Editorials category, Page 59

File for your special unemployment check before the money is all gone! This is the recommendation Pennsylvania’s jobless are getting. The state has just $2.8 billion from the Lost Wages Assistance program to give to those individuals who qualify for the $1,800 lump sum — calculated off $300 a week...

Courts are the third leg in the stool of our government, responsible not only for judging the guilty and the culpable, but also for serving as a check on the legality of what the executive and legislative branches do. Those decisions can’t just be placed on hold because of an...

To say or not to say. It isn’t a question. It’s a decision. And it’s not something new. It’s something very old. Today’s political climate has a tendency to divide people sharply over everything, but language is a real sticking point. While some are calling out verbal offenses, others are...

In debate about criminal justice reform, one area frequently targeted for change is drug arrests. Our prisons and jails and other detention facilities hold more than 2 million people. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, one in five is there for a drug offense. Of those, many are for minor...

Keep your distance. Wash your hands. Cover your mouth. Stay home if you are sick. These are the rules of the new world. The coronavirus world. They are the rules intended to keep covid-19 at bay and slow its march, minimizing a tidal-wave crash on hospitals and potential loss of...

Laurel: To staffing up. Westmoreland County is making sure there will be plenty of people working on Election Day come November. The county is hiring up to 1,800 poll workers for its 307 precincts. While many people are expected to use mail-in ballots for the election to cut down on...

A government budget is not settled quickly. You can see this when Congress wars within its chambers over spending plans that push partisan politics to its limits. You see it in Harrisburg when the governor — not just Gov. Tom Wolf, but years of guys with the top job from...

On Sept. 11, 2001, a field near Shanksville became a shrine — both battlefield and resting place for the passengers and crew of United 93, the fourth plane hijacked by terrorists that day. The official memorial didn’t open until the 10th anniversary of the attacks, but that was just ceremony....

The idea of putting public information in the hands of the public isn’t one of those things that was enshrined from the beginning of the United States — not like freedom of speech or freedom of assembly. The founders knew early on that they wanted people to have the right...

Protests are staged where people feel they will do the most good. That seldom means they happen where they are the most convenient. If workers go on strike, they make their situation known outside the building, making a visible symbol of their opposition to the management. When people bring their...

Labor Day. You know what it is. It’s a lazy day. A picnic day. The line in the sand beyond which no white shoes used to pass. The first Monday in September is a day off for most. Since 1894, the federal government has set it aside as a day...

President Trump’s airport rally in Unity on Thursday drew an enthusiastic crowd. Some people focused on the enthusiasm. Others just saw the crowd. The event, held at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, drew thousands. Pennsylvania’s green-phase coronavirus pandemic restrictions cap outdoor gatherings at 250. The Republican campaign appearance might not have...

There is no excuse for not having correct numbers for covid-19 cases in nursing homes. Diane Menio, executive director at the Philadelphia-based advocacy group CARIE, said that to Tribune-Review and Spotlight PA reporter Jamie Martines this week. She is right. When the coronavirus pandemic hit Pennsylvania in March, there was...

Laurel: To adaptability. Lots of small businesses are trying to find ways to keep the doors open while the coronavirus pandemic is changing the way people shop, dine and drink. The creativity of some entrepreneurs in Pittsburgh’s East End is an urban take on a more rural model. Farms —...

Speech isn’t always about using your voice. Maybe it’s a book. Maybe it’s a quote in a magazine article. It could be a T-shirt or a hat or a tattoo. But as the election approaches, one form of speech will pop up more and more: the yard sign. They may...

This is no time for hints. On Tuesday, the moratoriums on evictions in Pennsylvania expired. Gov. Tom Wolf pushed the pause button on the legal process that removes renters from their homes. Nonpayment of rent is the most common reason for eviction and both the state and the federal government...

OK, Pennsylvania, it’s your turn. If the presidential election were like baseball, the regular season would be over. The wild card games are over. Thanks for playing, Andrew Yang and Marianne Williamson. The divisions are done. We know who won the pennants. It’s all over but the World Series. Just...

Sometimes problems are theoretical. They involve big-picture concepts and abstract ideas and a lot of what ifs and few concrete answers. So far, 2020 has been a year filled with those, from the coronavirus pandemic and its precarious balance with the economy, plus the added challenge of widespread protests and...

How long can you put off bad news without making it worse? Pennsylvania utility customers will have to find out eventually. In March, the Public Utility Commission put a moratorium on shutoffs due to the coronavirus pandemic. It made sense at the time. Gov. Tom Wolf was instituting lockdowns at...

College is not just a place to learn. It’s also a place to show how you’ve applied what you’ve learned. If it wasn’t, colleges wouldn’t ask for high school transcripts and class rankings and test scores. No 16-year-olds would take AP chemistry. Eighth grade math class wouldn’t matter. But it...

We need our news. Communicating information about what is happening in our world and in our government, around the globe and around the corner, has been critical from the start. The first newspaper in America was printed in Boston in 1690. The Hartford Courant is the oldest newspaper in the...

Is delaying a bill the most efficient way of paying it? Not usually. If you refinance your mortgage, it might save you money month to month, but you are spreading your interest out over a longer period of time. If you pay the minimum on your credit cards instead of...

There are lots of things to worry about as the 2020-21 school year gets education back into gear. Do we send the kids back into the classroom in spite of covid-19? Does the coronavirus caution us to keep them at home? Do we do both? Do we strike a balance...

Ask someone whether they want to live next to “low-income housing” and you may get push back. It’s an idea President Trump has brought up recently, tweeting about stopping those developments from invading other neighborhoods. While the president took heat from opponents about the topic, proposed low-income housing is often...

Laurel: To a new act. For some people, Andy Warhol was right about that 15 minutes of fame. But other people do get another bite at the celebrity apple. A local couple is getting that shot. It comes via a podcast for Shannon Edwards and Jesse Sally. Do those names...