Editorials category, Page 25
Editorial: 10 years after Franklin Regional attack, school violence still needs treatment
On April 9, 2014, Franklin Regional High School became part of a club no one wants join: the locations of school violence. Alex Hribal was 16 that day. He showed up at school that Wednesday morning dressed in black. Minutes before classes began, the attack began. Like all such attacks,...
Editorial: Can dual enrollment solve college cost problem?
All conversations about college tend to boil down to the same problem: It just costs too much. The average cost of one year in college is about $19,000. That puts Pitt and Penn State in that arena. As state related but not state run, they are high for public schools...
Laurels & lances: Baseball and social media
Laurel: To kicking things off. It’s here. The start of the Major League Baseball season. All across the country — and Toronto — people are getting psyched for the boys of summer to start playing ball. Pittsburgh Pirates fans have an uncharacteristic reason to be enthusiastic. In a normal year,...
Editorial: Government meetings should be accessible
Public meetings are meant to be public. Government isn’t supposed to happen in offices away from the eyes of the people. Oh, sure, much of the execution of government has to happen that way, but the decision making and the discussions? That has to happen where people can see. That’s...
Editorial: Railway Safety Act shouldn’t be derailed
The rules that make us safer always follow the examples of how safe we are not. In 1911, 146 people — 123 of them women and girls — died in Manhattan when the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burned. It remains one of the deadliest industrial accidents in American history, but it...
Editorial: Is now the time for solar in Western Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania has been defined by energy for years — from the first oil derrick in the U.S. to widespread coal production to the natural gas reservoirs of the Marcellus shale. But solar energy doesn’t seem synonymous with the often-overcast Keystone State. Will that change with recent proposals? The Pennsylvania Solar...
Editorial: Asleep at the controls: As Boeing bosses leave, scrutiny must continue
After an embarrassing and potentially dangerous bungling atop of the iconic American aerospace company, culminating in the grounding of hundreds of aircraft following a door plug blowing off a 737 MAX 9 mid-flight, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is stepping down. Also heading for the exits are Board Chair Larry Kellner...
Editorial: Easter and the traditions that celebrate joy
Happy Easter. Today, as you prepare to go to church or visit family or make dinner, let’s take a moment to think about the value of tradition. These are the customs that connect us to our past. The ham on your table may be more than a main dish. It...
Editorial: Congressman’s bridge comments embarrass Pennsylvania
There are few things that really unite Pennsylvania. It’s a state that is both Democrat and Republican. It is rural and urban, chipped ham and cheesesteaks. It is Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and everything in between. If you can imagine an election in which Pennsylvania goes overwhelmingly in one direction or...
Laurels & lances: Recusal and responsibility
Laurel: To fair consideration. A Westmoreland County judge has agreed to consider removing himself from the case of a former police officer accused of lying. Ryan Matthew Clark, 33, of Buffalo Township is a former Arnold cop who was arrested in 2022 by county detectives and charged with filing a...
Editorial: The lessons of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Baltimore bridges
Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge is a twisted mass of metal in the Patapsco River today after a cargo vessel plowed into a support column. Video shows the incident in the dark hours of Tuesday morning like a slow motion scene in a disaster movie as the structure fell down...
Editorial: Is the Regional Youth Services Center ready to open?
After eight months of closed doors, the Regional Youth Services Center in Hempfield is reopening. The Westmoreland County juvenile detention facility was shuttered after a series of troubling state inspections, including one involving a teenager’s attempted suicide. There was a near riot. There were poorly trained employees — in addition...
Editorial: Allegheny County DA Zappala needs to break his silence in Upper St. Clair man’s officer-involved shooting
There are times that it makes sense for prosecutors to be guarded about what they disclose and how they disclose it. A victim’s name may not be released until the family has been notified. That delay is understandable. A key detail of a crime might be kept back as the...
Editorial: Pa. taxpayers have many problems. A flat tax is one
A graduated income tax — one that collects a higher percentage of earnings from the wealthy than from those who bring home smaller paychecks — is more fair than a flat tax for an obvious reason. People with lower incomes, those most likely to be living paycheck to paycheck, spend...
Editorial: Questions about hydrant in Jeannette fire require answers
You need water every day. We drink it. We cook with it. We bathe in it, wash our clothes with it, brush our teeth with it. But we also tend to take it for granted. We think about it most when it’s in short supply — when tasked with boil-water...
Editorial: Is lack of reassessment a county problem, or is it Pennsylvania’s fault?
Pittsburgh Public Schools needs more money. For school districts, there are few ways to do that. The one consistent revenue stream is property taxes, which means the easiest way to boost income is raising taxes. But why is that necessary? Yes, the cost of living goes up all the time,...
Laurels & lances: March Madness edition
Laurel: To sweet victory. In a city filled with colleges and sports teams, it can be hard to stand out. The Duquesne Dukes are doing just that. It started with the Atlantic 10 championship in New York City, as the Dukes took the crown. The 57-51 win over Virginia Commonwealth...
Editorial: Firefighters show up when it matters most
If you want to know why it is important to support emergency services, look to Jeannette. At 12:02 a.m. Wednesday, the first call came in about a fire with entrapment on Guy Street. Jack Mull was a neighbor who made the call after he stepped out for a cigarette and...
Editorial: Allegheny County can continue to sue Allegheny County
Allegheny County council is suing the county government over a five-year contract with Adelphoi to reopen and operate Shuman Juvenile Detention Center. Why? Because the contract was entered into by former county Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Under the county’s Home Rule Charter, the executive can do that for services the county...
Editorial: Westmoreland County needs to learn more lessons about pay
Westmoreland County has realized that employees are valuable. What was it that drove this home to the commissioners and the salary board — and other departments within the county government? Was it the critical shortages among essential areas like the jail and Westmoreland Manor nursing home? Was it the challenges...
Editorial: No waiting line for vets’ care
Plastics. Paint. Petroleum. Metals. Munitions. Medical waste. All of these and more were set aflame and disposed of in open-air pits used by the U.S. military in its Iraq and Afghanistan operations. Too often, members of the armed services served downwind of the airborne hazards created by this wartime waste...
Editorial: Westmoreland overdose deaths show changing numbers, familiar problem
Accidental overdose fatalities are down in Westmoreland County. On Thursday, Coroner Tim Carson released the data for deaths in 2023. The news overall is good. The number of people who died due to accidentally ingesting too many drugs fell from 118 to just 95. That’s an almost 20% drop, and...
Editorial: The dollars and sense of the Mon Incline
There are certain fixtures that simply define their city. For Paris, it’s the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. For Washington, there are the White House and the Capitol and the monuments on the mall. For Philadelphia, it’s the Liberty Bell, the LOVE sculpture and the steps of the...
Laurels & lances: Water and bugs
Laurel: To getting back to normal. In November, Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County notified some customers about water restrictions. The move came because of low levels at Beaver Run Reservoir. Drought conditions across the region meant the reservoir was not being replenished by rain, and the amount of water to...
Editorial: Is Westmoreland County a sanctuary or not?
Is Westmoreland County a sanctuary for undocumented individuals? It seems unlikely to anyone who knows much about the county’s politics. Republicans make up just over 50% of the county’s 245,290 voters. That might be just over half, but it’s still 13% more than the Democrats. Unaffiliated and “other” voters who...
