York Dispatch, PNA host high school essay contests to combat distracted driving

The Pennsylvania News Media Association Foundation and The York Dispatch are hosting editorial contests giving teenagers the chance to win money by raising awareness about distracted driving.

OP-ED: ‘It’s like drowning’: Minute by minute, a physician tells a courtroom how you die from an ove

On the stand Monday in the federal courthouse, Jeanmarie Perrone told a hushed crowd, minute by minute, what happens to the body during an opioid overdose.

by Mike Newall  | 2 days ago

EDITORIAL: Endangered Species Act itself endangered

Leave it to President Donald Trump to water down the very law credited with saving the American Bald Eagle from extinction.

by York Dispatch Editorial Board  | 2 days ago

OP-ED: Trump vs. the Statue of Liberty

The Trump administration has literally declared war on the Statue of Liberty and everything it stands for.

by Anthony Galace  | 3 days ago

OP-ED: It’s time for the public sector to fully embrace artificial intelligence

The National Institute for Standards and Technology just delivered a final plan to the White House for developing artificial intelligence standards for the private sector, in order to “maintain and strengthen America’s leadership in AI.”

by Patrick A. McLaughlin and Tyler Richards  | 3 days ago

EDITORIAL: Epstein gone but case must go on

You’d be hard-pressed to find a death less mourned than that of Jeffrey Epstein. The convicted sex offender, charged anew with sex trafficking and sexually abusing scores of underage girls, was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell last weekend.

by York Dispatch Editorial Board  | 3 days ago

OP-ED: Trump saves Black Friday — from himself

The move averts some of the damage President Trump had threatened to cause when he summarily announced the imposition of the tariffs, which targeted the roughly $300 billion worth of Chinese imports not already subject to tariffs of up to 25%.

by Jon Healey  | 4 days ago

OP-ED: The #TrumpRecession label is going to stick

Actions have consequences, and the undeniable consequences of this president’s actions are rates that are higher today than they would otherwise have been and worldwide trade disruption.

by Barry Ritholtz  | 4 days ago

EDITORIAL: The right to breathe free

It seems that the intent of ICE, the Customs and Border Patrol and many other agencies under this administration is to find the cruelest way to do their jobs.

by York Dispatch Editorial Board  | 6 days ago

OP-ED: History seems to be repeating in Russia, China

It’s beginning to feel like 1980s news tape showing America’s despotic enemies running amok.

OP-ED: Make gun owners buy insurance

America has just surpassed a grim milestone, with more than 250 mass shootings blasting the nation in only 216 days, at a rate of more than one act of gun carnage per day in 2019.

EDITORIAL: ‘Knowledge Park’ a needed project

The "Knowledge Park" at York College should prove to be a valuable asset for the students, the school and local employers.

OP-ED: Folmer has plenty of questions for Wolf

A recent veto by Gov. Tom Wolf has me asking: Why? Who? What? Why? Why did the governor take this action? Who called him? What did they say to convince him to veto? Why did he issue a veto only to turn around and ask for similar proposed changes? Why hasn’t the governor been pressed for better answ

PITTS: Jeffrey Epstein didn’t commit suicide

Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide while in federal custody Saturday has spawned no shortage of conspiracy theories about what “really” happened to the wealthy financier who stood accused of sex-trafficking children on an industrial scale.

EDITORIAL: Salute to Marine role model

A salute to Melvin Carter, a William Penn Senior High School graduate who last week became the U.S. Marine Corps’ latest brigadier general.

LETTER: Urge lawmakers to support veterans retirement act

It has come to our attention that Congress has an opportunity to pass legislation that will have a meaningful impact on veterans’ and military families’ financial and retirement security. It is imperative we get the U.S. Senate to bring this legislation up for a vote.

LETTER: Where’s the ‘fix’ in latest property tax plan?

In reference to The York Dispatch article “Seeking a property tax fix”: I do not see a fix in this plan. I see a transfer from tax on my property to tax on my retirement income.

OP-ED: Dems’ impeachment bumblings damage Congress’ strongest check on president

Just days after the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing with former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, a top Judiciary Democrat claimed “impeachment isn’t a binary thing that you either are or you aren’t.” Under House rules and precedent, however, impeachment has a clear, formal process — for go

EDITORIAL: Latest climate report signals new urgency

“Human-caused climate change is dramatically degrading the Earth’s land,” writes the Associated Press in reporting on the newly released report, “Climate Change and Land,” from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

LETTER: Latest property tax plan defeats purpose of relief

Did Rep. Ryan have a brain malfunction or is that his normal level of thought?

