Featured Commentary category, Page 17
Kelley Shepherd: We are not the waste — a DSP’s plea to protect Medicaid
Since 2008, I’ve worked as a direct support professional (DSP). In this work, I’ve witnessed miracles — small ones, daily — that show what people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism (ID/A) can achieve when they’re given a fair chance and real support. I remember someone with a traumatic...
Brian C. Rittmeyer: Penn State branch campuses provide more than memories
There’s a beaver plushie on my nightstand, and a glass bottle of Coke from 1990 in my living room. What do these two unusual — and one, advisably undrinkable — things have in common? Penn State branch campuses. More importantly, for me, the memories attached to them. And now that...
Cal Thomas: Bad political theater in Newark
Political theater extends back to the Greeks. William Shakespeare wrote about politics in “Coriolanus” and other plays. A personal favorite of mine was “Fiorello!,” a 1959 musical about New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. What happened in Newark last week was political theater at its worst. New Jersey Democratic Reps....
Alisa E. Harris: State funding is reducing violence and supporting youth — we must keep it going
Pennsylvania is home to more YMCAs than any other state in the nation — more than 700,000 Pennsylvanians are members of their local YMCA, and an additional 180,000 people participate in YMCA programs each year. It is hard to overstate the positive impact a YMCA has on a community —...
Ed Beck: Independent vets locked out of Pa. primaries
Consider this situation. A Pennsylvanian devotes over three decades to military service, most of it in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Along the way, he earns multiple degrees and becomes a management consultant, a college professor and an entrepreneur. He’s played by the rules, served his country and contributed to...
Jeff Kupfer: Hydrogen future begins in Western Pa. — if we seize it
Western Pennsylvania helped build America’s energy backbone. Now, we stand at the edge of another turning point – one where the region can once again lead, this time by investing in clean hydrogen technologies that power the future and support our workers, manufacturers, or communities. Let’s be clear: This isn’t...
A.J. Bauer: NPR and PBS aren’t threats. They’re treasures.
When President Donald Trump signed an executive order cutting federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, he was right about one thing: We do live in a moment of media abundance. But his market-based notion of abundance fundamentally misunderstands the purpose of public broadcasting, which is...
Mark Gongloff: Pope Leo XIV might be the climate champion we need
In picking a new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, the Vatican had a chance to honor the late Pope Francis’ legacy as the greenest pope in modern history. In choosing the American (and Peruvian) Cardinal Robert Prevost — henceforth known as Pope Leo XIV — his fellow cardinals...
Point: Deception and destruction — Musk and DOGE’s real goal
Waste, fraud and abuse. These are the seemingly magic words the world’s richest man incants to justify the chainsaw he’s taking to our government in the form of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). However, as Elon Musk steps back to a part-time role, the question remains: Were these words...
Counterpoint: DOGE’s swift but not-so-terrible sword
Critics swing between accusing the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of overreach and declaring it a failure at cutting government. Here are some reality checks: DOGE-like efforts are not new. George H.W. Bush’s Council on Competitiveness was created to ease regulatory burdens. Led by Vice President Dan Quayle,...
Stuart Fisk: Medical professionals respond to call for higher dose naloxone
While well-intentioned, Scott L. Bohn’s op-ed “Equipping first responders for the age of synthetic opioids” (April 28, TribLive) calling for expanded use of high dose and long-lasting opioid overdose reversal agents misstates the need for these products and ignores current research and best practices for reversing opioid overdoses. The consensus...
Matt Shorraw: Medicaid, CHIP, environmental justice must be legislative priorities
As budget negotiations continue in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania lawmakers are faced with a defining decision: Will they protect the health and dignity of millions, or allow devastating federal cuts to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to take hold? This choice isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet —...
Greg Fulton: Remembering the Steelers’ ‘Tuskegee Airmen in cleats’
It’s 50 years ago when the Steelers had a string of years, 1975 to 1980, where most experts would say they had the best defense in the NFL, and some might assert the best in the game’s history. This defense, known as the Steel Curtain, was a major reason the...
