Opinion category, Page 247
Letter to the editor: Making Pittsburgh greener
As a resident of Homewood, I am passionate about Pittsburgh’s future and its impact on our community. To achieve a greener, more inclusive city, we must prioritize accessible, equitable mobility over corporate profit and private transportation. Embracing net-zero cars and buses while addressing first- and last-mile gaps in public transit...
Editorial: Plum house explosion response shows value of good neighbors
Sometimes the people who live near us are just people who happen to occupy the same street. We don’t open doors the way we once did. We don’t bring over a batch of cookies when someone moves in next door. But bad things have a way of bringing out the...
Letter to the editor: Solving the problem of expensive education
It’s no secret that college tuitions are skyrocketing. The University of Pittsburgh recently increased its tuition for in-state students by 2%, and 7% for out-of-state students. In the 2021-22 school year, tuitions ranged for public college in-state students from $10,740, to $38,070 at private colleges. The average living cost for...
Tom Purcell: Paying attention pays off
Declining attention spans have reached epidemic levels. That’s what Adam Brown, co-director of the Center for Attention, Learning and Memory at St. Bonaventure University in New York, tells Time. That’s certainly the case with me. As I struggled to write the first three paragraphs of this column, I searched autotrader.com...
E.J. Antoni: Default by another name — why U.S. debt deserved a downgrade
Trust is always harder to build than to destroy, and that’s true for financial markets, too. The U.S. has borrowed tens of trillions of dollars and promised to pay it back, but investors have become increasingly skeptical. On Aug. 1, U.S. debt received a downgrade, meaning the Treasury appears less...
Timothy J. Kunselman: Our division, extremism are costing us
I’m sure I’m not the only one who sees this — that we keep making the same mistakes, over and over again. Ours is a country in which many amazing and good things have taken place and which continue to happen. A pandemic strikes and a vaccine is developed in...
Letter to the editor: Human remains should not be used as entertainment
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s decision to remove human remains from public display is a step toward a future of peace in our world. The basis of all human culture is the primacy of human life; not just human life in present times or in technologically advanced societies, but...
Letter to the editor: Republicans, don’t back Trump
This letter is to all my fellow Republicans who have concluded that they cannot vote again for President Trump. There are many reasons why I cannot vote for him, but three come to mind: 1. He failed to take any action during the Jan. 6 mob action to keep the...
Editorial: Get budget passed before recess
The state Senate ended a needless 34-day delay in passing the state budget when Majority Leader Kim Ward, a Hempfield Republican, interrupted the chamber’s unduly long summer recess Aug. 2. Ward reconvened the chamber, which already had passed the budget, to enable Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, the Senate president, to...
Letter to the editor: Bushy Run battle disaster
I have attended many Bushy Run events where the battle reenactment was always the primary reason for my visit. When I arrived Aug. 5, I learned the first battle was scheduled for 1 p.m. At 12:30 p.m., I was at the museum parking lot. A column of British soldiers marched...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Aug. 14
Editorial cartoons for the week of Aug. 14....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 14
.Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 14...
Solomon D. Stevens: Finding a path to healthy conflict
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, the new chairman of the National Governors Association, is promoting the idea of “healthy conflict.” Cox has become concerned about the growing problem of toxic arguments in society. As The Washington Post reports, Cox wants people to learn how to “disagree better.” We should all try...
Letter to the editor: Housing plan wrong for Squirrel Hill
David Vatz’s op-ed “Squirrel Hill needs more homes” (Aug. 6, TribLIVE) makes a correct statement in its title, but stops there. As a resident of the street where the proposed development is, I can state confidently that (1) the road is already dangerous and overtrafficked, (2) there’s minimal infrastructure in...
Letter to the editor: Pittsburgh’s urban decay
Tribune-Review headlines of Downtown Pittsburgh as of late paint a picture of the Golden Triangle that is equal parts accurate and disturbing. Stabbings, drug arrests and homelessness have plagued the heart of a neighborhood still reeling from a global pandemic. While numerous companies scramble to fill the growing void in...
Editorial: Breaking windows, lighting alleys and building better communities
In the classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Indiana native Jimmy Stewart throws stones at an abandoned house. Break a window and make a wish. Donna Reed’s character initially tries to stop him but gives in to the idea. That’s broken-window theory in a nutshell. Once windows start being broken,...
Letter to the editor: Creating equality in high school sports
This time of year is always bittersweet. I’m filled with anticipation and excitement for fall sports but dread the reality of what faces so many teams. The reality of success weighs heavily on many players of struggling programs. I encourage the reenvisioning of the way classification is implemented in high...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: A century celebration for Johnny Vento
Zigzagging across the Pacific Ocean, farther than he ever imagined being from his home in East Liberty, 19-year-old Johnny Vento played pinochle with his fellow soldiers, still oblivious to what awaited them in Australia if they managed to avoid enemy torpedoes. Once they landed and Vento continued his training as...
Ethan Brown: New EPA tailpipe standards call electric vehicle promises into question
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ambitious tailpipe emissions standards may be partly canceled out by emissions earlier in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, said panelists at a RealClearEnergy webinar last Wednesday. On April 12, the EPA unveiled new vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act that would mandate...
Peter Roff: Reform the FDA before it kills us
The human capacity for processing information is limited. People running for office who recognize this and adapt their campaign messages accordingly usually do better than those who don’t. It’s not that the voters are dumb; far from it. In the years since the end of World War II, the federal...
Letter to the editor: Steelers’ food at Saint Vincent has come a long way
I read the interesting article “Steelers dish on what they eat during training camp” (Aug. 6, TribLIVE). My dad, both brothers and my daughter are all graduates of Saint Vincent College. My dad raved about the bread the nuns served, but my brother Dan tells funny stories of being in...
Sounding off: Ukraine aid, middle class, A/C, librarians, greed among week’s topics
We’ve helped Ukraine enough President Biden, when is it going to be enough? You continue to send weapons, billions and billions of dollars, and all other kinds of help to aid Ukraine. What about the people of the United States? Those billions of dollars that you keep sending to Ukraine...
Letter to the editor: Air conditioners cause problems
I was disappointed to see the column by Tom Purcell extolling air conditioners (“A/C has made life cooler,” July 24, TribLIVE). Air conditioners are a big part of the problem, hardly a solution. I wonder if he knows that while they are cooling a living area, they just move the...
Editorial: Was Norwin School Board member’s free speech violated?
The latest volley in a back-and-forth battle between an elected official and a governing body is playing out in court. No, it doesn’t involve former President Donald Trump and the Justice Department. It isn’t about Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam and the Jail Oversight Board. It isn’t about any of...
Letter to the editor: Some facts on the Trump indictment
As I read the letter ”Trump doesn’t stand a chance in DC” (Aug. 6, TribLIVE), I was amused at the false statements, another ploy of Trump acolytes, so with that in mind, I’ll try to show its falsehoods. Alleged crimes are charged in the district in which they were committed...
