Breaking News

Our Opinion

Our opinion: Equitable solution to lawsuit

Warren officials have reached what appears to be an equitable solution with a developer who wants to pursue oil and gas drilling on a parcel that includes what is now a Days Inn on Ludlow Street. The parcel was formerly zoned commercial except for two-tenths of an acre that was zoned for industrial use until 2024, when new zoning maps were created. At that time, the two-tenths of an acre on the hotel property was rezoned commercial - but the new zoning maps didn’t reflect the change. So when John Branch decided he wanted to pursue oil and gas drilling, he was under the impression ...

Our opinion: Time will tell on layoffs

It’s too early, in our opinion, to know just how much proposed layoffs affecting the Allegheny National Forest will hurt Warren County. Part of that is because we don’t yet have full information about just how many layoffs there actually are in the ANF area. Because of that we don’t have a good understanding yet of how the cuts will affect programs and services in the Allegheny National Forest - though it appears that fire protection efforts that affect public safety have been spared thus far. What we do know, however, is that we’re not a big fan of the glee with which ...

Our opinion: Consider Saturday concerts

The addition of Saturday concerts in downtown Warren is an idea worth considering. City Council member Wendy McCain spoke in favor of the idea while Mayor Dave Wortman also signaled his interest in Saturday concerts that could take place in addition to the existing Music in the Park concert series. The idea is still in the early stages of discussion by the Comprehensive Plan Task Force. Additional music or other activities that bring people downtown are important to increase the sense of vitality of downtown Warren. The more people downtown, the better. So the real question ...

Our opinion: EMS deals are all-around wins

We wouldn’t have thought a couple of years ago when the Warren City Council began pushing for EMS agreements with neighboring townships that the effort would have been successful. Color us wrong. Last week City Council members approved a 10th agreement authorizing the Warren Fire Department to act as a supplemental EMS provider to the city’s neighbors by approving a one-day deal with Pine Grove Township. These agreements are the type of municipal cooperation that are important for a region dealing with ever-decreasing population and tax base. As volunteer fire departments ...

Our opinion: Lessening the road distractions

In three months, Pennsylvania will be implementing “Paul Miller’s Law,” which prohibits, as a primary offense, any driver from using an interactive mobile device while driving. In preparation for the new law, which begins enforcement June 5, officials from PennDOT, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), the Oil City Police Department, and the Highway Safety Network hosted an event last week at Oil City High School in Venango County to educate drivers on the consequences of distracted driving. “The list of potential distractions while driving is nearly limitless. Actions such as ...

Other voices: 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 ...