Editorials category, Page 32
Editorial: Get the info you need to make good voting choices
Pennsylvanians are in the prime political endorsement window for the general election. With the polls opening Nov. 7 and so many mail-in voters already considering their ballots, many organizations and news agencies are taking this time to put a stamp of approval on a particular candidate in this race or...
Editorial: VA needs more than a review in wake of veteran suicide at facility
Suicide is a word people dance around. There is fear that it is part contagion that can spread if given too much exposure. There can be an idea that talking about it can give people ideas. While it is tempting to dismiss these as urban legends, there is data from...
Editorial: Media not alone in questioning Aspinwall’s media policy
There is a difference between your mom’s house rules and your government’s requirements. A parent can make things up on the fly, improvising without worrying about any kind of appeal. Question the decree and you risk running into the insurmountable endgame response: “Because I said so, that’s why!” Government certainly...
Editorial: Shapiro fails on transparency with staffer harassment complaint
Quiet, private ends to potentially messy lawsuits or conflicts are common. They happen in entertainment. Nondisclosure agreements were wielded by convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, with The New York Times documenting at least eight women. Bill Cosby accuser Andrea Constand’s NDA was a sticking point in the criminal case against the...
Editorial: Elections board owed voters a real vote on drop box
If you were planning to drop off your ballot at the Westmoreland County Courthouse for the general election this year, you are going to have to switch things up. The three-member elections board has rejected the idea of placing a drop box for mail-in ballots in the courthouse lobby. The...
Laurels & lances: Board members & big screens
Laurel: To a full board. After two months of stalemates, Norwin School Board is poised to be able to accomplish things again. On Monday, Matthew Thomas, 49, of North Huntingdon was named as the replacement for board member Joanna Jordan, who died in August. Thomas was appointed by Westmoreland County...
Editorial: Hydrogen hubs coming, and that’s a positive
A summer with record high temperatures — attributed by most experts to anthropogenic climate change — once again drove home the need for this planet to break its fossil fuel habit. While we need to make that transition as quickly as possible, we also need to be mindful — especially...
Editorial: Ghost poles bill would exorcise utility danger
Utility poles make so many things possible. The National Electrical Safety Code says the standard height of the poles is 35 feet. They serve as the intersections for the utilities supporting modern life. They can carry various kinds of electrical lines, from the highest powered transmission lines to industrial lines...
Editorial: Can courthouse be the anchor store for Downtown Greensburg?
In a mall, the little shops that dotted the wide corridors made the experience entertaining for many. The trip might not have seemed complete without a pretzel from a kiosk or browsing the cheap costume jewelry at a spot where you could also get your ears pierced. But the big...
Editorial: Is there a bad guy in PNC Bank layoffs?
Layoffs are an unfortunate reality of doing business. They happen for lots of reasons. They may be due to cash flow problems. They might stem from the seasonal nature of an industry. Sometimes they are just about trying to trim the fat as close to the bone as possible to...
Editorial: PennWest has an identity crisis
On Monday, enrollment data for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education schools — the ones with that “(insert name here) University of Pennsylvania” tag — was released. The numbers aren’t great; but, unsurprisingly, there is always room to spin them depending on how you choose to look. Across the...
Editorial: This is no time to move up the 2024 Pennsylvania presidential primary. But what about for 2028?
Despite Pennsylvania’s recurring importance in picking the president in the general election, the state falls considerably short when it comes to deciding the nominees. Joe Biden became the presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee in April — about two weeks before the Pennsylvania primary was scheduled. The primary had been moved up...
Laurels & lances: Grass and granite
Laurel: To acknowledging a problem. Brittni Bair, 33, of Springdale was cited by the municipality for not mowing her lawn. To be fair, it’s been growing unchecked for a while now. Bair hasn’t cut the grass since before June 2. She knows the date because that was when the Cheswick...
Editorial: DA Zappala needs to build bridges instead of playing politics
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. should not be surprised at remarks from Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey. In August, the DA released what he called a “briefing” but what felt more like an odd campaign video. Rather than providing an update on cases on the horizon, Zappala used...
Editorial: Domestic violence bill would acknowledge reality
Domestic abuse doesn’t always look like a black eye or a broken wrist. Physical abuse is the most identifiable because it can be seen. It’s the abuse we know from television, movies and public service announcements. There also is emotional abuse. There is verbal and psychological abuse. There is isolation...
Editorial: Indiana shooting shows gun violence isn’t just in cities
Gun violence in cities is something sadly familiar to everyone. We are not surprised to hear of a death toll in an American city over the weekend. We have ceased to be shocked by news of one or two or more shot on any given day in New York or...
Editorial: Why aren’t America’s students showing up?
Nearly four years into America’s learning-loss crisis, perhaps the biggest challenge facing the country’s schools is a basic one: getting students to show up. Rates of absenteeism have surged since the start of the pandemic, across nearly all regions, income levels and age groups. School leaders need to act now...
Editorial: Why are there so many death penalty cases in Washington County?
Washington County has about 210,000 residents. It is 18th in population among Pennsylvania counties. It has a million fewer people than neighboring Allegheny County. Of the 98 people sentenced to death in the Keystone State, 19 were convicted in Philadelphia, seven in Allegheny and five in Westmoreland. But if a...
Editorial: Sadly, vigilance in schools is still needed in wake of recent gun-related incidents
“We shouldn’t have to do this in school,” Christina Burke said. “We should feel safe enough to come here and not have to deal with that.” — — — The Hempfield Area High School senior is correct. Students should be able to show up at school and feel safe. Their...
Laurels & lances: Art, money and good deeds
Laurel: To doing the right thing. On Wednesday, the Carnegie Museum of Art renounced its claim to a million-dollar masterpiece, Egon Schiele’s 1917 pencil drawing titled “Portrait of a Man.” The move came after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg obtained search warrants reclaiming the work as well as other Schiele...
Editorial: Shapiro missed chance to meet higher standard on sexual harassment
Gov. Josh Shapiro scored a lot of his political clout in one arena — the idea that sexual abuse allegations need to be taken seriously. As Pennsylvania’s attorney general, Shapiro stood with adult victims of child sex abuse as he unveiled a statewide grand jury’s report. He detailed decades of...
Editorial: It’s beyond time to crack down on passengers bringing guns to airport checkpoints
Cause and effect follow each other naturally. Touch a hot stove and get a burn. Skip homework and get detention. Drive too fast and get a ticket. It isn’t hard to understand. It’s how we raise children and train pets. When it becomes a problem is when the cause has...
Editorial: Government shutdown not avoided, just punted
Let’s not celebrate the last minute aversion of a government shutdown too quickly. After weeks of growing concern about the federal crisis, the U.S. House of Representatives was even more divided than usual by the time a successful vote was taken Saturday afternoon. Pennsylvania’s federal legislators came together when it...
Editorial: Gainey’s ‘Downtown is doing well’ assessment ignores realism of Pittsburgh’s bigger picture
Everything is just fine in Downtown Pittsburgh. That’s what Mayor Ed Gainey said Tuesday in a forum at Point Park University. “Our Downtown is doing well,” he said. It is the kind of stiff-upper-lip optimism that may give some confidence. When the Tribune-Review asked people, their opinions were mixed. “The...
Editorial: Is Westmoreland Co. DA’s fusion center right for law enforcement collaboration?
Collaboration is a great way to maximize public resources. It puts everyone together on the same footing. It shares information. It reduces workload. It prevents redundancy. On Thursday, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced an effort to promote better collaboration between detectives from her office and state and federal...
