An effort in the Pennsylvania General Assembly to toughen the commonwealth’s lobbying law is constructed on what appears to be proper consideration and sound judgment. The proposed legislation, House Bill 1175, passed the state House on a unanimous vote July 7, paving the way for the ...
If your household is being bombarded by robocalls and you’re irritated about your inability to stop them, now is the right time for you to sound off. Until July 31, the Federal Communications Commission is accepting public comment on the FCC chairman’s proposed rules to allow telephone ...
Monday’s front-page Mirror article about schools’ efforts geared at curbing cyberbullying acknowledged the difficulties and limits inherent in that mission. Among the school district superintendents quoted in the article was Portage Area’s Eric Zelanko, who expressed the importance of ...
Talk among the politicians in Washington often seems to focus on why the government needs to spend more. If the justification is not national security, it probably will be health care. There seems to be precious little thought given to a serious, growing threat to both our welfare and ...
Narcan, the brand-name version of naloxone, has been a godsend for many opioid users who’ve experienced overdoses and, thus, flirted with death. Narcan has the ability, if administered quickly, to reverse the effects of an opioid. But while a godsend, a downside has evolved as its ...
Forty years later, Blair County still can feel a deep sense of pride in how this county rallied to help Johnstown and other communities impacted by the 1977 flood. Any friendly rivalries that might have existed between Altoona and Johnstown at that time evaporated, even if only temporarily, ...
Interest rates will be allowed to continue rising, but gradually, later this year, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told members of Congress on Wednesday. The economy is improving, meaning the Fed’s longstanding policy of holding interest rates at basement levels is no longer necessary, ...
If the Pennsylvania Constitution absolutely forbade lawmakers from recessing after the June 30 budget-preparation deadline if the budget process remained unfinished, state lawmakers could not have staged their shameful retreat from Harrisburg last week — the House of Representatives, for at ...
Stories of courage exhibited by people helping others in danger are gratifyingly common. Normally, however, they involve only a handful of good Samaritans. More — many more — got into the act a few days ago at a beach in Florida. A couple of boys became trapped in a riptide offshore. ...
The issue that JaNean Karlie discussed with the Antis Township supervisors last week isn’t unique to the area in which she lives. Development oftentimes triggers impacts beyond what are envisioned or intended. For Karlie and those who reside near her, recent construction has resulted in ...
The Pennsylvania Senate should imitate Friday’s unanimous vote by the state House of Representatives approving a bill authored by Rep. Judy Ward, R-Blair. The Ward measure is aimed at allowing motorcycles registered in this state to display a Purple Heart/Combat Wounded Veteran license ...
Let us hope Omar Khadr never gets to enjoy a dime of the $8 million the Canadian government has awarded him or gets to send any of it to his terrorist chums in Afghanistan. Khadr, a native of Canada, was 15 when he was captured by U.S. troops battling Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan. Before ...
Aug. 4 will be an important day for the Pennsylvania Turnpike and for the more than 10,600 people who owe the toll road a collective $17.1 million. That’s the day when the turnpike officially gains the power to pursue vehicle-registration suspensions for those guilty of overdue toll ...
If there ever was a time when North Korea’s bullying militarism could be curbed without great loss of life, it probably passed decades ago. That should not blind world leaders to the reality that the regime’s lethality grows by the week — and cannot be ignored forever. A new North ...
Engineers or other professionals with training and experience in stormwater management might be able to guide Ebensburg officials about how to correct — or at least minimize — a Beech Street flooding problem. A street resurfacing project several years ago, by which the street surface was ...
Finally, Pennsylvania has a tough animal-protection law. Praise is in order for the bipartisan legislative effort that achieved the measure’s passage and Gov. Tom Wolf’s signature. The measure is House Bill 1238, also known as Libre’s Law. It was signed by the governor on June 28, ...
Pennsylvania is embarking on a positive step, having begun the process of implementing a new statewide emergency radio system — called P25 — that officials hope will not be infected with access “bugs” like those currently hindering emergency responders. The key word is “hope,” ...
The familiar painting depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence portrays a tranquil setting full of confidence, self-assurance and self-fulfillment — a setting lacking doubts about the prospects for a bright future for the new nation. But now, 241 years to the day since ...
Change often brings anxiety, and the announcement in May that the Logan Valley Mall is up for sale might be causing some concern in the community about the eventual impact of that transaction, if it comes to pass. As an article in the Mirror’s May 23 edition reported, Pennsylvania Real ...
Philadelphians live with lead in their air and soil years after scientists warned this heavy metal is unsafe. Some contamination is unavoidable, but steps can be taken to protect public health. Even small amounts of lead can stunt children’s neurological development. Lead may come from ...