Editorials category, Page 34
Editorial: Fracking study points to health costs
Enthusiastic gas-drilling advocates in the Legislature long have fallen over themselves in their haste to get out of the industry’s way. Their zeal, for most of two decades, included a prohibition on using public money to conduct studies on the industry’s public health impact. Former Gov. Tom Wolf finally commissioned...
Editorial: WVU walkout has lessons for Pennsylvania colleges, leaders
Pennsylvania colleges, please take note of what happened Monday at West Virginia University. Hundreds of students at West Virginia’s top public school staged a walkout protest of a slate of proposed cuts announced Aug. 11. The problem is a significant budget gap. The university is trying to make up for...
Editorial: Police need right support to deal with mental health calls
Robbie Thomas Saunders, 59, was shot and killed July 2 by a Ligonier Valley police officer. Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced July 21 that the use of deadly force was justified. That was bolstered when police released the body camera footage, which showed Saunders coming out of his...
Editorial: Safety, security and sealing juror lists
The Tribune-Review has long argued that the names of jurors be treated as what they are: public records. Jurors are the most important part of a criminal trial. While lawyers and judges might believe otherwise, that distinction is undeniably held by the 12 people who are the primary audience for...
Editorial: People of Plum deserve honesty, transparency in explosion investigation
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the explosion on Rustic Ridge Drive in Plum that claimed the lives of six people and destroyed three homes, damaging others. It should. This is a scary proposition for more than people on one loop of one development in one municipality. It’s...
Editorial: Proposed U.S. Steel buyout could be next chapter of Pittsburgh history
The history of the steel industry in America can’t be written without Southwestern Pennsylvania. Sure, iron was mined and smelted before Andrew Carnegie built his first mill here in 1875. It was even made in Pittsburgh, the intersection of ore to craft, coal to burn and the rivers for transportation....
Laurels & lances: Getting answers & giving help
Laurel: To a prime location. Everyone knew what should go at the 142-acre warehouse site near the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 70 in New Stanton. For months, speculation was rampant. It ended Wednesday when Westmoreland County officials confirmed that Amazon will be the new tenant. “This proves that corridor is...
Editorial: District attorney should hold press conferences, not stage flat substitutes
There is a difference between being open to a free and transparent exchange of information and the pretense of being open. It might seem like a semantic argument — unless you have ever watched a Looney Tunes cartoon. Being open is like a train tunnel. The pretense? That is the...
Editorial: Sydney Hovis should have dropped out before primary election
There are few hurdles to clear when running for a local or county office. Are you an adult? Are you a felon? With most positions, that’s about it. At the very least, that gets you to the next stage where you can circulate petitions and register your candidacy. It is...
Editorial: Plum house explosion response shows value of good neighbors
Sometimes the people who live near us are just people who happen to occupy the same street. We don’t open doors the way we once did. We don’t bring over a batch of cookies when someone moves in next door. But bad things have a way of bringing out the...
Editorial: Get budget passed before recess
The state Senate ended a needless 34-day delay in passing the state budget when Majority Leader Kim Ward, a Hempfield Republican, interrupted the chamber’s unduly long summer recess Aug. 2. Ward reconvened the chamber, which already had passed the budget, to enable Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, the Senate president, to...
Editorial: Breaking windows, lighting alleys and building better communities
In the classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Indiana native Jimmy Stewart throws stones at an abandoned house. Break a window and make a wish. Donna Reed’s character initially tries to stop him but gives in to the idea. That’s broken-window theory in a nutshell. Once windows start being broken,...
Editorial: Was Norwin School Board member’s free speech violated?
The latest volley in a back-and-forth battle between an elected official and a governing body is playing out in court. No, it doesn’t involve former President Donald Trump and the Justice Department. It isn’t about Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam and the Jail Oversight Board. It isn’t about any of...
Laurels & lances: Special elections and open bids
Laurel: To getting things done. The two sides in Harrisburg may have trouble getting things done, but they can be good at getting things set up on their own. The Allegheny County Democratic and Republican committees have picked their candidates to vie for the 21st District state House seat. That...
Editorial: Westmoreland County staffing shortages need decisive action
On Monday, Westmoreland County officials confirmed that state investigators had found multiple violations at the Regional Youth Services Center in Hempfield. The 16-bed juvenile detention center has been closed since June. Officials attributed to two reasons: state child welfare investigations and staffing shortages. Those reasons seem to be inextricably tied...
Editorial: Warden’s retirement is opportunity to improve performance
It is not surprising that, when coming to the end of a tenure, people tend to focus on the positives. Unless someone is getting fired, you look to the accomplishments more than the defeats. It is like an obituary. It seems only fitting to say goodbye with a bit of...
Editorial: Ohio GOP and Pa. Democrats playing similar game with amendments
In Pennsylvania, an amendment sits in committee that would raise the bar for elected officials to change the state’s constitution. Lawmakers have to vote on proposed amendments in the House and Senate before they are put on a ballot for voters to make a final decision. House Bill 125 asks...
Editorial: Dumping animals dumps responsibility on others
Animals in the wild deserve respect for their place in the environment. Animals in our care deserve the responsibility implied when taking them on. That means humane treatment of working animals or livestock. It also means that animals taken into the family as pets are treated with the same kind...
Editorial: Pennsylvania lawmakers can fix filing fee problem
Now is the time to get a divorce in Pennsylvania. Because of a failure of the state Legislature to pass legislation, a surcharge on court filings has lapsed. The $21.25 fee can’t be charged because the law authorizing it expired Aug. 1. Lawmakers haven’t passed new legislation that would pick...
Editorial: Pennsylvania politics’ annual game of chicken
On Thursday, Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward called her colleagues back to Harrisburg. It was a month after lawmakers left town with the state budget in limbo. It was passed but not signed. Sticking points remained amid a triangle of power between the narrowly Democratic House, the solidly...
Laurels & lances: Working together and online fundraising
Laurel: To working smart. Pennsylvania is a checkerboard of municipalities. That board is overlaid with other grids and maps and boundaries, outlining the divisions of authority and responsibility of hundreds of agencies. It’s a layering that can be criticized as unnecessarily complicated and potentially problematic. One of those arenas can...
Editorial: Pittsburgh synagogue verdict shines light on the enigmatic nature of justice
On Oct. 27, 2018, 11 people were killed in the largest, most savage act of antisemitism in American history. Rose Mallinger. Bernice Simon. Sylvan Simon. David Rosenthal. Cecil Rosenthal. Dan Stein. Irving Younger. Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz. Joyce Feinberg. Melvin Wax. Richard Gottfried. They were observant Jews worshipping with their three...
Editorial: Workforce development should have broad support
When establishing a business location, there are a number of factors to assess. Does this area have the infrastructure to support the company’s needs? Is there real estate that will accommodate things such as equipment, production and shipping? Is the state and local government supportive of the industry? Will there...
Editorial: Does a billion-dollar lottery jackpot make it hard to play responsibly?
For the second time in two weeks, there is a lottery jackpot topping $1 billion. The Mega Millions drawing will be $1.05 billion. It has grown steadily over 15 weeks, with drawings each Tuesday and Friday, as people pay $2 for each line of numbers printed on a small slip...
Editorial: Public really does have right to know
All four Democratic and Republican caucuses in the state House and Senate have staff lawyers, some of whom are paid more than $200,000 a year. Yet, lawmakers spend millions more public dollars to hire outside lawyers. Then senators, especially, thumb their nose at the taxpayers by refusing to disclose why...
