https://pjmedia.com/author/salena-zito/feedPJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usThu, 09 Apr 2026 17:33:38 -0400<![CDATA[COLLIER TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania -- Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) launched his reelection bid in western Pennsylvania on Thursday, highlighting his accomplishments since taking office in 2023 and outlining his goals for a second term.]]>Tue, 13 Jan 2026 19:09:47 -0500<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[2026 Elections]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2026/01/13/in-reelection-launch-josh-shapiro-admits-violent-attack-almost-drove-him-from-the-race-n4948256<![CDATA[LOWER ALLEN TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania &#8212; Sometimes, a community&#8217;s relationship with its culture and its people is so strong it can withstand anything that tries to break it apart. Such durability is a testimony to the sense of what Americans have within their communities.]]>Tue, 05 Oct 2021 00:01:41 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Conservatism]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/10/05/the-unbreakable-will-of-this-pennsylvania-town-n1521716<![CDATA[Take all of the imagery you have seen of the over 14,000 Haitian migrants camped under an international bridge in the small Texas border town of Del Rio and add the complications of disease, public excrement, unbearable heat and heightened frustrations. It has led to violence that has injured Border Patrol officers.]]>Tue, 28 Sep 2021 00:32:41 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Border Crisis]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/09/28/life-along-the-border-collapses-n1481885<![CDATA[MIDDLETOWN, Pennsylvania &#8212; When judging the nation&#8217;s character, the media tend to gravitate toward its loudest voices, its most extreme measures, its deepest grudges. The result is a loss of all subtlety and nuance.]]>Tue, 21 Sep 2021 00:50:50 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/09/21/americans-have-not-forgotten-the-13-soldiers-n1480270<![CDATA[SHANKSVILLE, Pennsylvania &#8212; The first thing you notice about Frank Siller is the resolve in his mission. Each step he takes along Shanksville Road on the outskirts of this Somerset County town is done with purpose.]]>Tue, 14 Sep 2021 00:01:59 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[9/11 attacks]]><![CDATA[Conservatism]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/09/14/brother-of-fallen-firefighter-has-made-it-his-lifes-mission-to-take-care-of-those-who-serve-us-n1478504<![CDATA[Last Thursday, Aug. 26, at 6:00 p.m. in Kabul, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest as American troops at Abbey Gate were processing entrants to Hamid Karzai International Airport. Nearly 200 people died at that horrific moment, including 13 U.S. service members.]]>Tue, 07 Sep 2021 00:01:17 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/09/07/the-negligence-of-joe-biden-n1475950<![CDATA[LEBANON, Kansas &#8212; There is something uplifting about standing in the center point of the United States of America. It evokes a sense that is both spiritual and patriotic, particularly if you reach this point having traveled on both sides of the monument that marks the spot. There is a restorative energy you absorb, no matter where the back roads take you. You have to take time listening to folks in city neighborhoods, tree-lined suburbs and small towns.]]>Tue, 31 Aug 2021 07:00:09 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Conservatism]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/08/31/the-restorative-power-of-the-american-people-n1474464<![CDATA[GETTYSBURG &#8212; On an overcast day, the national park that has preserved the history of one of the bloodiest and most significant battles of the American Civil War is filled with people from all over the country. It is a testament to the desire everywhere not just to know our history, but also to honor the soldiers who fought and lost their lives to protect our country.]]>Wed, 25 Aug 2021 00:00:05 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Joe Biden]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/08/25/what-biden-doesnt-understand-n1472383<![CDATA[WALL, South Dakota &#8212; Everything about Wall Drug, arguably the most iconic and long-lasting drugstore in America, exemplifies a doggedness. It took persistence to not only survive, but also thrive against insurmountable odds in a place few thought a small business had any business starting an enterprise in the first place.]]>Tue, 24 Aug 2021 08:00:34 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Conservatism]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/08/24/in-south-dakota-the-road-signs-lead-to-the-wall-n1472131<![CDATA[INDIANA, Pennsylvania &#8212; When you cross the street in the downtown of this borough, located in a county that shares its name, you&#8217;re in for a reminder that it&#8217;s a wonderful life. Two of the crosswalk signals guide pedestrians with the voice of the late Jimmy Stewart, who was born and raised here in Indiana.]]