Editorials category, Page 45
Editorial: Who controls the House? The people do.
Who will control the House of Representatives? With the voting in the rearview mirror and the counting dragging on, it’s the question everyone is asking. On television and radio, the pundits obsess about the minute-to-minute fluctuations in the data over the seats up for grab in Washington, D.C. By how...
Laurels & lances: Election edition
Laurel: To the value of a good book. Or a lot of books, for that matter. While some people may focus on the candidates that walked away from Election Day as winners, some communities had something a little closer to home to celebrate: their local libraries. In Southwest Greensburg, voters...
Editorial: The lessons of the 2022 election
So what did we learn? The 2022 election was not just a survey of what people want and don’t want. Those are the polls that have been going on for months. You know, the ones assessing what the most important issues would be, allowing candidates to make subtle — or...
Editorial: Election rules shouldn’t differ county to county
OK, it’s over now, right? The political ads are done. The polls opened. The polls closed. The ballots were cast. The early and absentee ballots came into election offices and through the mail. It’s all done but the final counting and certification, right? Oh, if only that were true. We...
Editorial: Toll scofflaw legislation is easy, but hard work is needed on other PennDOT, turnpike problems
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed a new law last week giving the state a stick to smack or prod drivers owing delinquent toll money. The law comes after the state adopted Toll by Plate as an alternative to E-ZPass and eliminated in-person toll workers or the mechanical devices that caught...
Editorial: Do your part and cast your ballot
Vote. That’s all. Pure and simple. Just vote. We will not tell you for whom. We will not push you toward a party or candidate. We don’t want you to embrace an ideology or platform. We just want you to vote. However, it’s important to not vote blindly. Do not...
Editorial: Senate needs to give Pennsylvanians a gift ban
It’s November. The time to think about gift giving, to make lists and budgets and plans. This year, what if we focused on drawing a line in the sand when it comes to gifts? Let’s stop the sleigh when it comes to Harrisburg’s elected officials. This year, the idea of...
Editorial: Pittsburgh police failure in funeral shooting demands more than apology
Sometimes an apology is enough. It might not heal the wound, but sometimes the words will stop the bleeding. A fender bender. A broken glass. Spilled milk. These are things that can be smoothed over with good intentions and genuine contrition. But there are other things that require more than...
Laurels & lances: Spokesperson and representative
Laurel: To someone at the microphone. Since Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli took office in January, messaging has been a little challenging. Ziccarelli has wanted all information from her office — and sometimes other law enforcement departments — to filter through her podium. Other staff members or attorneys were...
Editorial: Hasn’t this undated ballot court ruling happened before?
The point of a court ruling — particularly one from a top appeals court — is to set a precedent. The rulings are meant to take a complicated question and draw lines that make things easier to understand. They give a yes or a no. They say when something is...
Editorial: Is a $1.5 billion daydream worth your $2?
Have you bought your ticket yet? It almost goes without saying that the ticket in question is not for a train, plane or concert. For the second time this year, the country is gripped in lottery fever. Saturday’s multi-state Powerball jackpot will top $1.5 billion and might climb even higher...
Editorial: Why we don’t endorse political candidates
Endorsements are the way some organizations or individuals show their support for a candidate. A popular governor could throw his weight behind someone running for mayor. A major union can advocate for a legislative candidate. It’s all very familiar because of how often it happens. Frequently, endorsements can come with...
Editorial: The curious case of the missing manhole
You can fill a hole. You can fall in a hole. Climb into one, dig one, cover one up. But how do you lose a hole? You could ask the Harmar supervisors. The township’s contractor, Mele & Mele & Sons, appears to have buried a manhole that allows repair crew...
Editorial: Shuman closing failed kids in 2021 and continues to do so
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has drawn a line between the closing of Allegheny County’s Shuman Juvenile Detention Center in September 2021 and a rising tide of violent crime. “We should have never closed Shuman without a plan,” Gainey said during a news conference related to a triple homicide Oct. 15...
Editorial: Don’t take foot off pedal of autonomous driving research
The announcement of Argo AI’s closing was not what most people expected. The company was born in 2016 out of a massive investment from two major car companies, Ford and Volkswagen. The goal? The development and growth of one of the most intriguing and anticipated intersections of mechanics and technology...
Laurels & lances: Cost, defense and involvement
Laurel: To dropping prices. They might not be down much, but let’s celebrate where we can. The price of a gallon of gas is down again in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In Pittsburgh, the price is $3.95, down 3½ cents from last week, according to the GasBuddy price tracker. Sure, the national...
Editorial: Did Fetterman-Oz debate change any minds?
For weeks and months, the question was out there. When would the candidates for Pennsylvania’s first up-for-grabs U.S. Senate seat in years face off in a debate? It finally happened Tuesday. So did it change anyone’s mind? Maybe for some people. In reality, probably not for many. It is increasingly...
Editorial: Capitalize on innovation on Main Street
Even though Pennsylvania is among the nation’s foremost centers of high-tech research and development, it still is better known for the legacy industries that made it an industrial powerhouse. A revealing new study by Brookings Institution researchers puts it succinctly: “Few states possess as many of the assets needed for...
Editorial: The tragedy of wrongful conviction is the price not paid
There are two tragedies when the wrong person is incarcerated for a crime. One tragedy is what happened to Drew Whitley. He was 33 when he was locked up for the 1988 murder of a McDonald’s worker in Duquesne. It took 18 years for DNA evidence to prove what he...
Editorial: Is getting the most votes the best measure of a coroner?
The coroner’s office in a Pennsylvania county is where the justice system and public health collide. Coroners are responsible for investigating the deaths that aren’t from an acknowledged and medically attended reason. They determine whether someone died of an overdose. They have been an important part of evaluating the impact...
Editorial: Gunfire makes us all innocent bystanders
Innocent bystanders. It is a phrase of absolution. It says that in a particular instance, these people were not in the wrong. On Oct. 15, three people were killed in Pittsburgh’s North Side when an argument in a parking lot jumped from a war of words to a gunfight. Jacquelyn...
Laurels & lances: Access and delays
Laurel: To unprecedented access. When it comes to amazing art, people have traditionally had two options. Go to a museum to see what is available in the area or travel to another place to see the treasures offered in other cities. But Southwestern Pennsylvania has had other options provided thanks...
Editorial: Are residency requirements needed for government hiring?
There are times when where you live matters. Generally, that’s when the money you spend on taxes banks a return. It’s a situation most often associated with school districts. Maybe you bought a house in Murrysville so your kids could go to Franklin Regional. Maybe you bought in Natrona Heights...
Editorial: State fines should be higher than tax cuts to penalize environmental leaks
Pennsylvania has built much of its history on energy, from the coal that fueled the steel industry to the first oil pumped from the ground to the natural gas being pried out today. That has built up the Keystone State. It also has left a legacy of environmental fallout that...
Editorial: Concrete EV revenue decisions should come before charging stations
In 2011, there were just about 16,000 electric vehicles in the United States. By 2021, that number had climbed to 2 million. What was a new, quirky technology a decade before had become a growing part of the transportation landscape. That means other things have to change, too. In the...
