Editorials category, Page 26

It does not matter if a public official’s incident is a fender bender or a four-car collision. What can make it a big deal is how it is handled. Just like with information requests and properly conducted meetings, the difference between doing it right and doing it wrong is doing...

There was no waiting for Allegheny County’s first homicide of 2022. It came promptly Jan. 1 when Amariey Lei was found shot to death in the 1300 block of Wood Street in Wilkinsburg. She was just 19 and coached hip-hop and baton for the Lady Diamonds dance team, of which...

Between 2017 and 2020, unbalanced books led to more than $650,000 in state reimbursements not being made to the Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau. It is a testament to reviews of those books by state Auditor General Timothy DeFoor that the unpaid funds were identified in December 2022. The audits turned...

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission takes a lot of flak, especially at this time of year. It happens like clockwork. While other people are struggling to maintain their New Year’s resolutions and break bad habits, the commission falls back into its annual January rut and raises the toll rates. No one...

Lance: To a terrible grief. The line-of-duty shooting of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire is something that should never have happened. It’s more than the family should have to bear, and it’s a sorrow that spreads to a community not only robbed of an important leader but also of a...

The Pennsylvania Legislature is as polarized as a car battery. Almost nothing can happen in the hallowed halls of Harrisburg without boiling down to positive and negative, pro and con and, above all, Democrat and Republican. Until Tuesday. On the same day the U.S. House of Representatives was paralyzed with...

There is a difference between sorrow and grief. Sorrow is the emotional state we feel when confronted by great loss or devastating disappointment. It isn’t depression, but it might lead there. Grief is different. It is a process that one goes through while experiencing the crushing blows of a trauma....

Education is not just a building block of society. It is more than a public good and a public right. It is also a commodity. Like a new car or a house or a dozen eggs, a quality education above and beyond high school graduation is something many people pay...

It is always hard to lose a loved one. Whether it happens because of disease or accident or criminal act, death is a gut punch. It hits hard and deep. It is aching and empty. When the loss is self-inflicted, it leaves something else behind. Families and friends can struggle...

As the clock runs out on 2022, we say goodbye to a year that has been jam-packed with significant events from the start. The pandemic was still going on. There were booster shots and new variants to address. The midterm elections made Pennsylvania a focal point for politics. The U.S....

Laurel: To finishing up. The 2022 election is officially complete, as far as the state of Pennsylvania is concerned. The Department of State announced this week that the acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman has completed certification of results. That process was delayed because of recounts and challenges in 27...

What is an editorial? It isn’t an article that keeps close to the events as they unfold, like with a car crash or a fire. It isn’t an investigation that takes a larger incident and digs into the background, unearthing truths that were perhaps not just unknown but unexpected. It...

Gov. Tom Wolf is about to close out his two-term tenure. It’s been quite a ride. Over the years, we have not been shy about laying criticism at the governor’s door. We have castigated him for budget issues. We have harangued him for administrative hiccups and staff pay raises. We...

There is seldom just one way to solve a problem. Instead, there can be a menu of options that can take you down different paths. The question is priorities. Do you want your task done quickly, cheaply, efficiently? Do you want it done green, or is supporting local business important?...

Laurel: To a worthy legacy. When Lower Burrell’s Brian Shaw, a New Kensington police officer, was killed in the line of duty in 2017, it didn’t bring an end to his service to the community. Five years later, a scholarship in Shaw’s name is making a difference in the lives...

Sports heroes don’t have much say in where they end up playing. It comes down to things like what team is highest in the draft and what positions that coach has to fill. By the same token, the cities that play host to those teams don’t have a say in...

In 2019, when running for office, Doug Chew made a loud and proud campaign promise. Send him to the courthouse as a Westmoreland County commissioner, and he would take 60% of his paycheck and donate it to the drug court. The people listened. They gave him the job. Like other...

There’s nothing like starting the new year with a hefty pay hike. Sadly, that’s not something most Pennsylvanians will get to experience. It is, however, a benefit of being an elected official. Much of the attention in recent weeks has been centered on state officials — namely the legislators who...

A public information officer seems like a good idea. The idea is a designated person is the spokesperson for a government entity or other agency. The name sounds like someone whose job is providing information, so it can be frustrating when the reality proves to be different. In 2019, the...

There is an idea in criminal investigation called Locard’s principle. It is the idea that no two things come in contact with each other without leaving something behind. You see it in car crashes when the paint from one fender ends up on another vehicle’s bumper. It is found when...

Over the past two years, protests at schools have been on the rise. Aside from the push and pull about pandemic protocols, there also have been vocal demands about the content of curriculum and what is on the shelves of the libraries. Pennsylvania, in particular, has been a main battleground...

Laurel: To a little housekeeping. Westmoreland County has made tackling blight a priority. County commissioners put their stamp of approval on that idea when they carved off $10.4 million of the county’s American Rescue Plan money to dedicate toward mitigation efforts. That got started this week with the demolition of...

Want to know who is in charge of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives? Join the club. The general election in November gave the Keystone State a razor-thin division in the House. After 12 years of undisputed Republican control, it flipped on the strength of a few districts in the greater...

It is probably pointless to expect decency or shame from a thief. With that in mind, it is unlikely that whoever is behind the theft of 20 bikes from the Allegheny Valley Marine Corps Toys for Tots chapter feels bad about it. No, they don’t care about the kid whose...

Justice can appear in many forms. It can come swiftly. It can be sporadic. It might be measured or thorough or haphazard. It might come hand in hand with rage or sorrow, or it might be businesslike and perfunctory. But what is important is that justice shows up, however it...