Opinion category, Page 239
Editorial: Why no bail for a $1.6 million drug arrest?
Bail is money that serves as a guarantee that a defendant will show up in court. It is not meant to be punitive but simply a surety that the process plays out as intended. Don’t show up? You not only have a new warrant for arrest, but you also lose...
Letter to the editor: American Rescue Plan helping Western Pa.
The article “Westmoreland home repair program filled before program launch” (Sept. 9, TribLIVE) omits an important fact about the “overprescribed” and popular Westmoreland County effort to repair low- income homes funded through a state allocation of American Rescue Plan funds. The American Rescue Plan funding the popular program was passed by...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s legacy
I believe Donald Trump’s legacy will be one of conviction for sexual battery, with more pending, plus two impeachments, and four criminal indictments, with more pending. For me, the astounding revelations and repercussions of his presidency illustrate the following: 1. How ignorant his followers are of the Constitution, federal laws...
Elwood Watson: Why should we care if a politician is unmarried?
It appears some Republican donors are really concerned that presidential candidate Tim Scott, South Carolina’s junior senator, is a 57-year-old bachelor — and whatever implications that may entail. Top party donors are raising concerns about the fact the conservative Black senator has never been married. and want some of their...
Letter to the editor: Trump doesn’t need forgiveness?
It wasn’t all that long ago when a reporter asked Donald Trump, “Have you ever asked God for forgiveness?” Trump’s reply was, “I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness. And I am good. I don’t do a lot of things that are bad.” God might disagree. It was...
Editorial: Rational pot enforcement up in smoke
As state lawmakers ponder fully legalizing marijuana, a new Senate bill points to a persistent related problem that Congress should resolve. Like 37 other states, the District of Columbia and three territories, Pennsylvania allows the use of medicinal marijuana. Those territories, the District of Columbia and 23 states also have...
Letter to the editor: Fair Districts nonpartisan
The writer of the letter “Ward correct on vouchers” (Sept. 2, TribLIVE) described Fair Districts PA (FDPA) as “a left-wing advocacy group.” I’d like correct that and other misstatements. FDPA is a nonpartisan project of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, launched in 2016 to address partisan gerrymandering. The...
Tom Purcell: NFL bets on greed
“Only bet what you can afford to lose.” That’s the message from the National Football League as its betting-company partners aggressively promote legal betting on pro football games. For years the NFL was adamantly against betting in sports. In 2012, reports the New York Post, the league’s commissioner Roger Goodell...
Emma Varvaloucas : Gen Z is dropping the college dream. It’s time for America to catch up.
For years, we have lamented the spike in college costs and accompanying student debt bloat while we teach high schoolers to covet admittance to a tiny sliver of prestigious universities — ones that refuse to enlarge incoming class sizes despite endowments the size of some small countries’ gross domestic product....
John A. Fliter and Betsy Wood: States weakening child labor restrictions 8 decades after government took kids out of workforce
A movement to weaken American child labor protections at the state level began in 2022. By June 2023, Arkansas, Iowa, New Jersey and New Hampshire had enacted this kind of legislation, and lawmakers in at least another eight states had introduced similar measures. The laws generally make it easier for...
Kathryn J. Edin, H. Luke Shaefer and Timothy J. Nelson: One overlooked way to fight opioid deaths? Give people something to do.
Across the country, communities are struggling to respond to the opioid crisis, some with broader access to medical strategies and more treatment programs. Yet the national overdose death rate continues to rise, with opioid deaths in 2022 remaining at an all-time high. There are, of course, many causes of addiction,...
Letter to the editor: Church gardens bring pleasure to all
The gardens at First Presbyterian Church at 300 South Main Street in Greensburg have never been more beautiful than they are this year. The newly planted landscaping and annual red and salmon geraniums give pleasure not only to the congregation, but to the downtown Greensburg community and passersby, as well....
Letter to the editor: Practice unconditional love
I’ve enjoyed reading the recent letters regarding God. After losing my father as a young man, I’ve spent many hours contemplating God, reading spiritual texts and seeking truth. Twenty-five years ago, I discovered Raymond Moody’s book “Life after Life,” in which he interviewed numerous people who had medically documented near-death...
Editorial: We grieve together
We remember the losses our nation and our state felt on Sept. 11, 2001, with this updated editorial from the 20th anniversary of the tragic events. For two decades, America has had one shared cultural touchstone. Every Sept. 11, we are transported to the day when the whole country held...
Letter to the editor: Campaign finance reform
The report “Union leaders defend historic and controversial Pa. state employee contracts” (Aug. 28, TribLIVE) provided the state’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) review of the recent AFSCME contracts. Gov. Josh Shapiro conducted secret contract negotiations with union leaders, exchanging $5.5 million in union campaign contributions for a 20.1% salary increase....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Sept. 11
Editorial cartoons for the week of Sept. 11....
Mallard Fillmore for the week of Sept. 11
Mallard Fillmore for the week of Sept. 11....
Michael Reagan: Politicians’ brains are a nonpartisan issue
Seriously folks. Maybe we Republicans better stop banging on President Biden for the serious cognitive issues he obviously has. Unless we hold the players on our own team responsible for their cognitive issues, we have to stop harping on the obvious mental declines of Biden, Sen. John Fetterman and Diane...
Letter to the editor: Making our cities colorful
Kudos to the painted Bible verse mural art project in Jeannette (“Mural adorns wall overlooking amphitheater in Jeannette,” Aug. 31, TribLIVE). Painting a colorful mural on the side of a building is a great way to make it clean and new again. Murals show the spirit of your city. I...
Letter to the editor: Football and academics
When I saw your recently published salaries of the head coaches of football at Pitt and Penn State, I became curious to see how they compared to the salaries of the individuals responsible for the academic success of these institutions and how some other well known academic institutions valued their...
Editorial: Dropping college credits could solve police staffing problems
Do police officers need to go to college? It’s a question that many places have struggled to answer in recent years as it has become harder to fill the vacancies in police departments large and small. There are a number of officers walking away from the job, either retiring or...
Letter to the editor: 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 being consistently reliable primary voters....
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Remembering Johnny Fusilli, faith and friendship
It might be Patsy’s, Sinatra’s old joint, if you’re from New York City. In Philadelphia, Dante & Luigi’s or one of the other old-time places scattered among the neighborhood rowhouses and apartment buildings might be your go-to joint. But if you are from a certain part of Pittsburgh, Johnny’s in...
Zach Kennedy: The Pittsburgh Pirates deserve better
A sea of overjoyed fans draped in black and gold as far as the eye could see was on its feet, pushing PNC Park to capacity on a crisp October afternoon. This was the atmosphere I faked a doctor’s appointment to enjoy during my sophomore year of high school in...
Colin McNickle: The Right-to-Work difference in jobs recovery
Private-sector employment in Pennsylvania climbed 2.3% above the pre-pandemic July 2019 level by July 2023. But a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy says the commonwealth’s fealty to organized labor is retarding job growth. “The gain was accounted for by … service-sector jobs, especially education and health, professional...
