Sounding off: 3 cheers for the Pittsburgh Zoo
Recently I had the privilege to take my students to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. It had been a long time since I had been there. Much was changed, and I was impressed.
The zoo has done a great job in making the animals visible to the public, including short children, and keeps visitors safe from the animals. In many areas, animals can be seen in natural scenes from as many as six vantage points. If animals wander, often another viewing spot allows visitors a better view; if one spot is crowded, visitors can find another place to see the same animals.
Even the wealth of unusual plant life added to the experience. The zoo has used tons of natural rocks, and man-made rocks enhance the environment for the animals and the safety of visitors.
The aquarium was great. The fish were very colorful and interesting, and the tanks were clean and well kept.
The day we visited, possibly thousands of school children and other visitors were there, but that did not substantially hinder our experience. Starting the tour with a long escalator ride was a boon, especially for senior citizens.
The extremely loud, acrobatic monkeys were the most exciting part.
Three cheers for the folks at the zoo. You have done a great job caring for the animals in a clean environment while letting your guests enjoy seeing them.
Dan Manka, Fairmont, W.Va.
UPMC oath: Show us the money
UPMC appears to have given Western Pennsylvania's sick and ailing residents a blow to the pocketbook, to say nothing of their health care choices, by declaring that after June 30, 2019, holders of Highmark health plans will lose their coverage or have to pay in advance for many non-emergency surgical procedures (" UPMC, Highmark clash over newly announced prepay rule for out-of-network patients "). Pay in full, up front. No payment plan, no installment plan.
The ancient Hippocratic oath, still taken by medical professionals, states, quite simply, "First, do no harm."
UPMC's new interpretation seems to be "First, show us the money." Not enough cash? Suffer.
How nice, especially from a nonprofit (Huh?) charity.
Obviously, this isn't about health care. It isn't about sick people's best interests. It's a business decision with one aim -- to drive a competitor, Highmark, out of business.
Call your state legislator. Chances are you will get a non-committal response. The nation's largest and most expensive Assembly and State Senate could do something, but its members seem to be uninterested.
Draw your own conclusions.
Tom O'Neil, Shaler
Keep AR-15s legal
If it saves just one life, keeping semi-automatic rifles is worth it.
Gov. Tom Wolf wants to ban the AR-15 because of its status as a "military-style" weapon, as he announced around the time of the so-called March for Our Lives. Logic would suggest that Wolf would not stop at AR-15s but extend his grip to all semi-automatic rifles, or at least those of a substantial caliber.
One often hears the left admit that if we ban some semi-automatic rifles, it may not matter that much in a school shooting, but if it were to save just one life, it would be worth it.
What if China and/or Russia invaded? It's unlikely now, but what about 50 or 100 years from now? It's highly likely that more schoolchildren will die on the first day than in all mass shootings combined. What would we then do? Use World War I-era bolt-action rifles with 5-round clips?
Keep AR-15s legal. If it saves just one life, it's worth it. That's one reason I'm voting for Scott Wagner.
Michael Piano, Murrysville
Join your local firefighters
Your editorial " Fire companies need more helping hands " was much appreciated during National Fire Prevention Week. The subtitle noted: "Support your local volunteers." However, I disagree with the curious sentence: "There's nothing we can do about that," referring to the previous paragraph on needing more money, more equipment, support and volunteers.
Why not encourage folks to consider joining their local fire departments, whether as active responders, fundraisers or administrative officers? Make a pitch to our youth to put down the game controllers and smartphones for a real dose of reality.
We could always use more funds to purchase new equipment and replace worn-out gear and apparatus. Some municipalities have enacted dedicated fire taxes, and fewer still have proposed tax initiatives for active volunteers. Encourage every municipality to get on the "fire-tax wagon" in support of their firefighters.
I worry every time the fire whistle activates: Will there be enough firefighters to deal with the emergency? Fire sirens, pagers, pumpers, hoses, ladders and nozzles are useless without trained and dedicated firefighters to respond 24/7/365.
Yes, there is something we can do to help reverse the national trend in declining fire department memberships: Join today.
David Hauger, New Stanton
Straws are not benign
Dear John Gregory Parks: I was so glad to read your letter . I am glad that you ask straw-users to not litter. However, I ask you to please look further into the problem of plastic waste.
As someone who has, for years, been attempting to avoid and refuse single-use plastics, I agree that the banning of single-use plastic straws seems silly. Plastics are "handy" — see-through, very light in weight and durable. The durability issue is the center of the problem: Plastics are not biodegradable. They can degrade to be invisible to the human eye, but they do not return to an elemental form. Plastics have enriched our lives, but plastics are very far from being benign.
I think that regulatory action is being taken because recycling is simply not the answer. The banning of straws is emblematic — painful for some, not enough action for others. I am among those who look to manufacturers of these products for solutions.
The problem of our 100 years of plastic use is very complex — and it is not just single-use plastics. I beg you to research and the Tribune-Review to continue the discussion. There is no more throwing "away." I remain hopeful.
Joanne Caffrey, South Greensburg
Nation's moral collapse
America, a nation founded on the bedrock of Christianity, is no longer a Christian nation but a nation teetering on the brink of moral collapse. Just to name a few of the indicators: unparalleled greed and an attitude of "what's in it for me"; everyone is a victim; lack of respect for others; breakdown of the family structure; and abortion.
The problem has been perpetuated from the pulpit, by preachers steeped in a gospel of secular authority and a "God loves you no matter what you do" or "everything is God's will" philosophy.
The Continental Congress passed this resolution in 1782: "That the United States in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion as well as an instance of the progress of arts in this country, and being satisfied from the above report, of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work, they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, and hereby authorise him to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper.
After the Supreme Court ruled against prayer in public schools in 1963, The Wall Street Journal commented that atheism was now "the one belief to which the state's power will extend its protection." In his lone dissenting opinion, Justice Potter Stewart wrote, "... a refusal to permit religious exercises thus is seen, not as the realization of state neutrality, but rather as the establishment of a religion of secularism ... ."
Joseph Krill, Delmont
Dems have earned donkey symbol
The party with the jackass symbol has shown that they have earned it. Allied with their media friends like the all-girl "Today" show host package and coven on "The View," they are pushing the Year of the Woman as being theirs exclusively. Their media friends have written cutesy "empower women" books and issued daily "rah, rah women" propaganda statements. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine put a dent in their armor by saying innocent until proven guilty is how this country operates.
The Democrats will go back 35 years to try and hang a Supreme Court nominee, but they don't want the women who have evidence against Bill Clinton to be heard. Worse yet, they won't run one of their own out of town for severely beating his girlfriend. They protect their own, even Teddy Kennedy and his hidden records, in this so-called year of empowering women.
George Biskup, Penn Township, Westmoreland County
