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Public notices must remain accessible

Editorials

Some state lawmakers seem to think they have come up with a way to modernize how local governing bodies get the word out about their meetings, pending actions, tax increases, new ordinances and other measures. But Senate Bill 194 — which resurrects the idea of putting public notices on governmental websites — is another way to keep the public in the dark because the idea begs the question: “Who’s going to see them there?” Public notices have long been published in the classified section of local printed newspapers. Those who follow local governments regularly monitor that ...

President’s policies may affect your family

Letters to the Editor

You don’t have to be a Democrat to consider that our president’s policies may very well affect someone in your family or someone in millions of families worldwide. Consider his refusal to fund Harvard Medical School’s ongoing research. Visit the school’s website and read the history, discovery section to see the lifesaving discoveries whose momentum has been shut down for no sensible reason. Starting in 1799, Benjamin Waterhouse introduced the smallpox vaccine to the United States and helped gain acceptance for the new procedure. In 1843, Oliver Wendell Holmes identified the ...

EPA’s work in derailment far from done

Editorials

An Associated Press article about the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, said the accident prompted a national reckoning with rail safety and calls for reform, although proposals for new industry rules stalled in Congress. Unfortunately, though, with each new development related to the 2023 accident, that well-intentioned reckoning still underway seems farther from completion than it was just days before. A new development, reported in the June 4 Mirror, provided ample testimony to that. According to that article, a specialized plane equipped with ...

War is at home instead of abroad

Letters to the Editor

Remember the 1997 film, “Wag the Dog?” Many trends from the 1990s are in style and the movie has become real life. Only the war is at home instead of abroad. First there are the problems to distract from. People realize the multi-trillion debt-inflating cruelty of the Big Beautiful Bill, calling Senators to defeat it. President Donald Trump and his billionaire buddy, Elon, broke up. Courts and voters recognize the damage caused by disorganized tariffs, ICE, funding cuts and firings. Then, as support drops, ICE raids have dramatically increased in Los Angeles and other cities. ...

Baby Agnes mystery needs to be solved

Editorials

The possibility exists that someone — or some persons — in Blair County or somewhere else in the region might be feeling much anxiety or outright fear today as a result of an announcement last week by this county’s coroner and the Pennsylvania State Police. For the benefit of anyone who might have missed the announcement, Coroner Ray Benton and the state police revealed that the unidentified partial remains of a child found deceased on Feb. 5, 1987, in a wooded area between Pinecroft and Bellwood had been exhumed on June 10 with the purpose of attempting to obtain DNA ...

Intimidation felt at No Kings march

Letters to the Editor

I was at the No Kings March on Saturday and in Monday’s paper they had an article about the march and mentioned a man carrying an AR15 Rifle. He said it was for protection in case something happened. I also witnessed five men lined up in front of a hardware store on the walk holding AR15 rifles. I think they were there to intimidate us. Also, can you believe that it wasn’t an illegal immigrant that shot and killed a senator and her husband and wounded another senator and his wife? Instead, it was an American-born citizen. I see they caught him so if he is convicted I wonder if ...