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Are you chasing false gods?

My sadly departed friend, Frank, was a unicorn. He lived 89 years in the town he grew up in, a village on the Connecticut shore. A reporter at his local newspaper for over half a century, he had turned down offers to work for more glamorous publications, among them Sports Illustrated and The New York Times. Frank had considered the priesthood in his youth. He stopped going to church and claimed he wasn’t part of it anymore, but the church’s moral teachings clearly stayed put. Frank approached reporting as a kind of ministry, spending much time talking with his “flock.” His ...

Take a chance on local fundraising

Fundraisers fill a lot of gaps in Pennsylvania communities. They keep volunteer fire companies functioning. They support veterans organizations. They help churches operate food pantries, shelters and other outreach programs. They let children go to camp, outfit youth sports teams and send marching bands to perform in Florida or New York City because not every family can simply write that check. Sometimes, all of that support starts with a little bit of gambling. We’re not talking about casino gambling or sports betting or someone chasing a jackpot. We’re talking about raffles ...

Reflections on the US Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court is the most powerful and respected tribunal in world history. It commands the power of judicial review to invalidate acts of the president or Congress. Its relative impartiality, compared with the legislative and executive branches, finds expression in consistently higher public confidence ratings. The number of justices has remained at nine since 1869, making it a quasi-constitutional norm. The sole serious political attack on the independence of the Supreme Court by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937 proved DOA despite his landslide victory ...

Yesteryear

Leonard Alwine of Altoona submitted this photo taken at a parade in downtown Altoona in 1968. It shows the Jaffa Temple’s Calliope Clowns trailer. The calliope is thought to be of early 1920s vintage. It was later built into a truck body and today is still used by the clowns unit now mounted ...

Daily Briefing

Nation District of Columbia Housing bill could be law without signature WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has chosen not to sign a sweeping housing affordability bill on Friday, in protest of Congress not approving a strict voter ID bill that does not have enough support to pass. Still, the housing measure could become law on Friday without Trump’s signature, as he had 10 days to issue a veto and stop the measure. Maine Platner formally withdraws from race PORTLAND — Graham Platner has submitted his paperwork to formally withdraw from Maine’s U.S. Senate race, ...

Typhoon Bavi takes aim at China

BEIJING — A powerful typhoon was heading toward China’s east coast Friday, the latest in a series of deadly storms that have already claimed 50 lives this week in two other parts of the country. Typhoon Bavi, with maximum sustained winds of 96 mph, was first expected to pass north of Taiwan, bringing heavy rains to the island of 23 million people from Friday night into Saturday. Schools were closed Friday in Taipei, the island’s capital, and fishing boats have been tied up close together in ports in northern Taiwan. Many flights to Japan, Hong Kong and other destinations have ...