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Opinion

Rubber dams offer a lesson for others

Editorials

The Altoona Water Authority has learned too late that it must be extra-vigilant regarding the inflatable rubber dams employed to increase water capacity at Lake Altoona and the Impounding Dam near Horseshoe Curve. Apparently, the authority, about seven years ago, put too much faith in the quality claims put forth regarding rubber dams made in China that ended up being installed locally. These current rubber dams are “clearly inferior,” said authority general manager Mark Perry. That’s indicative of the possibility that seven years ago not enough attention was given to quality ...

Who holds Trump accountable?

Letters to the Editor

Donald Trump promised to avoid foreign entanglements and improve life for everyday Americans. So why won’t Congressional Republicans push back as he breaks those promises and pursues policies many Americans oppose? An unnecessary and potentially open-ended conflict with Iran risks American lives, strains military readiness, depletes weapons stockpiles and adds billions to our already staggering national debt. Meanwhile, families struggling with gas, groceries and health care costs are told to accept cuts and sacrifices while huge tax breaks once again flow disproportionately to the ...

Government shouldn’t work in the dark

Editorials

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review When government acts on behalf of the people, it is supposed to be clear. That’s why meetings are open. It’s why records are searchable. It’s why the Sixth Amendment guarantees a public trial. So why is Armstrong County conducting business in the dark? Niki’s Quick Six in Parks Township closed suddenly on May 15, about three weeks after a fatal shooting. The sheriff arrived, papers were served and the bar closed, all while TribLive staff was on the scene for an interview. Documents being served and a law enforcement presence in the wake of a ...

AI CEOs are their own worst enemy

Opinion

Much of our rising energy costs comes from a decades-long campaign of progressive environmentalists and Democrat backed regulators to tear down coal-fired power plants, block nuclear and natural gas expansion and make America reliant on wind and solar — the two power sources most popular during the dark ages. Data centers get blamed for higher power bills, but the reality is inflation has much more to do with those rising costs. The fear about data centers, however, is spreading with misinformation about rising costs, social harms, etc., spreading from a well-organized propaganda ...

Helen of Troy controversy is meritless

Opinion

It’s the controversy that has launched a thousand X posts. Elon Musk, who is a fan of Homer, has kicked up a fuss by objecting to filmmaker Christopher Nolan casting the black actress Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy in his forthcoming movie version of “The Odyssey.” The epic production presumably won’t rise or fall based on its depiction of Helen, the legendary beauty who precipitated the Trojan War. That conflict is portrayed in “The Iliad,” while “The Odyssey” follows the Greek warrior Odysseus on his return home after the war, a story that doesn’t feature ...

Proposed mega merger will hurt farmers

Letters to the Editor

The Cambria County Farm Bureau echoes the opposition of our parent organization, the American Farm Bureau Federation, to the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern mega merger: farmers will bear the costs if this goes through. My Brother Rick and I are sixth-generation beef cattle and grain farmers. The homestead has been in my family since 1839, so I understand the risks this merger poses to families across the state. Getting crops from Pennsylvania farms to market depends on a freight rail system that farmers can count on and afford. More than 5,000 miles of track move tens of millions of ...