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Editorials

Planning, not hope, should drive railroads

In the Altoona-Johnstown area and around other communities in the Norfolk Southern/Amtrak railroad corridor west and east, when something railroad-related is in the news, residents tend to pay attention. For example, in recent years, some major issues attracting considerable public attention ...

Changes must be transparent

Times change, needs change, leaders change, community visions change, attitudes change, and priorities and objectives change. That is what Blair County is experiencing regarding the somewhat controversial effort underway to designate a new tourism and promotion group to replace Explore Altoona, ...

Worn out by candidates, campaigns

Think what you want to think about the reliability of polls. That’s your right. But consider the finding of a Pew Research Center poll and reflect on if — and/or how — it applies to you. The poll in question, which surveyed 8,709 adults in April, found 62% of U.S. adults saying they ...

City must put progress in high gear

With a newly adopted comprehensive plan joining the foundation of Altoona city government, and in the aftermath of an interesting — and potentially productive — discussion at a city council meeting on Sept. 9, this is a right time for asking a fundamental, but also very serious, question ...

Research stalls for pregnancy complication

Despite its wealth of resources, America lacks unlimited capacity in pursuing medical research. That acknowledged, it nevertheless is reasonable to conclude that this country is not utilizing all of its available research capacity, and that this nation — and the rest of the world — would ...

Chronic absenteeism concerning

Relevant questions for the Altoona Area School District at this time are questions that never should have to be asked. However, the number of students qualifying for “chronically absent” status make the asking of those questions important. It should not take top school officials very ...