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Our opinion: County misses out on state funding

In a recent news release this month, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced 50 highway, bridge, aviation, port, bike, and pedestrian projects in 27 counties across Pennsylvania were selected for $54 million in funding through the Multimodal Transportation Fund. These new investments, the release stated, will improve safety, strengthen local economies, and enhance mobility across the Commonwealth, connecting communities and people to opportunity. In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, $972,000 will support the redesign of the intersection at Prince Street and Houcks Road to make it safer for ...

Our opinion: State can’t sit on reassessment sidelines

We typically represent our political parties either with an elephant or a donkey. But in the case of Pennsylvania lawmakers at the state and local level, the ostrich would be a better representation. No one wants to take on the issue of property reassessments because they don’t want to upset voters. The problem is property reassessments are a necessary pain in the tuckus that make sure our system of taxation to pay for public services is done in as fair a way as possible. One reason property reassessments cause ostrich-like behavior now is they happen decades apart in too many ...

Our opinion: Using caution as schools reopen

Students are heading back to our county’s schools starting today. With this yearly occasion, we remind the public to discuss traffic safety with youngsters and, for those who also are motorists, to be careful as children will be along our streets and roads on weekday mornings and afternoons. The website for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers some tips. "Your child should arrive at the bus stop at least five minutes before the bus arrives," the website advises. "Ahead of the new school year, visit the bus stop and show your child where to wait for the bus, ...

Our opinion: Can animal hoarding be slowed?

Legislation introduced recently in the state House of Representatives wouldn’t bring an automatic stop to incidents of animal cruelty that routinely pop up around the commonwealth. But we do think Rep. Eddie Pashinski’s House Bill 2279 could be a useful tool for local law enforcement and judges as they deal with animal neglect cases that happen with alarming regularity in both Warren County and the rest of Pennsylvania. While state law recognizes "neglect" and "cruelty" to animals, Pashinski wants state law to also include "animal hoarding" and provide for mental health ...

Other voices: Streamline FDA’s cumbersome regulatory process

Good news strikes from an unlikely source. On Thursday the Food and Drug Administration approved Replimune’s immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma, a day after it green-lighted mFlusiva, Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine. The shame is that both might have been available sooner but for regulatory delays, which hurt both patients and American innovation. Replimune has been working on its RP1 immunotherapy for a decade but got caught in the FDA cross-hairs at the last stretch. FDA review staff recommended approval after its late-stage trial showed that a third of patients whose disease had ...

Our opinion: Tough choices with lower enrollments

Last month, the numbers were not promising. With classes starting on Tuesday for the Warren County School District, kindergarten enrollment seemed a bit disappointing. As of the July meeting, the district had about 150 kindergarten students registered. Enrollment by school included: -- Warren Area Elementary Center, 71 students. -- Eisenhower Elementary, 43 students. -- Sheffield Elementary, 21 students. -- Youngsville Elementary Middle School, 19 students. Administrators, at the time, noted the figures do not include every family currently in the registration process. ...