OP-ED: To tackle climate change we need to rethink our food system

The way we produce, consume and discard food is no longer sustainable. That much is clear from the newly released UN climate change report, which warns that we must rethink how we produce our food — and quickly — to avoid the most devastating impacts of global food production, including massive defo

EDITORIAL: Charges aren’t curbing drug deaths

The road to poor policy is paved with good intentions. And that might be precisely what's happening now in Lancaster and York counties, which rank first and second nationally in the number prosecutions of dealers whose drugs ultimately result in an overdose death.

OP-ED: The lessons of Toni Morrison: Words matter, now more than ever

It is fitting that in a week when America has been exposed to the words of a white nationalist screed shared before a man filled with hate murdered 22 human beings in Texas, we can find some comfort in Toni Morrison’s life and legacy, and in the power of words.

EDITORIAL: Trump’s only sign of progress: debt

Among the justifications for electing Donald Trump president was that he would “run the country like a business.” Unfortunately, he’s running it like one of his own businesses, which means it’s losing money — bigly, as the president would say.

LETTER: Shameful record on climate

The July 25 letter “Thankful DePasquale is taking on climate change denier” points out that Rep. Scott Perry “has not voted one single time for the climate in the 6 years he’s been in office. That is pathetic.” Lancaster’s Rep. Smucker has the same shameful record.

OP-ED: When it comes to gun violence, Congress dithers while Americans die

It took back-to-back mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, with 31 people killed and more than 50 others wounded or injured, but some Republican members of Congress are finally coming around on gun control measures. Sort of.

EDITORIAL: Don’t miss school tax town hall

York County residents will have a chance to weigh in on school funding reform later this month in Dallastown.

OP-ED: Yet again, archbishop foolishly misses mark in time of crisis

Archbishop Charles Chaput’s occasional political pronouncements are as much about what he doesn’t say as what he does.

LETTER: York GOP puts others in the crosshairs

When the Democratic Party of York County does voter registration we have a sign on our table that says Register to Vote Here.

LETTER: York GOP flyer aims to intimidate

This is the flyer that was distributed by the York Republican Party during the Hanover Dutch Days in 2019. It was openly displayed and is an unacceptable attempt to frighten people. There are many who I have spoken to who were very concerned about this flyer, particularly after the weekend of shooti

OP-ED: Is there something wrong with us?

President Trump says we have so many mass shootings because of mental illness, video games and the internet. But Canada has mental illness, the internet and violent video games, too — the same video games, in the same language — and its rate of gun violence is far lower.

OP-ED: Mass shootings require political response

Aug. 3 was a historic day for the United States. In the morning, 20 people were killed and more than 25 others injured in a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Later Saturday night, nine people were killed and 27 injured in another

OP-ED: A smarter way to curb drug prices

The Trump administration last week announced steps that could lead to the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, where prices are lower. It is a goal supported by President Trump, but long opposed by many Republicans.

EDITORIAL: On mass shootings, put up or shut up

Recent mass shootings in El Paso, Dayton, Brooklyn and Gilroy, Calif., have followed a depressingly similar script. Aggrieved gunmen, innocent victims, devastated survivors and do-nothing lawmakers.

OP-ED: Current board is destroying York Fair

The last few years there have been fewer and fewer food vendors. Fewer and fewer exhibitors. Less and less of everything. In fact, less and less York Fair.

OP-ED: Two days, two mass shootings — just another weekend in America

It’s curious that in response to mass violence so many people struggle to find ways to put on a brave face, or to deflect the real issues.

EDITORIAL: Thumbs up and down

Thumbs up to firefighters and motorcycle riders, and a thumbs down to the Trump administration, yet again.

OP-ED: No more debate. Impeachment inquiry is underway

Although special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony may not have been a summer blockbuster, it confirmed the damning conclusions of his report. The investigation revealed substantial evidence that President Donald Trump obstructed justice. And that the special counsel did not exonerate him.

OP-ED: Requiring candidate tax returns is legal

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday took an important step to providing California voters with critical information to inform their election choices. He did so by signing SB 27, which requires all candidates for president to provide their income tax returns to the California Secretary of State as a precond

EDITORIAL: Lax actions imperil more than security

York County Sheriff Richard Keuerleber evidently isn’t much of a politician.