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Downtown Altoona ramps up curb appeal

Local officials and business owners are collaborating to make downtown Altoona more inviting this summer with sidewalk chalk murals, plants and outdoor seating. Main Street Manager Jamie Foust said the city’s goal is to bring more people downtown and create a sense of community with ...

Pinecroft, Newburg volunteer fire companies to merge

The volunteer fire company decertified several months ago by the Antis Township supervisors is merging with a nearby fire company in Logan Township. The decertification of Pinecroft Volunteer Fire Company due to its refusal to be absorbed by Excelsior Fire Department No. 1 of Bellwood means ...

Downtown decor

City Mayor Matt Pacifico sits outside The Clay Cup and Wildfire Boutique Tuesday afternoon. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

State senator seeks Flock camera ban

The Republican chairman of the Senate Law and Justice Committee announced Thursday that he intends to introduce legislation that would ban the use of Flock cameras due to complaints from constituents about privacy concerns over the use of the technology. “Some of these systems do much more than record what happens in a public place,” said Sen. Daniel Laughlin, R-Erie. “They automatically identify vehicles, catalog their movements and enter that information into a searchable network. That makes it possible to track and reconstruct where a person has traveled over time, even when ...

Lawmakers want more penalties for Pennsylvania Turnpike scofflaws

Lawmakers in Pennsylvania have repeatedly made adjustments aimed at reducing the number of travelers who skip out on paying their Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls, but a new audit finds that more needs to be done. The Pennsylvania Turnpike lost $229 million in unpaid tolls in the 12-month period ending May 2025, the state auditor general found. The chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee has called for stiffer penalties for toll scofflaws. Drivers who failed to respond when billed for traveling on the turnpike accounted for the largest share of that lost revenue — about $171 ...

Residents win Sunshine Act case in data center hotbed

A legal battle over public access and transparency has erupted in a community with major data center projects that once were on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s “fast track” list, and a group of citizens acting without a lawyer scored a victory. A Luzerne County judge on Tuesday ruled verbally that ...