Letters to the Editor category, Page 183

Just finished reading the Spotlight PA article “Pittsburgh, Philadelphia move ahead with plastic bag bans as Pa.’s preemption nears its end”. I note Waste Management reports problems recycling bags and has requested newspapers not be placed into plastic bags when setting out recyclables for collecting, as the bags jam up...

Regarding the article “ ‘Severe’ blood shortage prompts donation centers to make a call to arms”: I have a novel idea to remedy this situation. Monetarily compensate blood donors for the fair value of their lifesaving product. Let the market determine what the price of a pint of blood or...

So now the big argument is election reform. Is it possible both sides are right and now would be a perfect time to fix the system? Pennsylvania has permitted the two major parties to lock out third-party and independent voters in primaries for far too long. It is time to...

If we equated today’s American political landscape to a child’s game, it would have to be Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots. The red (Republican) robot bashing the head of the blue (Democratic) robot and vice versa. Nonstop combat, taking turns “popping” the other side. The result: STALEMATE. Blind loyalty is...

A bill requiring voter ID recently passed in the Pennsylvania Senate, and Gov. Tom Wolf’s office has already stated he would veto the bill. Wolf and his party claim that requiring voter ID somehow violates individual rights, that it is racist. The term racist is thrown out there so frequently...

We live in time in which speech is being criminalized. How do you get the best of ourselves without a prolific use of free speech? Being told what to think by virtue of what words we use and in contradiction to objective truth should shake you to your core. Articulating...

On June 10, I, along with hundreds of fellow Pennsylvanians, participated in PennEnvironment’s virtual Climate Action Lobby Day. It was amazing to witness how many Pennslyvanians care so much about minimizing the disastrous effects of climate change. My fellow constituents and I had many concerns about our health and the...

The article “Murrysville library program will focus on Turtle Creek’s history, recovery” (June 25, TribLIVE) stated that in the early 1970s, members of the Turtle Creek Watershed Association began working with the University of Pittsburgh and the state to make the stream more hospitable for aquatic life. An earlier Trib...

While reading the article “Nurse shortage is crippling hospitals, centers that provide care in Western Pa.” (July 4, TribLIVE), I began to wonder what our county commissioners are doing to keep our present nursing staff at Westmoreland Manor. We have been losing staff (RNs, LPNs and CNAs) to retirement and...

What are businesses going to do when college students leave in September? Families used the stimulus money to pay off bills and realized that with the cost of child care, clothing, travel and lunches, it simply costs more than it is worth working so one spouse can stay home. Now...

I find Westmoreland County’s plan to borrow $140 million for the county pension fund irritating and unprofessional (“Westmoreland will borrow $140 million to keep pension fund solvent.”) This plan must be canceled and a detailed audit of the fund conducted. Having to borrow $140 million on a fund valued at...

With a 92-8 vote, the U.S. Senate on June 25 passed the Growing Climate Solutions Act (GCSA) and sent the bill to the House, where there are 18 Democrats and 14 Republicans already co-sponsoring the legislation. The executive director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Mark Reynolds, has said, “In times like...

President Biden’s $6 trillion budget would be the highest planned spending, as a percent of the economy, since World War II, and the deficits would run above $1.3 trillion for the next 10 years. That spending would exceed $45,000 per household and push the national debt to exceed $44 trillion...

Letter-writer James Kvitkovich (“Trib is fair and balanced,” July 2, TribLIVE) said he believes the Tribune-Review and Associated Press are fair and balanced. At one time that was very true about the Trib; it was never true about the AP. He says he gets his news from sources such as...

By not enforcing federal immigration laws, the Biden administration is encouraging illegal immigration along our southern border. Mexican cartels dangerously are smuggling children, adults, lethal fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S, overwhelming the U.S. border patrol. U.S. taxpayers are paying to house and process. Neither the president nor the...

Pennsylvania State Police shot Christian Hall multiple times Dec. 30, 2020, in East Stroudsburg. Hall, a 19-year-old Chinese adoptee of Filipino and Black Latino parents, was experiencing a mental health crisis and called 911 himself. In late January 2021, third-party footage began circulating on social media showing Hall standing with...

Regarding the article “Pittsburgh, Philadelphia move ahead with plastic bag bans as Pa.’s preemption nears its end”: These cities would be better off if the cities spent time on stopping the public shootings. Clem Zahrobsky Delmont...

In Pennsylvania’s lawmakers- negotiated budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year, a sizable amount will be spent on education and human resources, which is understandable. Few of the federal relief dollars allotted to Pennsylvania will be directed toward investing in our public health infrastructure. Public health officials often have forgone lucrative...

East Vandergrift has benefited from Community Development Block Grants throughout the years. The continuous support of the Westmoreland County commissioners and the county Planning and Development office has contributed greatly to community development upgrades, including the stormwater-sewage separation project and repaving of borough streets. Now, borough officials are working with...

The other day I was wondering what Donald Trump was like in high school. To which clique did he belong? The jocks, science nerds, vo-techers, band members, academics? I think he was the “outcast” — the loudmouth, overbearing know-it-all who everyone avoids. How did Trump, a twice-impeached, one-term loser, win...

I applaud Gov. Tom Wolf for his support of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This program provides a framework for Pennsylvania to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and to fully eliminate the gases by 2050 using a cap and trade system. RGGI is a network of...

America is at a crossroads that will determine her future for better or worse. Currently, it is for the worse, as socialists seem to have the upper hand instituting critical race theory, cancel culture, etc. These convictions have great influence indoctrinating students to their style of thinking and stifling the...

Voice of Westmoreland, a grassroots community organization that is committed to making sure the voices of people who are often left out of the political conversations are heard, has been surveying residents about their most pressing needs for help from the American Rescue Plan. We have already received more than...

I do not expect any of my fellow “liberal/progressive” Democrats to share my concern here, but because I believe that it will be very difficult for the Democrats to retain the pesidency in 2024 and to retain control of Congress in 2022 (because of Republican state legislatures wanting to make...

By imposing a feeding ban on cats, Plum is disregarding what so many other communities have already learned the hard way — outlawing feeding policies are cruel and consistently fail as a means of managing populations of community cats (“Plum officials pass law discouraging the feeding, care of feral cats.”)...