Local News

ASO narrows search for new director

The Altoona Symphony Orchestra has narrowed down its music director search to four potential candidates who will create their own program and conduct the orchestra in front of a live audience during its 98th season. According to Executive Director Amanda Selvenis, two candidates will present their programs in the fall, and the remaining two will perform in the spring. The chosen candidate will be announced at the end of the season. This search follows current Music Director Nick Palmer’s decision to step down, concluding his 30-year run as conductor of the ASO. Selvenis said ...

State budget deadline looming

Lawmakers returned to the Capitol Monday to begin the June session, leading up to the end of the month deadline to pass a state budget. The state’s financial condition has improved slightly since Gov. Josh Shapiro released his $53.2 billion budget but not enough to overcome concerns of Republican lawmakers who say Shapiro’s plan spends far more than it brings in and would force the state to raid its savings. Shapiro’s proposal would increase state spending 5.4% over last year and would drain more than half the $7.8 billion sitting in the state’s Rainy Day Fund. The 2025-26 ...

Hollidaysburg Veterans Home water line installation stalls

The Altoona Water Authority has been stymied in its attempt to get permission to construct a 12-inch water line that would serve the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home, including its new residence hall, by easement issues with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Forestry, over whose ground some of the line will run. The authority has secured services agreements with the state Department of Veterans Affairs, which operates the home and the National Guard Readiness Center, but the bureau, to which the DMVA forwarded a proposed agreement, has proposed ...

Hollidaysburg 250th celebration

School choice advocates criticize Shapiro budget

Supporters of Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC), the state’s biggest statewide school choice program, say Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed 2026-27 budget prioritizes increased public school funding over continued support for the tax credit program. The debate over the education budget comes as the state continues to grapple with how to improve student outcomes, address disparities between school districts and balance public school funding with expanding school choice options. For more than two decades, the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative ...

Pennsylvania Superior Court rejects appeal in attempted murder case

A former Clearfield man who is in prison after being found guilty of attempted murder in Hyde has failed to prove his lawyer was ineffective, according to a Pennsylvania Superior Court decision issued last week. Although Robert Jeffery Bailor, 53, was found by a jury to be mentally ill, he is ...