Opinion category, Page 455
John Longstreet: Restaurants still waiting for their drinks to-go
After a devastating 18 months filled with uncertainty and loss of business, Pennsylvania restaurants asked state lawmakers to throw them a lifeline. The request was simple: pass House Bill 1154, which would make cocktails to-go permanent and extend outdoor seating in the state. The bill initially garnered broad bipartisan support,...
Kliph Nesteroff: Cancel culture has always been a problem for comedy
Is freedom of speech evaporating from the world of comedy? We hear a familiar mantra whenever someone like Dave Chappelle comes under fire: You can’t joke about anything anymore. PC police. Cancel culture. People are too sensitive. But does this premise hold up to scrutiny? Studying history, it seems clear...
Letter to the editor: Nepotism in Yough must end
Yough School District voters: Our school district needs your help. As you may remember, the district’s hiring process was once corrupt with nepotism. For years, the district hired from a small group of people’s friends and family members. Growing up in the district and seeing the impact that this system...
Letter to editor: Norwin needs Republicans
In order to affect real change on the Norwin School Board and ensure public schools stay under the control of the public, we need to vote for all four Republican candidates, Christine Baverso, Alex Detschelt, Shawna Ilagan and Ray Kocak, on Nov. 2. Have you been happy with how the...
Editorial: Westmoreland County elections hiring could use some quality assurance
Westmoreland County has a new watchdog. The actual position is called quality assurance manager, but the general description of that kind of job is usually to watch what is happening and make sure it’s going according to plan. In a factory, quality assurance makes sure the computer or camera or...
Letter to the editor: In praise of judge Kevin Brobson
Judge Kevin Brobson has been on the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania since 2010. This court’s main purpose is to take government-related cases. Brobson has earned a reputation of holding the government accountable to the law. Of the judges in the Supreme Court race, Brobson has the most experience. Brobson does...
John Stossel: Hooray for the optimists
There’s so much negative news these days. I was glad to see that a new podcast, “American Optimist,” features good things that are coming. It’s hosted by Palantir founder and venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale. He interviews entrepreneurs like Sal Churi, who funds companies like Icon, which found a way to...
S.E. Cupp: Why Pete Buttigieg ought to be a hero to the right
Like so many issues corrupted by America’s increasing political extremism, the cartoonish contours of our public abortion debate belie the more benign, uncontroversial realities on the ground. For example, despite very loud attempts at turning abortions into celebratory occasions by some on the far left, most Americans do not believe...
Letter to the editor: Zappone and Mertz best for Greensburg
Understanding what’s best for Greensburg is simple. It’s voting for the two candidates from Greensburg who have spent each day talking with residents over the last four years. Much progress has been made in revitalization and clearing blight. Services have been maintained without a tax increase in very difficult times....
Letter to the editor: Ivermectin information slanted
The same misinformation being believed by some patients nationally is prevalent at home, too. They read in their trusted local newspaper slanted information which causes a thinking person to question what is going on. The article “’You can’t fix it with facts’: Doctors share patients’ excuses for covid vaccine refusal”...
Letter to the editor: Reelect Peck as district attorney
Please reelect John Peck for district attorney. I believe he is the best candidate for such an important position. He has proven for the last 40 years that he is dedicated to keeping our community safe and criminals off the streets. As I look back at Peck’s 40 years in...
Lori Falce: Board games and learning to lose
Oh, the agony of defeat. No one likes to lose, but it’s an important life skill everyone has to pick up along the way. You can’t learn to walk without struggling to keep your balance and winding up on your butt now and then. Every chess grandmaster earned his rank...
Letter to the editor: Norwin board needs change
Norwin School District needs leaders on its school board who will lead by example and from the front like Christine Baverso, Alex Detschelt, Shawna Ilagan and Ray Kocak. We need leaders like these who support parent engagement and parents’ choice; leaders who are not afraid to fight for our children;...
Letter to the editor: Also counting her blessings
I read the letter from John R. Morrow, “Count your blessings” (Oct. 17, TribLIVE). Everything he said is the truth, and we should all remember to count our blessings. I am 90 years old and have it posted on my fridge to remind me every day of my blessings. Bernice...
Letter to the editor: Destruction of our country, step by step
I’m amazed how few people realize or will admit what elected Democrats are doing to our once great country. They sing with one voice against voter ID, want sanctuary states and cities to protect illegal immigrant criminals from deportation while defunding the police, support amnesty for Dreamers and illegals leading...
Laurels & lances: Stepping down, stepping up, flying high
Laurel: To announcing a departure. U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, announced Monday that he will finish his term, which runs through 2022, but not seek reelection in the midterms. “I believe the time has come to pass the torch to the next generation,” he said. It would be nice...
Letter to the editor: Domestic violence message applauded
Your editorial ”Let’s talk about domestic violence” (Oct. 13, TribLIVE) is one of the best and most needed commentaries you have delivered to your readers. It is especially meaningful in that it addresses the gamut of abuses that are committed by maladjusted or undeveloped individuals who are unable to interact...
Letter to the editor: Don’t let anything stop you from voting
As we approach Election Day, please don’t let all the madness and disinformation that is going around dismay you. If you are legally registered to vote in your area, do so. If you planned on voting by mail-in ballot, do so. The machines are untouchable by Wi-Fi, internet or phones,...
Editorial: Building bridges to overcome hatred
A summit meeting is usually something seen between warring nations — or at least tense nations that could erupt into attack mode at the drop of a hat. Summit meetings are a way to broker a peace or defuse hostilities. We seldom think of them as something that happens in...
Letter to the editor: Covid misinformation dangerous
George Silowash (”I don’t trust this covid vaccine,” Oct. 9, TribLIVE) begins his letter by saying “I consider” covid vaccines experimental. May I begin mine by saying “I consider” his rhetoric to be dangerous and irresponsible? Where is the M.D. after his name? We are in a worldwide emergency. The...
Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis and Britnee Weatherspoon: Time to invest in schools’ environmental health
The back-to-school news cycle has been dominated by the coronavirus delta variant and its impact on school districts, students and families, transportation woes, and the effects of last year’s pandemic-related shifts in learning. The report, “State of Environmental Health in Pennsylvania Schools,” released by Pittsburgh nonprofit Women for a Healthy...
Letter to the editor: Parklet sale slap in face to those who worked to create it
I concur with Marco Sylvania’s letter “Questions about Greensburg parklet sale” (Oct. 12, TribLIVE). Did anyone truly look into this, or was it just easier to sell it? It is extraordinary to me that land sold for $18,000 in the mid-1980s, then updated with more than $20,000, could be so...
Editorial: School boards can defuse tension by following rules
Public schools don’t just teach the rules. They have to follow them, too. School districts have to fall in line with federal requirements regarding students with disabilities and equal opportunity for male and female sports teams. They have to measure up to state Department of Education demands about curriculum and...
Letter to the editor: Natural gas saves Pa. residents thousands
Pennsylvania homeowners, small businesses and manufacturers are realizing significant energy savings thanks to natural gas safely and responsibly produced across our region, key facts that were overlooked in the editorial “Why do Pennsylvanians pay higher price for energy?” (Oct. 3, TribLIVE). Natural gas is not priced globally, and therefore varies...
Pat Buchanan: Nationalism to confront globalism in Glasgow
“Extraordinary, isn’t it? I’ve been hearing all about COP,” said the queen to the duchess of Cornwall. “Still don’t know who is coming. … We only know about people who are not coming. … It’s really irritating when they talk but they don’t do.” Queen Elizabeth II was expressing her...
