Opinion category, Page 275
Sen. Gene Yaw: In Homer City, another step in killing the grid
April 3 was a significant day for Pennsylvanians who use electricity. The Homer City coal-fired power plant in Indiana County announced it would cease operations in 90 days. The news was a crippling blow to Pennsylvania’s status in the electric generation market. For almost six decades, the Homer City power...
Letter to the editor: Lauding New Kensington council members, reporter
I chose at the last minute to go down to the recent New Kensington Council meeting. I’m always more impressed by Tony Males than anyone else. Now, my second favorite is Tim Dimaio. I really think this term for him is going to define the nuts and bolts of what...
Letter to the editor: Madden’s PGA take disgusting
I am almost speechless after reading Mark Madden’s column “Money always wins, and the PGA did what was best for golf” (June 7, TribLIVE). I say almost speechless, because my anger and indignation are more overwhelming right now. Madden’s disgusting show of avarice and lack of any moral or ethical...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland unprepared for hazardous incidents
At a recent meeting addressing concerns about a possible train derailment in Westmoreland County, Chris Tantlinger, Westmoreland County deputy emergency management coordinator, assured residents of an adequate response. Actually, Westmoreland County does not have equipment to provide comprehensive monitoring during incidents that contaminate air. In 2017, Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens’ Group...
Editorial: Flag Day is a uniquely Pennsylvanian holiday
A flag is a curious thing. It is a thin, flat piece of cloth. It is distinguished only by its colors and perhaps a bit of embroidery, but at its heart, it is only threads woven back and forth, cut and stitched together with more thread. Yet it means so...
Elwood Watson: NAACP should focus less on symbolism, more on action
Last month, the NAACP made waves for issuing a travel advisory for Florida in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ruthless efforts to whitewash Black history and severely curtail diversity, equity and inclusion programs. “Once again, hate-inspired state leaders have chosen to put politics over people. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the...
Gary J. English: State police should enforce illegal sign laws
According to the article “Bill to boost funding for road and bridge projects advances in Pa. House” (May 22, TribLIVE), the House Transportation Committee proposes “(reducing) the annual appropriation taken out of the Motor License Fund to support the operations of the Pennsylvania State Police by $100 million until it...
Timothy J. Kunselman: We can handle the truth
“You can’t handle the truth” is the famous line from the movie “A Few Good Men.” In real life, we can’t handle the lies anymore. We must have the truth to move forward. It strikes me that many of our representatives and those who want to be representatives really do...
Letter to the editor: Pittsburgh Mills roads are dangerous
Will somebody tell me who is responsible for the roads at the Pittsburgh Mills mall? I don’t think there is 100 feet of road in that complex that is free from potholes and patch jobs. When traveling the roads trying to get to stores to shop and spend money, all...
Letter to the editor: Action, or inaction, will determine country’s future
Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor in Nazi Germany, penned these words: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then...
Editorial: If Marc Fogel is not wrongfully detained, why was Griner designated so for same crime?
Brittney Griner was harassed in an airport Saturday. The Phoenix Mercury player was in Dallas and heading to Indianapolis when she and her WNBA teammates were targeted by people filming them and shouting what one player called “wild remarks,” including that Griner hates America. For the team and the WNBA,...
Letter to the editor: Good financial stewards in Norwin
Thank you, Norwin School Board. We do have those who are good fiscal stewards of our money at Norwin, but it is not the district administration. Through job reduction via attrition and something called “unassigned fund balance,” the budget was balanced with no tax increase. At a recent meeting, school...
Tom Purcell: Lucky to be my father’s son
Modern dads are portrayed as fools in television sitcoms and commercials. Lucky for me, they are the polar opposite of the loving, strong and decisive father who raised me. Over the years, as I clogged a toilet with an apple core, shattered a picture window with a baseball and hit...
Karen I. Shragg: Environmentalist movement needs to get back to its roots
Americans celebrated the 53rd anniversary of Earth Day in April. The holiday has changed drastically over the past half century — and so has the natural environment that activists are seeking to protect. Today’s green activists tend to mark Earth Day by focusing on ways to minimize their personal impact...
Abbey Haslam: Cutting red tape on Pa.’s nurse practitioners
Expanding health care access has been a major political issue in recent decades — first, during the Clinton health care plan of the 1990s, and then through Obamacare and the subsequent rapid expansion of Medicaid. Yet, despite the major focus on expanding access to care, millions of Americans live in...
Letter to the editor: Focus on candidates’ skills, not physical traits
The writer of the letter “Biden and Kennedy are the best Democrats have?” (June 7, TribLIVE) is critical of the Democratic Party for considering Robert Kennedy Jr. to be its candidate to be our next president because, in his words, Kennedy “has a terrible speaking voice.” I’d encourage him not...
Letter to the editor: Communication, legislation can help gun violence crisis
Better communication and transparency can help alleviate our country’s gun violence crisis, especially actions by local municipalities that bridge the gap between police and citizens. Police officers should know the people they are policing in their communities in a positive way to make people feel safer. In addition, several passed...
Editorial: ‘Protection’ still core of DEP’s job
Farcically claiming that the state Department of Environmental Protection is an intimidating regulatory bully, state Senate Republicans have decided to promote a culture change at the agency by renaming it the Department of Environmental Services. On a strictly party-line 28-22 vote, the Senate passed the name-change bill Wednesday. “The word...
Letter to the editor: Honoring those who protected our democracy
There were many emotional Memorial Day celebrations across the country on May 31. Close to home at Westmoreland County Memorial Park was a day of remembrance for those who sacrificed. The organizers did a beautiful presentation of reading veterans’ names and a 21-gun salute. These programs made me think of...
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 12
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 12....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 12
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 12....
Sloane Davidson: Pittsburgh’s population decline can be improved by retaining, not just recruiting, newcomers
Pittsburgh’s population has been steadily declining since the collapse of the steel industry nearly 50 years ago. We now have one of the oldest populations in the entire United States, and deaths outpace births every year. Migration out of urban areas is seen throughout the country, but no metropolitan area...
Susan Crabtree: Christie’s high-risk spoiler run
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie might be best known — at least on the presidential debate stage — for tearing down rivals rather than building up fellow Republicans. In a 2016 GOP primary debate, he famously roughed up Marco Rubio in a debate at Saint Anselm College in New...
Letter to the editor: Juror who caused mistrial should pay
According to the article “Mistrial declared as jury weighs assault, strangulation charges against Greensburg man” (June 7, TribLIVE), Judge Christopher Feliciani declared a mistrial in a criminal case after jurors were prepped to deliberate when “it was discovered that a juror had communicated with another about the case via Facebook.”...
Letter to the editor: Mental health days help students succeed
As a recent high school graduate, I can wholeheartedly say that our schools need more mental health support. Across Western Pennsylvania, the recommended ratios of guidance counselors to students are not being met, workloads are increasing and students are suffering. If “mental health day” legislation was passed in Pennsylvania, students...
