Opinion category, Page 263
Editorial: Bill to help combat blight statewide
If efforts of Pennsylvania municipalities to diminish blight in their neighborhoods were a video, it would be an endless loop replaying the same story. A building falls into disrepair; an absentee landlord declines to fix it, relying on property rights within the law to preclude the government seizing it. The...
Letter to the editor: City’s contradictory recycling policy
The City of Pittsburgh in its latest recycling plan is distributing blue containers to households with the objective of discontinuing use of blue bags laid at the curb. However, it seems flawed. With the requirement that everything recyclable must be placed in the containers vs. blue bags at the curb,...
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 19
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 19....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 19
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 19....
Danielle M. Reiff: White women and racial (in)justice — it’s not black and white
Mayella Ewell is one of the most complex characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” She is a white woman who makes sexual advances toward her Black neighbor, Tom Robinson. When he refuses, she falsely accuses him of rape. During Tom’s trial, we learn that Mayella’s father is a drunkard who...
Jason C. Bivins: How Pat Robertson changed Christian media and made it politically influential
For Americans growing up between the 1950s and the ’80s, religion was a predictable presence on television: There were weekly Sunday morning shows and religious programming that issued end-time warnings, sought monetary contributions or staged faith healings. But none of those covered news. Pat Robertson, who died June 8, changed...
Letter to the editor: Is Trump above the law?
The responses of congressional Republicans to President Trump’s indictment, as described in the article, “Trump’s GOP defenders in Congress leap into action on charges after months of preparation” (June 10, TribLIVE) show, that these supporters are more concerned about Donald Trump than about the safety of our nation and the...
Editorial: Big events like Taylor Swift concerts mean economic boon for local economies
There was no way of missing the fact Taylor Swift came to town. Acrisure Stadium may have been built for football, but this past week, the real score was put up by a 5-foot, 10-inch blond with a sequin-spangled wardrobe and a catalog of catchy, autobiographical hits. The two Pittsburgh...
Letter to the editor: When will we see another victory?
Recently we paused to observe Memorial Day and recognize those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our flag and nation. These heroes brought us our glorious back-to-back World War victories. Many others fought in wars (conflicts, conflagrations, etc.) not officially declared or fully supported by a government that put...
Letter to the editor: We should all be proud of who we are
It’s Pride Month, and LGBTQ people celebrate who they are — and rightfully so. Yet, they are shunned by many in communities all over in this country because they are “different.” We are all different, from the color of our skin to our religious beliefs. With the spewing of hatred...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Happy Father’s Day, George Washington
As we get ready to honor our own fathers, especially after a week like the last one, Father’s Day 2023 seems like a good time to remember “The Father of Our Country,” George Washington. This past Tuesday, former president Donald Trump was arraigned in federal court on 37 criminal charges...
Yarone Zober: Downtown can make comeback again … with care for place and people
Since 1753, when a young British major named George Washington recognized that the land at the confluence of Pittsburgh’s three rivers was “extremely well situated for a fort,” our “Golden Triangle” of a Downtown has been recognized as a special place. This little patch of land, a little less than...
Gary Ross: How the exposure of highly classified documents could harm U.S. security — and why there are laws against storing them insecurely
When Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on June 13 to federal criminal charges related to his alleged illegal retention of classified documents, it was his first opportunity to formally answer charges that he violated the Espionage Act. The Justice Department alleges that, after his presidency, Trump held, in an unsecure...
Sounding off: Mental health days, Springdale ‘implosion,’ Trump, Madden on readers’ minds
Mental health days help students succeed As a recent high school graduate, I can wholeheartedly say that our schools need more mental health support. Across Western Pennsylvania, the recommended ratios of guidance counselors to students are not being met, workloads are increasing and students are suffering. If “mental health day”...
Letter to the editor: Stan Savran was a class act
Stan Savran was the man. I thoroughly enjoyed his broadcasts, both TV and radio. He knew his stuff and asked the right questions. I remember in my youth asking Stan for his autograph while we were walking up the hill to the locker room during Steelers training camp at Saint...
Letter to the editor: John Kerry’s climate hypocrisy
I can’t hold back. When are the real scientists going to start speaking out and making themselves seen and heard? Now we have another genius, John Kerry, telling us we need to “cut agricultural emissions.” Next maybe he’ll suggest we get rid of our cows, like in Ireland, where the...
Editorial: Pittsburgh synagogue shooting jury delivers justice
In a criminal court, the point of a trial is establishing responsibility. Was the person at the defense table guilty? Is there enough evidence to say this is who committed the crime? With some crimes, this seems downright pointless. We know who did it, society says. We know who is...
Letter to the editor: We need wage and tax reform
The Republican temper tantrum is over, but not before they held the country hostage in the debt ceiling crisis, with their warped financial views. They love to stamp their feet and beat their chest when the government is using its resources to help 90% of us. They scream too much...
Gary Franks: Trump should return to being unpredictable
The best move for former President Donald Trump is the one most unexpected. Being unpredictable or unconventional was the trait that helped him win the White House in 2016, and it would help him today. The baseball pitcher that tips off his pitches eventually gets hit hard, looks bad and...
S.E. Cupp: Trump has torn America apart for his own gain and giving him a pass will not heal the nation
“It’s an idea whose time is inevitably coming for Republican presidential candidates — pardoning former President Donald J. Trump.” That was National Review editor Rich Lowry in Politico this week, echoing others on the right who have decided that if Trump is convicted of any of the crimes he’s been...
Robert Gregerson: Pitt-Greensburg’s state discount critical for students, local economy
It’s been 60 years since six local school districts asked the University of Pittsburgh to establish a regional campus in Westmoreland County, and look how far we’ve come. Today, the University of Pittsburgh at Greenburg proudly continues our mission to serve the educational needs of the region — two-thirds of...
Letter to the editor: Thanks for flags, Lower Burrell
Thank you, Lower Burrell, for the United States flags that lined your Main Street on May 30, the original date to remember our veterans. What a special tribute. Cindy Wallace Harrison...
Letter to the editor: Springdale ‘implosion’
On the “implosion” in Springdale: What we have here, in the words of Cool Hand Luke’s captain, is “failure to communicate” (“Amid dusty cleanup, Springdale residents remain unsettled in the wake of smokestack implosions,” June 4, TribLIVE). To call what happened in Springdale (and the Hulton Bridge about six years...
Lori Falce: Court’s job is to find justice. Finding forgiveness isn’t as easy
The justice system is an odd balancing act. It must be impartial, yet it weighs more than just guilt and innocence. It also takes into account harder-to-quantify qualities like remorse and regret, grief and loss — and perhaps the hardest of all, forgiveness. We are told to forgive and forget,...
Laurels & lances: Schools and police
Laurel: To open discussion. It isn’t easy to talk about topics that point to problems. People can get defensive or frustrated. That doesn’t mean it’s better to just pretend the problems don’t exist. On Monday, Highlands School Board had that tough conversation. More than 100 teachers from the Highlands Educational...
