Editorials category, Page 27
Editorial: Billionaire, small businesses and bipartisan lawmakers sick of pharmacy benefit managers
So much of American health care can be summed up with drugs. We often go to the doctor less to find out what is wrong than we do to get a prescription to fix the symptoms. While the long-term goal may be figuring out the underlying cause, the short-term objective...
Editorial: Your air quality may be more dangerous than your phone is telling you. The EPA is fine with that.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s adoption of a more stringent annual limit on fine particulate matter, or soot, fulfills an overdue obligation to curb a deadly type of air pollution that triggers asthma, heart attacks, strokes and a host of other health problems. But the agency made a serious mistake by...
Editorial: School security is too important to neglect
There are places that a school district can cut corners. None is pleasant. Trim things off the maintenance budget, and you can set up bigger building projects later on. Short the curriculum, and you get poor test scores and unprepared students. Whatever gets cut one place costs in another. But...
Editorial: Penn State president’s retention bonus is out of touch amid cuts
Penn State is doing a lot of cost cutting lately. Under President Neeli Bendapudi, there has been a real campaign to slash what many might see as a bloated budget. The 2023-24 budget is $9.5 billion. Educating on the scale Penn State does is expensive. In addition to the sprawling...
Laurels & lances: Caps, meetings and closings
Laurel: To help in healing. Sometimes it takes a mom to recognize what’s going to make someone feel better. Heather Shuker, 49, knows what doctors have done for her daughter, Hannah, who has battled severe seizures for 20 years. But being there through it all gave her a perspective a...
Editorial: Fern Hollow Bridge collapse was human fault, not an act of God
An act of God might sound biblical, but it has a legal definition. When it comes to contracts and liability, an act of God is the kind of calamitous natural event that is unpredictable and unavoidable. It’s something that is outside of human control. And it is not what happened...
Editorial: Snow story gets cold shoulder from haters
TribLive shared a story Sunday about kids getting a chance to try something out of the box for them. Children from Pittsburgh were getting an opportunity to try an outdoor activity. They were learning to ski and snowboard. This isn’t a controversial topic. We know controversy. We see it all...
Editorial: The fight over cyber charter money
Cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania are a different animal from the run-of-the-mill public school. A charter school is still a public institution. It doesn’t play by the same rules, however. It could have a different goal or a different method — like focus on a nontraditional curriculum or an unusual...
Editorial: How reliable are corporate sale promises?
The importance of knowing what you are getting into was illustrated Thursday in West Virginia. That was when Cleveland-Cliffs announced the shuttering of a tin production facility in Weirton. Cleveland-Cliffs is one of the largest producers of steel in the United States. It has plants across multiple states, including a...
Editorial: Spotting the problems with ShotSpotter responses
Chicago is discontinuing its use of ShotSpotter, a sound technology used to identify and locate gunfire in a community. Mayor Brandon Johnson didn’t like the program or the money that went toward it. Since signing a contract in 2019, Chicago has given software company SoundThinking about $9 million a year...
Editorial: Navalny’s death in Russian prison underscores danger for Fogel
Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison Friday. He was 47, several years in to a 19-year prison sentence. On paper, his crime was “extremism.” In reality, his offense was opposition to Russian president and former KGB intelligence officer Vladimir Putin. The information about exactly how the death occurred is...
Laurels & lances: Volunteers and tuition
Laurel: To finding a fix. One problem with having a volunteer fire department is that fires often happen while your volunteers aren’t available. If everyone is at work at 10 a.m., who is there to respond to a house fire? Greensburg council has taken steps to address that. On Monday,...
Editorial: Election for Santos seat strikes familiar chord in Pennsylvania
It was an odd mid-winter special election, with all eyes turned to the Northeast on a Tuesday night as polls closed. While just one seat in Congress was on the table, the race to fill the vacancy left by an elected official who departed amid scandal was seen as a...
Editorial: What’s next for Hempfield’s building project?
First, Hempfield Area School District got wildly over-budget bids for its high school renovation project. Then it decided to hire an owner’s representative — a position that sounds a lot like a project manager but isn’t — to keep things on course. Now the architect has resigned. Are the Hempfield...
Editorial: Gator tales are more than viral stories
There are stories that news organizations cover because you need to know the information. There are others we cover because we think you will want to know about it. Then there are the ones that seem like one but are really the other. Take alligators. People love alligator stories. You...
Editorial: Defense secretary must rebuild trust after unexpected absence
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took responsibility for not notifying the White House when he was hospitalized at the beginning of January, an important first step in rebuilding trust with President Joe Biden, Congress and the American people. While Austin’s desire to keep his medical situation private is understandable, this was...
Editorial: State Department must prioritize humanity and Marc Fogel
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for an interview. Amid discussion of the war with Ukraine, about to enter its second year, he brought up another topic followed by Americans. He spoke of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Russia, he...
Editorial: Spaying or neutering pets has big impact
Longtime game show host Bob Barker offered good advice at the end of each episode of “The Price is Right”: “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.” It was an important message. A cat can live as long as 20 years but can start breeding after...
Laurels & lances: Taking time and wasting time
Laurel: To pressing pause. Derry council is expected to consider a two-year moratorium before bringing the borough’s police dog program back into play. The program was disbanded in October following the death of police dog Smoke in August. Smoke was euthanized after being injured in fight with a family dog...
Editorial: The high cost of a Pittsburgh master plan
It has been said you have to spend money to make money. There also is the idea you can spend money to save it. For example, spending $50 on an oil change can prevent costly engine work. Quality clothing is more expensive than fast fashion today but saves money in...
Editorial: Shapiro wants to build on ‘what we did last year together.’ Really?
Ah, time has come once again for that wonderful rite of February when a state icon pops up for a moment in the sun. No, not Groundhog Day. That was last week. Tuesday was the governor’s budget address. Much like the festivities at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, the annual event...
Editorial: Cyberattack on court system is frustrating and familiar
Cyberattacks on essential services are happening more often. Hackers have hit at financial institutions. They have struck hospitals. In 2021, a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline affected the nation’s natural gas supply. While these things might seem like the stuff of suspenseful TV shows or James Bond movies, they aren’t....
Editorial: Closed pharmacies came with no spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down
When you need your medicine, you need your medicine. A doctor prescribes what is needed and the timetable to take it. Every morning, every four hours, whatever the doctor says goes. People can be hamstrung by availability. We are used to the restrictions of money when a certain prescription costs...
Editorial: Should U.S. Steel deal be open to political threats?
Some things are too complicated for a campaign promise. That never stops anyone from making them, though. On Wednesday, former president and Republican front-runner Donald Trump said that, if elected, he would block the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel Corp., a leading steel producer based in Japan. The...
Editorial: What is going on in the Westmoreland County Register of Wills office?
It is a little embarrassing to be called on the carpet at work. It’s a lot worse when the person doing the scolding is a judge — or two. In a hearing Wednesday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas judges admonished Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton. The language was longer and...
