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Editorials

Biden has raised plenty of questions

After reading Richard Parker’s letter on Friday, July 7, I had to respond. Here are some questions for him. Who has 150-plus suspicious activity reports in reference to their banking? Who botched the Afghanistan withdrawal and then, more than once, checked his watch as the 13 men and women were being taken off the plane in coffins draped in the American flag? The families saw this disgraceful display of a president checking the time. Who sniffs little girl’s hair? Who opened our borders leaving unvetted illegals in allowing terrorists, rapists, and tons of drugs into ...

Info on UFOs should be more transparent

Congress’ beefed-up interest in UFOs, revealed in recent days, is late in coming but should be welcomed nonetheless. Much of what the federal government has been concealing for many decades regarding sightings of unidentified flying objects can be revealed to today’s more enlightened public without causing panic or otherwise striking new fears into people otherwise concerned about humanity’s rightly or wrongly perceived instability on this planet. UFO-related information housed in the proverbial dusty recesses of the nation’s information warehouses needs to be examined and ...

Approaching sidewalk issue with balance

If the Altoona Planning Commission had a crystal ball capable of seeing many years into the future, the discussion that the panel had recently about waiving sidewalk requirements could have produced easy conclusions and an easy decision based on them. But not only does the commission not have a crystal ball, it also has two options that could prove to be perfectly right or very wrong, depending on how future development proceeds. However, there is no way to be sure about what course has more likelihood of prevailing for the city’s best overall interests. The current situation is ...

Postal costs will continue to climb

No one can say for sure how long it might be before a Forever postage stamp costs a dollar — up from the current 66-cent price that went into effect on July 9. But more and more, it seems that the $1 first-class stamp price is destined to happen perhaps even five or more years before this century’s midpoint. The pressures tied to processing and delivering the mail do not exist without a huge total cost. Amid that, there are the actual individual amounts related to maintaining and operating post offices, distribution centers and vehicles. Meanwhile, postal workers’ pay and ...

Scrutiny needs to continue over rail safety

The fiery Norfolk Southern derailment that wreaked havoc in and around East Palestine, Ohio, just west of the Pennsylvania border last winter — as well as the derailment’s aftermath — have dispatched numerous poignant messages not only to current and future generations of NS management but also to officials of other freight railroads. No doubt another important message/development less than two weeks ago is causing railroad watchers to ponder how it might impact, directly or indirectly, other rail carriers, possibly forever, going forward. That new wrinkle in the Feb. 3 NS ...

City plan requires public input

Time and opportunity will be available for Altoona residents, through August, to provide input regarding a new citywide comprehensive plan. Because of all the good that can emerge from a well-thought-out document of that kind, it is important that Altoona’s proposed plan be accorded all of the interest and participation that can be mustered. Unfortunately, though, odds are that the sessions will not generate the kind of strong interest being sought. That will be especially true if the planning document remains generally non-controversial. Benefits that the city as a whole likely ...