Americans will be watching closely as more information emerges about Wednesday’s shooting at an Alexandria, Va., baseball field at which a reported 22 Republican members of Congress were practicing for a charity event. However, citizens of this country will be doing more than waiting for ...
The announcement that Blair County residents might have access to new voting machines a year or two from now is indicative of county officials’ proactive attitude. But sound advice for those county leaders would seem to be that, if there are new machines, they should be put in service for ...
The public firestorm that erupted after Pennsylvania lawmakers granted themselves a big middle-of-the-night pay raise in July 2005 seemed to ensure that, thereafter, important votes would be conducted only during the light of day. But now, just shy of the 12th anniversary of that infamous ...
It’s too bad that only about 30 people showed up for state Rep. John McGinnis’ town hall meeting at the Altoona Area Public Library on June 1. The range of topics McGinnis, R-Altoona, discussed provided an important look inside Pennsylvania state government — and, most importantly, ...
Kirk Dodson, a self-proclaimed “teacher,” recently wrote that he became “shocked and dismayed” at a town hall meeting hosted by Sen. John H. Eichelberger Jr. Dodson referenced “... an affront to all who believe in the foundation upon which our country was built.” I believe in ...
Going forward, the first order of business for members of the Reade Township Municipal Authority should be to end friction and personality conflicts that have eroded the authority’s image and, more importantly, the ability to conduct itself in an organized, professional and productive ...
A $7.50 fee on every deed or mortgage being recorded — approved by the Blair County commissioners on Friday — will be good from one perspective but not so good from several others. On the positive side, the county’s landscape will benefit from having an additional financial resource ...
Any Pennsylvania resident who has watched the state’s financial fortunes worsen over the past decade probably wonders how the owner of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg can be so naive to think that the commonwealth is capable of providing financial aid to the ...
Editor’s note: The Mirror published this editorial on high school graduation a few years ago and, with slight modification concerning dates, we’ve been repeating it during graduation season. Another year has quickly passed, and we’ve arrived at the beginning of high school graduation ...
There apparently was a crack, if not a chasm, within the Altoona Area School District’s anti-bullying policies that was allegedly responsible for seventh-grader Wyatt Lansberry’s decision to take his own life. And while it’s troubling to feel impelled to make such an observation, it ...
As Central Pennsylvania joins the rest of the nation today in observing Memorial Day, the most sobering thought in the minds of many people will be that American military personnel still are dying amid the violent unrest in the world. The number of soldier deaths has declined since the United ...
The most daunting question hanging over Pennsylvania’s 2017-18 state budget deliberations is whether, at this time next year, the commonwealth’s fiscal shortfall will be close to or exceeding $4 billion. The shortfall estimate was $3 billion in early February when Gov. Tom Wolf ...
Archway Ministries tries to help people in need, as demonstrated by its food bank, counseling, activities for seniors, tutoring for children and Thanksgiving dinner, as well as other programs and initiatives. But while acknowledging at this time its commitment to betterment of the community ...
In January, the state of Pennsylvania announced the closing of Hamburg State Center. This is one of the five remaining state centers for the intellectually disabled. This is done to save money. They will move the residents into homes in the community or the house next door. Centers for ...
Even if there now weren’t questions regarding leftover funds from last year’s Democratic National Convention held in Philadelphia, an audit like the one being initiated by the Pennsylvania Auditor General’s Office would have been a logical exercise. The fact that a grant of $10 million ...
The question of whether financially strapped Pennsylvania should continue to provide an official taxpayer-funded residence for its lieutenant governor is relevant now, but it should have been addressed a long time ago, considering the savings that could have been realized. With state ...
With my husband battling cancer for the past two years, I have seen firsthand how quickly medical costs can skyrocket. The House Republicans’ repeal and replace bill would have a devastating effect on every family facing serious illness by repealing the essential benefits provisions in the ...
Which of government’s protective functions is more important: safeguarding us against computer hackers or detecting and stopping the next terrorist plot or, perhaps, slowing down a rogue nation’s missile or nuclear program? As more and more global extortionists demand money in exchange ...
Expanded AG power needs more scrutiny The Pennsylvania General Assembly has plenty of 2017-18 budget work remaining as the June 30 deadline for completing a spending plan hangs less than a month and a half away. However, two legislative proposals — one involving pension forfeiture and ...
A case the U.S. Supreme Court may handle this week raises troubling questions — but they are not limited to those many in the media and the courts are addressing. Reporters have focused on the case because it is one new Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch dealt with while he was a ...