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Capital-Star Guest Contributor

Capital-Star Guest Contributor

The Pennsylvania Capital-Star welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation on how politics and public policy affects the day-to-day lives of people across the commonwealth.

COMMENTARY

I’m studying to be a teacher. We must make it more affordable to enter the profession | Opinion

By: - May 30, 2023

Bills now before the state House will help -- and they deserve lawmakers' support.

COMMENTARY
BROADBAND LOADING

Broadband access for all starts with transparent data | Opinion

By: - May 30, 2023

Decision makers should use every resource available to make informed choices about which areas of the state need broadband grant funding.

COMMENTARY
An acid mine drainage treatment system on Nanticoke Creek in Luzerne County, PA. New federal funding will allow more streams tainted by acid mine drainage to be restored. (PA Department of Environmental Protection photo)

‘Mining our Manners’: It’s time for Pa. to clean up its abandoned mines

By: - May 29, 2023

Pa. leads the nation in abandoned mine lands. It doesn't have to be that way.

COMMENTARY

What is Memorial Day? Why do we celebrate it? The holiday’s history, explained | Opinion

By: - May 29, 2023

In the years following the bitter Civil War, a former Union general took a holiday originated by former Confederates and helped spread it across the entire country.

COMMENTARY

Don’t ever believe ‘it won’t happen here.’ Schools must be ready for mass shooters | Opinion

By: - May 28, 2023

The first step to any complete safety plan is the hiring and training of armed school resource officers.

COMMENTARY
Black borrowers hold a disproportionate share of student loan debt, and many likely were recipients of Pell Grants.

I’m an independent. Here’s what Republicans get wrong about the student debt crisis | Opinion

By: - May 27, 2023

It is infuriating to see Republican leadership continually attempt to render the student debt crisis a partisan issue.

COMMENTARY

We’re Pa. college students. Let’s fix the broken primary system we’re inheriting | Opinion

By: - May 26, 2023

College-aged voters register as unaffiliated voters at disproportionate levels. But we're shut out of the primaries.

COMMENTARY
A view of the Pittsburgh skyline.

Pgh’s worsening office vacancy rates are the wrong kind of growth | Opinion

By: - May 26, 2023

“It doesn’t appear the upward trend is going to change anytime soon,” Frank Gamrat, the Pittsburgh think-tank's executive director, concluded

COMMENTARY

May is National Nurses Month. In Pa. and beyond, they make a difference in your care | Opinion

By: - May 25, 2023

The best way to celebrate nurses and underscore the important contributions they make to health is to support their careers.

COMMENTARY

We’re weaponizing fear into violence. Jordan Neely paid the price | Opinion

By: - May 24, 2023

If Americans want to end this epidemic on the streets, don’t lash out at the victims of systematic marginalization.

COMMENTARY
nurse taking care of older man

The time is right to build a national model for senior care right here in Pa. | Opinion

By: - May 24, 2023

There is a tremendous opportunity to help all aging services providers and their employees build a comprehensive senior care system.

COMMENTARY

Expanding clean slate creates real second chances, alleviates workforce shortages | Opinion

By: - May 23, 2023

Expanded record clearance will help facilitate employment, putting more money in the pockets of consumers and communities.