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Editorials

County assistance valuable

Blair County planners have helped Altoona’s municipal leaders make the right decisions and choices on numerous projects and issues over the past half-century. It is logical for that partnership to continue in every way possible — of course, within the planning office’s manpower and financial capabilities. Another opportunity has arisen for the county planning office and the Blair County Planning Commission, which oversees it, to provide the city with valuable advice and guidance capable of heading off problems that might otherwise surface, if not immediately then, possibly, in ...

East must stay prepared for drought

The eastern United States is fortunate in not having to deal with the extreme drought conditions portions of the West — including the state of California — are experiencing. However, those dry conditions are not merely a U.S. problem. Rather, drought is afflicting many parts of this planet beyond U.S. borders. The scope of the dry conditions is prompting much use of the term “worldwide drought” — a term seemingly acquiring increased relevance with each passing month. Record drought across the globe this year dried up rivers and reservoirs and sapped the world’s largest ...

Trades are most viable alternative

Plumbers. Welders. Electricians. Carpenters. Machine operators. HVAC technicians. These are among just a few of what used to be called vocational-technical trades learned in high school. Schools are calling them CTE, or Career and Technical Education programs. Regardless, they are critical to us all. Our communities and our nation need more plumbers, welders, carpenters, etc. Ask any employer or small businessperson or homeowners and they’ll tell you that. These traditional skills careers form the basis of our economy — our modern lives. And today, they pay a living ...

IRS must be held more accountable

Many Americans are unhappy about the prospect of the Internal Revenue Service hiring tens of thousands of additional agents to enable the agency to audit a greater number of tax returns and, in the process, presumably, encourage more honest tax compliance. Some unhappiness stems from the mere prospect of the tax agency seemingly acquiring more power, even if the concerned taxpayer never has cheated the federal treasury of any money that was due. Some of the other unhappiness being vented originates with individuals and entities whose tax-paying honesty might be ...

Mishler remains treasure

Altoona’s Mishler Theatre, the subject of an Aug. 29 front-page Mirror article, is a relic of the past but also a gem of the present and future. Going forward, it always should be appreciated for the opportunities it currently provides, and nurtured for a myriad of possibilities and opportunities not yet realized or imagined. The one immediate goal that should not lose its urgency and luster is the task of keeping the theatre in the news, by way of what is happening within its walls and via its plans for the future, as well as by its status as an important ingredient in Altoona ...

Bill threatens reproductive freedom

The July 29 column written by Judy Ward on her sponsored Senate Bill 106 claims that her proposed Constitutional amendment “does not propose bans on abortions.” I am awed by the amazing spin. If it does nothing, why propose it? If you have no right to something, isn’t that the same thing? It implies that your request is subject to the whim of the person of whom it is made. It is purposely unclear, and will have the same effect with medical providers, etc., refusing to provide services due to its purposeful obscurity. We are already seeing the terrible effects of such ...