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Kick off holidays with giving

Editorials

First thoughts of the end-of-year holiday season emerge for many people as summer gives way to autumn. This year autumn begins on Sept. 22 and, by then, many other residents of this area already will have turned their thoughts away from summer’s hot, sultry days and refocused on the cooler conditions evolving and the beauty of the changing leaves. Mention the phrase “season of sharing” and Christmas comes to mind, as well as something else that has become important here amid all else that the holiday season delivers. That “something else” is the Altoona Mirror’s annual ...

Old Crow wetlands being degraded

Letters to the Editor

I am writing to express my deep concern over the degradation of the Old Crow wetland in Huntingdon, a place once teeming with salamanders, turtles, frogs, insects and native plants. Recent sediment pollution from the Rutter’s construction has already begun to choke this fragile ecosystem — an outcome many of us predicted when the truck stop project adjacent to the wetland was first proposed. Despite the clear risks, permits were hastily approved and planning corners cut, leaving this invaluable natural area vulnerable. Wetlands are not wastelands; they are living systems that ...

Politics should never have a body count

Editorials

When we look at our history, it is a timeline where the major marks are often political and frequently violent — and too regularly both. This is not unique to America. It is not a problem of modern history. It is global and timeless. Assassination has changed the face of the world from Ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire to medieval Europe. It first landed in the United States when Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre in 1865. The most recent example is the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday as he engaged with supporters and opponents at Utah Valley ...

Election a chance to support Trump

Letters to the Editor

This November’s election is not just another date on the calendar — it is a defining moment for America’s future. In recent years, Washington’s “whole‑of‑government” approach has fueled massive bureaucracy, advancing progressive priorities that undermine liberty, limit opportunity, and erode personal responsibility. President Trump’s agenda offers a clear course correction: dismantling unelected regulatory power, restoring authority to the people, and proving that economic growth and environmental care can thrive together. Republicans champion practical conservation, ...

Report fails to offer hope to jobseekers

Editorials

Americans struggling to make ends meet probably don’t care to know how many billionaires there are in the United States, where most of them reside or how much the size of the “billionaires club” has increased since 2020. Struggling Americans today do want to know the prospects for more and better jobs and their prospects for markedly improving their lives. Unfortunately, it appears that for the “struggling crowd” more disappointment and frustration awaits them, as well as deteriorating confidence in general. It is not what people in this country have been anticipating ...

Vote for Battista as Superior Court judge

Letters to the Editor

As a volunteer for the Blair County Republican Committee, I experienced first hand the dedication and expertise that Maria Battista exhibits. She campaigns tenaciously, with passion and dedication for the people of Pennsylvania. More importantly, she shows reverence for the law that she will uphold and interpret without legislating from the bench. Her over 15 years of legal experience are vast. They cover work in the Clarion District Attorney’s Office, different departments for the state, and multiple years in the private sector for LexisNexis. One of her crowning points of ...