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Our opinion: Voters need to demand transparency

=Gov. Josh Shapiro is accepting donations for the repairs the state-owned governor’s mansion will need after the April arson, Spotlight PA reported recently — and his staff are dragging their feet on identifying who those donors are. The governor’s decision to resist releasing the names of donors to renovate the damaged governor’s mansion is unfortunately not surprising. Too often public servants attempt to evade the type of record-keeping essential to permitting the accountability that the checks and balances of our system are meant to ensure. As we have noted and criticized ...

Editor’s corner: E-bikes bring new cycle of challenges for motorists

Residents and communities across the region are starting to become charged up over the growing number of electric bicycles — many of which are sharing the roads on a regular basis with motorists. Though a majority of the riders are courteous and responsible, those who weave in and out of ...

Other voices: Heed lessons of Epstein scandal

Donald Trump has thrived on conspiracy theories – “birtherist” lies that Barack Obama was born outside the US; the lunacies of the Q-Anon movement; false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. All centred on the idea that the “deep state” was lying to, and thus cheating, ordinary people. Mr Trump was their tribune. It’s hard not to feel schadenfreude now that he’s at the sharp end of a theory that he at times encouraged and allies eagerly pushed: claims that the prison death of the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein might not be suicide after all, and that wealthy and ...

Our opinion: Labor Department oversight necessary

Requiring a school-approved work permit for teens between the ages of 14 and 17 seems like an antiquated notion halfway through the 2020s. In addition to a work permit signed by a school, current state law requires a parent or guardian to provide a written statement that the teen is able to work. Rep. Dan Moul, R-Gettysburg, wants to end the school approval for a work permit and instead let the statement of a parent or guardian provide authority for a teen who wants to enter the workforce. Instead of a work permit, Moul proposes requiring a written statement from the youth’s parents ...

Our opinion: Rapp’s right, budget bill is lacking

On the surface it would seem the state House of Representatives’ passing a state budget proposal and moving the process to the state Senate is a step forward. But we have to agree with state Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, who disagreed with both the amount of time Republicans were given to review the proposal as well as undecided issues that make the House plan essentially useless. Rapp’s first criticism is purely political. The party in the minority often gets short-shrift in the budget-making process. Republicans in the New York state Legislature levy the same complaint year ...

Our opinion: McCormick impresses on energy

We are impressed with the leadership U.S. Sen. David McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, is demonstrating on an issue whose importance our editorials frequently emphasize. McCormick, in only his first year as a senator, organized an energy summit this past week that unveiled vital, private-sector investment in a broad variety of energy-related projects. The investments include natural gas — a sector of energy development that we are fortunate to see create jobs for families and yield revenue for communities throughout our region. It also includes hydroelectric power — a renewable source of ...