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Our opinion: Celebrating spirit of Thanksgiving

This week kicks off the busy holiday season, although, considering the many Early Black Friday sales that have enticed shoppers in recent weeks, many people no doubt wonder whether the holiday season somehow expanded to a quarter of the year, rather than having remained confined to about a month and a half. Traditionally, the shopping boom began the day after Thanksgiving - Black Friday - but no more is that true. The non-stop home-shopping channels and online sales have changed all that. Unfortunately, local brick-and-mortar shopping, which helps to keep strong the economic ...

Our opinion: Rapp right on newborn screenings

Two bills that recently passed the state House of Representatives Health Committee with bipartisan support should move quickly through the state Senate and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office. At the same time, we agree wholeheartedly with House Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, who says House Bill 1715 and House Bill 1652 shouldn’t be needed in the first place. House Bill 1715 would add Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the program and House Bill 1652 would add Gaucher disease to the program. House Bill 1715 is sponsored by Republican Ann Flood, with bipartisan cosponsorship from Republican Bud ...

Our opinion: Keep bridge name close to home

Warren residents have a lot of ideas about what we should name the Third Avenue bridge. One resident who has received 150 signatures from city residents to rename the bridge in memory of Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated earlier this year in Utah. Another suggestion is to name the bridge after the Blue Star Mothers in recognition of their work supporting local soldiers serving overseas. This may sound hypocritical for a city named after someone who never lived here, but in our opinion if we are going to honor someone by naming a bridge after them that person should have made a ...

Editor’s corner: Races for governor full of high-profile politicians

With just under a year to go, the races for governor are already grabbing a spotlight. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who at one time was a strong contender to be tapped as a vice presidential candidate with Kamala Harris, will be facing Republican Stacy Garrity. Unlike neighboring New York ...

Our opinion: Cyber charters need accountability

It’s not uncommon for audits to say public school districts are holding too much in reserve funds - essentially taking too much in taxes to pay the expenses they carry. What happened to cyber charter schools as part of the state’s 2025-26 budget agreement, then, could realistically be considered a case of what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Lawmakers agreed to a change in charter school funding formulas used to reimburse cyber charter schools, aiming to better reflect the actual costs of their operations. The reforms are designed to increase accountability for ...

Our opinion: SNAP monitoring must be better

Now that SNAP benefits are guaranteed to flow for the next year, it’s time for Pennsylvania to better monitor how the program operates in the commonwealth. Throughout the late summer and early fall there has been debate over Pennsylvania’s SNAP error rate. We’re one of the states that either overpays or underpays more than 10% of SNAP recipients. That’s a number worth paying attention to because states with error rates over 10% will have to pay money back to the federal government under a provision included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. According to a state Independent ...