Opinion category, Page 644
Letter to the editor: We need to keep feeding children
The coronavirus has caused both a catastrophic health crisis and an economic one, pushing thousands of families into poverty and hunger here in Pennsylvania. Even in this crisis, we’ve been able to make sure children are still fed. Nationwide child nutrition waivers issued by the USDA gave school districts and...
Antony Davies and James Harrigan: Lessons from skateboarders’ civil disobedience
Pittsburgh Public Works Director Mike Gable made quite a splash recently when he ordered that the West Penn Skate Park in Polish Hill be filled with sand. He did this in reaction to people’s desire to use the skate park for its actual purpose: skateboarding. Speaking of the young people...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Paupers and kings and coronavirus
The danse macabre was a theme in medieval art that provided some comfort to regular folks during wars and plagues by portraying people from all walks of life dancing together towards their final resting place. It was clear then that death did not discriminate during a catastrophe. Aristocrats and paupers...
Editorial: Accounting for the way Wolf’s waivers went
More of Pennsylvania is getting back to business as Gov. Tom Wolf slowly turns the dial from red to yellow on counties locked down amid the coronavirus pandemic. But not every business was stopped from working in the past weeks. Some were deemed life-sustaining and were allowed to keep the...
Sounding off: Regulations not infringing on religion
Regarding the Rev. Tony Joseph’s letter "Government shouldn’t keep us from church": These are extraordinary times. For those of you who compare this virus with the flu, there is no comparison. This virus is new and more contagious than any other virus. It has killed more people in two months...
Letter to the editor: Thanks to volunteers feeding hungry in Freeport
When businesses and schools started shutting down with the covid-19 pandemic, Jackie Gaughan, Heidi Powell and 14 other volunteers stepped up to the plate, serving warm lunches weekdays at Nexthome Dynamic’s drive-thru window for people living in the Freeport area. This is not Jackie’s first rodeo. Over the past few...
Letter to the editor: Legacy of Trump the ‘wartime president’
Up to now, it has all been fun and games, voicing my opinion on President Trump and making friends, but enough is enough. People are dying. We all know you can’t trust China, but we should be able to trust the president of the United States. Trump made sure that...
Letter to the editor: Let your dog stop and smell the roses
People who yank their dogs along on walks instead of letting them stop and smell the roses (or anything else) are more than just a pain in the neck — they’re causing serious harm. According to a study recently published in Veterinary Record, the force from a light tug on...
Letter to the editor: Coronavirus & control
When I listen to the mainstream media, I notice that when they report deaths with respect to this pandemic, they carefully choose their words. They often say the death toll is (pick a number) with the covid-19 virus. They do not always say from the covid-19 virus. Are they crafting...
Letter to the editor: Safety more important than open churches
Well said, Edna Martorell (“Regulations not infringing on religion,” May 10, TribLIVE). I am stunned by the words of the Rev. Tony Joseph (“Government shouldn’t keep us from church,” May 4, TribLIVE). Despite over 1.3 million cases of coronavirus in our country, and an abundance of medical data on the...
Editorial: Penguins miss shot with arena development project in Lower Hill District
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. It’s an idea the Pittsburgh Penguins should find familiar. It speaks of big games and clutch performance, reaching for the stars and following through. Champions do the hard thing even though it’s hard, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have the Stanley Cup...
John Stossel: Too much help from government
Mother’s Day made me think how my mom warned me, as a young teen: “Work hard! Or you’ll freeze in the dark!” Sometimes, the warning ended, “Or you’ll starve in the cold.” She grew up during the Depression. She and her peers were sensibly worried about freezing in the dark....
Walter Williams: Let’s not waste a crisis
Former Barack Obama adviser Rahm Emanuel, during a recent interview, reminded us of his 2008 financial crisis quotation, “Never allow a crisis to go to waste.” The covid-19 pandemic has presented a wonderful opportunity for those of us who want greater control over our lives. Sadly, too many Americans have...
Jonah Goldberg: History not always written by winners
Attorney General William Barr ignited yet another firestorm last week by dismissing all charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Then Barr threw more gas on the fire when Catherine Herridge of CBS asked him, “When history looks back on this decision, how do you think it will be...
Colin McNickle: Calling Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority to account
The long financially troubled and often politically hacked Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority (PWSA) faces a challenging road ahead as it attempts to cleanse its operations of past failures and meet new state oversight mandates, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “(T)the scope of the PWSA’s...
Letter to the editor: New Kensington mural ideas
Nostalgic New Ken wants a mural idea for the Walt’s Deli building (“Pitt-Greensburg seeks input for planned New Kensington mural,” April 14, TribLIVE). Everybody misses the good ol’ days. How about a painting of a clock? The clock across the street hasn’t worked right in years. How about a painting...
Letter to the editor: Are our true colors showing during pandemic?
I’ve grown tired of reading, and writing, about President Trump’s lies, outlandish comments, disrespect of science, etc. Instead, a comment on Americans’ “true colors.” Crises can shine light on our true colors. Americans have risen to do what is right and work together in the past. American resolve was demonstrated...
Letter to the editor: Will you dive in, or wait till it’s safe?
President Trump has been trying to pass on to Americans a bill of goods that everything is fine, we have everything under control. He reminds me of the mayor in “Jaws” who has advance warnings of a danger in the water but ignores them for the sake of his small...
Letter to the editor: Facts about shutdown’s effects
Opinions are like faces: Everyone has one. And while each person’s opinion should be respected, there are those expressed that often are inane, ignorant and uninformed — opinions that should never be publicly expressed. To me, Jay Londino’s letter “Shutting down not way to deal with virus” (April 23, TribLIVE)...
Letter to the editor: Clean up your garbage, Arnold residents
My friend and I walk every day. We see what is happening to the alleys of Arnold, and it is disturbing. We have been asked by our officials to bag everything and put the bags in cans with lids. This is not happening. Boxes are strewn everywhere and garbage lies...
Letter to the editor: Addressing school injustices
The article “School districts plan summer learning, fearing learning loss from time outside classroom” (May 5, TribLIVE) highlighted the huge toll that school closures have on students’ learning and well-being. For many students of color and students living in poverty, public schools may be the only place they can turn...
Letter to the editor: Corporations must support workers
Policy analysts claim the American response to coronavirus faces a dilemma. Either we reopen businesses immediately, causing infection surges that will kill tens of thousands, or stay closed as we are now and ruin the economy. That’s a false dichotomy. There are other alternatives, as Daniel Markovits, author of “The...
Lori Falce: We need to learn to argue
If there is one thing that the coronavirus pandemic cannot stifle, it is our voices. I see that every day in the letters that come through my inbox, and the comments that dangle from my online content like icicles. If anything, it seems one more side effect of this new...
David Hogg: Civilian Coronavirus Corps fails to solve problem of Wolf’s making
Gov. Tom Wolf is bringing to life the maxim: Never let a good crisis go to waste. As the covid-19 pandemic continues, Wolf wants to roll out a new program that will cripple the state financially and supposedly fix a problem the governor himself is causing. Through his Commonwealth Civilian...
Michael Madison and Christopher Briem: Shaping the Pittsburgh region post-pandemic
Michael Madison is a professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh who published Pittsblog, a 2004 to 2011 weblog about economic development and Pittsburgh’s post-steel renewal. Christopher Briem is a regional economist with the Urban & Regional Analysis program at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Social and Urban...
