Editorials category, Page 70

We no longer defend simply against nations. We fight factions. We are attacked by ideals and ideologues. We also fight against a deadly sin that has driven more war than politics and pride — greed. On Thursday, federal authorities announced the indictment of two Russian nationals in Pittsburgh. Maksim V....

Hiring someone for a job is not as simple as putting a “help wanted” sign in the front window. Especially not when the job is about handling the billions running in and out of the Pennsylvania lottery system. But does it really have to be as complicated as it has...

Laurel: To a new spin on an old tradition. If you don’t see “It’s a Wonderful Life,” can you even say that Christmas has happened? Let’s not find out. Luckily, the Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media’s recent closing of Regent Square Theater, where the Frank Capra classic was annually...

There is often a sad lament for the way things used to be in our communities. We look for ways to recapture the days when downtown bustled and the kids were active, when there was less graffiti and more social grace. We wonder how we can have that back. We...

Crime doesn’t like to sit still. It doesn’t achieve a goal, take a break and retire, content that it has run its race. No, crime is a lot like modern business. It wants to see growth. It wants to expand its reach. It wants to find new product lines and...

A couple has a fight. A couple has an ugly fight. Someone ends up in the emergency room. Police are called. Charges are filed. It isn’t a new story or a particularly surprising one. It happens every day — often several times a day. And this time, people are paying...

There’s just no reason for it. People have been driving for more than 100 years. When the Model T first rolled off Henry Ford’s assembly line in 1908, it put Americans on the road and gave them a freedom they never had before. The cellphone has snatched that away. Ironically,...

There are words for the deficits in a person’s life. If you need food, you are hungry. If you need water, you are thirsty. If you need shelter, you are homeless. But there is a different kind of need — sometimes overlapping one or more or all of those —...

It used to be that the Saturday after Thanksgiving was about hunting for bargains or hunting for Christmas ornaments or maybe just hunting for the remote to watch college football. “Used to be” was last year. That changes this weekend. This year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is also the first...

Laurel: To not giving up. Aspinwall’s Philip Beard proves the old saying about good things coming to those who wait. Filming on a movie version of his 2004 novel “Dear Zoe” just wrapped last week after shooting around O’Hara, Squirrel Hill and Braddock. It may have taken 15 years to...

Thanksgiving. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines thanksgiving with a small T as “a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness; the act of giving thanks; a prayer expressing gratitude.” We have the public celebrating down pat. Celebrating is an area in which Americans excel. We do love a party, and if...

Gambling is coming to Westmoreland County. No, not just in the mini casino at the mall. It’s happening in the halls of government too. The Westmoreland County Commissioners decided Friday to roll the dice on a settlement in the federal opioid lawsuit. The proposed total of the litigation that involves...

A grand jury report is not the kind of thing that is released every time it is issued. We may not know every grand jury that is impaneled. We are not told when they hear a case. We do not know what witnesses appear before them. We may never hear...

A firefighter has to be prepared for a lot. Fire, naturally. Structural damage to a house. The elements, since emergencies don’t put themselves off for fair weather. Even access to simple life-sustaining oxygen. And bullets. That last one shouldn’t be a factor, but it is. Jeannette firefighters are being outfitted...

A new law will not stop young smokers. Or vapers. On Thursday, Pennsylvania’s General Assembly moved ahead with legislation that would change the legal age to buy tobacco products — whether traditional cigarettes or the newer e-cigarette devices and their fluids — to 21. The House supported it 135-49. The...

Educators appreciate education. At least, they should. It’s right there in the name. One would think that a teacher or a principal or a superintendent would be interested in learning as much as teaching, especially when so much is changing about how kids are processing information via new technologies. And...

Laurel: To a spotlight on a great neighbor. A little national attention on Pittsburgh is always nice, especially when it’s for everyone’s favorite nice guy, Latrobe native Fred Rogers. “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is giving that wholesome glow with a little red-carpet flair. Thanks a lot, Tom Hanks!...

As Black Friday approaches, everyone is thinking about gifts. Kids. Parents. Department store Santas. And state representatives. On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee unanimously approved an annual limit on what a public official, employee or candidate can receive. The value of limiting gifts should be obvious for anyone...

Robbing Peter to pay Paul is a familiar saying. It refers to the idea of meeting one obligation at the expense of something else. Pay your light bill by putting off a credit card payment. Buy gas with the grocery money. Use the Christmas savings to take care of the...

Kids need homes. A kid doesn’t necessarily need a smartphone or a new game system or a puppy, though those might all be on a wish list. But there are basics, like a roof and a door and clothes and food that are non-negotiable. There are things like love and...

The shopping lists are being made. There’s the turkey. You’ll need the stuff to make the stuffing. Potatoes, of course — both sweet and starchy. The cranberry sauce that might not get eaten at all but still somehow seems necessary. Pies, lots of pies, but with whipped cream or ice...

There are things that we promise our service members. We tell them that they will be paid and that they will be trained. We tell them that when they complete their service, they will have the opportunity to go to school. They will have medical care. They are told that...

It is easy to dismiss some post-game howling as poor sportsmanship. That call was blown! The refs were biased! The game was rigged! It so often comes down to the fact that one side won and the other side lost. Identify yourself so closely with a team and it can...

Laurel: To making the holidays bigger. The Ligonier Country Market’s annual Christmas Market is getting a boost with a second location. The boost to the Nov. 30 event will not just accommodate more crafters, artisans and other producers, but also additional shoppers. Way to grow. Lance: To not paying up....

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office sends out a lot of press releases. They come when a drug dealer is arrested or when a lawsuit is filed against a pharmaceutical corporation. They come when he releases a grand jury report. They come when charges are filed against an elected official....