Editorials category, Page 28
Editorial: Another game of chicken as House averts shutdown, for now
With two funding bills passed just under the wire, the House under Speaker Mike Johnson has ensured that the federal government won’t run out of operating funds until … March 1 and March 8, depending on the agency. His right flank, predictably, was not happy. We suppose it’s better than...
Editorial: Innovative programs are best pitch for universities
There are just under 6,000 postsecondary schools in the United States. Almost 4,000 are degree-granting institutions — the kind of school you would pick if you want to leave with an associate degree in two years or a bachelor’s degree in four. The others are where you might choose for...
Editorial: Tearing down the old Tree of Life is a chance to rebuild memories
The building that stood at the corner of Wilkins and Shady avenues in Squirrel Hill was part of countless beautiful memories over 66 years. While the history of Jewish worship in Pittsburgh begins its story in the 19th century, it was in the wake of World War II that a...
Trudy Rubin: If Israel is accused of genocide, why not Russia?
If Israel is being charged with genocide at the International Court of Justice, why isn’t Russia? This is a question I find very troubling, as do some of my readers. Despite harsh critiques of the civilian carnage in Gaza caused by Israel’s bombs — of which I have written my...
Editorial: Westmoreland officials’ pay increase, workers’ strike notice are predictable problem
Westmoreland County officials cannot be surprised by employees bristling over contract negotiations. Aside from the four-year contract expiring Dec. 31 and stalled negotiations, there is the fact that many employees have been dealing with increased work and shorter staff for years. These are problems that might have come into the...
Laurels & lances: Looking out and letting down
Laurel: To recycling. Everyone knows it’s better to reuse than to let something go to waste. That’s not just true of paper and plastic. It also applies to technology. On a visit to Acrisure Stadium, Leechburg Area School District security guard Mike Kapustik noticed there were unused metal detectors in...
Editorial: Mike Tomlin should punt the pettiness and petulance
A coach is someone who gives instruction. Coaches train. They teach. They help make people better. The simple arithmetic of wins and losses shows the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin is a good coach. He joined the organization in 2007. In that time, he has amassed two Super Bowl appearances with...
Editorial: Are passengers, airports served by JetBlue-Spirit ruling?
In April 2022, JetBlue Airways decided to make a bid for Spirit Airlines. The move came after Frontier Airlines attempted a merger. Three months later, Frontier walked away, leaving JetBlue as the only remaining suitor. This was a big deal, but it left some worried about what it meant going...
Editorial: Pittsburgh’s Sports Facility Usage tax needs to be fair
Pittsburgh’s sports arenas can be expensive to visit. Average ticket price at Acrisure Stadium to see the Steelers play? About $120. Want to see the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena? Average there is around $224, depending on where you buy your tickets. The Pirates are downright cheap; while the lowest...
Editorial: What is your dream?
When we think about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as we do on the January holiday that celebrates him each year, the words of his most famous speech are the ones that most easily come to mind. “I have a dream,” he thundered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial...
Editorial: Federal death penalty and the journey toward justice
The journey toward justice for the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was a slow crawl. It took five long years to journey from a house of worship in Squirrel Hill to the federal courthouse on Grant Street. In June 2023, Robert Bowers was found guilty on all 63 counts...
Editorial: Pennsylvania will flood with campaign cash in 2024
We knew it was coming. The 2024 election year was bound to be some rough weather for Pennsylvania. It’s a presidential year, after all, which means national campaign funds and political action committee money will fall like rain. Presidential years also mean state and federal representatives will be on the...
Laurels & lances: Problems and power
Laurel: To seeking solutions. Many post-secondary schools in Pennsylvania and nationwide are dealing with the challenges of falling enrollment. It comes as institutions compete with each other for students and as those students struggle with the crushing financial burden of tuition and debt. So it doesn’t come as a surprise...
Editorial: Rustic Ridge carries on
It can be hard to move forward after a tragedy. There is a kind of triage aspect. Address the actual problem in front of us. Take care of what is happening right now. That is the priority. It has to be. That is what happened with Rustic Ridge. The priority...
Editorial: Will hotter housing market help renters?
Real estate experts are hoping to see an uptick in the housing market in 2024. Not a boom, but more of a bump. The region’s home sales were down in 2023. According to Dennis A. Cestra Jr., president of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland,...
Editorial: Astrobotic launch is next step for space program in Pittsburgh
In 1962, when President John F. Kennedy spoke at Rice University in Houston, Texas, challenging Americans to go to the moon, he used the timeline of advancement to make his argument. Compress human history’s accomplishments to just 50 years, and you could see how quickly things moved, he rhapsodized. “Only...
Editorial: Hydrogen isn’t clean if it adds to climate pollution. Biden’s rules are a good start
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed by President Joe Biden more than a year ago, is a game-changing law that invests hundreds of billions of dollars to fight climate change and boost renewable energy. It includes lucrative tax credits aimed at making it cheaper to produce clean hydrogen, which are expected...
Editorial: A new year, a new chance to get involved
In January of presidential years, there is a turnover of authority. It doesn’t happen in Washington, where everyone is far too focused on the White House or which U.S. Senate seats are up for grabs. The U.S. House of Representatives — where all seats are up at once — becomes...
Editorial: The ups and downs of Westmoreland pay raises
Westmoreland County has cut a new deal with its lawyers. The county salary board approved the four-year agreement Tuesday. It starts new attorneys at $65,000 a year. Lawyers hired in 2023 would be likewise adjusted. More senior lawyers would see comparable salary increases, according to human resources director Alexis Bevan....
Laurels & lances: Hello, goodbye, God bless
Laurel: To a fresh start. So many people start out Jan. 1 with the intent to be a whole new person. The only people who really accomplish that are the babies born after midnight. “New Year, new me!” actually applies to Jonathan Mrockosky and Emily Hibling’s daughter Madison, who showed...
Lori Falce: Minimum wage, self-worth and pizza
My first job was babysitting. In 1983, at 12 years old, I made $5 an hour. Minimum wage in Pennsylvania was $3.35 at the time. By the time I was 15, I had a regular client that paid $10 an hour plus pizza. Minimum wage hadn’t budged. When I had...
Editorial: Cybersecurity is important to infrastructure
Infrastructure is one of those words that we think we know. Then something happens that shows us infrastructure is a lot bigger and a lot more complicated than we believed. When a bridge falls in Pittsburgh on the morning the president is due to visit for an infrastructure speech, that...
Editorial: Keep track of your gun or face the consequences
There is only so much you can rely upon people to do for themselves — especially when it’s clear they aren’t doing it. Given the opportunity, people will drive their cars faster than the speed limit. To address that, we have speeding tickets that make it expensive to ignore the...
Editorial: Humans over machines — New York Times seeks to protect journalism in suing OpenAI, Microsoft
The New York Times is not content to let OpenAI and Microsoft get rich using the newspaper’s web content for artificial intelligence like ChatGPT without paying and sued this week in federal court. We don’t know if the pun on the word “content” is particularly funny or if an AI...
Editorial: Who owns Pennsylvania’s historical records?
Pennsylvania’s history is frequently bigger than the state. From the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia to the sweeping battlefields of Gettysburg to the remains of Fort Pitt in Pittsburgh, the Keystone State is a rich cache of evidence of what came before. But it isn’t all buildings and...
