Opinion

Parting with parking firm the right move

Editorials June 3, 2026

It doesn’t make sense to allow a problem to fester when there’s the ability to put the problem to rest. The Altoona Parking Authority followed that thinking on May 26 when it voted unanimously to terminate its contract with the company it hired just over a year ago to manage downtown parking. It’s not the purpose of this editorial to pass judgment on the company’s performance — that was an authority responsibility — but only to observe that the authority acted correctly if it felt there was evidence enough to support its action. All responsible city entities, besides ...

Taken to task on rubber dams

Letters to the Editor June 3, 2026

As the Altoona Water Authority’s since-retired engineer who was mostly responsible for the decision to contract HTE Engineering of Sandy, Utah, for the fabrication of the rubber dams, I found your pontificating remarks to be quite patronizing, considering you don’t know what you’re talking about. Along with ISO quality assurance certification, HTE met the specifications I had put forth that mirrored our former Bridgestone rubber dams that were manufactured in Japan. Bridgestone was the largest global producer of rubber dams, which were known for their durability. After they ...

Concerns over river disappointing

Letters to the Editor June 2, 2026

I read with great disappointment the Mirror article describing the “dangers” associated with children playing in the widened Juniata River running adjacent Dell Delight Park. Widening the river at that location made it visible from the park and ironically shallower. Just because you can see the river and it’s wider doesn’t mean it’s more dangerous than before. The thought of an organization — the American Legion — founded to support men who risked their lives to save the free world, would want to curtail children from engaging in exploratory play, outside, in a river, ...

Are gas price hikes limited to US?

Letters to the Editor June 1, 2026

The article on the front-page May 6 about the price of gas in the U.S. had me wondering if it’s gone up that much in other countries. I realize we want to know why we’re paying so much, but I’m really curious if anyone else is or if it’s our capitalistic big businesses cashing in. Nancy Riley Altoona

License plate readers enhance public safety

Letters to the Editor June 1, 2026

With over 50 years in public safety, I’ve witnessed how innovation and technology have transformed community protection. One such technology is the emergence of License Plate Reader (LPR) technology, which has practical and affordable public safety benefits for communities of all sizes and budgets to use. In fact, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency has administered grant programs in recent years to support municipal police departments’ integration of this technology into their ongoing operations. Many Pennsylvania municipalities have adopted LPRs, enabling law ...

Preserving humanity amid AI revolution

Editorials May 31, 2026

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Artificial intelligence seems to have found its way into almost everything. Schools are trying to balance using it in some areas while weeding it out in others. Some universities are returning to handwritten blue book exams to ensure original thought. Others are using artificial intelligence to screen assignments for signs they were generated by artificial intelligence. Employers face similar questions about where technology should assist workers and where it should replace them. For Catholic colleges in Western Pennsylvania, however, the debate recently ...