Editorials category, Page 72
Editorial: With Brewster’s victory, let the people’s business commence
State Sen. Jim Brewster once more has been sworn in to office. On Wednesday morning, the Democrat from McKeesport finally took his oath to represent the people of the 45th District in the Pennsylvania Senate for his third term. He is the last to do so after the incredibly close...
Editorial: Covid complications must be taken seriously
Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes isn’t an old man. He doesn’t have a long list of the kind of health problems that can make it easier to get sick — things like diabetes or heart disease. He isn’t obese. He is young, healthy and hard to keep down. But that...
Editorial: The opioid crisis has not gone anywhere
It sometimes seems like the coronavirus pandemic devoured every other problem, leaving nothing in its wake. While it is hard to find a news story — whether health or politics, local government or education — that doesn’t have the word “covid” in it somewhere, that isn’t what happened. Instead of...
Editorial: Make electronics disposal cheap and easy
We live in a very garbage-heavy world. People throw away everything and do it without thinking much about it. Paper plates and plastic straws and the boxes and bags that package them. The jars and cans that hold food. Baby diapers and cardboard and banana peels and coffee grounds and...
Editorial: Making companies immune from misconduct is sick
When we think about immunity, we usually think about being resistant to a disease. Immunity is the ability to shrug off an infection, to ignore a virus. It’s an idea that has occupied us for much of the last year. The possibility of being immune to covid-19 because of having...
Laurels & lances: Good taste, goodbye, good sense
Laurel: To a recognition in good taste. Tessaro’s in Bloomfield is well known for burgers as big in flavor as they are in size. J&J’s Family Restaurant in Mt. Washington is the kind of diner that feels like visiting a favorite aunt’s house, sipping coffee from mismatched mugs. The two...
Editorial: An assault on the American system
The U.S. Capitol is the cathedral of government in the United States. Since 1793, it has been where the laws that shape our nation were baptized. Where treaties were blessed. Where solemn acts of war were confirmed. While we separate our churches from the state, the Capitol with its awe-inspiring...
Editorial: Another Harrisburg mudfest that didn’t have to happen
What happened in Harrisburg on Tuesday didn’t have to happen. The question of who exactly won the 45th District seat in the Pennsylvania Senate is not a question that just came up. It was not a surprise. It has been an ongoing issue since the Nov. 3 election, when incumbent...
Editorial: Mourning the loss of Rep. Mike Reese, a dedicated public servant
If you drive around Westmoreland County, you might think that Mike Reese was running for the state House of Representatives again. The green-and-white signs promoting support for him have popped up again like mushrooms. This time they aren’t about swaying a vote in the November election, which he won for...
Editorial: Is turnpike toll increase gap unfair?
January is here. It’s time for that special ritual of the new year. Not the swearing in of new elected officials. Not signing up for a gym or diet plan to pursue a resolution that could wither by February. No, in the Keystone State, there is something that happens every...
Editorial: Why is vaccine distribution slowed?
The federal government planned for 20 million coronavirus vaccinations by the end of 2020. That has proved to be a bit of an overestimation. The actual totals of about 3 million “certainly are not at the numbers we wanted to be at the end of December,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said...
Laurels & lances of 2020
Laurel: To a life lived in service to others. On the last day of 2020, Pennsylvania lost a bedrock political figure. Dick Thornburgh, a two-term governor of Pennsylvania and U.S. attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, died at the age of 88. He left behind a legacy of work...
Editorial: Prioritizing problems for 2021
It’s 2021! Everything is going to change, right? Well, let’s not put too much pressure on the healing power of flipping a page on a calendar. The New Year is definitely a time of hope and optimism. Even when things are good, there’s something about New Year’s Day that just...
Editorial: The scary year that was 2020
The Tribune-Review editorial from Jan. 1, 2020, could have been prophecy. The headline has proven to be an undeniable truth: “2020 promises wild ride.” “If 2019 seemed like a roller coaster, hurtling to the peak of one local, state, national or global event after another before veering wildly off in...
Editorial: Parks are needed. So is funding.
Pittsburgh City Council voted 6-3 on Monday to start collecting a new property tax in the coming year. It isn’t a tax that will be a surprise. Pittsburghers voted for the 0.5-mill dedicated increase in 2019. The council is simply moving forward with the plans to collect and then use...
Editorial: The pandemic lesson of a Steelers game
Oh, the life lessons we can learn from football — even in a year when sports have been so up in the air. Football is just a game. Sometimes that’s true. But Hollywood seems to recognize the ability of sports to act as a kind of parable for the way...
Editorial: Pittsburgh police leaders show serious commitment to reforms
Pittsburgh police Chief Scott Schubert says he is committed to doing better. That is the place every improvement should start. Now seems to be the perfect time for such a commitment. After all, the new year is just days away. “We’re always evolving, always striving to be better,” Schubert said...
Editorial: The PIAA can’t dodge the Right to Know Law
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association is not a simple, powerless recreation organization. It is more than a club. To pretend otherwise seems like it should demand a flag on the play from an impartial referee of some kind. The call might be termed “offsides.” The specifics of being offsides vary...
Editorial: Restaurants need multiple lifelines to survive the pandemic
There is something about eating at a restaurant that is so different from eating at home. Maybe, it is a special occasion. Maybe, it’s a chance to catch up with friends Friday night. Maybe, Mom just wants a break. Whatever the motivation, the reason we gravitate to these public tables...
Editorial: Never too late for covid investigation tools
The state of Pennsylvania announced Monday a new “digital case investigation tool” is launching. The tool will let state residents between 19 and 64 years old who live in counties that don’t have county or local health departments help trace covid-19 contacts. It’s a good development. If the Pfizer and...
Editorial: Learn from the 1st covid relief package
As leaders in Washington come to a new coronavirus relief plan, it would seem the old one had been exhausted. The money allotted to help people through the pandemic was long since spent, right? Wrong. While some of the most obvious chunks — such as the stimulus checks sent in...
Editorial: The hopeful light of Scarlett’s Sunshine
Scarlett Lillian Pauley should be building snowmen and chattering about the holidays. She should be struggling with pandemic homeschooling. She should be asking a million questions. But in 2017, the Pittsburgh toddler died at just 16 months old. There was no obvious disease to blame or tragic accident to hold...
Editorial: Bishop-elect Larry Kulick, a shepherd who knows his flock
Whenever someone comes into a new position, there is usually a learning curve. We don’t expect Monsignor Larry Kulick will have that with his new role. On Friday, Pope Francis named him the new bishop of the Greensburg Diocese. He already knows the mechanics of the office. He has been...
Editorial: North Huntingdon hurts its residents by defying state covid mandates
Pennsylvania municipalities have a lot of responsibility. They are where the rubber meets the governmental road. They plow the streets. They keep the buildings safe and the parks welcoming. They provide dozens of small services residents might never even realize exist and yet would be sorely missed if they disappeared....
Laurels & lances: Shots, lockdown and cops
Laurel: To first steps. The fight against the coronavirus pandemic took a giant leap forward this week. UPMC began administering the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to health care workers. Five of the hospital system’s employees took the shot Monday in a livestreamed event, much like those held around the U.S. This isn’t...
