Editorials category, Page 45
Editorial: Is lieutenant governor question too important to be bundled?
When it comes to the U.S. government, no one is drafted to be vice president. It’s an honored invitation. Presidential candidates search for someone who is a complement, providing strengths where there are weaknesses while still having a similar overall direction. Sometimes that’s a real partnership. Other times, it’s a...
Editorial: What is the point of unmonitored electronic monitoring?
Electronic monitoring is one link in the chain of options when it comes to keeping track of people charged with or sentenced for a crime. It falls between incarceration and the kind of release on bail where someone is restricted by fear of losing a posted bond. Being released with...
Editorial: Competence versus rhetoric in Pennsylvania elections
There is nothing as important as our electoral process. Elections have to be safe. They have to be secure. They have to be easy and accessible. All of that can seem a little contradictory at times. Does making the process encouraging prevent it from being secure? Does making it safe...
Editorial: No time for election victory laps
In Washington, D.C., it took about a week to discover which party would have the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, with attention pulled to races in Colorado and California before the balance finally tipped. The Republicans would take back the House from Democratic hands by a narrow margin....
Lori Falce: Is crypto the MLM of dudes?
My friends and I were talking about the collapse of FTX — the cryptocurrency trading firm that suddenly declared bankruptcy last week. It was a scandal that might have been of epic proportions if not overshadowed by things like the U.S. election vote counting and developments in the war in...
Laurels & lances: Renew, revisit, rethink
Laurel: To everything old being new again. When the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation gave a $160,000 rehabilitation loan to Dave Rankin to breathe new life into the old G.C. Murphy building in Tarentum, the hope was that it would preserve old architecture and benefit the area. The response to...
Editorial: Politics should include a little more parental guidance
This month, Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher will take on a new role with a constituency of one — her about-to-be-born first child. Thrasher is one of a growing number of women in politics — especially women actively building their careers and their families at the same time. In...
Editorial: A real way for Kim Ward to make history
On Tuesday, state Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, notched another first. After serving as the first female Senate Majority Leader for the past two years, she was elected by her fellow Republicans to become the chamber’s Senate President Pro Tempore. She is also the first woman to serve in that role....
Editorial: Will Pa. pay the price for colleges’ tuition border wars?
The State University of New York is making it plain that it sees Pennsylvania’s high school students as an interstate commodity. “If your high schooler wants to go to college in New York, the State University of New York offers same in-state tuition as Penn State,” SUNY said in a...
Editorial: Time is running out for Congress to save local news
Local journalism is a cornerstone of democracy. It is a vital source of information for communities across the country. Newsrooms cover local politics, high school sports, local business openings, cultural events and other matters that help a community remain vibrant and connected. But the industry is facing an existential crisis...
Editorial: The peer pressure of legalizing marijuana
When it comes to vices, Pennsylvania is not the kind of state that tends to be on the cutting edge. Sure, the Keystone State doesn’t shy away from a little wicked fun. It’s a place where people enjoy their alcohol. There are more than 350 breweries, 300 wineries and 40...
Editorial: Who controls the House? The people do.
Who will control the House of Representatives? With the voting in the rearview mirror and the counting dragging on, it’s the question everyone is asking. On television and radio, the pundits obsess about the minute-to-minute fluctuations in the data over the seats up for grab in Washington, D.C. By how...
Laurels & lances: Election edition
Laurel: To the value of a good book. Or a lot of books, for that matter. While some people may focus on the candidates that walked away from Election Day as winners, some communities had something a little closer to home to celebrate: their local libraries. In Southwest Greensburg, voters...
Editorial: The lessons of the 2022 election
So what did we learn? The 2022 election was not just a survey of what people want and don’t want. Those are the polls that have been going on for months. You know, the ones assessing what the most important issues would be, allowing candidates to make subtle — or...
Editorial: Election rules shouldn’t differ county to county
OK, it’s over now, right? The political ads are done. The polls opened. The polls closed. The ballots were cast. The early and absentee ballots came into election offices and through the mail. It’s all done but the final counting and certification, right? Oh, if only that were true. We...
Editorial: Toll scofflaw legislation is easy, but hard work is needed on other PennDOT, turnpike problems
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed a new law last week giving the state a stick to smack or prod drivers owing delinquent toll money. The law comes after the state adopted Toll by Plate as an alternative to E-ZPass and eliminated in-person toll workers or the mechanical devices that caught...
Editorial: Do your part and cast your ballot
Vote. That’s all. Pure and simple. Just vote. We will not tell you for whom. We will not push you toward a party or candidate. We don’t want you to embrace an ideology or platform. We just want you to vote. However, it’s important to not vote blindly. Do not...
Editorial: Senate needs to give Pennsylvanians a gift ban
It’s November. The time to think about gift giving, to make lists and budgets and plans. This year, what if we focused on drawing a line in the sand when it comes to gifts? Let’s stop the sleigh when it comes to Harrisburg’s elected officials. This year, the idea of...
Editorial: Pittsburgh police failure in funeral shooting demands more than apology
Sometimes an apology is enough. It might not heal the wound, but sometimes the words will stop the bleeding. A fender bender. A broken glass. Spilled milk. These are things that can be smoothed over with good intentions and genuine contrition. But there are other things that require more than...
Laurels & lances: Spokesperson and representative
Laurel: To someone at the microphone. Since Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli took office in January, messaging has been a little challenging. Ziccarelli has wanted all information from her office — and sometimes other law enforcement departments — to filter through her podium. Other staff members or attorneys were...
Editorial: Hasn’t this undated ballot court ruling happened before?
The point of a court ruling — particularly one from a top appeals court — is to set a precedent. The rulings are meant to take a complicated question and draw lines that make things easier to understand. They give a yes or a no. They say when something is...
Editorial: Is a $1.5 billion daydream worth your $2?
Have you bought your ticket yet? It almost goes without saying that the ticket in question is not for a train, plane or concert. For the second time this year, the country is gripped in lottery fever. Saturday’s multi-state Powerball jackpot will top $1.5 billion and might climb even higher...
Editorial: Why we don’t endorse political candidates
Endorsements are the way some organizations or individuals show their support for a candidate. A popular governor could throw his weight behind someone running for mayor. A major union can advocate for a legislative candidate. It’s all very familiar because of how often it happens. Frequently, endorsements can come with...
Editorial: The curious case of the missing manhole
You can fill a hole. You can fall in a hole. Climb into one, dig one, cover one up. But how do you lose a hole? You could ask the Harmar supervisors. The township’s contractor, Mele & Mele & Sons, appears to have buried a manhole that allows repair crew...
Editorial: Shuman closing failed kids in 2021 and continues to do so
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has drawn a line between the closing of Allegheny County’s Shuman Juvenile Detention Center in September 2021 and a rising tide of violent crime. “We should have never closed Shuman without a plan,” Gainey said during a news conference related to a triple homicide Oct. 15...
