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Lawmakers need lessons on compromise

Editorials

Pennsylvania has an approved 2026-27 budget; that’s the good news. The bad news is how much unfinished budget-related business the state General Assembly has before it, but was unable to accomplish, despite missing the June 30 statutory budget-completion deadline by nearly two weeks. For starters, lawmakers were unable to come to agreement on a regulatory framework for skill games, including taxing those devices. While some state residents might regard that as unimportant, from a fiscal standpoint it is, because it is estimated that taxing those games could generate about $2 ...

What follows after Big Boy?

Letters to the Editor

We collectively experienced something very profound — the arrival of Union Pacific’s “Big Boy” in “Railroad City.” I was heartened by the throngs of long-distance travelers who appreciate heritage we often take for granted. Activities reminded me of Conrail’s much beloved, but long dormant, Rail Fest, a staple of my youth before Norfolk Southern’s takeover. This past week, pilgrims, promoters and politicians ventured to Altoona for something akin to a spiritual journey. But what now? As a historian, I not only think about past patterns, but hypotheticals. The hard truth ...

Work with the city to help homeless

Letters to the Editor

I was reading the article about the sit-in by Indivisible Blair County and their postponed protest. I applaud them for their concern for the homeless. But I do have to ask what they have done to help end the homeless problem. I bet the city would welcome any help you can offer to help those who are homeless. I’m sure that the fine that could be imposed is the last thing they want to happen. I hope the group reads the same article and that they see how city officials have helped with the homeless they have encountered. And that they also see that the city created the Homeless Task ...

Education can reduce sexual abuse risks

Letters to the Editor

Education can reduce sexual abuse risks While it is commendable that PA Representatives Jim Rigby and Kyle Mullins are advocating for passage of legislation to properly fund centers that “heal” children from abuses, more focus is needed on prevention than making predators pay for the healing. Reacting to a crime doesn’t prevent it. A proactive approach requires open and honest age appropriate and individual readiness education about sex, human sexuality, relationship boundaries, privacy, intimacy reproduction, diseases etc. Bodily systems are not to be weaponized and children ...

Leniency on property right decision

Editorials

Despite giving an example of blight in their municipality the tough attention it deserves, the Logan Township supervisors extended a degree of leniency — correctly — to the owner of a blighted property on Sandy Run Road, giving her about four months to get the unsightly situation under control. The supervisors had the option to file a misdemeanor code-violation charge against the property owner, based on the fact that repeated citations had been issued against the property. However, all considered, the supervisors’ action probably was the right move, due to all of the ...

Community lauded for job well done

Letters to the Editor

As many other train lovers did, my husband and I traveled to Altoona Thursday, July 9, to see the Big Boy locomotive; truly an impressive sight, along with many other beautiful, vintage trains. We had a most enjoyable day, but what helped to make it enjoyable was the great job done by the organizers and volunteers at the event. From the parking at the mall to the bus transportation to the train area, everything ran quickly and smoothly. There were ample attendants in the event area and multiple sites with tubs of complimentary water bottles on ice. All the volunteers we spoke with were ...