OP-ED: Trump is handing anti-vaxxers an invitation to smear coronavirus vaccines

Convincing vaccine skeptics to trust any future COVID-19 vaccine is going to be a tough job, even if there are mountains of data from clinical trials showing that it is safe and effective.

OP-ED: Proof is in the data — Yorkers’ sacrifices have saved lives

I now hear statements such as “it isn’t as bad as predicted,” or “our hospitals are not overrun.” These are all testaments to the success of social distancing.

OP-ED: Civilian Coronavirus Corps fails to solve problem of Wolf’s making

The proposal is at best misguided, and at worst kneecaps the state financially at the expense of Pennsylvanians.

OP-ED: Are we in this together?

The cure wouldn’t be worse than the problem if our representatives were trying in earnest to innovate better solutions. Sadly, our local elected state legislators, even our district attorney and sheriff in York County, are making this pandemic both political and partisan.

by Deborah Yonick  | 1 day ago

OP-ED: Trump just called a key coronavirus whistleblower ‘disgruntled’

Trump’s splenetic reaction is all the encouragement we need to pay close attention to what Bright told Congress, because what the president disparages often is the truth.

OPED: We’re paying a steep price for not investing in science

In this time of tremendous uncertainty one thing is clear: We need to facilitate ramping up research instead of making it more difficult.

OP-ED: Coronavirus tracing apps are coming. Here’s how they could reshape surveillance as we know it

We are repeatedly told that contact tracing apps and COVID-19-related surveillance are temporary measures for use until the pandemic passes. That’s likely to be a fantasy.

OP-ED: How we ‘recovered’ from the Spanish flu should be a warning for the coronavirus age

A century ago, the flu killed roughly 50 million people worldwide, negatively shaped the global order for years afterward and was spectacularly mishandled by political leaders trying mightily to ignore it.

OP-ED: To restart business, protect workers

States that are reopening their economies even as cases of COVID-19 are still rising are threatening their own residents and the whole country.

OP-ED: Why we need ‘Medicare for All’

Sen. Bernie Sanders is no longer running for president, but one of his ideas, “Medicare for All,” is more critical than ever.

OP-ED: Petulant president snaps at innocent-but-accurate description of hospital gear availability

For just about any other president trying to steer things in the middle of a pandemic, this photo-op should have been the easiest of events — honoring the people on the front lines of a medical crisis. On National Nurses Day even! What could possibly go wrong?

OP-ED: Trump’s nominee to oversee intelligence says the right things, but so did Barr

Rep. John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of national intelligence, was a leading Republican voice during the House impeachment inquiry and his credentials to oversee the intelligence community are underwhelming.

OP-ED: A salute to the ingenuity of American nurses

Americans can’t seem to agree about much these days, but one thing crosses all political persuasions: gratitude for our health care professionals, especially in a time of pandemic.

OP-ED: What earthquakes can teach us about the coronavirus pandemic

The impact of major disasters is seen in the decades or longer required to rebuild a broken economy.

OP-ED: Clarence Thomas speaks and other notable events from the Supreme Court ‘tele-arguments’

Before Monday’s argument in a trademark case, only the reporters and a small number of spectators who were allowed into the Supreme Court chamber could listen to arguments in real time, though transcripts of arguments were published on the court’s website the same day and audio was posted at the end

OP-ED: No handshakes, more face masks: What I learned from Japan about battling COVID-19

To defeat the coronavirus and prevent future outbreaks, Americans need to reassess some ingrained social customs and lax sanitary practices that once were no big deal but during this crisis generate a collective “ewww.”

GUEST EDITORIAL: Protecting poultry workers is good for them and the economy

Federal, state and local governments need to be cautious in their approach to reopening this nation’s workplaces and follow the best public health advice, including increased screening of the asymptomatic.

OP-ED: How seriously should the Democrats take Tara Reade?

Surely other ironies will someday look trivial compared to what historians may think of as America’s quintessential “What-Were-They-Thinking?” moment, should Trump’s Democratic opponent in the 2020 election be undone by an allegation of sexual assault.

OP-ED: The COVID-19 crisis shows how dangerous misinformation becomes contagious

In olden times, it was fairly easy to identify the sources of misinformation and cultural ignorance: They were either commercial entities that profited from misleading the public, such as tobacco companies, or conspiracy theorists and other inhabitants of the lunatic fringe.

