law enforcement were combing Chester County for one man. Convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante spider-walked up a wall in the county prison like a spy in an action movie. The man who brutally stabbed his...
Letter to the editor: Second coming of covid
Oh no, here we go again! After finally emerging from the most devastating medical and psychological operation ever waged upon humankind, there are rumblings of a new covid variant coming. Along with all of the mandatory, ritualistic lockdowns, social distancing, face masks and injections? After four years of untold damage...
Letter to the editor: Wilkinsburg fertile soil of community spirit
“Where in the world of Western Pennsylvania is Wilkinsburg?” That was my first thought after reviewing search results for rental space. The borough’s website says, “Wilkinsburg is a community known for the wonderful spirit of its residents.” I’m intrigued yet recall Momma’s wisdom of my great-grandma Mamie, “All that glitters...
Paul Kengor: Selling out your Steelers
During the end of my time at Pitt in the late 1980s, I lucked into a prized possession, coveted by many a Pittsburgher. Courtesy of my good friend Scott Fedorek, I secured my share of the local holy grail: Steelers season tickets. In those days, you waited decades for such...
Laurels & lances: A tale of two ordinances
Laurel: To taking time. In Murrysville, elected officials aren’t rushing into an ordinance that would address short-term home rentals. Council is taking time to debate what needs to be regulated and what doesn’t when it comes to homeowners making their properties available through services like Airbnb or VRBO. It’s an...
Brendon Slotterback: Making Forbes through Frick safe for all
In Pittsburgh, 2023 is on track to be the deadliest in recent memory for people walking in our city. In 2022, according to the City’s own data, 25 people died in car crashes within city boundaries. The transportation sector, including the cars and trucks we drive, is now the largest...
Rep. Mike Kelly: Here is the budget Congress is — and is not — actually debating
Picture this: A family of four earns $50,000 a year but spends $69,000 a year. This seems unsustainable, right? That’s because it is. Yet, the federal government does that every day — in the trillions of dollars — all with your money. This year, President Biden presented Congress with a...
Letter to the editor: The right to criticize police
To those who insist on criticizing the police at every turn (“Citizen overwatch of police needed,” Aug. 27, TribLIVE), I issue a challenge. Instead of playing armchair quarterback to situations you have no firsthand knowledge of, put your money, or in this case, your judgment, where your mouth is. Go...
Letter to the editor: Defund Planned Parenthood
Buried deep (section A, page 7) in the Labor Day weekend edition was a three-paragraph blip with the headline “Pa. to end state funding for anti-abortion counseling centers” (Sept. 1, TribLIVE). Apparently, the governor has the power and the desire to defund pro-life agencies despite the fact that half of...
Editorial: Does Hempfield need an owner’s rep for its $150 million building project?
The Hempfield Area School District’s building project just keeps adding layers of issues without ever breaking ground. The project is conceived as a “revitalization” of the senior high school. It would bring the outdated structure up to today’s needs and provide improvements to the sports facilities, including a swimming pool...
Letter to the editor: Andrew Mellon not quite a hero
In “Andrew Mellon, hero of the 1920s” (Aug. 9, TribLIVE), Lawrence Reed presents Mellon as the “best” secretary of the Treasury in history. Reed’s account is startling for its omissions; the stock market crash of 1929 was directly attributable to Mellon’s policies. Income inequality under Mellon was the greatest in...
Jonah Goldberg: Mike Pence is railing against populism among Republicans. But he’s late to the game
Last week Mike Pence gave a speech at Saint Anselm College that, depending on your view of the man, was either courageous or desperate — or both. Titled “Populism vs. Conservatism: Republicans’ Time for Choosing,” the speech was an homage to his hero, Ronald Reagan, who in 1964 gave a...
Letter to the editor: Norwin needs responsible, respectful board members
The Change4Norwin website’s content is deeply concerning to me — as a community member and as a Republican. They label opponents as “Marxists” threatening children. Using frivolous lawsuits to silence citizens and school officials raises doubts about their commitment to open dialogue. Rallying behind problematic behavior reflects their lack of...
Letter to the editor: Transparency in Allegheny Township
According to Allegheny Township Supervisor Jamed Morabito, there will be more transparancy in Allegheny Township’s government in the future than there has been in the past 50 years (“Employee exodus blamed on hostile work environment in Allegheny Township,” Aug. 18, TribLIVE). That is quite a statement from a man who...
Letter to the editor: Biden administration a joke
What a joke this administration is. Now they want to blame the Republicans if they don’t sign over millions of dollars more to advert a government shutdown. President Biden says if they shut down there will be hundreds more people that die from fentanyl because of no government funding. This...
