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Carriers are the backbone of newspapers

Power outages and press malfunctions are among a newspaper circulation manager’s worst nightmare. Even an hour delay in “getting the newspaper out” wreaks havoc with the process of hooking up subscribers with the latest news that was available at deadline time. When subscribers’ newspapers arrive late, many of those people already have inundated circulation department telephone lines with concerned — and sometimes angry — inquiries. For many people, not having their newspaper available at their breakfast table is as troubling as having run out of coffee or orange ...

Clearly state Altoona’s tax ordinance

Altoona City Council’s current exercise aimed at amending the city’s ordinance covering collection of the business privilege tax is necessary as well as instructive, not only for other Blair County communities but also places beyond. The crux of this Altoona tax situation is this: The city wants to add clarification to the current ordinance that the tax in question applies only to revenues tied to companies’ local operations, not revenues that are earned or collected for business conducted elsewhere. The Altoona ordinance is reminiscent of a time when it was not necessary to ...

Sometimes abstention is right call

People attending a school board or municipal government meeting often are puzzled when a member of one of those elected bodies chooses to abstain from voting on a particular agenda item or issue. Perhaps, most of those people soon learn that the abstention was the means by which the member in question made the correct decision regarding something that would have been a conflict of interest, if he or she had voted. For example, on the school board front, perhaps the board member who abstained did so because a son, daughter or other relative was on the list of people being hired as ...

Newspapers help make PA great

National Newspaper Week presents an opportunity to reflect on the value of journalism — an American treasure essential to our way of life. Around the globe and nationwide, across the commonwealth, and in our own backyards, newspaper journalists provide the accurate, fair, timely and thorough reporting individuals and communities need to make informed decisions. It is no surprise that news consumers in Pennsylvania continue to make newspapers, along with their websites and other digital platforms, the top source for local news and information. Why is that? Newspapers are the ...

Region could use ‘jolt’ for transportation

Both political parties in Congress and the Biden administration must not escape criticism over their inability to cooperate, compromise and end the uncertainties — expeditiously — regarding the proposed massive, needed national infrastructure initiative. Shame on them all for the political obstructionism, grandstanding and outright irresponsibility that have kept the trillions-of-dollars program in limbo for so long. As Mirror reporter William Kibler detailed in a front-page article in Thursday’s Mirror, Pennsylvania alone is targeted to receive $3.9 billion for transportation ...

Lead piping issue isn’t going away

“Your tap water can hang out in some pretty seedy joints” is the message in close proximity to containers of one brand of bottled water sold by some area stores. Accompanying that message and, of course, the containers of water for sale is a picture depicting one example of the deteriorating condition to which the company is attempting to draw attention. Many people look at the picture, say “Yuk,” and then move on. However, some people might ponder opting for the bottled water alternative rather than continuing to rely on the drinking water out of the tap from which they ...