Editorials category, Page 47

Some people say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Does that count if you do the same thing someone else did and expect it to turn out differently? The Westmoreland County Commissioners are giving that a try with $125...

Help wanted. Help needed. Positions available. Apply within. The signs are everywhere. Whether you are talking about your local grocery store or the gas station, your favorite restaurant or that summer-fun attraction, everyone seems to be looking for someone to do the work that keeps the doors open to keep...

Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States. In 2019, 47,511 people lost their lives to whatever combination of pain or trauma or mental anguish made ending everything seem like the only solution. But as awful as that number is, there is another that might be worse....

The coronavirus pandemic stole the spotlight in 2020, but it was not the only epidemic threatening lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the opioid crisis didn’t just fade into the background while people worried about masks, respirators and social distancing. The 2020 numbers hit a record...

P olice departments across Pennsylvania have a new law to enforce. This law is a little different than most. It is one they will have to enforce against themselves. It requires police departments to participate in a database that keeps track of complaints and misconduct allegations against officers. The goal...

Laurel: To a new way to move. The City of Pittsburgh is planning to get people up and running with a Move PGH pilot program launching in the Manchester neighborhood. The program will put 100 electric scooters in use to push the city’s efforts for Universal Basic Mobility — a...

The government is trusted with a lot just because it is the government. It is easy to balance your checkbook and figure out if the bank overcharged you for a fee. It isn’t hard to glance over your receipt from Walmart to make sure that you weren’t charged for two...

Do you know what a constable is and exactly where the position falls in the tangle of law enforcement and court duties in Pennsylvania? No? You aren’t alone. The position is something of a relic — a leftover from a time before police departments, when sheriffs could be far removed...

The percentage of people over 65 living in poverty is not as high as it used to be. According to the Congressional Research Service, the slice of the senior population living in the lowest income brackets has dropped by two-thirds over the last 50 years. In 2019, it was just...

Over the last year, a lot of people have wondered about the skills and knowledge that children haven’t learned because of the coronavirus pandemic’s disruption of the education system. Sure, kids were going to school remotely or masked and at a distance from their peers. But the 2020-21 school year...

Pennsylvania has a prison problem, and it’s not the one most people think. Yes, like most states and like the federal government, the Keystone State has a lot of people behind bars. The most recent population report for the Department of Corrections has just under 40,000 people in the state’s...

Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation program has been a problem for years. While some states have struggled under the burden of a massive increase in claims during the coronavirus pandemic, in Pennsylvania, that was only half the story. The system itself has been a problematic labyrinth. It was hard to apply. It...

Laurel: To a rash of good luck. Everyone who buys a lottery ticket has that moment of hope and imagination, dreaming of walking away with the big prize. Lately, though, it seems like a lot of those big prizes are popping up in Southwestern Pennsylvania. It started in May. The...

Libraries frequently are underappreciated services. They shouldn’t be. The coronavirus pandemic was not the first time that public or community libraries have seen their doors close in the face of a crisis. It probably will not be the last — although you would think that, at some point, the powers...

When it comes to essential employees, there are a lot of positions that come to mind. During the pandemic, people came to realize how much they depend on grocery store stockers and fast food workers. Most parents came to look at teachers with new appreciation. Day care providers, bus drivers,...

Westmoreland County commissioners need to be more forthright about what is happening in the elections bureau. This is becoming a very familiar topic. We have discussed it as three people in the office’s leadership have left under largely undisclosed circumstances in the last year. We have revisited it three times...

For blood to do its job, you have to have enough to stay in circulation. That goes for blood inside the body — taking oxygen from the lungs to the heart and back again. It also goes for the blood that circulates out in the world. Having enough blood to...

Bill Cosby is at home now, free from SCI Phoenix for the first time in more than two years after a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision Wednesday overturned his sexual assault conviction. The move did not come because of new evidence or something that fell apart in the case that sent...

Laurel: To exceeding expectations. Remember last week when we gave a lance to the crash on the Tarentum Bridge? The one that happened right there in the middle of the construction project that was already complicating everyone’s commuting? It was going to delay reopening of the bridge amid the $3.24...

The position of Westmoreland County Elections Bureau Director is up for grabs again. Officially now. It’s been almost three weeks since JoAnn Sebastiani was suspended with pay on June 8. Since then, the county commissioners have done little but confirm her absence while remaining tight-lipped on the reasoning. Until Tuesday,...

The world of illegal substances can create webs of other social or legal problems — child or domestic abuse, theft, assault, death. Those problems then have to be handled by the government, which can mean new laws being written or old ones being tweaked. Yet government involvement almost always means...

The coronavirus pandemic isn’t done with the economic gut punches yet. As more and more people have been vaccinated, the covid-19 precautions have been slowly rolled back. On Monday, Pennsylvania’s mask mandate was lifted. That means the state isn’t requiring the unvaccinated to wear masks in public places anymore. Individual...

Pennsylvania has rules about animals. There’s a whole Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. Many others fall under the Department of Agriculture’s umbrella. State law can be brought to bear in cases of neglect or cruelty. Local ordinances can come into play, too. They regulate how people are required to handle...

A per diem is an amount of money that an employer will give someone to cover expenses for a business-related trip. Unless you have a very specific job where travel is required, it’s not usually the kind of thing that becomes a big part of your paycheck. But then there...

You’re cruising down the interstate. Maybe you’re going a little bit faster than you should be. Maybe not. But if you catch a glimpse of a state trooper’s cruiser, you probably ease up on the gas, just in case. It might be that you know the Pennsylvania state police use...