Opinion category, Page 28
Letter to the editor: Franklin Regional’s future deserves proven leaders
This November, Franklin Regional voters face a pivotal choice. As we elect four school board members, we have a rare opportunity to shape a board with diverse strengths and complementary expertise — leaders ready to move our district forward. The candidates who best fit this vision are Debra Wohlin, Bill...
Jonah Goldberg: Lasting peace requires accepting Israel’s right to exist
President Trump took a rhetorical victory lap in front of the Israeli parliament Monday. Ignoring his patented departures from the teleprompter, which violated all sorts of valuable norms, it was a speech Trump deserved to give. The ending of the war — even if it’s just a ceasefire — and...
Letter to the editor: Franklin’s $49 million would fund Ivy League coach salaries for years
Here’s some perspective on the economic facts of the firing of Penn State’s head football coach, James Franklin. The buyout of Franklin’s contract was reported in your newspaper to be $49 million. A quick internet search shows that among the academically elite Ivy League universities (Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton, Columbia,...
Letter to the editor: Mail-in voters deserve chance to make corrections
On Oct. 7, the Westmoreland County commissioners finally approved ballot curing for the upcoming elections (“Westmoreland County approves ballot curing process for November election,” Oct. 7, TribLive). However, this was not a voluntary vote on the part of Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew, but was due to an order...
Letter to the editor: Kirk, Kimmel and free speech
Until very recently I would not have been able to identify late-night TV comedian Jimmy Kimmel from Adam. Well, maybe not Adam, given the loin-covering fig leaf he is reported to have worn. Certainly not after 10:30 p.m., which is late night for me. Charlie Kirk was a name I...
Editorial: Death penalty decisions must be based on evidence
The death penalty is divisive. Support for and opposition to it is not as easy as political party or position. It is all over the map. There are people with firmly held convictions about crime and law enforcement who draw a line when it comes to capital punishment. There are...
Panini Chowdhury: We all have a right to walk safely on our streets
We all walk. When we visit a place, we walk — and those moments often become the highlights of our journey. Whether young or old, whatever our race or gender, walking is the hum of daily life — the simplest confluence of dignity, mobility and human connection. Yet in America,...
Tyler Samstag: From Mister Rogers to machine learning — Pittsburgh’s next big moment in education
When cellphones became widely available in 2007, educators suddenly faced a question with no clear answer: What happens when every student carries a device that can calculate, record and connect them to endless information? Some worried about distraction. Others saw possibility. Across Pittsburgh, teachers, artists, librarians, museum leaders and technologists...
Letter to the editor: Penn State has money for Franklin, but not campuses?
Penn State will be closing seven branch campuses in 2027, including the New Kensington branch. Penn State cites financial pressures as a reason for these closings. But yet the university has $49 million to buy out James Franklin’s contract. I understand that this money will not be paid in one...
Letter to the editor: Thanks to Norwin board members, who did a thankless job
As a Norwin Community Republican Committeeman, I coordinated several of the past election’s staffing needs for our local conservative candidates. We touted our Republican candidates’ conservative agendas, especially on fiscal matters. Our school board candidates were a top priority. It is a thankless job. Our candidates ran modestly funded campaigns...
Editorial: Penn State cares more about coaching than campuses
Penn State has firmly held priorities. But are they the ones the university wants people to believe? The football team came into the season with the highest rank it has ever held to start the year; it was No. 2, right behind Texas and ahead of longtime rival Ohio State....
Letter to the editor: Jail officers’ dark perceptions of Jail Oversight Board
The 2025 Allegheny County Jail correctional officer survey, completed by 216 officers, found that 72.2% of the officers strongly disagree and 18.1% disagree with this statement: “Our Jail Oversight Board (JOB) communicates effectively with our correctional officers, understanding our officers’ challenges and is effectively working to improve conditions of employment...
Jackie Calmes: George Washington would be spinning in his grave
George Washington, who set long-followed precedents by voluntarily giving up first military and then civilian power, and who built the foundation of the nation’s wall between its military and partisan politics, would by all historical evidence be appalled by successor Donald Trump’s escalating efforts to tear down that wall in...
David M. Drucker: Politicians need to stop being so online
As it turns out, Twitter is not the town square. Someone might want to alert American political leaders. In the era of social media, Democratic and Republican politicians have grown hyper-sensitive, and responsive, to activists who seemingly live their lives online. Whether on X, formerly Twitter, where the right ruminates...
Letter to the editor: AI, absolute ignorance
The writer of the letter “We need competence, not chaos, from our leaders” (Oct. 9, TribLive) quips in his last paragraph, “Readers, I apologize for this poorly worded letter, but you can easily tell it was not written by AI, because it would be much better.” Well, sir, I respectfully...
Letter to the editor: Don’t shut down, America
As I witness another government shutdown, I contend that it is time to shut down the entire Trump regime. Remove President Trump from office and demolish both the White House and the Capitol building. Both have been forever sullied by Trump’s presence and his domestic terrorist assault of Jan. 6...
Editorial: Despite threats of violence, the Supreme Court can’t let fear shape its judgments
The Red Mass, a longstanding tradition marking the start of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term, brings judges, lawyers and public officials together at Washington’s St. Matthew’s Cathedral to pray for wisdom and moral clarity in the administration of justice. Since the 1950s, this ecumenical service — welcoming for people of...
Letter to the editor: Don’t let Big Money overtake Pa. court
Big corporations and Big Money have corrupted the Supreme Court of the United States. This explains their partisan decisions that favor corporations over the American people. Their ruling on Citizens United gives companies an outsized voice in politics, drowning out the voices of average citizens. Their elimination of the Chevron...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Oct. 13
Editorial cartoons for the week of Oct. 13....
Alex Wallach Hanson: Strassburger’s failed play on inclusionary zoning
On Wednesday, Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Erika Strassburger introduced a surprise amendment to the inclusionary zoning bill that has been debated in Pittsburgh City Council for months. This proposed amendment would gutthe bill. Instead of requiring developers of buildings with over 20 housing units to include at least two units of...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Oct. 13
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Oct. 13....
Letter to the editor: Retain Supreme Court justices Donohue, Dougherty, Wecht
Throughout my legislative and legal career, I have had the opportunity to review the decisions of numerous judges, and Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht have proven themselves to be a few of the best. They are honest, firm but fair and knowledgeable. They are...
Letter to the editor: Civilized politics is possible
I never thought I would say this, but I applaud the actions of a Republican U.S. senator: Dave McCormick. By meeting with Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, to have a conversation free of hate and malice, he has shown me and many others that being a civilized, ethical politician may not...
Editorial: Increasing grocery prices hurt everyone
There are things we can stretch when money is tight. That pair of shoes might have to last another month or two. Replacing the tires could wait until you get your tax return. This electric bill could get shoved in a drawer until next time, even though it will be...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: DOMI’s latest folly — bike lane in the Strip
If you ever wonder what has driven so many people into the arms of Donald Trump and the MAGA crowd, look no further than the insistence of the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) that a dangerous bike lane be installed along several blocks of Penn Avenue...
