Editorials category, Page 18
Editorial: Turn on the heat or put on the sweater? For some, it’s not a question
Are you turning on the heat yet? It’s a touchy topic in some households as October settles into its annual indecision. Fourteen days in, the month has had highs in the 80s and lows in the 30s. It creates the seasonal wardrobe quandary. What is warm enough to wear at...
Editorial: Penny dreadful? America slowly makes its move to a cashless economy
It used to be common to see “Let’s Make a Deal” contestants leave the TV game show smiling after winning $100 for every coin they could pull out of their purse or pocket. But as America moves ever closer to becoming a cashless society, it’s just as likely to see...
Editorial: Domestic violence shelters need to be private to be safe
Every year, the National Network to End Domestic Violence conducts a survey of those seeking help. It is not a total for the year. It is a snapshot of one day. How many people reached out? How many people found services? How many were adults, and how many were children?...
Editorial: Social media blurs public and private communication
Is a private Facebook page a public record? It’s a complicated question — so complicated that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is being asked to decide. The line between public and private isn’t as black and white as it might seem. Public officials are also private individuals. Sometimes the two sides...
Laurels & lances: Reporting & resignation
Laurel: To breaking news. We like to be the first to give our readers the important headlines, but in this instance, we are willing to give credit where credit is due. Point Park University has a great journalism program. It showed just how great when it uncovered a story in...
Editorial: Does Allegheny County need a 46.5% tax increase?
On Tuesday, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato put her first budget proposal on the table. The spending plan calls for $3.1 billion in expenses for county services. That’s not radically different from her predecessor’s last budget. A year ago, Rich Fitzgerald outlined his plan for $3 billion. Fitzgerald’s grew 3.4%...
Editorial: Be prepared for disasters
The message of National Preparedness Month, a government campaign each September to promote preparation for disasters and emergencies, was driven home by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and other parts of the Southeast as the month came to an end. The sense of sympathy upon reading...
Editorial: New pain management is great idea for first responders in opioid epidemic
New programs in government often are nothing new at all. They are frequently just repackaged versions of previous ideas. When the opioid settlement with states and counties across the country was announced, it was easy to expect that to be the case again. That’s not to say the old ideas...
Editorial: Pass Marc Fogel Act and Senate bill to stop tax penalties on U.S. hostages
Imagine being in prison on the other side of the world for months or years. The charges are politically disingenuous or outright lies. The government is hostile, and you don’t know when you might ever see your family again. Then, finally, your prayers are answered and you get to come...
Editorial: People are integral to election integrity
On Nov. 5, Pennsylvanians will turn out by the millions to cast ballots for offices including state legislators, a couple of Pennsylvania row offices, federal representatives and a U.S. senator. Oh yes — and president. Can’t forget that one. In Greensburg this week, the Westmoreland County voting machines were being...
Laurels & lances: Pirates & pizza
Laurel: To an upside. It gets hard after so many truly dismal seasons to find a silver lining in the black-and-gold storm cloud that is the perennially underperforming Pittsburgh Pirates. It can be even harder when we started the 2024 season with uncharacteristic hope over rookie Paul Skenes and holding...
Editorial: Prioritizing mental health is essential for safeguarding our schools
Americans generally understand the idea of risk and the importance of mitigation. We have fire departments because we like things like Christmas lights, s’mores and deep-fried turkeys, and all of those come with the possibility of danger. We have life insurance because we want our families to be financially secure...
Editorial: Monitoring the most dangerous abusers a good idea
There’s only one question about a bill introduced last year in the Legislature that would allow judges to order electronic monitoring of people subject to protection from abuse orders. Why aren’t we doing this already? It’s in the best interest of the state and public safety to keep tabs on...
Editorial: Are more appeals necessary in Pittsburgh officer’s firing over Taser death?
In October 2021, Pittsburgh police Officer Keith Edmonds had an interaction with a citizen. Jim Rogers was a homeless Black man in his 50s. He matched the description Edmonds was given as he responded to a call about a possible stolen bike. Body camera footage recorded the incident — including...
Editorial: U.N. speeches reflect grim global realities
The world, warned President Joe Biden, is at an “inflection point.” The world, warned U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, “is in a whirlwind.” “Our task, our test,” the president said, “is to make sure that the forces holding us together are stronger than those that are pulling us apart.” Today’s choices,...
Editorial: Is Pennsylvania Board of Higher Education a solution to post-secondary problems?
The University of Pittsburgh has 36 trustees. So does Temple University. Penn State has 39 — 40 if you count the governor’s nonvoting representative. Lincoln University has 38. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has a 20-member board of governors. The system includes 10 state universities. PennWest, with campuses...
Editorial: Extreme weather shows need to work together
Weather doesn’t care about borders. The lines on a map are drawn by people in response to treaties, negotiations and legislation. The border between Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, for instance, is the result of years of history and decision, carefully surveyed and documented. But when rain falls in Tarentum, it...
Laurels & lances: Screening, freezing & suing
Laurel: To feeding information. People can get a lot of things at a food bank. You might expect vegetables, canned goods and pasta. But breast cancer screenings are rarely on the menu. That changed this week when state Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, partnered in Allegheny and Westmoreland...
Editorial: Betrayal of trust: Upholding dignity in patient care is paramount
There are few places where people are more vulnerable than in a hospital. When reaching out for medical care, patients have to be open about things they would tell no one else. They discuss the most embarrassing things that happen in the bathroom or in the bedroom. They come clean...
Editorial: Political campaigns pigeon-hole voters at their peril
Miles Jones said he feels a disconnect. “I’ve never really felt seen and heard as a voter,” Jones said. Jones, 29, lives in Pittsburgh’s East Allegheny neighborhood. He is a native of Georgia and strives to be an independent thinker. He says he leans toward liberal positions but feels detached...
Editorial: Haitians are latest group to contribute to Pennsylvania
William Penn called America “the best poor man’s country.” Pennsylvania’s founder saw the opportunities in the colonies as a way for people to build a better life for themselves while building a better community for the betterment of all. The state itself was born to be a safe haven for...
Editorial: A safer ‘net for kids: The Kids Online Safety Act is worth passing
Whether it’s TikTok or Instagram or Snapchat or some yet-to-be-released app sure to enrapture its users, it’s pretty clear — to us, at least — that too many young people are spending too much of their time falling all the way down shallow-yet-deep online rabbit holes designed by profit-hungry companies...
Editorial: There is a better way to find $1 million for the NFL Draft
Government pays for a lot of things people need. Roads. Courts. Schools. These are things that make a community function. They also pay for things people don’t exactly require but that make society better, such as playgrounds and libraries. Then there are the things that come in grayer shades. Philadelphia...
Editorial: Penn State stages another strike at student journalism
On Wednesday night, Penn State took a stand. Actually, it took 35 of them. It removed the newsstand racks and copies of the Daily Collegian from dozens of University Park campus buildings. The university insists this had nothing to do with squelching the independent student newspaper’s First Amendment rights. “The...
Laurels & lances: Sworn in & pleading out
Laurel: To a new start. The Westmoreland County Register of Wills Office has been in chaos for over a year. In January, as Sherry Magretti Hamilton started her third term, the extent of problems in her office began to unfold. County adoptions were months behind in processing. So were filings...
