Opinion category, Page 260
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 7
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 7....
David Vatz: Squirrel Hill needs more homes
July 31 was an important day for the Irish Center development project in Squirrel Hill, where a developer is trying to build 162 new condos on the former Irish Center site on Forward Avenue. As a member of the board of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition (SHUC), I was one...
Letter to the editor: God is not to be mocked
Regarding the letter “God is a problem, not an answer” (July 29, TribLIVE): When you hear someone say “God help us,” what does that mean? God is described by theologians as being omnipotent. Theologians study God to understand who he is. God is omnipotent, meaning, has unlimited power and is...
Letter to the editor: Purple zones ruining Squirrel Hill
I am a resident of a senior retirement community in Squirrel Hill and no longer able to drive, but friends here often take a number of us to the business area in Squirrel Hill so we can run a bunch of errands at one time. The small businesses in Squirrel...
Editorial: Pennsylvania lawmakers can fix filing fee problem
Now is the time to get a divorce in Pennsylvania. Because of a failure of the state Legislature to pass legislation, a surcharge on court filings has lapsed. The $21.25 fee can’t be charged because the law authorizing it expired Aug. 1. Lawmakers haven’t passed new legislation that would pick...
Letter to the editor: Librarians not ‘sexualizing’ our children
A recent letter-writer denounced the “leftist hysteria” that he believes is defending “the sexualization of children in our schools” (“Books and the sexualization of our children,” Aug. 3, TribLIVE). It would be good if he had offered concrete examples of either the “leftist hysteria” or of the “sexualization” of children....
Joseph Sabino Mistick: A good lesson on Pittsburgh violence from Earl Buford
It was a warm summer night in 1990, and I was sitting with Pittsburgh Narcotics Chief Earl Buford Jr. in an unmarked police vehicle on the edge of an open-air drug market. As the mayor’s chief of staff, I had asked Buford to help us understand the wave of drug-related...
Bruce Antkowiak: Reflections on the trial of Robert Bowers
Among the many stories that have filled the news in recent weeks, many seem little more than echoes of pointless political bickering and posturing, requiring little substantive thought or reflection. But the case of Robert Bowers is very different. It demands our attention. As the jury has now reached its...
Letter to the editor: It’s illegal to throw cut grass on roads
It is a Pennsylvania law that throwing cut grass on the road is illegal. I ride a motorcycle and feel this is a law especially for those who ride. I wish people would be made aware of this law; I have neighbors who aren’t aware of it. I have six...
Sounding off: Girls’ sports, slavery, electric vehicles among week’s topics
School districts should preserve sex-based athletics distinctions Chris Harlan’s article “‘No one has a better answer:’ PIAA relying on principals to identify transgender athletes” (July 29, TribLIVE) discusses PIAA’s deference to individual schools to determine whether biological males can play on a female team. I strongly disagree with the PIAA’s...
Letter to the editor: School districts should preserve sex-based athletics distinctions
Chris Harlan’s article “‘No one has a better answer:’ PIAA relying on principals to identify transgender athletes” (July 29, TribLIVE) discusses PIAA’s deference to individual schools to determine whether biological males can play on a female team. I strongly disagree with the PIAA’s conclusion that there are no better answers....
Editorial: Pennsylvania politics’ annual game of chicken
On Thursday, Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward called her colleagues back to Harrisburg. It was a month after lawmakers left town with the state budget in limbo. It was passed but not signed. Sticking points remained amid a triangle of power between the narrowly Democratic House, the solidly...
Letter to the editor: How can Republicans see upside to slavery?
For decades many Republicans have had eyebrow-raising, uneasy relationships with racists and their organizations. Sharing platforms with white nationalists, being uncritical of racist remarks and actions, and cozying up to groups like the John Birch Society are well-known, historical examples of an unspoken, behind-the-scenes position of unchallenged agreement and a...
S.E. Cupp: DeSantis is a candidate without a cause or hope
It was the middle of August 2015, and comedian Sarah Silverman was rallying her Twitter followers to join her at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena for a special event. For decades, the now-gone arena had hosted numerous sports teams — it was the home of the Los Angeles Lakers...
Colin McNickle: Darkness without dawn for Pittsburgh’s office vacancy rate?
The website writingexplained.org reminds that it was English theologian Thomas Fuller who coined the phrase “It’s always darkest before the dawn” in 1650. “The idea behind this is related to the literal of dawn,” the website notes. “Dawn (emphasis in the original) begins when the first light begins to show...
Anita Prizio: Pennsylvanians deserve bold climate action — and accountability
We don’t need to imagine a future where climate change is devastating our communities — we’re living it right now. Deadly storms in Western Pennsylvania. Hotter and hotter summers. One-in-100-years floods arriving with regularity in Allegheny County. We all deserve to live in a safe climate where our children can...
Letter to the editor: Diversity vs. competence
Diversity? Just about every U.S. college and university now has a “dean of diversity” while our main global rival celebrates competence. Stick a fork in the good ol’ USA — we are cooked! Joe Marmo Cheswick...
Letter to the editor: Trump on Presidential Records Act
The Presidential Records Act states that, the moment the president leaves office, the National Archives shall have custody and control of all presidential records. Nothing in the act states that there should be prolonged talks or a negotiated agreement between a former president and the National Archives over return of...
Lori Falce: The impact of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting remains for all victims
Victim impact statements are an important part of the criminal sentencing process. After guilt has been decided but before a sentence is delivered, there is a period when the depth of the damage is demonstrated via statements — written or read or bravely spoken — by those keenly affected. With...
Laurels & lances: Working together and online fundraising
Laurel: To working smart. Pennsylvania is a checkerboard of municipalities. That board is overlaid with other grids and maps and boundaries, outlining the divisions of authority and responsibility of hundreds of agencies. It’s a layering that can be criticized as unnecessarily complicated and potentially problematic. One of those arenas can...
Letter to the editor: Health-care staffing crisis at jail
Another death occurred at the Allegheny County Jail last month, the 20th death since April 2020. The absence of health care staff is a major reason why the rate of death at our jail is so high. There are 94 vacancies for health care staff. Recently, a job satisfaction survey...
Paul Kengor: Fetterman on Trump’s ceiling
I don’t often agree with John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s junior Democratic senator, but I found myself nodding vigorously at his recent assessment of Donald Trump’s prospects in Pennsylvania for November 2024. In a respectful, non-snarky, sober analysis, Fetterman responded to a question from The New York Times about whether he believes...
Rep. Chris Deluzio: Derailment rattled region 6 months ago; the fight for accountability, safer freight rail continues
The spotlight on the fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has dimmed over the past six months, but the fight for accountability and safety continues. Massive railroad corporations’ reckless pursuit of power and profit is nothing new. And without badly needed safety reform, it will be just a waiting...
Greg Fulton: America the Generous
In watching cable news, reading articles on the internet or listening to certain pundits, you might get the impression that Americans are greedy and selfish people. In fact it’s become good sport for the media periodically to highlight a particular “ugly American” who has shown exceptional greed and been uncaring...
Letter to the editor: Books and the sexualization of our children
Regarding the letter “Book-banning futility” (July 23, TribLIVE): Assuming an honest opinion here, not just more leftist hysteria, the letter expressed a concern for sexual material being used in schools. How anyone can defend the sexualization of children in our schools is beyond me. Is this truly necessary? The diatribe...
