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Our opinion: A better way to pursue murals

In Chautauqua County, government grants pay for murals around the county. Here in Warren County that isn’t the case. The City Council recently approved plans for a 40-foot-wide by 44-foot-high mural to be painted on the east wall of the WestPANet building at 216 Pennsylvania Avenue West. The wall faces the roundabout at Pennsylvania Avenue West and Market Street. The mural that will soon adorn it will be created by artist Sara Aiello and will depict themes significant to the city’s heritage. The city will coordinate the effort, which will be funded through private ...

Our opinion: Take part in riverfront planning

Warren City Council members were quick last week to say one reason it hired Pashek/Larson Karle Architects to craft a new Allegheny Riverfront development master plan is the firm’s track record working with the city on projects in the past. The consultant is starting in a strong place after a recent public survey that generated roughly 40 potential ideas for further development along the river to go along with the first phase of work that is expected to begin soon. The master plan will take those ideas and refine them into realistic, buildable ideas with professional renderings that ...

Our opinion: District does well avoiding tax hike

There are sighs of relief being breathed around Warren County after last week’s Warren County School District Board of Education meeting. At least a few of those sighs are coming from school board members and administrators who, we’re sure, weren’t relishing explaining to residents that after closing two school buildings in 2025 that the district still wasn’t saving enough money to keep taxes at a manageable level for taxpayers. Some of those same taxpayers have found themselves hit with higher tax bills after the countywide property reassessment driven in part by the school ...

Editor’s corner: There’s a thirst for water upgrades

Tidioute residents are well aware of water troubles. Since March 18, the borough has been under a boil-water order. Making matters worse, the Southwest Warren County Municipal Authority is not optimistic about when users can start drinking from the fountains again. In its latest notice, they ...

Our opinion: Fiscal sanity rests with state Senate

The state House of Representatives’ passage of a one-house budget means fiscal sanity now rests in the hands of the state Senate. House members passed a budget that is nearly identical to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s $53.3 billion budget proposal in a largely party line vote. Five Republicans voted with Democrats. House passage of a budget doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. It should come as no shock to anyone that Democrats would support their governor’s budget. Let’s give House Democrats a little bit of credit for not approving even more spending than Shapiro proposed ...

Our opinion: Small steps add up on Earth Day

For more than half a century, the United States has been celebrating Earth Day. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it was in the spring of 1970, Sen. Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to force legal and regulatory mechanisms to protect our natural world. Today, our environment is consistently at the center of attention when it comes to the use of water, recycling and energy. As part of Earth Day, which is celebrated Wednesday, the EPA recommends ways residents can lower their carbon footprint. Those include: bike or walk; carpool or take public transportation; ...