Lori Falce: When collateral damage is unwarranted
What is a warrant? There is no single answer. A warrant might be an order for arrest. It could be the piece of paper signed by a governor authorizing an execution. It could be a demand that someone appear in court or turn over property in a dispute. An extradition...
Laurels & lances: Animals & ambulances
Laurel: To new ways of thinking. For many community leaders, animal control is treated as just that — controlling the animals. Pick them up when they become a problem, hand them off to someone else to deal with however they choose, and move on. Delmont is joining a growing number...
Letter to the editor: Maduro’s capture a beginning
Has anyone read the grand jury indictment against Nicolas Maduro? The document is only 25 pages, with the majority being in a non-legalized format. Clearly, based on their arguments, most people have not downloaded a single page. If anything, the Maduro arrest represents just a beginning, with the need for...
Paul Kengor: Trump vs. the Western Hemisphere
It’s hard to say what’s more shocking: Donald Trump’s aggressiveness in the Western Hemisphere or his advocates’ unquestioning defense of his words and actions. From Greenland to Venezuela, from Canada to Colombia to Mexico, it’s quite astonishing. Let’s back up for some context. When he launched his first presidential campaign...
Jonah Goldberg: Trump isn’t interested in being honorable — he’d rather be feared
A decade ago, a famous and successful investor told me “integrity lowers the cost of capital.” We were talking about Donald Trump at the time, and this Wall Street wizard was explaining why then-candidate Trump had so much trouble borrowing money from domestic capital markets. His point was that the...
Letter to the editor: Done with Fetterman
I am done with Sen. John Fetterman. I voted for Conor Lamb in the 2022 Democratic primary, but he lost to Fetterman. I then voted for Fetterman. Who was I going to vote for … Dr. Oz? Give me a break. But I can tell you this: If Fetterman is...
Letter to the editor: Anger is a sign of weakness, not strength
There are seven capital or deadly sins, so called because they are as it were the sources of origin of all other vices and sins. They are pride, avarice, impurity or lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth. Anger is wrong if it is allowed to control the mind and overrule...
Editorial: Economic development can’t be built on ifs and maybes
In August 2020, Hempfield supervisors approved plans for a 250,000-square-foot home improvement store along Route 30 near Westmoreland Mall. Nearly five years later, the project has yet to move beyond the proposal stage. Why? It’s not as if Wisconsin-based Menards is unfamiliar with building. Supplying construction materials is its business....
Letter to the editor: Renee Good’s blood on Biden’s hands
The blood of Renee Good is on the hands of the Biden/Harris administration — period. The administration did nothing to stop the flow of illegal immigrants coming into our country. Kamala Harris was the border czar and in my opinion did absolutely nothing. The Biden administration was sworn to uphold...
Letter to the editor: Steelers need to do better on character issues
If you weren’t disgusted with the handling of the DK Metcalf assault on a football fan, perhaps you need to reevaluate your priorities this new year. While many think the two-game suspension was excessive, I don’t think it went far enough. There’s no question Metcalf made a huge mistake going...
Bill Dudley: Attacking Powell only undercuts Trump’s goals
If President Donald Trump thinks piling pressure on the Federal Reserve will further his goal of lowering interest rates and stimulating economic growth, he should think again. On the contrary, it’s likely to have the opposite effect. It’s hard to see the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of Fed Chair Jerome...
Aaron Riggleman: AI needs national guardrails
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already transforming how Pennsylvanians work, learn and deliver essential, everyday services. From manufacturing shop floors and health care systems to small businesses and startups, AI tools are improving productivity and expanding opportunity. But the benefits of this technology depend on clear, consistent rules. Without federal leadership,...
Letter to the editor: DOJ’s transgender subpoena sets dangerous precedent
Kudos to Chief Judge Cathy Bissoon for blocking the DOJ’s subpoena for the medical records of transgender children and to UPMC Children’s Hospital for refusing to turn over those records (“Judge blocks access to UPMC transgender care records,” Dec. 27, TribLive). As Bissoon wrote, this request for “deeply private and...
Letter to the editor: What’s wrong with PennWest
In regards to the report that PennWest University will eliminate academic majors (“More than 100 academic offerings on PennWest’s chopping block,” Dec. 24, TribLive), specifically Spanish, art education and others — some academic, some truly belonging at a community college or technical college: This is not what “universities” do; rather,...
Editorial: Mike Tomlin’s exit and Pittsburgh’s future
Calls for Mike Tomlin to step down are not new. They tend to surface the same way every time — after an ugly loss, after a season that ends not with hope but with disappointment. Monday night’s 30-6 wild-card loss to the Houston Texans followed that familiar script. It was...
Matt K. Lewis: The year’s new political fault lines are already forming
That escalated quickly. We’re barely into 2026, and events are already unfolding that could meaningfully reshape the political landscape. The death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother and U.S. citizen who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis last week, has the potential...
Barbara McQuade: The DOJ suing for voter data is dangerous on many levels
Uncle Sam wants you. And now he wants your voting data, too. The law — and long-standing policy — say he shouldn’t get it. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed lawsuits in 23 states and the District of Columbia seeking access to detailed voter information for the purpose of...
Letter to the editor: Hotel Saxonburg offers unique opportunity
I read that the historic, much-loved Hotel Saxonburg, which has been around for 193 years, is up for sheriff’s sale (“Hotel Saxonburg sheriff’s sale postponed until May 15,” Jan. 10, TribLive). The article “Historic Hotel Saxonburg set for sheriff’s sale” (Nov. 14, TribLive) reminds readers the town of Saxonburg was...
Letter to the editor: Trump a Christian?
I think President Trump’s best lie and his best con job ever is that he’s a Christian. I don’t think he goes to church, prays, reads the Bible, petitions for forgiveness of sin or contemplates his destination after death. Trump worships on the altar of money. Money. Money. Money and...
Letter to the editor: Democrats’ gaslighting
Politicians understand it is far more effective to appeal to the emotions of voters than try to convince them their policies make sense. That is why Democrats spent the entire 2024 campaign season inciting fear and hatred of Donald Trump. The fact it backfired has only resulted in a doubling-down...
Editorial: Why Macy’s can’t save a failing mall
A pyramid can be the strongest shape humans know how to build. Load-bearing. Enduring. It also can be a scheme — something that looks solid from the top down but collapses when the base proves hollow. At one time, the shopping mall was a pyramid in the best sense of...
Ruth Johnston: Assisted outpatient treatment is a gift
It’s the season for thank-you notes, as we contemplate gifts given and received. Allegheny County just gave a wonderful gift this year to me and families like mine. In 2026, the county is going to opt into the newest provision of the Mental Health Procedures Act: We’re going to try...
Colin McNickle: Follow this blueprint, Mayor O’Connor
New Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor must hit the ground running by spearheading five action items that represent the first steps to improve the city’s financial, economic and business climate situation to promote private-sector growth and healthy finances, says the research director of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “In order...
Letter to the editor: Thoughts on the Steelers
I’ve been a Steelers fan since 1969. Steelers fans need to quit crying. Officiating has sucked all year. Only D.K. Metcalf is responsible for his stupidity. Aaron Rodgers needs to start accepting he is part of the poor offense. Mike Tomlin and staff are average. We lost to Cleveland because...
Letter to the editor: Why are we celebrating fascism?
In 2016, JD Vance called Donald Trump “America’s Hitler.” Apparently he decided to join the party as Hitler’s version of Joseph Goebbels. That would make Steven Miller a carbon copy of Hermann Goring. We now know Pete Hegseth fills the shoes that Wilhelm Keitel walked in 1930s Germany. Kristi Noem...
