Editorials category, Page 28
Laurels & lances: Contract and comment
Laurel: To getting it done. It wasn’t easy, but, with just days to spare, Westmoreland County avoided a strike by 500 unionized courthouse and nursing home employees. Service Employees International Union Local 668 and Healthcare PA members voted to accept a three-year deal that will include raises totaling about 17%...
Editorial: How convenient for Westmoreland commissioners to fund their own raises but not retirees’
What is good for the goose is good for the gander, they say. The adage means what is applicable and appropriate in one area also is applicable and appropriate for a comparable scenario. Make a gravy to serve with that goose, and it will probably taste good on a roast...
Editorial: Flooded homeless camp highlights failure to address problems
Imagine you have almost nothing. The clothes you have are on your back. If you have a blanket, it might be around your shoulders. Your mattress is the cardboard from an old box. The only roof is the thin fabric of a collapsible tent. If you have things that are...
Editorial: Does anyone want to be a school superintendent?
Why do you need a school superintendent? The job might seem hard to understand for some taxpayers. Teachers? That one makes sense. They’re the people in the room with the students, opening their eyes to reading and math and science. Principal? That’s the person in charge of a school —...
Editorial: Keep asking questions about school violence
“No child should ever go to school and never come home.” Terra Campbell is absolutely right. She knows that better than anyone. Her son, Marquis, was shot and killed as he sat in a school van outside Oliver Citywide Academy on Jan. 19, 2022. On Thursday, Eugene Watson was sentenced...
Editorial: Shapiro’s big idea on colleges needs more detail
Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed an overhaul to the way postsecondary education works in Pennsylvania. The state is a leader when it comes to going to college. It sports an Ivy League school in the University of Pennsylvania, one of the largest universities in the country in Penn State, groundbreaking...
Editorial: What is the future of volunteer fire departments?
Fire departments aren’t an optional public service. Some things we enjoy having, such as a museum or library, make lives better or help people access important services. Other things augment our communities and improve property values, such as swimming pools or baseball fields. But fire departments are something we can’t...
Laurels & lances: Cooperation and cruelty
Laurel: To cooperation. Many state and local leaders will note that Pennsylvania’s overlapping jurisdictions and duplication of services can cause a lot of headaches. Do we need 500 school districts in 67 counties? Then there are the concentric circles of municipalities that can be contained within other municipalities like a...
Editorial: PETA’s annual groundhog swap suggestion
It’s possible the good people at PETA — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — have seen the movie “Groundhog Day” one too many times. The Bill Murray classic features a Pittsburgh weatherman who journeys to the frozen hamlet of Punxsutawney for the annual rite where a groundhog emerges...
Editorial: Data is important in Human Services, but so is humanity
Westmoreland County is taking steps to serve people better, and it is doing it by the numbers. The county’s Human Services Department amasses a lot of data from its daily operations. That’s to be expected with the amount of people who pass through its programs. Human Services is an umbrella...
Editorial: Another game of chicken as House averts shutdown, for now
With two funding bills passed just under the wire, the House under Speaker Mike Johnson has ensured that the federal government won’t run out of operating funds until … March 1 and March 8, depending on the agency. His right flank, predictably, was not happy. We suppose it’s better than...
Editorial: Innovative programs are best pitch for universities
There are just under 6,000 postsecondary schools in the United States. Almost 4,000 are degree-granting institutions — the kind of school you would pick if you want to leave with an associate degree in two years or a bachelor’s degree in four. The others are where you might choose for...
Editorial: Tearing down the old Tree of Life is a chance to rebuild memories
The building that stood at the corner of Wilkins and Shady avenues in Squirrel Hill was part of countless beautiful memories over 66 years. While the history of Jewish worship in Pittsburgh begins its story in the 19th century, it was in the wake of World War II that a...
Trudy Rubin: If Israel is accused of genocide, why not Russia?
If Israel is being charged with genocide at the International Court of Justice, why isn’t Russia? This is a question I find very troubling, as do some of my readers. Despite harsh critiques of the civilian carnage in Gaza caused by Israel’s bombs — of which I have written my...
Editorial: Westmoreland officials’ pay increase, workers’ strike notice are predictable problem
Westmoreland County officials cannot be surprised by employees bristling over contract negotiations. Aside from the four-year contract expiring Dec. 31 and stalled negotiations, there is the fact that many employees have been dealing with increased work and shorter staff for years. These are problems that might have come into the...
Laurels & lances: Looking out and letting down
Laurel: To recycling. Everyone knows it’s better to reuse than to let something go to waste. That’s not just true of paper and plastic. It also applies to technology. On a visit to Acrisure Stadium, Leechburg Area School District security guard Mike Kapustik noticed there were unused metal detectors in...
Editorial: Mike Tomlin should punt the pettiness and petulance
A coach is someone who gives instruction. Coaches train. They teach. They help make people better. The simple arithmetic of wins and losses shows the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin is a good coach. He joined the organization in 2007. In that time, he has amassed two Super Bowl appearances with...
Editorial: Are passengers, airports served by JetBlue-Spirit ruling?
In April 2022, JetBlue Airways decided to make a bid for Spirit Airlines. The move came after Frontier Airlines attempted a merger. Three months later, Frontier walked away, leaving JetBlue as the only remaining suitor. This was a big deal, but it left some worried about what it meant going...
Editorial: Pittsburgh’s Sports Facility Usage tax needs to be fair
Pittsburgh’s sports arenas can be expensive to visit. Average ticket price at Acrisure Stadium to see the Steelers play? About $120. Want to see the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena? Average there is around $224, depending on where you buy your tickets. The Pirates are downright cheap; while the lowest...
Editorial: What is your dream?
When we think about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as we do on the January holiday that celebrates him each year, the words of his most famous speech are the ones that most easily come to mind. “I have a dream,” he thundered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial...
Editorial: Federal death penalty and the journey toward justice
The journey toward justice for the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was a slow crawl. It took five long years to journey from a house of worship in Squirrel Hill to the federal courthouse on Grant Street. In June 2023, Robert Bowers was found guilty on all 63 counts...
Editorial: Pennsylvania will flood with campaign cash in 2024
We knew it was coming. The 2024 election year was bound to be some rough weather for Pennsylvania. It’s a presidential year, after all, which means national campaign funds and political action committee money will fall like rain. Presidential years also mean state and federal representatives will be on the...
Laurels & lances: Problems and power
Laurel: To seeking solutions. Many post-secondary schools in Pennsylvania and nationwide are dealing with the challenges of falling enrollment. It comes as institutions compete with each other for students and as those students struggle with the crushing financial burden of tuition and debt. So it doesn’t come as a surprise...
Editorial: Rustic Ridge carries on
It can be hard to move forward after a tragedy. There is a kind of triage aspect. Address the actual problem in front of us. Take care of what is happening right now. That is the priority. It has to be. That is what happened with Rustic Ridge. The priority...
Editorial: Will hotter housing market help renters?
Real estate experts are hoping to see an uptick in the housing market in 2024. Not a boom, but more of a bump. The region’s home sales were down in 2023. According to Dennis A. Cestra Jr., president of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland,...
