Once the grim tally of deaths from COVID-19 is finalized — sometime later this year, we hope — there is little doubt it will be clear that nursing homes are the coronavirus’ favored killing grounds. To most public health leaders, that already is obvious. In some states, most of the ...
Each year in Pennsylvania, as May gives way to June, news reports are abundant about how Keystone State lawmakers are dealing with the challenge of assembling a spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. As the past has demonstrated, that process sometimes also includes ...
Many school districts and individual teachers have contingency plans for classes to be interrupted for a few days. We doubt more than a handful had strategies for the current situation, in which the last couple of months of school for millions of students was canceled. There is evidence ...
Although many traditional Memorial Day activities have been canceled or become limited in scope due to the coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19 has not defeated the important meaning of today’s national holiday. Memorial Day remembers the men and women who died while serving in this country’s ...
This is the weekend every year that most Americans regard as the Gateway to Summer, even though summer won’t begin officially until June 20. This “beginning of summer” weekend is much too often met by damp, colder-than-normal weather conditions that throw the proverbial monkey wrench ...
How the 2020-21 school year will greet Pennsylvania’s 500 public school districts is destined to remain a matter of deep concern in the weeks ahead, considering the many uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as new evidence suggesting that children aren’t immune to ...
Now that the “donkey” in the governor’s office has vetoed a pair of measures to open up — with limitations — more segments of the state’s economy, state senators and representatives of both parties should immediately vote overwhelmingly to override the vetoes. Gov. Tom Wolf has, ...
On a day that Gov. Tom Wolf called counties, including Huntingdon, “cowardly” for planning to defy his lockdown orders, his administration demonstrated exactly why Pennsylvanians have doubts about his administration’s leadership. In her regular briefing on Monday, Health Secretary Dr. ...
Area residents must continue to take steps to limit the spread of COVID-19 especially as more counties move to yellow status Friday morning. Blair, Bedford and Cambria will join Centre and Clearfield in seeing the opportunity for more businesses to open later this week. While it is a welcome ...
Coal industry observers were experiencing “bad vibes” as this year began. However, at the beginning of January, even the most pessimistic observers didn’t envision how bad 2020 might be for this once-vibrant economic mainstay. The most important question now is whether even the most ...
We all need a bit of a psychological pick-me-up. The tough fight against COVID-19 is taking its tool on us emotionally. Coronavirus blues, meet the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Just in time to give our spirts a boost, NASA is planning to send a new group of astronauts into ...
After being told for weeks to “stay at home,” Pennsylvanians should start a new rallying cry: “Stay in Harrisburg.” Traditionally, after passing a budget around July 1, the General Assembly goes on a two-month-plus vacation, euphemistically referred to as a district work period. But ...
More than a month into the 2020 census, many people have yet to respond. As of Wednesday, 57.3 percent of households nationwide had responded, and just a bit more, 59.9 percent, of Pennsylvania households had responded. Blair County residents have done a little better, census data shows, ...
A proposed measure not acted upon by the Pennsylvania General Assembly prior to the conclusion of its two-year legislative session does not carry over automatically to the following session. In order for the measure to have any hope of becoming law, it must be reintroduced and get back onto the ...
The $150 billion in federal aid intended to help states with expenses related to COVID-19 should not be a case of water, water everywhere — but not a drop to drink. Unfortunately, some governors worry that may be the case. One might have assumed that in the 880 or so pages of text ...
Amid these uncertain, scary times, when COVID-19 refuses to release its deadly grip on this country, the proverbial seeds are being planted — at least in some parts of the nation — for other health problems, these involving children. There have been no numbers released about how ...
Within a month, Congress and President Donald Trump have increased the national debt by more than 10% by enacting about $2.7 trillion in bailouts related to the COVID-19 outbreak. American families, businesses, hospitals and local and state governments are among the beneficiaries. That is ...
A great experiment is underway in the United States. Led by a few states — notably, Georgia — we are trying to determine how and when to begin recovering from the COVID-19 epidemic. We know the risk: Allow people and businesses to ease away from restrictions put in place to limit the ...
Last week produced plenty of rumblings in Harrisburg about the Wolf administration’s alleged secretive handling of information about where coronavirus cases had been identified. The concerns came as no surprise since, it was argued, first-responders should be aware, as much as possible, ...
During their future career choices and work lives, most of today’s college students will be confronted with unexpected, challenging circumstances that they will need to manage and navigate, using their best judgment, talents and instincts. Unfortunately, they now are being forced to ...