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Area briefs: City files emergency declaration

Altoona has submitted an emergency declaration in connection with storms that occurred July 5-6, according to a news release from the city. City residents with property damage caused by those storms should use the following link to report the damage: https://crisistrack.juvare.com/public/blairPA/request.html. Those residents should also attend a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) event between 2 and 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 1650 Clay Ave., Tyrone, where they can speak with representatives of various agencies who may be able to help with recouping ...

State senator profited from data center property sale

HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state senator made money from the $30 million sale of property last year to a developer building a massive, controversial data center project in Cumberland County. A career real estate agent and chair of the state’s Republican Party, Greg Rothman said he was ...

Retired judges hit the road to defend judicial independence

On Friday, a group of retired judges stepped off a tour bus in a ritzy Michigan suburb after three days of barnstorming through corn fields, cities and coal towns in Ohio and Pennsylvania. They carried with them a message. In courthouses and public squares, they marked the nation’s 250th ...

Audit shows Blair County’s cash reserve ‘healthy’ at $20.3 million

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County’s latest audit is showing the county’s cash reserve at the end of 2025 was $20.3 million, probably the highest it’s been since 2013 when it jumped to $20.6 million after the county sold Valley View Home. “That’s very healthy,” Derek Schroeder, auditor and senior manager of Zelenkofske Axelrod LLC, said of the $20.3 million reserve — $460,365 higher than reported in 2024. “That’s about five months of operating expenses.” While commissioners Dave Kessling, Amy Webster and Laura Burke welcomed the positive report, they pointed out that ...

Armor Health selected as new medical provider for Blair County Prison

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Florida-based company is expected to take over inmate medical care at the Blair County Prison as of Aug. 1, after the county’s longtime contract with PrimeCare Medical, a Harrisburg-based company, expires as of July 31. Commissioners voted Thursday to award a three-year ...