Opinion category, Page 32
Letter to the editor: Trump brings order to our lives
The Trib’s letters to the editor continue to demean our president. To me, their merit lacks evidence. The writer of “Lessons for America as we approach 250 years” (July 28, TribLive) insinuates that President Trump brings disorder to our universe. Conversely, she uplifts a closed society — the People’s Republic...
Sen. Devlin Robinson: Standing up for Pittsburgh transit — funding, safety and accountability
Public transit keeps Pittsburgh and Allegheny moving. It gets people to work, to school, to the doctor, and to see family and friends. It keeps our economy running and our neighborhoods connected. In fact, I know firsthand the need for a safe and reliable public transit system because this is...
Panini A. Chowdhury: Community benefits agreement — a path to faster, fairer development
Many of Pittsburgh’s biggest developments are taking far too long to move from vision to reality. The Lower Hill redevelopment, the Bakery Square expansion and the Esplanade riverfront development project are all examples of projects that could be transforming neighborhoods right now but are instead bogged down in prolonged review...
Gustavo Arellano: Can homegrown teens replace immigrant farm labor? In 1965, the U.S. tried
I sank into Randy Carter’s comfy couch, excited to see the Hollywood veteran’s magnum opus. Around the first floor of his Glendale home were framed photos and posters of films the 77-year-old had worked on during his career. “Apocalypse Now.” “The Godfather II.” “The Conversation.” What we were about to...
Letter to the editor: It’s worth protesting Trump’s actions
I have attended several anti-Trump rallies and suggested to liberal friends that they go, but they say “it won’t help.” My response is that President Trump would collapse without the support of his sycophants in Congress. If these sycophants see massive crowds protesting Trump’s power grabs, they might worry about...
Letter to the editor: Medicaid means survival for many
When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I didn’t have Medicaid. I knew I needed the hospital, but my biggest fear wasn’t the illness — it was the bill. After only a few days of treatment, I was staring at $74,000 in charges, with no safety net to fall back...
Jonah Goldberg: Trump’s overtures to Putin have gained us nothing and cost the Ukrainians dearly
“I think the meeting was a 10 in the sense that we got along great.” That was President Trump’s rating — with 10 being the highest possible score, in case you were wondering — of his tete-a-tete with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last Friday. Trump explained why he...
Editorial: Sinkholes are a Pennsylvania problem. Lawmakers could do something about them
Remember when old movies and television shows gave us the impression quicksand was the great scourge lurking beneath our feet? Nope. The number of deaths due to quicksand is so small it’s not statistically significant enough to track. But sinkholes are another story. The number of sinkholes is too varied...
Idi Utuk: Medicaid is not a luxury, it’s a lifeline
Every time I chased stability to build a future, chronic illness pulled me back into a hospital bed. Sometimes it has been for days, sometimes weeks. My life with sickle cell disease is a relentless cycle of excruciating pain, nerve damage and blood transfusions. I’ve survived two kidney transplants, countless...
Matt K. Lewis: AI will be more disruptive than covid. Which party can seize the moment?
Democrats, bless their hearts, keep trying to figure out the magic formula to stop President Donald Trump. But here’s a cold splash of reality: If Trump’s popularity ever collapses, it will probably be because of something completely beyond their control. In 2020, it wasn’t some brilliant strategy that defeated Trump....
Letter to the editor: Sports section should cover more baseball
Philadelphia, Milwaukee, San Diego, Toronto, Detroit, Houston: These are the baseball teams leading their divisions, but is anything ever written about them in the Trib’s sports pages? No. Football is covered 12 months of the year. It takes up four pages in the sports section. It seems nothing is written...
Letter to the editor: Trump increasing the pressure on us all
So he fired the messenger! The commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics has paid dearly for reporting the factual labor statistics. Don’t be surprised if martial law is enacted soon; with the way Trump is using the National Guard to militarize cities, it seems to be the plan —...
