It’s going to take months for states victimized by Hurricane — subsequently Tropical Storm — Florence to assess fully the damage caused by the tragic, prolonged weather event. It’s going to take longer than that for many individual families to pick up the proverbial pieces from the ...
Fines have been an important topic before Hollidaysburg Borough Council in recent weeks — for good reason. No municipality should be content to live with nagging problems affecting not only residents but the community’s image and reputation as a whole. But on one of the problem fronts, ...
Tuesday’s Mirror article “Parents, frat leaders launch national anti-hazing effort” was good news that parents and young people alike should have greeted with hope and a sense of optimism. It can be said confidently that no right-thinking person wants to ever again hear of ...
There’s still uncertainty over how proposed water system improvements in Cambria County’s Reade Township will shake out in the weeks ahead. The project, supposedly involving replacement of 400-plus residential water meters and installation of approximately 2,000 feet of new waterline ...
This region — and much of Pennsylvania — is living a wild ride of reality and uncertainty emanating from the persistent water-logged weather conditions that continue to wreak hardship for many while thrusting fear into the lives of many others. Tuesday’s front-page Mirror headline ...
Here we are, 17 years to the day after commercial airliners hijacked by Middle East terrorists brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, caused serious damage at the Pentagon and apparently had as a target the Capitol, White House or some other important place in ...
A question that the Pennsylvania Legislature should weigh is whether cash bail should be eliminated or kept as an option for people accused of having committed crimes in this state. A new law eliminating cash bail will take effect in California on Oct. 1, 2019. The District of Columbia, as ...
We hear a lot about unemployment rates, the gross domestic product, business inventories and a variety of other economic indicators. But among the most interesting are productivity reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In essence, productivity data compares the value of goods and ...
Today isn’t like the 1950s, when open burning of trash, leaves, brush and branches was a common practice of families and individuals, many of whom didn’t have close at hand the convenience of regular trash-collection service, municipal composting facilities and other disposal ...
Pennsylvania is gearing up to begin issuing Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses and ID cards to people who want them, beginning in March. If you’re not familiar with why this state will be making them available, you’re not alone. It’s safe to surmise that most Pennsylvania residents ...
Altoona — and, presumably, more than a few other Keystone State municipalities, particularly the larger ones — have experienced unwanted impacts from the law passed last fall that liberalized Pennsylvania’s antiquated fireworks rules. It’s obvious now that the Legislature failed to ...
All that’s been said about U.S. Sen. John McCain since his death on Saturday should cause Americans to reflect deeply and in an open-minded way on the great service to this country that was the hallmark of his life. It’s safe to say that the federal government would be more of a body of ...
August is the month when back-to-school shopping is in its proverbial high gear, even though sales of school supplies and the latest school fashions get underway right after the Fourth of July. But this month has been unusual on two fronts, and they’re the bases for concern and the fodder ...
After hearing of the estimated cost — $92 million — of a parade he proposed to showcase America’s military, President Donald Trump wisely called the event off. As he noted, that much money could do much good if spent on defense hardware. Trump suggested the parade in Washington, ...
Although veterans will be the primary beneficiaries of the multimillion-dollar “renewal” targeted for the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home over approximately the next decade, Blair County as a whole also will reap great benefits from the upgraded facility. Here’s the way that a front-page ...
The old saying “poor guy” shouldn’t be used in reference to former Bedford County District Attorney William Higgins. On Friday, Higgins received a criminal sentence that can be likened to a sweetheart deal, despite the multiple serious crimes to which the former DA pleaded guilty in ...
Former FBI agent Peter Strzok was fired by the agency earlier this month, long after he should have lost his job. Strzok was involved in both the FBI’s investigation of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and that of President Donald Trump. He was removed from the Trump probe ...
The Electric Service Reliability Report for 2017 released on July 31 by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission shows what it describes as regressed overall reliability performance by the state’s electric distribution companies. However, those companies don’t deserve the black eye that ...
Even while he was running for president, the news media was a frequent target for Donald Trump. During his August 2016 campaign rally in Altoona, Trump took aim at the news media, pointing out the reporters covering his appearance and encouraging jeers from the crowd. So, it’s no surprise ...
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the United States is stepping up its fight against worsening threats to this country’s electricity system and other critical industries. According to the Journal, top Trump administration officials are devising new penalties “to hit back ...