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Our Opinion: Blight fight must be taken seriously

It’s telling that only 28% of local governments in Pennsylvania feel they have the capacity to deal with blight. We’re willing to bet Warren County, even with a new surcharge aimed at raising money to fund the county’s land bank, falls within the 72% of local governments struggling to deal with blighted properties. Blight is a constant struggle and, in our opinion, it’s time for the state to get more involved. Many of the issues Pennsylvania faces are the same issues faced by communities around the country. Educating property owners on local codes is a struggle because most ...

Our opinion: Sobering safety net program stats

It should be obvious, after reading a recent Center Square report, that state lawmakers have to do something about human services program spending in the commonwealth. In 2000, Pennsylvania had 760,000 residents getting food stamps. Now, almost 2 million receive them. Growth in Medicaid has been similar: The state spent $10.7 billion on 1.3 million residents in 2000, but now, the state spends almost $47 billion to provide Medicaid benefits to 3.3 million residents. Welfare expansion has outpaced population growth: Pennsylvania has only gained 700,000 residents since 2000. But the ...

Other voices: An ‘obligation’ for Justice Alito

Congratulations to Chief Justice John Roberts, who responded to importuning Senators by letting Justice Samuel Alito respond for himself. Justice Alito’s reply on Wednesday: He has “an obligation to sit” on cases under the Supreme Court’s code of conduct. Sens. Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse, the bully boys of the Judiciary Committee, wrote the Chief Justice last week demanding a meeting and that Justice Alito recuse himself from hearing cases related to the 2020 election or Donald Trump. As the Senators know, the Court’s code stipulates that individual Justices make ...

Our opinion: Remembering D-Day invasion

Today marks the 80th anniversary of World War II’s D-Day invasion. According to the National D-Day Memorial, which is located in Bedford,Va.,: “While the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, usually termed D-Day, did not end the war in Europe — that would take 11 more months — success on that day created a path to victory for the Allies. The stakes were so great, the impact so monumental, that this single day stands out in history.” Many in our region had a role in that mission. One man from Fredonia, Leslie “Bud” Morrison who died Oct. 14, 2023, was drafted in January ...

Our opinion: Disastrous proposal for departments

A new proposal by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration that would revise 40-year-old firefighting safety standards would be devastating for volunteer fire departments - particularly rural departments already struggling to recruit new members. The federal standards would require equipment to be replaced more quickly and boost training and physical qualifications. Beginning firefighters now have to have 68 hours of training. The federal rules would increase that to 197 hours. Since training is offered in three-hour increments, it would take much longer to get a new ...

Our opinion: Shapiro’s work better than brand

Gov. Josh Shapiro slipped into and out of Warren County recently, hiking part of the Rimrock Trail in the Allegheny National Forest. It’s nice to see we have a governor who can find Warren County without a map and a flashlight. We hope the governor enjoyed our area’s natural beauty while he was here and, yes, we hope the governor makes more stops here in the future. “Greetings from the Allegheny National Forest,” Shapiro said in a reel posted on Facebook. “We just did the Rimrock Trail. Look how beautiful it is. You gotta get out here. It’s unbelievable. It’s just ...