Editorials category, Page 40
Editorial: Shapiro hears Gideon’s trumpet
State capitals from Honolulu to Augusta, Maine, heard Gideon’s trumpet when the U.S. Supreme Court sounded it in 1963. But Harrisburg has remained deaf for 60 years to the clarion call to provide lawyers for indigent criminal defendants. The court ruled on March 18, 1963, in Gideon v. Wainwright. A...
Editorial: The educational insanity of March Madness
“It’s the best three weeks in basketball, Pennsylvania,” Gov. Josh Shapiro tweeted. It seems like just about everyone has caught the rabid athletic bug that sweeps across the country every year as winter turns to spring. Welcome to the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. The brackets come out with people...
Editorial: Will Norfolk Southern CEO’s response leave a bad taste?
“I said at the very beginning, ‘I want to do this and do things right today, tomorrow, a year from now, five years from now and 10 years from now,’ ” said Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw. Apparently part of doing things right is chugging a glass of tap water...
Laurels & lances: Communication and court
Laurel: To staying connected. On Jan. 2, the people of Harrison, Tarentum and Brackenridge were trying to follow what was happening with the manhunt for a wanted fugitive. Social media was lighting up with information — not all of it accurate. The day ended with the death of Brackenridge police...
Editorial: Should UPMC and other nonprofits worry about Tower Health ruling?
Tower Health might be the canary in the nonprofit coal mine. The Reading-area health system has four hospitals. It has joint ventures with Drexel University. It has about 11,500 employees and was ranked No. 8 in Pennsylvania by U.S. News & World Report in 2022. In 2020, it had total...
Editorial: Westmoreland GOP chair says lawsuits are about eliminating rivals
So what is up with the Westmoreland County commissioners’ race? The primary election that will decide the two Republicans and two Democrats who advance to the November general election still is two months away. While legal catfights over legitimacy have become the default in Pennsylvania politics, that seems like something...
Editorial: Oscar speech a reminder of imprisoned teacher Marc Fogel
On Sunday, in front of a glittering array of Hollywood luminaries and the eyes of millions, a documentary about a man unjustly held in a Russian prison was honored with an iconic golden statuette. In accepting the Oscar, “Navalny” director Daniel Roher stood alongside a team of others — including...
Editorial: Motor License Fund bill could mean decisions for municipalities
A Pennsylvania Senate bill would see state police get less money from a dedicated pool with a different purpose. The Motor License Fund is a coffer set up to collect money from various automotive-related sources. It is filled by things such as the 61-cent gas tax, a chunk of the...
Editorial: Let the sunshine in
To remind us all of the importance of open records, Right to Know Law and government conducting business in the bright light of day, a classic Trib editorial: Sunshine Week is an annual March observation that celebrates the importance of shedding light in the darkness. It might seem like a...
Editorial: Vandergrift missed learning opportunity with playgrounds
There is no greater lesson we can teach our kids than the importance of being involved in their communities. It’s important because we need children to step up to the plate. They need to be prepared for the day when they will be the voters and taxpayers. One day, they...
Laurels & lances: Fitness, finances, found
Laurel: To the gift of fitness. Firefighters need to stay in shape. They have to be physically able to haul hoses, climb ladders, carry incapacitated people, swing axes and do it all wearing almost 50 pounds of gear. You can’t do that without making exercise a priority. And so a...
Editorial: Zabel harassment shows common ground and political division
Most problems people encounter are not specific to one party or the other. Your house can burn down regardless of how you vote. You can lose your job or get bad news from the doctor without any relationship to politics. And you can be a victim of sexual harassment despite...
Editorial: Shapiro’s budget address encourages cooperation. Is it likely?
The governor’s budget address is a landmark of Pennsylvania government every year. At least it should be. More precisely, it is the first pitch in the baseball season of state politics. Ceremonial, it lays out goals that are not likely to have much relationship to the final budget. It is...
Editorial: Honest dialogue necessary to avoid repeating the 2023 Battle of Bushy Run
The Battle of Bushy Run reenactment has a little bit of whiplash. In January, the Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society was told the annual staging of the 1761 battle between British and Native American combatants could not take place. That was because of new guidelines instituted by the Pennsylvania Historical...
Editorial: Air and water testing is not just for disasters
When it comes to the environment, things can be a lot like the Reagan era saying about nuclear disarmament: trust but verify. Or sometimes distrust and verify. You cannot always see the particles in the air that make taking a breath a danger. You cannot always taste what makes the...
Editorial: New rules spell out obvious miss in House ethics
If Pennsylvania legislators ever wonder why they might not be seen as completely trustworthy, they need only to look to their track record of how they govern others versus how they govern themselves. The most infamous example is always the 2005 pay increase — passed at 2 a.m. without any...
Editorial: Transparency isn’t just valuable for bad government actions
A push for transparency is often associated with something people don’t like or don’t want. Something they would protest. Something that feels like a trick. It shouldn’t be. Transparency is just as important when it is something everyone agrees is the proper course of action. In fact, it might be...
Laurels & lances: Birthday, blast off, settlement
Laurel: To a major milestone. In 2023, Westmoreland County marks its 250th year. Commissioners kicked off the yearlong celebration Monday with the sweetest start to a birthday — cupcakes. It is just the beginning of a long list of activities expected in coming months. Among those is a public meeting...
Editorial: Teacher financial aid would fill state education needs
Pennsylvania needs teachers. The U.S. Census Bureau puts the number of children in the state at 20% of its population of 13 million. That’s more than 2.6 million. It has 500 public school districts with more than 3,200 individual schools. That doesn’t include charters, parochial schools, private schools, preschools or...
Editorial: The lessons of Mark Rozzi’s short-lived speakership
Mark Rozzi says he accomplished what he wanted as Pennsylvania’s speaker of the House of Representatives. That would be the two votes he oversaw last week, getting the House to pass its half of legislation that could lead to child sex abuse victims — like Rozzi — having a window...
Editorial: PennDOT sign cleanup shows slow response time
As the song goes: signs, signs, everywhere signs. Except in Gilpin. In Gilpin, signs were disappearing. Signs advertising restaurants. Signs advertising businesses. Signs on little metal legs, stuck into the ground near major roads. It was suspicious. These kinds of signs being removed isn’t unusual. It is just more typical...
Editorial: Youth voices bring new perspective to local government
There is a lot of conversation about getting young people involved. It usually refers to voting. Sometimes it hits on things like volunteering or reading the news — anything that gets youth interested and engaged in what is going on around them. What is less mentioned is participation in government...
Editorial: The burden of Pennsylvania taxes
It’s great to make the top half of a list. If you’re talking about public school test scores or high net income, that’s the place to be. Even on a more frivolous topic, you get a little thrill seeing your name at the head of the class. Pennsylvania, for instance,...
Editorial: Rozzi scores with sex abuse bill passage
Pennsylvania Speaker Mark Rozzi has finally accomplished what he promised would be the state House of Representatives’ first action under his leadership. On Friday, the House passed the legislation that will give a window of opportunity for victims to sue over child sexual abuse claims that otherwise would be outside...
Laurels & lances: Supporting and sneezing
Laurel: To coping with problems. Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli wants to expand efforts to help kids deal with trauma. The Handle with Care Program is a collaboration with New Kensington-Arnold School District, Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Highlands Family Center and police in Arnold and New Kensington using a $250,000...
