Opinion category, Page 243
Editorial: Pennsylvania’s education funding should be rebuilt
Pennsylvanians have spent years — decades, really — begging the state to find a better way to fund education. School districts in the Keystone State operate primarily on real estate taxes. An April report from advocacy group PA Schools Work estimates that 84% of the 500 school districts in Pennsylvania...
Letter to the editor: Understanding God
In reference to the writer of the letter “God is a problem, not an answer” (July 29, TribLIVE): I’m sure thousands of local Christians are praying for you. You obviously don’t understand the God of the Old Testament that punished us for disobedience and the God of the New Testament...
Tom Purcell: A smaller home is a happy home
Houses are getting smaller again — which is going to make many Americans happier. Americans faced with high mortgage rates and a shortage of affordable homes for sale are opting for new, smaller homes that do not have dining rooms, living rooms, spare bedrooms and even bathtubs, reports the Wall...
Dr. A. Jay Gross: Fetterman’s fight for affordable health care
Ranked fifth in the country by its size of seniors, Pennsylvania is home to over 2.2 million older Americans. As the population of seniors grows 20 times faster than the state’s general population, it is more important than ever that Pennsylvania has representatives who advocate on behalf of seniors’ needs...
Bev-Freda Jackson: Mahalia Jackson’s suggestion during 1963 march resulted in majestic sermon on an American dream
Every now and then, a voice can matter. Mahalia Jackson had one of them. Known around the world as the “Queen of Gospel,” Jackson used her powerful voice to work in the Civil Rights Movement. Starting in the 1950s, she traveled with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. throughout the South...
Vanessa Lynch: Clean air and a healthy climate can be Pa.’s future
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a “code orange” air quality alert for Western Pennsylvania last week, confirming what many of us already knew — there was something in the air. A cocktail of air pollution, heat and sunshine created unhealthy concentrations of ground-level ozone, also known as...
Letter to the editor: No justice for sister killed in DUI crash
On Aug. 19, 2022, our sister, Helen Ringeisen, was killed in a head-on collision with a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus in Kennedy Township. Her boyfriend, who was driving, blacked out because his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit for driving. He only had minor injuries. On June...
Letter to the editor: ‘The Hazards of Hunter’
In the early days of cinema, there was a serial titled “The Perils of Pauline.” Today, it has been replaced with a modern version: “The Hazards of Hunter.” The president’s son’s escapades are purportedly cited in his confiscated laptop. Just as we waited a week in the “Perils of Pauline”...
Editorial: Rail safety legislation derailed
Clarity emerged in February from the thick, acrid, black smoke that billowed over and fell upon East Palestine, Ohio: The nation needed significant rail safety improvements. A Norfolk Southern train including multiple tank cars full of toxic vinyl chloride derailed after parts of the train experienced mechanical problems with brakes....
Letter to the editor: ‘Hostilities’ in Allegheny Township
I have a few comments on the article “Employee exodus blamed on hostile work environment in Allegheny Township” (Aug. 18, TribLIVE). To the Allegheny Township Supervisors: You all were elected by the voters. If there is hostility, deal with it. The voters entrusted you to do what is best to...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Aug. 28
Editorial cartoons for the week of Aug. 28....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 28
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 28....
Letter to the editor: Spread word about thanking vets, first responders
My family and I were enjoying an evening at a carnival. We were standing near a couple of policemen when my 9-year-old granddaughter, Mariah, said, “Mimi, you should thank them for their service.” What an amazing moment. My mother taught me a long time ago to thank veterans and first...
Letter to the editor: Citizen overwatch of police needed
Regarding two recent stories about police officer-involved shootings (“Use of force expert: Ligonier Valley police shooting ‘probably should have been handled differently’,” Aug. 20, TribLIVE; “Man killed by Philadelphia police never got out of his car, didn’t ‘lunge’ with a knife, police say in new narrative,” Aug. 16, TribLIVE): These...
Editorial: Garfield standoff shows more consequences of gun violence
The impact of gun violence is usually measured in bodies. We count it in the day-to-day numbers of small crimes. One shot here. Two killed there. Over and over again. We tally it in the staggering explosions of mass-casualty events. Eleven worshippers. Twenty-three Walmart shoppers. Nineteen children and two teachers....
Letter to the editor: Protecting Medicare Advantage
Affordable and high-quality health care for seniors and individuals with disabilities remains a big concern in Pennsylvania. That is why we need to protect and strengthen Medicare Advantage, a vital part of Medicare that more need to know about. It is important that as many people as possible look at...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: And they’re off, as specter of Trump looms over debate
A viewer needed only one image from the Republican presidential debate last week to see how completely Donald Trump has taken over the Republican Party. There were eight men and two women on the stage. And every single one of the men — the seven male candidates and one male...
Andreas Kluth: If Prigozhin is gone, long live Putin — and Wagner?
Yevgeny Prigozhin might have retired in peace some day. Or he could have been found writhing in the throes of Novichok, a nerve agent favored by Russia’s spy agencies. He might also have fallen out of a window, crashed in his car or slipped in his bathroom — like so...
Gregory F. Treverton: Prigozhin not the first to cross Putin and meet a suspicious demise
Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, reportedly died when a private jet he was said to be on crashed Aug. 23, killing all 10 people on board. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed that Prigozhin, who had led a brief rebellion again the...
Judith Stepan-Norris and Jasmine Kerrissey: Strikes seem common, but number of Americans walking off job is historically low
More than 323,000 workers — including nurses, actors, screenwriters, hotel cleaners and restaurant servers — walked off their jobs during the first eight months of 2023. Hundreds of thousands of the employees of delivery giant UPS would have gone on strike, too, had they not reached a last-minute agreement. Nearly...
Letter to the editor: PennDOT’s emissions nonsense
OK, here’s a little more government nonsense for ya. It seems only 25 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania have to have emissions testing on their vehicles. This is a problem. Either make the same requirement for every county or eliminate it for the others. In addition, now PennDOT is changing...
Sounding off: Ukraine aid, Hempfield school cost, Afghanistian, emissions among week’s topics
Why we should continue to help Ukraine The writer of the letter “We’ve helped Ukraine enough” (Aug. 11, TribLIVE) states that although he feels sorry for Ukraine, we should stop aiding that nation because it just costs too much. He doesn’t seem to care that the consequences of such action...
Letter to the editor: What has Trump done for you?
The letter ”Trump doesn’t stand a chance in DC” (Aug. 8, TribLIVE) could make a rat gag. It’s a shame what Donald J. Trump has done in his life and as president and while rerunning for president. Working people pay most of the taxes while the very rich and companies...
Editorial: DA Zappala’s office calling for gag order is another misstep
A district attorney bears the weight of not only enforcing the law but also understanding how, where and when to apply it. The DA sets the tone for other prosecutors — and often, by extension, police agencies — about the way crimes are charged and how the accused are treated....
Letter to the editor: Trump is the antidote
To quote two famous Americans: Pogo — “We have met the enemy and he is us”; and FDR — “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” The enemy is those who don’t vote, or those who vote strictly along party lines. This combination of apathy and laziness...
