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Life depends on protecting natural world

As President of the Juniata Valley Audubon Society, I stand with many who believe in protecting the natural world we depend on — our parks, wildlife and air. In my experience, this is a shared value of both my Republican colleagues and Democrat colleagues. These wonders must be preserved, yet today, they face unprecedented threats due to regulatory rollbacks under the Trump administration. Conservation is a human issue, not a political one. Our environment affects our health, economy and quality of life. Many of my Republican and Democrat friends can agree on this. Unfortunately, ...

No matter the vote, your voice matters

I grew up in Claysburg and learned the importance of my political voice at an early age. As a kid, I would walk with my grandparents down our rural road to the Greenfield Township Building to cast our vote. Of course, I was too young for my vote to count, but the poll workers, amused by my resolve to “vote for the candidate of my choice,” handed me a fake ballot. I proudly walked back home with my grandparents, already feeling the power of democracy. Politics was often discussed in our home, and disagreements were common — but that was OK. My interest in American ...

Trump could learn from Washington

Though rarely honored these days exactly on Feb. 22, his actual birth date, “Presidents Day” is officially still Washington’s birthday. And that’s entirely right and proper, as every American should happily honor our first chief executive. Washington was a man for the ages. Born a Virginia aristocrat, he carefully cultivated his virtues — self-control, moderation, civility; his strengths physical and moral — to become the most widely admired presence first in the 13 colonies, then in the new nation. As president, he also set the future course of the US government ...

Christmas means it will be OK

I used to be a mall Santa. From the ages of 17 to 27, I dressed up as a hairy, overweight elf to bring joy to children throughout the Pittsburgh area. It was good honest work. OK, it was honest work. For 3 to 4 hours a day, seven days a week, starting after Thanksgiving, I would put on a fat suit, wear the traditional red vestment trimmed with pure white rabbit fur, stretch the FeBreezed beard over my chin and sit on a green velveted throne while hundreds, nay thousands, of children were placed on my lap. They told me what they wanted for Christmas. I had my picture taken with them ...

A time of togetherness

During the Christmas season when I was a boy, my mother used to take my brothers and sisters and me down to one of the roughest neighborhoods in San Francisco — to visit some animals that were gathered there. This was the Tenderloin District, which attracted drug dealers, drug users and a sad number of homeless people. Our destination was St. Boniface Catholic Church. St. Boniface was established as a parish in 1860, according to the San Francisco Examiner, and its present structure was completed in 1908, after its predecessor was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire. It ...

New laws improve health care in Pa.

When anyone is sick, hurt or needs help, we want to be sure high-quality, affordable health care is accessible to everyone. My Senate Republican colleagues and I have been hard at work the past two years advancing and implementing commonsense health care policies that do that, benefitting all Pennsylvanians. No one wants to experience a health emergency, but when it happens, you want to know an ambulance is on its way with trained emergency medical services personnel on board. That’s why we approved a new law to increase reimbursement rates for EMS organizations, delivering more ...