The proposed fireworks ordinance introduced by Altoona City Council on April 10 is laudable in its intent but might not be enough to avoid a repeat of the dangerous, irresponsible fireworks mayhem that the city experienced last July 4. The city is limited in what new fireworks provisions it ...
Committed Christians believe in an all-powerful God whose majesty and beauty cannot be comprehended, much less matched. Yet on rare occasions, humans are moved to incredible feats of creation as testaments of the depth of their faith. More than 850 years ago, on an island in the Seine River ...
When John Frederick assumes his new role as Antis Township recreation and environmental code director today, he will be bringing with him an opinion that concurs with foresight demonstrated by the Blair County Planning Commission a half-century ago. Back then was when Altoona was beginning to ...
“Health care is a human right, not a privilege,” lectured Sen. Bernie Sanders — even as he unveiled a plan that would deny Americans the right to seek the best health care they can afford. Sanders, the Vermont Independent running for the Democrat nomination for president, previewed his ...
On the landscape of total annual federal spending, the $15 million that two area congressmen are seeking for research into finding a cure for chronic wasting disease would be but a pittance. Congress and the Trump administration would be remiss if they declined to make available — as ...
Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, is making a sleazy attempt to save his own skin by pandering to Democrats in Congress. They should turn him down flat. Cohen was caught red-handed in a variety of misdeeds by federal investigators. Last year, he pleaded guilty ...
Gun control is not the one-sided argument its proponents claim. In addition to the Second Amendment, there are practical considerations. For example, as a federal judge in California recognized recently, there is the very real potential for new limits on firearms to be harmful. California law ...
Some Pennsylvania children probably have benefited from not having had to begin their formal education until age 8, currently the latest starting age allowed under state law. Those children are a small minority, however. Gov. Tom Wolf wants to lower the mandatory starting age to 6 — the ...
The Mirror is accepting nominations for its 12th edition of 20 Under 40, which will recognize 20 deserving community members younger than 40 years old in the June edition of Blair Living. Criteria for nomination include business success, entrepreneurial spirit and community service of those ...
Friday’s Mirror article about damage to two toilets at the borough-owned Duncansville Community Center obviously wasn’t the biggest news of the day. However, there’s an important point that needs to be made regarding the unfortunate, troublesome — albeit small-scale — incident, and ...
The fact that retired Altoona-Johnstown Bishop Joseph V. Adamec was laid to rest on Tuesday will not end reflection on his 24-year-long diocesan leadership role. Unfortunately, but deservedly, much of that reflection will focus on his failures tied to the diocese’s clergy sex-abuse scandal, ...
Penn State President Eric Barron had hardly taken his seat in front of PennLive’s Editorial Board before he started extolling the benefits of Penn State and citing a flurry of statistics to back it up. Statistic number one — Penn State educates almost 100,000 students each year, and many ...
Smaller communities like Williamsburg, which are a significant distance from a major business and governmental corridor, need to capitalize on whatever assets they possess to be vibrant entities on the geographical landscape. It is not enough for leaders of those communities to be content ...
Owners of some federally subsidized housing across the United States are undoubtedly deeply upset about a new rule put in place by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Even the executive director of the Altoona Housing Authority considers the rule “extreme,” although ...
Officials in some environmental groups were not at all happy when President Donald Trump signed into law the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act. But, you say, the act is a major step in protecting the environment. What gives? Indeed, the law, named for the ...
The sentencing of former Johnstown pediatrician Johnnie “Jack” Barto on Monday in Cambria County Court exploded quickly beyond the parameters of local news. Just hours after the sentencing, a former suburban Johnstown resident currently living in Colorado emailed a relative about ...
“Working group” too often is a political term that translates in the long run to talking much about a problem — but doing little. Let us hope a meeting hosted by first lady Melania Trump this week breaks the mold. Trump called a meeting Monday at the White House of the Interagency ...
Sheetz stores have been good to Altoona and the hundreds of other locales where they exist as a vibrant member of the business community. The stores are well-respected by everyday customers as well as customers who are able to shop at them only infrequently. Altoona is, of course, the ...
Many Altoona residents probably wouldn’t be opposed to the city rescinding some of its rules governing plumbing and electrical work, and about who is authorized to perform that work. There are residents who consider certain existing rules problematic; they believe that the mandates infringe ...
Pennsylvania lawmakers have many more important issues demanding their attention than considering whether Daylight Savings Time, which went into effect last weekend, should in the future be eliminated in the commonwealth. As long as the whole nation, or a region of the country like the Middle ...