OP-ED: Bus drivers need better protection

The nation’s bus drivers are essential workers. To protect them, we need more than recommendations and expectations. We need rules that can be enforced. This should be one of them.

OP-ED: Where’s the science Wolf would have us believe?

Could it be Pennsylvania’s COVID response is being driven more by political science than by actual science? We’d love to know, but Dr. Wolf (PhD, Political Science) isn’t answering questions.

OP-ED: What does a socially distanced summer even look like?

A socially distanced summer doesn’t mean we continue to remain hunkered down in our homes until September, except for the occasional run to the grocery store. If we did, there wouldn’t be much of a society or economy to rejoin when we emerged in the fall.

OP-ED: While people protested the coronavirus lockdown, I was struggling to breathe

“Your health is not more important than my liberties,” someone had scribbled on a car window. The pain in my chest — which had persisted and grown throughout the last eight days — was now compounded by something else.

OP-ED: How we should spell relief

What’s needed is a relief package that matches the scale of the economic disaster now hitting American families. It needs to be far-reaching, and tailored to help those who need it most.

OP-ED: Protecting lives and livelihoods

There is no mistaking the dangers presented by the virus. However, we must also realize the devastating impact of the reaction on people’s livelihoods.

OP-ED: The King of Good News runs for president

If Trump declines to attend future briefings, they will be markedly changed. For one thing, they will be more efficient.

OP-ED: If state leaders love front-line workers, why do they pay them poverty wages?

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania’s leaders have had to confront some brutal truths, including our state’s undeniable dependence on the low-paid health care workers, direct support professionals and other front-line warriors who protect our most vulnerable residents.

OP-ED: Open Pennsylvania parks for early recovery

To help build a sustainable early recovery, Pennsylvania parks and outdoor recreation opportunities should open as soon as possible because of additional data-driven considerations.

OP-ED: The Postal Service’s untapped real estate fortune

Each passing month without a long-term fix puts more pressure on the USPS to make the most of the assets it has. Yet the Postal Service’s greatest asset — its real estate portfolio — has gone largely undiscussed.

OP-ED: Let’s take care of direct care workers

For many families across America, the outbreak of COVID-19 has created a heightened level of disruption and stress. Direct care workers have become a lifeline.

OP-ED: What Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz are really saying

Anyone who takes advice seriously from these television personalities is an idiot. But that doesn’t mean we should entirely dismiss what they have to say — especially during this deadly pandemic.

OP-ED: Thanks to the Supreme Court, ‘10 Angry Men’ can no longer send you to prison

After Monday’s decision, no state will be able to convict people of serious crimes by less than unanimous juries.

OP-ED: ‘LIBERATE MICHIGAN!’ Trump tweets to armed protesters. What was he thinking?

Um, was that the president of the United States issuing a call to arms against the government of a state run by one of his political opponents? With this guy, who knows?

OP-ED: PLCB has failed to make Pa.’s liquor monopoly a success

Now, with everyone stuck at home, and people fleeing to neighboring states in a health crisis, the PLCB’s inability to serve Pennsylvania consumers has never been more obvious.

OP-ED: Small businesses need help now. Congress would rather play politics

As hard to believe as it may be, Republicans and Democrats couldn’t agree Thursday to a deal to pump more money into the new Paycheck Protection Program, which doled out $350 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses in less than two weeks.

OP-ED: Earth Day, then and now

The threat of climate change is as great or greater than that of the coronavirus. Perhaps we will learn, in the spirit of Earth Day, that we are able to make the collective sacrifices required to combat a common threat.

OP-ED: More must be done to protect workers

Essential workers are not getting the gear and working conditions they need to stay healthy — and when they become sick, we are all at risk from the wider spread of a deadly disease.

OP-ED: Capt. Crozier should be commended, not censured for his actions on the USS Roosevelt

To relieve Capt. Crozier of his duties for faithfully executing his oath of office, and to do so for a “loss of confidence,” is inconsistent with our values, and could have a chilling effect on the trust sailors have in leadership, and conversely, breed risk-averse officers.

OP-ED: Responding to an epidemic in a pandemic

The overpowering theme that seems to be prevailing right now is that social isolation is not a good thing in the life of those in recovery.

OP-ED: The great 1950 starling shootout on the Avenues

The year was 1950. It was ugly. Hordes of filthy, invasive starlings descended each evening into the mostly Norway maple treetops of the northwest section of York City.