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Featured Commentary category, Page 82

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Christie Lagemann: Love your library, this month and every month
There wasn’t a public library in every neighborhood in my home­town of Santa Rita, a community tucked into the province of Pampanga, Philippines. Public libraries were few and far between, scattered and not easily accessible. There was, however, a room being renovated in the private school I attended; a room...
Kathy Hochul: Revitalizing Southern Tier with help of ARC
New York’s Southern Tier region is part of the rich, geographically diverse fabric that makes up the state of New York . It is home to highly sought-after educational institutions, a mix of innovative industries, more than 5,300 farms and nearly 5 million acres of forestland that contribute to climate...
Brooke Barry: We must solve child care challenges to rebuild, recover
With communities still navigating the pandemic, families and child care providers are encouraged by the much-deserved attention being given to the essential role that early care and education play for families, educators and our economy. The child care industry is still recovering from near-collapse, and so, the question is, will...
Counterpoint: Scrap gerrymandering, adopt ranked choice
Partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts has been a uniquely American problem since our founding: As long as we’ve had politicians, they’ve exploited the power to pick their own voters before the voters get to pick them. It’s wrong, and it’s getting worse. Politicians have fancier tools and greater incentives to...
Point: Gerrymandering is inevitable in a democracy
With the Census Bureau finally releasing its population data to the states, they will now begin the process of redrawing political boundaries for local, state and congressional seats. Anyone who believes that there is some magic way of keeping politics out of the redistricting process must still believe in the...
Trudy Rubin: After Afghanistan failure, what is America prepared to fight for now?
As the news shifts, many Americans may think the war in Afghanistan is over. Not so. The searing scenes of Kabul’s fall are having a powerful impact on America’s global image, including the abandonment of Afghan allies. Chinese and Russian propaganda outlets are gleefully trumpeting scenes of America’s “defeat.” NATO...
Mark Compton: Turnpike users must pay fair share
Our goal at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is to collect all revenue that we generate. While leakage is an established part of the tolling business, as it is in any retail business model, it is something we take seriously. It has always been a part of tolling, even in a...
Lawrence Tabas: Pennsylvanians demand accountability for Afghanistan failures
This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken faced Congress and the American people to answer questions about his key role in orchestrating one of the biggest failures of foreign policy in our nation’s history: Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. The disastrous and hasty removal of U.S. troops left 13...
Chuck Cooper III and Sean Gibson: Making equity and education a mission
When we established foundations in honor of Chuck Cooper, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and the first African American drafted into the National Basketball Association, and Josh Gibson, catcher for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays and the second Negro Leagues player to be inducted into the National Baseball...
Tina Doose: A modern Civilian Conservation Corps could transform Pa., beyond
Braddock has never recovered from deindustrialization, a phenomena that led to mass blight, unemployment and the drug epidemic. In addition, we have been targeted by large companies for our rail, river and road access without much thought or consideration for the long-lasting and life-changing effects such industries would have on...
Gov. Tate Reeves: ARC partnership leads to economic growth in Mississippi
Mississippians are hard-working and constantly seeking opportunities to better themselves, their families and their communities. One of my priorities is making Mississippi the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family, so I am committed to increasing economic development, improving infrastructure and investing in workforce training....
Stone Washington: Proposed legislation could revitalize cities, reduce crime
The signs seem to be popping up in city centers everywhere. “For sale,” “For lease,” “Vacant.” They lie posted on the walls of buildings in downtowns across the country, where large office structures once filled with thousands of employees would arrive each morning for work. These now-empty spaces sit quiet....
Flora Cardoni and Michael Mann: Keys for Keystone State to tackle climate crisis
Tropical Depression (formerly Hurricane) Ida hit us hard, depositing torrential, flood-inducing rains across a huge swath of the eastern United States. Here in Pennsylvania, dangerous flash flooding and tornadoes destroyed homes and vehicles, disrupted and contaminated water supplies, devastated communities, and resulted in tragic and avoidable deaths. Unfortunately, Ida is...
