Fair schools funding fight gets its day

May 6, 2021

Advocates for fair school funding in Pennsylvania are watching the calendar, but the anticipated date isn’t on the docket of the state legislature. A lawsuit filed seven years ago by parents and school districts against state government has been given a tentative trial date in September and has the potential to change the way schools are funded. The lawsuit alleging the Pennsylvania General Assembly has violated the state’s constitution by failing to provide fair and adequate funding for public education was given a tentative trial date of Sept. 9 in Commonwealth Court in an ...

Biden takes gun violence seriously; state should, too

April 26, 2021

After four long years, and at a time Philadelphia needs it most, there is an occupant in the White House who understands the value of gun control. The White House has announced initial actions the administration is taking to address gun violence. Unable to impose gun control requirements through executive action, the White House instructed the Department of Justice to draft a model “red flag” law for states to use and craft a federal law enforcement response to the proliferation of “ghost guns.” The plan calls for $5 billion toward a violence interruption program. President ...

Antibody treatment proves effective

April 23, 2021

Rising rates of vaccinations against COVID-19 across Pennsylvania and the country are certainly cause for celebrating — and bring much-needed hope for the return of the kind of summer activities and gatherings that we’ve all longed for. But as our own data show, some vaccinated people remain extremely vulnerable to the virus — and a still sizable number of Americans indicate they may not get vaccinated. That’s why any “return to normal” will require multiple strategies for protecting the people in our communities. UPMC has focused on providing a highly effective ...

After verdict, US still has work to do

April 22, 2021

Now a nation that was holding its breath for justice can exhale. In one of the most significant racial justice cases in U.S. history, a white Minneapolis police officer has been convicted of murdering an unarmed, handcuffed Black man. A diverse 12-member jury of Minnesotans found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on Tuesday. And the image of Chauvin driving his knee into the neck of George Floyd for nine minutes and 29 seconds is forever seared into the American and global psyche. Hennepin ...

Schools can’t make up their own mask rules

April 16, 2021

Pennsylvania’s public and private educational institutions have spent 2020-21 stuck between the rock of health officials’ guidance and the hard place of parents who want normalcy restored at their kids’ schools. But we believe what happened this spring at Beaver County Christian School carries an important lesson — that school officials who choose to improperly administer or liberally interpret state mandates to placate parents do so at their own risk. In August, the Pennsylvania Health Department announced that students would need to wear masks at all times. There were a ...

Hats off to township supervisors

April 13, 2021

You may read about them in the newspaper or see them along local roads, plowing snow in the winter or patching potholes in the spring. They’re your township supervisors and staff, and while you may not know them personally, these public servants show up each and every day with one goal in mind: to build a better community for you, your family, and your neighbors. As Pennsylvania celebrates Local Government Week, this is the perfect opportunity for you to better understand the critical role your township and its officials play in the commonwealth’s governing system. Established ...