Turnpike needs to recover its unpaid debt

February 19, 2022

It is laudable that the Pennsylvania Senate Transportation Committee has approved bills aimed at avoiding another uncollected-tolls debacle like the one that has cost the Pennsylvania Turnpike $104 million since the toll road converted to all-electronic tolling. One bill — Senate Bill 1053 — would allow expansion of the ways motorists would be able to pay tolls electronically. A second bill — Senate Bill 1051 — would require the commission to provide an annual report to the Legislature dealing with uncollected toll revenue, the goal being to avoid unpleasant surprises like ...

McCrory’s transaction has upside

February 17, 2022

Altoona taxpayers have nothing to be upset about regarding the city’s decision to pay the former owner of the McCrory’s building on 11th Avenue $112,000 in connection with the eminent domain proceedings that allowed the city to assume ownership. The $112,000 figure represents a good investment, despite the fact that it is $22,000 more than the building’s value figure set by an appraisal commissioned by the city. An appraisal commissioned by the former owners had set the value at $134,000. It is true that some city residents will continue harboring the opinion that not a ...

It’s the day to celebrate your love

February 14, 2022

Love covers a lot of ground. There is the love between a parent and a child. There’s love for one’s partner, sibling, friend, pet. There is even the very real love a child feels for a favorite stuffed animal. Any parent who has had to wash that stuffed animal or search frantically for it can attest to that. Some might say love varies in its degrees — that the love one has for a spouse cannot compare to the love between a tow-headed child and his pretend dinosaur. The point is noted, but we won’t quibble at this time over such technicalities. Because we feel love, in any ...

Proceed with caution on Wolf’s budget

February 12, 2022

Caution is the best advice for lawmakers on both sides of the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s political aisle, in response to Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed 2022-23 budget, his last as the commonwealth’s chief executive. While it is a given that next fiscal year’s budget will hardly resemble the plan that the governor put forth on Tuesday, this is a time when the state — from the vantage point of both sides of the political aisle — must strive to avoid falling victim to any unwise spending decisions resulting from access to federal aid not heretofore available. Without that ...

Airport progress encouraging

February 11, 2022

Shining rays of sun on some good news: Operating small-town airports is not easy, especially during a pandemic. That’s why Kay Stephens’ recent report in the Mirror that the Altoona-Blair County Airport enjoyed its best year in the last 12 was encouraging. Nearly 9,000 used the Martinsburg-based facility, the highest number since 2009, and a dramatic leap over 2020 as COVID-19 was chiefly responsible for ridership sinking to just 2,836. The airport also ended the year strong with 937 passengers flying in December. Credit goes to Tracy Plessinger, the airport manager, ...

Teacher shortage concerning

February 5, 2022

As the 1960s ended, Pennsylvania teachers still were providing dedicated service to their school districts and students, despite embarrassingly low wages, paltry fringe benefits and, in many cases, not commanding the respect and parental support that they deserved. That unfortunate scenario began to change in 1970, due to the Legislature’s passage of Act 195, the Public Employee Relations Act, which paved the way for collective bargaining — contract negotiations — that over the years produced increasingly higher pay, better insurance coverage, better retirement benefits and other ...