Robert F. Powelson: Pittsburgh’s water woes — why slamming the door on private solutions is a bad idea
Pittsburgh, you have a problem. A water problem. And City Council is flirting with a permanent decision that could make it a whole lot worse by asking voters to ban any future partnerships with regulated, private water companies. This referendum is shortsighted and ignores the reality of the city’s crumbling...
Vincent Trometter: Trump needs Nippon Steel to win agenda
Vital toward reindustrializing the country, where our factory towns are revitalized, our ports are making new ships and the skylines of our cities grow higher, President Trump is seeking to correct President Joe Biden’s ill-sighted decision to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel. The idea has been in the...
Dan DeBone: Regional transit proposals warrant caution — and a seat at the table for Westmoreland County
In recent weeks, there has been growing conversation around potential legislation that would consolidate smaller, rural transit systems — such as our own Westmoreland County Transit Authority — into Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT). While no formal bill has been introduced, the concept alone is already drawing attention across Southwestern Pennsylvania....
Jason Richey: As conditions change, it’s time for administration to rethink the Nippon-U.S. Steel merger
The tallest building between New York and Chicago, the U.S. Steel Tower stands as a monument to Pittsburgh’s industrial past — and a reminder of what the future could be if our nation’s leaders step up for our manufacturing sector. Once the world’s largest steelmaker, U.S. Steel’s presence remains vital...
Cal Thomas: Faith and government
Last week, President Trump announced the establishment of a White House Faith Office. Its purpose, as described in a White House announcement, is to “… empower faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship to better serve families and communities.” Don’t they already have access to a higher power? There...
Sally C. Pipes: Insurers, bureaucrats shouldn’t deprive patients of lifesaving treatments
Imagine being told there’s a drug that might save your life — but your insurance won’t cover it for 18 months. That’s the reality for patients under a new policy from Independence Blue Cross, a Philadelphia-based insurer. The insurer announced earlier this year that it will delay coverage of therapies...
Daniel Porterfield and Saleem Ghubril: Our nation must prioritize investing in our greatest natural resource
People are every nation’s greatest natural resource. Growing and investing in that treasure ought to be every leader’s priority. Globally, the United States is in 131st place in terms of population growth (0.67% growth rate, according to CIA.gov). It is anticipated that we will be in negative territory by 2042,...
Jason W. Park: Overworked, underpaid and unappreciated: Sound familiar?
Americans are finding “nice work if you can get it” an increasingly unlikely scenario. Whether down on the farm or high atop the skyscraper, manufacturing goods or providing services, at Fortune 500 corporations or mom-and-pop stores, employing college graduates or tradespeople, Americans feel completely exhausted, unfairly compensated and totally expendable....
The Conversation: What it’s like to be a scientist whose funding has been cut
Editor’s note: The following is portions of an interview conducted by Gemma Ware, host of The Conversation Weekly podcast, about what it’s like to be a scientist whose funding has been cut by the Trump administration with Brady Thomas West, a research professor of survey and data science at the...
Charles J. Russo: Court to decide if faith-based charter school a threat or necessity
As demonstrators gathered outside, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on April 30, 2025, about whether Oklahoma can operate the nation’s first faith-based charter school. St. Isidore of Seville would be a virtual, K-12 school run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. Charters...
Dr. William Dailey: Penn State abandoning its people
The 30 pieces of silver have already changed hands. Pilate has washed his palms, pretending neutrality. And the die has been cast. That’s what it feels like as a Pennsylvanian watching Penn State turn its back on the very communities that built it, funded it and depended on it. I’m...
Adrian Wooldridge: The arc of history does not simply bend toward justice
Ronald Reagan was wrong. The nine most terrifying words in the English language are not “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” They are: “The arc of the moral universe bends towards justice.” This is a pretty phrase that was invented by a good person, Theodore Parker, and...
