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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 were railroads’ efforts to implement one-person freight-train crews; employment reductions at Altoona’s railroad shops; and the derailment of toxic-chemical-carrying rail cars in East Palestine, Ohio, just over the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Then there was an activist investor campaign ...

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, which is being replaced after more than a decade of service. Change is good if it produces the sought-after positive results. Change is good if the planning that went into it looks into the future as well as dealing with the present. Change is good if it is rooted firmly in enhancing the ...

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 were worn out by so much coverage of the presidential campaigns being waged and the respective candidates. Of course, having been conducted in April, the poll in question centered on fatigue that was in place months before election coverage escalated after President Joe Biden announced he was ...

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 about the Mountain City’s future. Does Altoona want to idle in “sputter-sputter gear,” remaining content to do so, indefinitely, or does it want to shift progress into a high-gear action, “meeting-our-needs” mindset capable of defeating problems, and without overly burdening the city’s ...

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 benefit over the long run if most of that unused capacity would be put to work. That said, it would be encouraging if both 2024 U.S. presidential candidates would pledge significantly more money, if elected, for research into unlocking cures for diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s, lupus and ...

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 long to compile the answers, to enlighten residents about that with which their school leadership has been — and is — dealing on the attendance front on a daily basis. It is reasonable to suggest that many residents are shocked, puzzled and troubled already, based on attendance information in a ...