Editorial: Overpaying for Pittsburgh’s vehicle maintenance makes no financial sense
Imagine you are trying to save money on your grocery budget while making sure you get the food you need at the same time. You sign up for a subscription service that promises groceries for a flat fee every month. It’s a common scenario. It’s the business model behind dozens...
Letter to the editor: The only toxic spores at Norwin are online
Norwin schools have officially survived the Great Gorgonzola Panic of 2025. As reported in Joe Napsha’s article “Norwin officials: Schools safe to open after mold remediation” (Aug. 16, TribLive), the mold is gone, the schools are safe and yet the onlything still spreading faster than spores is online hysteria. The...
Cal Thomas: Did Trump get rolled in Alaska?
Promising severe consequences if Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine and then apparently reversing himself is what sends a signal of weakness, not only to Putin, but to the world. On Saturday, Trump posted this on Truth Social: “It was determined by all that the...
Maresa Strano: Once again, politicians are choosing their voters. It’s time for voters to choose back
Once again, politicians are trying to choose their voters to guarantee their own victories before the first ballot is cast. In the latest round of redistricting wars, Texas Republicans are attempting a rare mid-decade redistricting to boost their advantage ahead of the 2026 midterms, and Democratic governors in California and...
Steven R. Furlanetto: The true cost of abandoning science
Any trip to the dark night skies of our Southern California deserts reveals a vista full of wonder and mystery — riddles that astrophysicists like myself spend our days unraveling. I am fortunate to study how the first galaxies formed and evolved over the vast span of 13 billion years...
Letter to the editor: Proving research is not easy
As an old chemistry graduate (a slide rule not computers), I was pleased to read “You cannot ‘restore’ high scientific standards if they are already in place” (July 12, TribLive). Good op-ed, but one major fact was missing — you only disprove a theory using the scientific method; you cannot...
Letter to the editor: Fire department’s solar step good for Greensburg
Congratulations to Greensburg Fire Department’s Truck Company No. 2 for going solar (“Greensburg fire station could see savings with solar panels,” Aug. 18, TribLive). This is hopefully a first step for Greensburg going forward. The article anticipates generating more than enough electricity so they can sell excess to West Penn...
Editorial: Clairton Coke Works investigation demands safety board continue to exist
The explosion at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works is one of those massive incidents that require a careful, methodical review. The collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge occurred Jan. 28, 2022. The final report from the National Transportation Safety Board was issued March 22, 2024. The Federal Railroad Administration’s final report...
Letter to the editor: We’re approaching dictatorship
Constitutionally, there should exist an equal balance of power between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. That doesn’t seem to be the case today. Aside from his “Big Beautiful Bill,” President Trump has ruled by executive order, ignoring Congress, whose job it is to make the laws. In...
Matt Shorraw: Protecting our workers and communities after U.S. Steel Clairton explosion
When an explosion at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works tore through the quiet summer day last week, it affected every single town along the Monongahela River. For those of us who grew up here, a plant explosion isn’t just news — it’s something we feel in our bones. This was...
Colin McNickle: A dubious expanded Pittsburgh sick-leave policy
Questions surround Pittsburgh’s amended Paid Sick Days Act set to go into effect at the beginning of 2026. But one thing is certain: It is a dubious public policy at best, according to researchers at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “This is another significant detriment to achieving the goals...
Letter to the editor: All of us need to get back to the truth
The letter “Lies and conspiracy theories now the norm?” (Aug. 5, TribLive) was terrific. Lies in our politics and government have always been around, but I think this guy, President Trump, has made it it an art form; his lies have poisoned the truth so badly that I fear it...
Letter to the editor: In DC, crime prevention or power grab?
The recent decree to send the National Guard into the streets of Washington, D.C., because of crime is based on a false narrative. In fact, crime in the city is at a 30-year low. According to data from the FBI’s own Uniform Crime Reporting program, crime is down throughout the...
