Editorials category, Page 42
Editorial: Colleges should stop hiding how much they cost
Whether President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive some $400 billion in federal student-loan debt goes forward will ultimately be up to the Supreme Court. For now, there’s more the federal government should be doing to rein in the costs of higher education — and thus reduce how much students borrow...
Editorial: Greensburg chief’s resignation after charges was a service
On Tuesday, Shawn Denning embarrassed the people of Greensburg when he was arrested at City Hall on federal drug charges. He immediately did what may have been the best service he offered to those same people. He resigned as the chief of police. Denning, 41, is free on $250,000 unsecured...
Editorial: The ticking clocks of Pennsylvania’s poor bridges
For the people on the Fern Hollow Bridge on Jan. 28, 2022, the unthinkable happened in a heartbeat. There was a banging sound. There was confusion. Was it a crash? There was a drop. One moment, it was a normal Friday morning, driving in the snowy January weather. The next,...
Laurels & lances: Police and consequences
Laurel: To carrying on. Though the hole created by the loss of Chief Justin McIntire remains, the Brackenridge police are getting back to business as usual. Police from across the region covered the department following McIntire’s death Jan. 2 in the line of duty, allowing the Brackenridge officers an opportunity...
Editorial: One-way public comment rules can be malicious compliance
Compliance is the term for acknowledging the rules and following them. You see the stop sign. You gently step on the brake pedal as your car approaches it. You note the speed limit and set your cruise control accordingly. But malicious compliance is different. It’s technically following the letter of...
Editorial: Will Pittsburgh nonprofits pass a charity inspection?
In order to drive a car in Pennsylvania, you have to do more than pay your registration fee. You have to pass an inspection. The mechanic looks at your registration and insurance, but he also looks over the car itself. He makes sure it isn’t just legal but that it...
Editorial: A smart, accountable gift ban makes common sense
One of the first things Gov. Josh Shapiro has done after taking office is to retool the gift ban for the offices under his control. During Tom Wolf’s tenure there was a ban, and it was handcuff-tight. Cabinet members on official visits couldn’t accept simple and affordable hospitality that could...
Editorial: Medical workers shouldn’t have to face workplace violence
Hospitals are in a pinch when it comes to staffing. It isn’t even just hospitals. Anyone looking to hire workers in the medical field is crunched. Nursing homes, clinics, schools, prisons. If you need nurses or techs, it’s not an easy time. For many places, this is a financial problem...
Editorial: Reading the crystal ball of layoffs and low unemployment numbers
Jobs numbers are never a constant. They shouldn’t be. They can’t be. The number of people who are employed is constantly rising and falling. If nothing else, the numbers will shift because the workers age. New people enter the workforce. Older people retire. Pennsylvania is a northern state, meaning seasonality...
Editorial: PennDOT should enforce right-of-way sign rules
When is taking a sign out of the ground a crime and when is it not? That was the question a Westmoreland County jury had to decide. Did former Franklin Regional School Board member Gary English, 66, of Murrysville steal someone’s property by pulling out the signs that pop up...
Laurels & lances: Leading, charging and pulling together
Laurel: To a local leader. Westmoreland County is really having a heyday in the state Capitol at the moment. In addition to all people elected to represent the county’s constituents in the General Assembly, there is the fact that Republican Kim Ward of Hempfield is the first female Senate majority...
Editorial: Let’s keep the 2023 election mud slinging to a minimum
It’s way too early for this. It’s January. The gubernatorial inauguration for the 2022 election was just this week. There are still three state House seats to be settled next month in special elections for the 32nd, 34th and 35th districts. People can’t begin circulating or filing nomination petitions for...
Editorial: Does Norwin director’s book challenge require more context?
Context is important. Context is the difference between someone running down the street being a jogger, someone trying to catch a bus or a criminal fleeing a crime scene. The actions are the same, but the intent and the outcome aren’t. Context matters. And so the context of the language...
Editorial: Shapiro’s NDAs miss chance for transparency
Nondisclosure is the enemy of freedom of information. Government of the people doesn’t just encourage transparency. It demands it. It is the responsibility of the people to be informed voters who then make informed decisions about who they want to represent them. That can’t occur if decisions happen behind a...
Editorial: Pennsylvania must prepare to pay claims
The Pennsylvania Senate last week passed a bill tying together three unrelated proposed constitutional amendments that included compensation for sexual abuse victims, leaving in question whether any of those matters will appear on ballots this year as referendums. The Senate majority wants amendments to require mandatory voter identification, even for...
Editorial: Special elections are set now, right?
The special elections for three Pennsylvania state House of Representatives seats will be held Feb. 7. That’s what a three-judge Commonwealth Court panel said Friday. As of now, the three Allegheny County seats that are up for grabs will be put before their district voters on the same day. Rep....
Editorial: What is the cost of UPMC’s minimum wage hike?
UPMC is raising its minimum wage to $18 per hour. That speaks to a lot happening in the Pennsylvania economy. The need to fill jobs that keep businesses functioning has been a major theme for three years. It is bad enough when restaurants and retailers struggle to keep the doors...
Laurels & lances: A last goodbye and a final cost
Laurel: To a sad goodbye. Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire was killed Jan. 2 in an incident that was a tragedy for his family and the community he served. On Wednesday, the massive turnout for his funeral spoke to his relationships with his neighbors as well as his respect within...
Editorial: A legislature that does nothing can do damage
What is worse than 15 votes to get a speaker of the House in Washington? Not one vote in Harrisburg. On Monday, the speaker of Pennsylvania’s state House — Democrat or possibly independent Rep. Mark Rozzi of Berks County — sent the other 199 representatives home without taking up a...
Editorial: Should Speaker Rozzi register as an independent?
It seems like we got a little cocky. Pennsylvania as a whole was feeling a bit smug as we watched the U.S. House of Representatives unravel like a frayed blanket amid the attempt to do the very baseline first steps of setting up for the 118th Congress. “Ha,” we said...
Editorial: Was Westmoreland County DA Nicole Ziccarelli’s car crash a minor incident?
It does not matter if a public official’s incident is a fender bender or a four-car collision. What can make it a big deal is how it is handled. Just like with information requests and properly conducted meetings, the difference between doing it right and doing it wrong is doing...
Editorial: The too-long list of 2022 homicides
There was no waiting for Allegheny County’s first homicide of 2022. It came promptly Jan. 1 when Amariey Lei was found shot to death in the 1300 block of Wood Street in Wilkinsburg. She was just 19 and coached hip-hop and baton for the Lady Diamonds dance team, of which...
Editorial: Can Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau audit results be shrugged off?
Between 2017 and 2020, unbalanced books led to more than $650,000 in state reimbursements not being made to the Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau. It is a testament to reviews of those books by state Auditor General Timothy DeFoor that the unpaid funds were identified in December 2022. The audits turned...
Editorial: Annual Pennsylvania toll increases are lawmakers’ fault
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission takes a lot of flak, especially at this time of year. It happens like clockwork. While other people are struggling to maintain their New Year’s resolutions and break bad habits, the commission falls back into its annual January rut and raises the toll rates. No one...
Laurels & lances: New job, big loss
Lance: To a terrible grief. The line-of-duty shooting of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire is something that should never have happened. It’s more than the family should have to bear, and it’s a sorrow that spreads to a community not only robbed of an important leader but also of a...
