Opinion category, Page 58
Lori Falce: The endangerment of the rule of law
You cannot have order without having law. Well, theoretically you could. If everyone just instinctively did the right thing, that would be great. No laws needed! But once you involve people, human nature, emotions and all of the quirky little things that complicate our lives, suddenly laws become pretty important....
Laurels & lances: Advocacy & asphalt
Laurel: To taking steps. Bill Russell and Jim Rieker are among the roughly 500,000 people who have survived bladder cancer. The numbers for doing so are good. The five-year survival rate for bladder cancer is about 77%. For cases identified when the disease is still contained only to the bladder,...
Letter to the editor: Reschenthaler not representing
Working people in Southwestern Pennsylvania are struggling — and it appears our congressman doesn’t see it. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler wants us to believe the economy is booming, prices are decreasing and jobs are everywhere. But, in his own district, people are working harder than ever before and falling behind. He...
Allison Mathis: Cyber charter reform is unfinished business
Cyber charter schools were created in 2002, and the law creating them had remained largely unchanged in the 22 years of its existence until Act 55 of 2024. Act 55 implemented several critical reforms related to accountability, transparency and ethics that advocates have been asking to see for years. Act...
Mark Z. Barabak: Is there a middle ground on immigration? This Republican thinks so.
Bob Worsley has solid conservative credentials. He’s anti abortion. A fiscal hawk and lifelong member of the Mormon Church. As an Arizona state senator, he won high marks from the National Rifle Association. These days, however, Worsley is an oddity, an exception, a Republican pushing back against the animating impulses...
Gary Pezzano: Stop gambling with the care Pa.’s older population deserves
As Pennsylvania’s baby boomer generation continues to age, the commonwealth’s system is failing to meet the growing demand for nursing home care, the LIFE program and other critical aging services. In fact, at a time when we should be expanding services, nursing homes are removing beds and scaling back services...
Letter to the editor: Rantings about Trump
The letter “Letters from left not based in reality” (May 10, TribLive) provides convincing examples of how “anti-Trump” letters often “read like wild, disassociative ramblings” not based on reality. I believe those emotional rantings derive not from an evaluation of President Trump’s policies, programs or performance but rather deep personal...
Letter to the editor: What Trump considers a tough time
President Trump admits it is necessary for Americans to go through a tough time prior to his promised dawn of prosperity. For him, born to affluence, a tough time means cringing when you see your portfolio shrink today, but knowing it will bounce back soon. But he knows nothing of...
Editorial: Will investing in airports pay off for Southwestern Pennsylvania?
Southwestern Pennsylvania has some extensive work being done on airports. The larger is the Terminal Modernization Program at Pittsburgh International Airport. Originally proposed in 2017, it had a projected price tag of $1.1 billion. Construction began in 2021. Costs are now about $1.7 billion. In a tour Tuesday, airport officials...
Letter to the editor: Penguins, Steelers, Pirates and the pope
Has incompetence reached epidemic proportions? Is there a reason Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas couldn’t trade a quality coach like Mike Sullivan for compensation? Our Penguins need help and seven teams need a coach. How many highly drafted players will Steelers owner Art Rooney II let go for...
Jonah Goldberg: The inescapable answer to America’s problems? Fix Congress
Pretty much on a daily basis now, I find myself muttering or shouting, “If only Congress wasn’t broken,” or something to that effect. I’m happy to acknowledge that our problems have many causes. Still, here’s my answer to the question “What is one thing you would do to solve —...
Joan Mills and William Reeves Ferran: Allegheny County power outages make case for solar and storage in public housing
When the Blawnox Apartments, home to over 80 senior citizens, abruptly went dark early last week amidst the torrential rain and fierce winds pummeling Allegheny County, building maintenance wasted no time in attempting to fire up the old diesel generator. When it finally sputtered to life — hours after the...
Kelley Shepherd: We are not the waste — a DSP’s plea to protect Medicaid
Since 2008, I’ve worked as a direct support professional (DSP). In this work, I’ve witnessed miracles — small ones, daily — that show what people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism (ID/A) can achieve when they’re given a fair chance and real support. I remember someone with a traumatic...
Letter to the editor: Vote to bring back democracy
May 20 is the date of election. Donald Trump now owns the Republican Party. If you like the huge tariffs, assault on our legal and justice system, furloughing of our federal workers (there are over 70,000 in Pennsylvania) and the acceptance of the Jan. 6 insurrection and approve of his...
Letter to the editor: It’s up to us to seek the truth
Honesty and truthfulness are bearings on a good moral compass. They are attributes of a good human being. “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s amoral foreign policy
Nearly 60% of Americans oppose President Trump’s statement that Ukraine is to blame for starting the war. Our reputation is as the protector of smaller countries. We do not keep them out of negotiations that will determine their fates — which Trump did in 2018, shutting the Afghan government out...
Editorial: Penn State needs to be open about closing campuses
Penn State leaders are proposing the shuttering of seven Commonwealth Campuses. The idea has been on the table since February. It would be brought up in May, it was suggested. But the May meeting of the board of trustees falls in a sweet spot between the annual Blue-White Game at...
Brian C. Rittmeyer: Penn State branch campuses provide more than memories
There’s a beaver plushie on my nightstand, and a glass bottle of Coke from 1990 in my living room. What do these two unusual — and one, advisably undrinkable — things have in common? Penn State branch campuses. More importantly, for me, the memories attached to them. And now that...
Cal Thomas: Bad political theater in Newark
Political theater extends back to the Greeks. William Shakespeare wrote about politics in “Coriolanus” and other plays. A personal favorite of mine was “Fiorello!,” a 1959 musical about New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. What happened in Newark last week was political theater at its worst. New Jersey Democratic Reps....
Alisa E. Harris: State funding is reducing violence and supporting youth — we must keep it going
Pennsylvania is home to more YMCAs than any other state in the nation — more than 700,000 Pennsylvanians are members of their local YMCA, and an additional 180,000 people participate in YMCA programs each year. It is hard to overstate the positive impact a YMCA has on a community —...
Letter to the editor: Pirates make fans want the game to end quickly
Columnist Paul Kengor’s lamentations on the advent of a less leisurely pace of play in Major League Baseball are severely undermined by citing our local team (“Ruining America’s national pastime,” May 8, TribLive). Even as a former professional radio sports announcer, I find watching the “dreaded Pittsburgh Pirates” a quite...
Letter to the editor: Of course Trump would see himself as pope
Who can blame President Trump for seeing himself as worthy of being the next pope? Our behavior has enabled this expectation. Republicans in Congress taught him that he won’t be expelled from office even if evidence is clear that he tried to bribe a foreign leader with taxpayer money. American...
Letter to the editor: Get rid of the incumbents not paying attention to voters’ needs
In the article “Where did all the Democrats go? In suburban Pittsburgh counties, they’re harder to find in elected office” (May 4, TribLive), Westmoreland County Republican Committee Chairman Bill Bretz suggested the Democratic Party lost favor with Westmoreland County voters due to a lack of attention to their basic needs....
Letter to the editor: Tim Carson should remain as coroner
I had the honor to serve alongside Tim Carson while serving as chief of staff for Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew. Because of my position, I had a frequent exposure to the work he and his department did for the county. From a professional evaluation, I can assure you Carson’s...
Editorial: Divided legislature means pointless bills
The great frustration of a divided legislature is how it works so hard to stay in exactly the same place. Having a governor of a different party than the lawmakers is a challenge, but it still allows both sides to do their jobs. Legislators pass a law or decide on...
