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Reaction to loss of school funds is surprising

It was somewhat of a surprise that school officials from Blair and Cambria counties, from whom comment was sought regarding the Trump administration’s decision to cancel the final round of federal pandemic aid for school systems here and across America, did not express frustration or dismay about the funds pullback. If those school officials were, in fact, significantly troubled about the prospect of not receiving the money in question, they likely chose not to speak on the record, perhaps in fear of retribution from the president or maybe other top aides. Such reluctance is ...

Be ready for financial crisis of 2025

If there’s one thing investors have learned in recent days, it’s that there’s no way to guess what America will do next. With its on-again, off-again tariffs, the administration has demonstrated a willingness to shock markets. Amid such radical uncertainty, a financial crisis isn’t out of the question. Policymakers need to be prepared for the worst. Such crises follow a familiar pattern, whether the cause is a housing bust, a pandemic or, in the current case, the premeditated actions of the world’s biggest economy. The catalyst is debt, which investors use to buy many ...

McCrory’s story one of success

The former McCrory’s 5 & 10 building in downtown Altoona has proven all of its naysayers wrong. By “naysayers” we mean those people who could envision no chance of saving the formerly deteriorated 11th Avenue structure. Even if the building itself were rehabilitated, the naysayers believed, it would be next to impossible to find anyone confident enough in its future to want to try operating a business in it. Wrong! A building that had seemed destined for the wrecking ball — if it were able to avoid collapse before the wrecking ball arrived to demolish it — is once again ...

Humanity won on that Easter long ago

Believers in the Scriptures wake up on Easter morning knowing that if they will be attending a church service, they will hear a by-now-familiar message about the frantic pre-dawn moments of the first Easter Sunday 2,000 years ago. A familiar message, yes, but one that does not get boring or otherwise “old.” “On the first day of the week,” according to the gospel of John, “Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and ...

Outcome of NS case important

A major development affecting one railroad company usually is assumed to apply to others as well, if not immediately then over the long term. Therefore, all railroad companies, especially the major carriers, are no doubt monitoring closely how much success, if any, Norfolk Southern Railroad will have in trying to force two other companies to help pay for the $600 million class-action settlement to which Norfolk agreed in connection with its February 2023 derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Regardless of how current court proceedings conclude, railroad watchers probably ...

Parking may come down to mindset

In an April 9 front page Mirror article about downtown Altoona parking, a representative of Mountain View Eye Associates was quoted as saying, “The biggest thing anyone says is it really sucks to park (in the center city area).” Some people might disagree with the tone of that quote, but it must be acknowledged how challenging and frustrating parking has become in the downtown for many other people — and a turn-off to coming back unless absolutely necessary. Still, Altoona is not alone. Gone are the days when cities of Altoona’s size had a number of privately owned parking ...