>Tue, 17 Aug 2021 00:00:11 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Conservatism]]><![CDATA[Hollywood]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/08/17/trevor-donovans-approach-to-hollywood-and-celebrity-is-a-much-needed-throwback-n1470165<![CDATA[PITTSBURGH &#8212; It&#8217;s 4:30 in the morning, and Raymond Mikesell&#8217;s alarm has gone off.]]>Tue, 10 Aug 2021 00:00:10 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Joe Biden]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/08/10/the-american-labor-crisis-has-hit-all-the-small-businesses-on-this-one-street-n1468316<![CDATA[HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pennsylvania &#8212; If you were the president of a railroad 100 years ago, you were kind of a big deal. Yet when Alan Maples became president of the Everett Railroad Company in 1983, a purchase that made him the youngest person in the history of the industry to hold that title, the Alabama native knew full well he would not wield the prominence, power and influence the title once held.]]>Tue, 03 Aug 2021 00:25:52 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Conservatism]]><![CDATA[Culture]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/08/03/the-everett-railroad-brings-back-the-magic-of-the-steam-engine-n1466599<![CDATA[NEW ALEXANDRIA, Pennsylvania &#8212; The scent of funnel cakes, grilled hot dogs and an ever-so-faint whiff of diesel fuel fill the air. The odd combination somehow works, adding to the excitement and anticipation as thousands of families and gearheads fill the stands surrounding the track of the local Lions Club Demolition Derby here in Westmoreland County.]]>Tue, 27 Jul 2021 00:00:37 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Culture]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/07/27/theres-more-than-meets-the-eye-at-a-demolition-derby-2-n1464890<![CDATA[BOURBON COUNTY, Ky. &#8212; About 250 years ago, farmers looking for a way to make their surplus corn crop profitable decided to distill it. Today, that leftover grain has become a billion-dollar industry and a symbol of the Bluegrass State&#8217;s identity, economy and culture.]]>Tue, 20 Jul 2021 00:00:12 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Conservatism]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/07/20/how-bourbon-rose-from-a-humble-grain-to-embody-american-exceptionalism-n1463115<![CDATA[OTTAWA, Ohio &#8212; This is not a story about politics. Instead, it is a story about America and how sometimes, you can discover something new when you try to absorb the country&#8217;s character one mile at a time and when you take in a place on its own terms and not simply the terms of wherever you came from.]]>Tue, 13 Jul 2021 00:00:59 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[America]]><![CDATA[defund the police]]><![CDATA[Police]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/07/13/seeing-america-from-the-ground-n1461290<![CDATA[BUCKSTOWN, Pa. &#8212; The Duppstadt&#8217;s Country Store, sitting high on a plateau along the Lincoln Highway between Stoystown and Reels Corner, has served Somerset County residents and weary travelers since 1903. When you open the heavy wooden door and hear it creak with age, you get the sense you have entered somewhere special.]]>Tue, 06 Jul 2021 17:27:03 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Conservatism]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/07/06/the-american-general-store-is-a-symbol-of-enterprise-and-exceptionalism-n1459872<![CDATA[Whether your vacation is in your backyard, on a sandy beach, or camping in a majestic national park, the summer read is as essential a part of your getaway as your sunscreen, fishing rod or road atlas.]]>Fri, 02 Jul 2021 23:47:10 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Books]]><![CDATA[Conservatism]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/07/02/embrace-the-escapism-of-a-good-summer-read-n1459336<![CDATA[What matters on Twitter &#8230; often just stays on Twitter.]]>Tue, 29 Jun 2021 00:01:18 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Twitter]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/06/29/now-more-than-ever-twitter-isnt-real-life-n1458037<![CDATA[John F. Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate, said only months ago that those losing fossil fuel jobs in coal and hydraulic fracturing will find they have a better choice of jobs either in the solar industry or as wind turbine technicians.]]>Tue, 22 Jun 2021 00:01:27 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Climate Change]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/06/22/south-dakota-rocked-again-as-a-wind-turbine-plant-shuts-its-doors-n1456095<![CDATA[MURRYSVILLE, Pennsylvania &#8212; Elaine Noll is standing in front of the cherry white and blue stand for Billy&#8217;s Country Smokehouse at the local farmers market. Wrapped around her left arm is a canvas bag filled with local roots and vegetables she purchased. She is now listening as Shirley Stana explains to her the different fresh and smoked meats she has in her cooler from the local farm.]]>Tue, 15 Jun 2021 00:01:38 -0400<![CDATA[Salena Zito]]><![CDATA[Conservatism]]>https://pjmedia.com/salena-zito/2021/06/15/wheres-the-beef-thanks-to-russian-hackers-its-ever-closer-to-home-n1454634