Featured Commentary category, Page 61

In response to the outrageous and misguided op-ed “The story of Pittsburgh’s water” by Jennifer Rafanan Kennedy and Taifa Smith Butler “The Story of Pittsburgh’s Water,” Veolia North America would like to state that we wholeheartedly agree with the desire of the authors to put the interests and safety of...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has plunged Europe into crisis with his invasion of Ukraine. His stated goals are to destabilize the country to bring the nation back under Russia’s control. In response, it’s time we hit Putin where he knows it will hurt — through the energy sector. Unfortunately, there’s...

As political backdrops go, you can’t beat the collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge. Visits from politicians may gloss over the terror and bodily injury endured by people driving and riding over the bridge and the fears of the entire neighborhood as the smell of gas filled the air. They may overlook...

Inflation — defined herein as a widespread increase in the prices of widely purchased consumer goods – has gotten worse since I commented on it last spring. According to the official Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation is currently running at 7.5% year over year — the highest since 1982. What...

The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina for unconstitutionally discriminating against Asian-American students in its admissions program. As justices revisit the issue of affirmative action, they could learn something from John S. Rock, the first Black attorney admitted to practice before...

In the recent film “Don’t Look Up,” two astronomers learn that a comet is on track to collide with Earth and destroy human civilization. When they try to sound the alarm, all manner of obstacles get in their way. In the end, well, you’ll have to watch the movie to...

After Canadian truckers upset with vaccination mandates made their way to Ottawa, they parked their vehicles near Parliament and started making noise — lots of it — blasting their air horns day and night, disturbing the repose of citizens at home, work and in school. The local reaction was swift....

Doing taxes in the U.S. is notoriously complicated and costly. And it gets even worse when there are delays and backlogs, making it especially hard to reach the Internal Revenue Service for assistance. But to me this raises an important question: Why should taxpayers have to navigate the tedious, costly...

What a difference a half century makes. In February 1972, the People’s Republic of China hosted a history-making American delegation headed by President Richard M. Nixon, the Middle Kingdom’s most important Western visitor since Marco Polo. In February 2022, no Western heads of state were in Beijing as the city...

In every representative democracy, free and fair elections in which voters choose their representatives is the foundation of democratic health. This ensures every citizen has equal representation and access to the political process, while each individual’s vote is weighed the same. Unfortunately, there are mechanisms like gerrymandering that hijack this...

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin,” declared the legendary civil-rights leader Nelson Mandela in his tireless battle against racism. “People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can learn to love,” he averred. Yet racism in America...

Feb. 19 is National Vet Girls RISE Day, when we recognize women veterans for their service and sacrifice. At Veterans Place of Washington Boulevard, an important part of our mission is to empower veterans’ transition from homeless to home and end the cycle of homelessness. Our Female Veteran Program offers...

There have been rumblings about a trucker convoy similar to that in Canada traveling across the U.S. in the next few weeks. In Canada the convoy began out of anger over a mandate that all truck drivers be vaccinated. No similar mandate for truck drivers exists in the U.S. as...

The debate on House Bill 2272 has started: Should Pennsylvania get out of the business of selling liquor, essentially going with private wholesalers and retailers? This has raised a question within the membership of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association (PLBTA), the statewide political voice for family-owned taverns, bars...

Republicans are a bit too confident about the midterm elections and more vulnerable than they think. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has told key party donors that the Republicans will not offer a legislative platform but rather run against President Joe Biden’s record. Plenty of ammo At first glance, they...

During his recent visit to Pittsburgh, President Joe Biden had a lot to say about roads and bridges and America’s crumbling infrastructure — mere hours after the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed. But notably, he failed to mention another critical public resource to which the people of Pittsburgh have called attention...

For the past several months, op-eds and think pieces have meditated on the current national hiring crisis: Jobs all over the country are going unfilled. It’s a phenomenon we’re familiar with in Western Pennsylvania. For years, as our population has shifted, regional workforce development discussions have lamented the shortage of...

Pittsburgh is world-famous for its manufacturing heritage and its beautiful natural scenery. As our region and all of Pennsylvania moves into the future, we must make sure we protect both. We can strengthen the middle class through the 717,000 union members in Pennsylvania, create more jobs by making use of...

In 1996 I was diagnosed with psoriasis, a chronic, immune-mediated disease that impacts more than 3% of the U.S. adult population. Early on in my journey, raised plaques and scales covered 85% of my body, and treatment options were limited. I later learned that I am also one of the...

On Feb. 7, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report on the Jan. 28 collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge. The report on the failure of the not-even-50-year-old bridge spanning Frick Park was unsurprising — but for one particular footnote. The NTSB described the bridge as “an...

In Harrisburg, lawmakers are building momentum for a series of reforms that will empower public sector workers and defend taxpayers. The House Labor and Industry Committee approved four bills last month that public school teacher Cheri Gensel says will provide “greater accountability” for government union executives, ensuring they “focus on...

I seldom use the expression “a special place in Hell” because it has been suggested as the ultimate destination for too many people by now, from serial killers to women who voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. Invoked too often, it loses its punch. Still, it’s a tempting phrase...

My isolated summer cabin in the Himalayas of Tibet was raided this summer, when occupying Chinese Communist Party police stormed every hotel on the Tibetan plateau to force foreigners against their will into ambulances and clear them from the region. I knew instantly they were doing this to tighten their...

On Jan. 15, we were shocked to learn that once again a house of worship, the synagogue Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, was attacked during the Sabbath service. A man held the rabbi and three members hostage for over 10 hours. This was unquestionably an act of antisemitism. As...

Sen. Joe Manchin’s Freedom to Vote Act, a compromise bill addressing voting rights, has been deemed dead in the wake of Manchin and fellow Democrat Kyrsten Sinema’s refusal to support a filibuster exception. But it still could be saved if one or two self-described moderate Republicans stepped up. They’d follow...