Editorials category, Page 39
Editorial: Biden administration must designate Fogel as wrongfully detained
It was March 29 when Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg, Russia, charged with espionage and held in a foreign prison. On April 10, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined the journalist was wrongfully detained. It took just 12 days. Teacher Marc Fogel of Oakmont...
Laurels & lances: Negotiated security and serious pranks
Laurel: To a summer tradition. Kennywood will be open. No, don’t check your zipper. Just rest assured that the West Mifflin amusement park will operate as usual this summer. There were questions about that in March when Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said he would go to...
Editorial: Figure out the source for state police fund money first
The idea of a dedicated fund to support the state police is a perfect illustration of Pennsylvania’s ongoing governmental challenges. Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to pay the annual bill for the agency — about $1.4 billion — by replacing the $500 million or so that comes from the Motor License...
Editorial: Should judges be allowed to prevent death penalty cases in Pennsylvania?
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani no longer plans on seating a death-penalty jury for cases brought to trial. Capital punishment technically is something that could happen in Pennsylvania. It’s a penalty that is on the books. It is used only for first-degree murder but requires...
Editorial: Clarence Thomas situation shows why Harrisburg needs gift ban
If you want to know why a gift ban is important, look no further than U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. On Thursday, a ProPublica investigation outlined years of travel and generosity from Texas real estate billionaire Harlan Crow to Thomas, who has sat on the country’s highest court since...
Editorial: Public School Employees Retirement System meter keeps running
When school districts send tax bills, they should include a notice of how much they pay to the scandal-plagued Public School Employees Retirement System. Due to PSERS’ history of limited transparency and mismanagement, legislative malpractice and financial practices for the benefit of the finance industry, each of 500 Pennsylvania school...
Editorial: A day of celebration and faith
Today is a day of faith. It is, in fact, about more than one faith. For many, even most, in the United States, today is Easter Sunday. It is the most important holy day to Christians around the globe, celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus. For the Jewish community, it falls...
Editorial: Pa. Legislature should see Tennessee expulsions as cautionary tale
The Pennsylvania Legislature is no stranger to dissension. The state isn’t Democratic or Republican, after all. It isn’t even a muddled, muted purple. It is a patchwork of red and blue by county and city. That pattern is repeated in the House and Senate chambers. And that can lead to...
Laurels & lances: Hot dogs, high fees and hoaxes
Laurel: To responding to the faithful. This year, two important events coincide for Catholic sports fans in the Greater Pittsburgh area: The Pirates’ home opener falls on Good Friday. This left a dilemma. Do you observe the papal direction to not eat meat on the holy day of obligation? Or...
Editorial: Is there another solution for Medicaid and CHIP enrollment?
On April 1, the continuous enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP programs came to an end. Continuous enrollment came from the Families First Coronavirus Act, a federal measure passed in March 2020 to help Americans cope with the challenges of the covid-19 pandemic. A major factor was making sure people who...
Editorial: Campaign finance reform is part of election security
Tightening rules on elections has been a hot topic in recent years. It’s an idea that has gotten top-down attention. Donald Trump brought heat to it with questions about the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. It has been picked up by leaders in state governments, including state Sen. Doug Mastriano,...
Editorial: Fetterman’s depression care should lead to more mental health openness
“And that was the start of a downward spiral,” U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said. The Braddock Democrat was speaking to CBS journalist Jane Pauley in a “Sunday Morning” interview. The nationally televised interview was just two days after Fetterman’s discharge from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he spent...
Editorial: Make E-ZPass easier for low-income drivers
The Pennsylvania Turnpike was created under a simple concept: Drivers would pay tolls, and the revenue would be used to pay for operations, construction and maintenance. Instead, state lawmakers have used the turnpike to generate money for the government, forcing it since 2007 to borrow $450 million a year for...
Editorial: Norfolk Southern lawsuits are necessary enforcement of railroad’s promises
Norfolk Southern was hit with a lawsuit Thursday. The U.S. Department of Justice filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in reaction to the Feb. 3 train derailment near East Palestine. Some train cars held hazardous materials, including the chemical vinyl chloride. The spilled...
Editorial: Reporter arrested in Russia should remind White House of Marc Fogel
Evan Gershkovich has been arrested in Russia. A Wall Street Journal reporter, he is charged with espionage. It is the first time Russia, as the nation it is today, has arrested an American journalist. Many outlets point to the 1986 arrest of U.S. News & World Report journalist Nicholas Daniloff,...
Laurels & lances: Service and sentencing
Laurel: To honoring the past. Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the last American troops leaving Vietnam. In Pittsburgh, that date was remembered with a Vietnam Veterans Day service at the memorial on the North Shore. It was a reminder of not just a date in the past but of...
Editorial: Pain, panic and fear: the fallout of a faked school shooting report
How dare you? This short sentence — equal parts earnest question, alarmed utterance and angry interjection — is directed at the person or persons, organization or movement behind computer-generated “swatting” calls made Wednesday reporting active shooter situations. Allegheny County 911 received calls about Central Catholic and Oakland Catholic. Both schools...
Editorial: Is Zappala holding Kennywood to a higher standard than other shooting scenes?
Gun violence has become common to the point of being mundane. In Allegheny County, the crime level has drawn concern from the community, businesses, law enforcement and politicians. Shootings bleed together, becoming hard to separate from one another. There were 119 homicides in Allegheny County in 2022, most attributed to...
Editorial: The balance between colleges and communities — and the quest for responsibility
There has always been a complicated relationship between colleges and the communities where they are located. The schools are economic engines that drive employment and business. At the same time, they can drive real estate prices out of local reach or create law enforcement issues with problems like binge drinking...
Editorial: Is Westmoreland County GOP being fair to all candidates?
Why would a candidate not be expected to support his own campaign? Westmoreland County commissioner candidate Paul Kosko of Hempfield hasn’t gotten in line with the county Republican Committee, and it is costing him his involvement in the party. In February, the committee announced its endorsement of a full slate...
Editorial: Ethics should be top priority for every candidate
Ethics are the set of principles that steer someone’s actions. Sometimes they are easy to follow because they are clearly spelled out. Sometimes they are harder to navigate because they are vague suggestions of morality rather than hard-and-fast rules. There are different definitions for different jobs. The ethics of an...
Laurels & lances: Riding and parking
Laurel: To getting feedback. When it comes to providing services to the public, it’s important to know what people are going to need or want. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of time, money and resources. The Westmoreland Transit Authority addressed that Tuesday with a public input session to talk with...
Editorial: Justice, compassion and the lesson of 2 mothers
The justice system is all about scales. They tip. They balance. They measure. They determine who is guilty. They weigh out the punishment. But they are often skewed toward retribution. Courts struggle with calculating the entirety of a crime’s gravity. It is understandable. How do you measure the impact of...
Editorial: Does mandatory death penalty for cop killers make sense?
On Friday, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office filed a notice that it would seek the death penalty for Johnathan Morris. Morris, 31, is charged with criminal homicide, attempted homicide, assault of a law enforcement officer, murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault and carrying a firearm without a...
Editorial: What is the value of tradition in deer hunting?
The start of deer season is not just a date on the calendar. It is a lot more complicated than that. It involves the science behind how deer move and feed, where they live and when they breed. It is part of a management process that looks to keep a...
