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Kennedy’s policies may cost lives

The single most important achievement of President Donald Trump’s first term was the lightning-fast development of COVID vaccines by the end of 2020. By some estimates, those vaccines developed under Trump’s “Operation Warp Speed” saved between 14 million and 19 million lives worldwide in their first year of use alone. While it’s true that the irresponsible mixed messaging Trump himself sent to his supporters (then and now) regarding the efficacy of the vaccines and of mainstream medicine generally has likely cost lives, the mortality score undoubtedly still lands in his ...

Logan Valley Mall’s demise blamed on many factors

The front-page article “A shadow of itself” in the Mirror’s Aug. 16-17 edition “painted” a sad, unwanted picture of a local retail giant — the Logan Valley Mall — now experiencing a deeply troubled existence and a pessimistic future. The situation is not unlike the “road” that other locally familiar malls — current and former — have traveled, or the bumpy “highway” on which some currently are struggling and, in the end, could be facing doom. Remember the bustling years of Logan Valley and the mecca status it enjoyed? It was exciting to shop there all year ...

Overbooked colleges lets kids out in the cold

College students can take the dorm experience seriously. You can’t walk into Walmart or Target without hitting a wall of ready-for-campus furnishings and accessories. For many, the must-haves range from comforters and clothes baskets to microwaves and mini fridges. Social media is thick with inspiration pictures and decorating videos. But not every student gets that experience. Some universities are treating the school year like a plane bound for Vegas: they’re overbooking. That means alternative accommodations are being brought into service. Students are being housed in ...

Monitoring weather keeps everyone safer

Mother Nature generally has spared Pennsylvania the number and magnitude of weather calamities that Florida, the Carolinas and Gulf Coast states almost routinely have experienced. However, troubling weather events have been on the rise in the Keystone State, and officials have been studying ways to become more proficient at warning the public about possible pending dangers. Now they believe they have made progress toward that goal, and it is reasonable to assume that they are correct, considering what is being put in place. An article in the Mirror’s Aug. 7 edition provided a ...

State budget delay brings worry, chaos

Pennsylvania lawmakers argue about many things, oftentimes ad nauseam, especially about the state budget that seldom is finished on time, or even rendered close to being completed by what is supposed to be the June 30 deadline. Every year this same commonwealth question “bubbles to the top” of public comment and discussion regarding the commonwealth’s annual spending plan: “When is it going to be finished this year and how much will playing petty politics stymie a timely completion of this vital legislative duty that affects so much of what will happen in the state, going ...

Pa. Turnpike Commission fails in transparency

There are certain things we can depend upon in Pennsylvania. As certain as the sun will rise, there will be potholes, there will be football rivalries and the state Legislature will lock horns over something that should be an easy compromise. But hey, sometimes the potholes get paved (except at the Pittsburgh Mills). Sometimes your rivals have a year when they don’t play each other. Sometimes — albeit rarely —the General Assembly will find common ground on something the lawmakers all care about. However, one thing we know to be as reliable as gravity is the increase in tolls on ...