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Off-the-grid dream come true

Turbulent times can make people feel helpless and hopeless, but we have more agency than we might think. We can still choose to live life on our own terms — whatever that means for each of us individually. This is what the McCaffertys did. “So many people have fallen prey to this idea that what they do doesn’t matter and that we’re all doomed when that isn’t true at all,” Emily McCafferty told me. Mark and Emily McCafferty, along with their son Anthony, live on 16 acres of land in an off-grid cordwood, solar-powered house they built themselves just south of ...

We CARE Foundation a remarkable story

Many wonder what the We CARE Foundation is and how the funds raised through the Turkey Bowl, Softball Marathon and other fundraising events are spent. The creation of the We CARE Foundation is a remarkable story about what the community did 10 years ago to preserve therapy service for special needs children in the Altoona/Blair County area. In 2014, the Easter Seals organization decided to close their facility in Altoona. A community-led effort was initiated to preserve the therapy services for special needs children provided at the Easter Seals building located at 501 Valley View ...

Food insecurity a growing problem in area

We regularly meet people who believe the worst of our hunger crisis is behind us. They reference the pandemic and the enormous number of people who needed help and suggest food insecurity must have lessened since then. We respond with an answer that surprises them: we are in a hunger crisis. One in 9 adults and one in 7 children in Central Pennsylvania is experiencing food insecurity. These are the alarming statistics that keep us focused on our work at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank (CPFB). In fact, between 2022 and 2023, CPFB partners reported a 27% increase in the ...

Our veterans should be heard

On Sept. 21, 2022, my 97-year-old father died. In addition to being a wonderful husband, father, friend, artist and distinguished professor of art education, he was my best friend and a WWII veteran. He was a quartermaster on the USS Wilke, a small destroyer escort. Its size was advantageous when chasing German submarines but also more vulnerable to sinking if hit. In his last days, we talked extensively, and I am struck by how he felt about society. He felt betrayed; many WWII veterans felt betrayed. WWII veterans were, by and large, young kids who grew up during the Depression ...

What has happened to the GOP party?

Presidential candidate Donald Trump has put forth proposals to exempt tips and overtime from income taxation. These exemptions would almost exclusively benefit low- and middle-income households. Examining the economic consequences of these proposals is a worthwhile exercise. Incentives drive economic behavior. Encourage an activity, and we get more of it. Discourage it, and we get less. These tax exemptions dramatically increase the incentive to work for low- and middle-income households because they will keep more of their wages. They are virtually worthless to higher income ...

Lower med standards endangers health

As a practicing physician in Pennsylvania, I firmly believe that the relationship between a doctor and their patient should guide every treatment decision. When physicians recommend treatments, we rely on years of training, clinical evidence, and the unique medical history of each patient. Patients should have the confidence to make decisions about their care in partnership with their doctor, without the fear that insurance companies or pharmacies will override those choices for non-medical reasons such as increasing profitability. Unfortunately, a proposed policy change ...