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Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Chadwick Dolgos: Mandatory mask mandates conflict with going back to school
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., argued in a recent tweet that the mandatory mask mandates issued by many state governors directly conflict with the Trump administration’s bold plan to return children back to school by fall. Massie’s tweet echoes the concerns of his constituents who do not believe that children are...
Alyssa Lenhoff Brigg, Alison Slinskey Legg and Veronica Gonzales: Pre-college STEM programs can inform equitable college admissions
As with all sectors of society, the education world has been upended and we are all searching for ways to make sense of what is, what was and what will be. The pandemic, the postponement of college board tests and the growing trend of test results becoming optional for college...
Paul Petrick: Name change would dishonor the original Cleveland Indian
As Northeast Ohio baseball fans anticipate the start of a truncated season of Cleveland Indians baseball, they are suddenly faced with the possible end of their beloved ball club as they know it. On July 3, the Indians released a statement explaining how the team was “committed to engaging our...
Scott Martelle: Federal agents deployed by Trump spirit away protesters. What country is this?
Taking a page from the playbooks of autocrats around the globe, President Donald Trump has deployed federal agents to patrol the streets of Portland, Oregon, where, dressed in camouflage uniforms that identified them only as “police,” they have reportedly used tear gas to dispel protesters — and more darkly, cruised...
Bryan Iams: To keep America competitive, we must prioritize infrastructure funding
It is more important than ever for our country to invest in areas that help get more people back to work. Lawmakers should prioritize the passage and implementation of a comprehensive infrastructure program that would immediately provide employment opportunities for many Americans. The U.S. was in dire need of these...
Sarah Charlier-Vermeire: Our children deserve better
When I first heard of a local district’s plan to reopen schools in the fall, with seemingly little in the way of mitigation efforts beyond the use of face masks, I was utterly appalled. I openly proclaimed that I would never trust my children in the hands of a district...
Stuart Fisk: Syringe programs save lives
As Pennsylvania continues to grapple with covid-19, it is urgent that we do not lose sight of the overdose crisis that has ravaged our state in recent years. Pennsylvania has the third highest rate of overdose deaths and the ninth highest rate of new HIV infections in the nation. In...
Adam Marles: Time for state lawmakers, Wolf to fund covid-19 testing
As Pennsylvanians enjoy warm summer days, thousands of older adults living in nursing homes, personal care homes and assisted living cannot leave their facilities or receive visits from their loved ones. This has been the reality for many older adults since our commonwealth entered into lockdown four months ago. The...
Charles Dizard: Harrison’s Springhill Road pedestrian/bike lane will benefit community
Allegheny County is in the final public comment stage of the approved Springhill Road project that will reduce the four-lane road in Harrison Township to three lanes — one downhill lane and two uphill lanes. The fourth will be restricted to a safe distinct pedestrian and bicycle shared lane. Details...
Jamie White: How Boy Scouts of America can pick up the pieces
For the Boy Scouts of America, it won’t be a traditional summer filled with badges, campouts and jamborees, but one in which the organization fields hundreds, if not thousands, of sexual abuse claims. Under the shadow of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the organization has imposed a Nov. 16 deadline...
Tommy Thompson: Washington wants to forfeit our best weapon against coronavirus
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and several senior House lawmakers recently announced a plan to impose price controls and seize patents on any covid-19 vaccines and treatments in development. They vowed to strike down any emergency stimulus packages excluding such measures. Those efforts aren’t just misguided — they pose a threat...
Marc Stier: Don’t undermine judicial independence in haste
The most important decision any political leader can make is about the constitutional structure of our government. Those decisions are best made calmly, deliberately and with a focus on the long-term good of our political community. Poor ones are most likely to be made in a rush, in anger and...
John Sparks: Espinoza v. Montana an important win for religious liberty
Sometimes, the facts of a case have an emotional appeal in addition to a strong constitutional basis. Espinoza v. Montana certainly qualifies. Kendra Espinoza, a hard-working (three jobs) and determined single mom, decided to take her two daughters out of the local public schools and enroll them in Stillwater Christian...
Sally Pipes: We know how to safely reopen the country
More than eight in 10 Americans fear a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, according to recent polling from Ipsos. Some cities and states have halted efforts to reopen their economies, in response to rising case counts. But there’s no reason to be fearful. We now have enough information about...
Naz El-Khatib: Trump’s capitulation to Xi, Putin
In the past few weeks, we learned President Trump did nothing when he found out Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, successfully paid bounties to militants for killing American soldiers in Afghanistan and Trump begged China’s leader, Xi Jinping, to help him win reelection. These are just the latest examples of Trump...
Eric Falk: Our Founders were all too human
It hurts to realize your heroes had flaws, major flaws. It really hurts. As a society we are now finally confronting the tangled legacy of the Founding Fathers. It is a legacy summarized in one simple, yet profound contradiction — many of the men who wrote and approved of the...
Mary Lou Bitar: An Allegheny Ludlum dad’s dream for his daughter
“I want you to go to college and become a teacher because if you marry a steelworker and he goes on strike you’ll have a job to help support your family!” These words were spoken to me in 1959 by my late father, Andrew Suveges Jr., as I was preparing...
Luke Popovich: Pandemic, politics threaten Marcellus jobs
To the seriously stricken airline, hospitality and tourism industries felled by covid-19, add Pennsylvania’s less visible but equally vital oil and gas industry. The viral plague that has slashed economic growth has crippled demand for fossil energy. From Texas oil wells to shale fields in Pennsylvania, producers are facing what...
Claudine Schneider: Republicans’ betrayal of principles
I was born and schooled in Clairton, where I learned a great deal about our nation’s courageous founders. They put their lives on the line at Independence Hall to advance the principle of “rule of law.” When I came of age politically in the mid-1970s, the nation was recovering from...
L.E. McCullough: A masked encounter unmasks a glimpse of truth
Last week I stood in a local grocery checkout line in the East End. The store was large with very high ceilings, and there was enough ambient noise to prevent most people from hearing a normal-volume conversation occurring more than a few feet away. I, however, have excessively sharp and...
Harold Kyriazi: Eliminating the ‘dirty’ root of systemic racism
There are many factors underlying “systemic racism” in the United States. One rarely mentioned but surprisingly vital root cause, however, is our system of land tenure. Currently, land is treated as purely private property, with little or nothing owed to the community for excluding all others from use of that...
Chadwick Dolgos: Experts are being silenced during coronavirus pandemic
America is confused right now, and who can blame us? We are experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases while the media, politicians and health experts argue the cause of the recent spike and best practices in combating the spread of covid-19. While navigating through daily media briefings and news stories...
Western Pa. health care leaders: Your simple actions matter the most to prevent covid-19
This letter was signed by nine regional health care leaders, named below. Over the past three months, our organizations have proudly come together in an unprecedented fashion to address the enormous challenges we have faced as a community due to the novel coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic. This public health crisis is...
Dr. James Thrasher: The call to do and act justly
As I approached the county courthouse for jury duty, my unfocused mind was in many different places, including being sincerely burdened by the state of our nation. I had filled out the eligibility questionnaire and made arrangements with my employer, and was committed to fulfilling my civic duty. I was...
Robert Speel: County of residence often all that counts in Pa. primaries
Pennsylvanians just voted in primary elections to nominate Democratic and Republican candidates for the office of state auditor general. Those candidates will face off against each other in November. I teach courses about American politics and elections at Penn State. Every time I ask students if they know what the...


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