Christopher Antypas: As we enter flu season, we must prioritize our seniors
As an independent pharmacist, I’ve made a living advising people on the benefits of both curative and preventative medicines. However, never in my career have I seen more attention paid to the importance of mass vaccinations. For the better part of two years, we’ve been hyper focused on creating and...
Joe Lafferty: Carrying on in Tunch’s memory
On Saturday, we, as the proud, loving and awesome city of Pittsburgh and internationally reaching Steeler Nation, lost a titan. We lost Tunch. Tunch Ilkin was born in Istanbul, Turkey. He was the first Turk to play in the National Football League. His family immigrated to America, and he played...
Sheldon Jacobson: Delta variant is having its way with air travel. What can help turn it around?
What a difference a month makes. On Aug. 1, over 2.2 million passengers passed through airport security checkpoints, the largest number dating back to March 2020. It was only on June 11 when airport security checkpoints screened 2 million passengers for the first time since early 2020. In contrast, on...
Kira Yeversky and Tom Fisher: Celebrating the Pittsburghers Behind Carnegie libraries, museums
Generations of Pittsburghers have expanded their horizons through the vast collections at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and explored the world through captivating exhibits at the Carnegie Museums. While these buildings bear the name of the steel baron who funded their construction, we believe it’s important this Labor Day to...
Gov. Andy Beshear: Eastern Ky.’s economy accelerating
This commentary is part of a series from governors of the 13 states in the Appalachian Regional Commission. ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and state governments focusing on 420 counties across the Appalachian Region. Kentucky’s economy is on fire, with economic momentum in every corner...
Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Sen. Lisa Baker: ABLE accounts give people with disabilities chance to save
People living with disabilities often face tremendous challenges. One is striking the right balance between paying for day-to-day needs and saving for larger expenses while not saving so much that they become ineligible for critical benefits. The federal Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014 and the Pennsylvania...
Emily Burke: The explosive growth of home schooling
Parents are taking their children’s education into their own hands in record numbers after a disastrously tumultuous school year. The U.S. Census Bureau’s experimental Household Pulse Survey, which is an online survey recording social and economic impacts of the covid-19 pandemic, demonstrates a dramatic shift towards home schooling within the...
Rep. Emily Kinkead and Molly Parzen: Federal support needed for infrastructure and stormwater improvements
Recently our area was inundated with flooding due to stormwater. This, of course, is nothing new to us. Route 51 often turns into a river, the section of the Parkway known as “the bathtub” gets shut down, Union Avenue in Ross Township in my district turns into an impassable lake...
Laura Charos: With college, is it where you go or what you do?
Where you go to college seems to be the hype of today, with pressure placed on students to get into high-tier schools. Prestige is more important than ever to students and their parents, since many seem to believe it is the name of the school that will steer you toward...
Pete Saunders : The ‘best places to live’ may not be the best places to live
Newly released 2020 Census data give us a better sense of where Americans think the best places to live are. Cities such as Phoenix, Dallas, Houston and Las Vegas continue to be popular, maintaining the strong population growth that’s defined them for the last half-century. Others, such as Buffalo and...
Gov. Brian Kemp: ARC helps Georgia residents thrive
This commentary is part of a series from governors of the 13 states in the Appalachian Regional Commission. ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and state governments focusing on 420 counties across the Appalachian Region. As a member state of the Appalachian Regional Commission , Georgia...
In honor of Fred Rogers, make kindness a habit this month with #BeKind21
Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski are the authors of “When You Wonder, You’re Learning: Mister Rogers’ Enduring Lessons for Raising Creative, Curious, Caring Kids.” Dana Winters is executive director of the Fred Rogers Center. Maureen Frew is a teacher in the Avonworth School District and co-founder of JAMbethekindkid Inc. In...


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