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Our opinion: Governor’s secrecy unacceptable

Gov. Josh Shapiro continues to shroud his conduct — the business of taxpaying Pennsylvanians — in an unacceptable level of secrecy. As a Spotlight PA report noted recently, in the previous year Pennsylvania’s governor accepted about $12,000 in tickets to sports events from a nonprofit organization, Team PA. The nonprofit refuses to disclose who its donors are. As Spotlight PA’s reporters Stephen Caruso and Angela Couloumbis succinctly put it, “the secrecy leaves taxpayers in the dark about who underwrites the outings and what interests they may have in state government ...

Our opinion: Help Warren Gives cause today

The 12th annual Warren Gives takes place today. It’s an opportunity to raise awareness of the county’s non-profits and encourage new donors. There are two ways to donate - online at warrengves.com from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. while checks are accepted at the Community Foundation of Warren County, with donors able to complete a check form to designate the organizations that should receive a piece of the check donation. Check donations are accepted through Monday. “The goal of Warren Gives is twofold,” Mark King, executive director of the Community Foundation of Warren County, ...

Our opinion: Truthful words about district

We know from the results of last year’s Warren County School Board election that Joe Colosimo’s words during last week’s Warren County School District Board of Education meeting aren’t popular. Colosimo was voted out of office in a wave of support for the current four high school configuration in the district. But as the bad financial news piles up and the district’s fund balance dwindles, Colosimo is proven more and more right - having four high schools makes no financial sense. “We’re building heavy,” Colosimo said. “So what is the issue? The district has $83 ...

Our opinion: Warren Worx had better work

Despite significant questions if the effort is worth the investment, city and county governments are kicking in hundreds of thousands of dollars for Warren Worx. It had better work - pun intended. The $400,000 investment so far has been public, $100,000 from the city of Warren and $300,000 over three years from Warren County. The first thing you’re going to see for your investment is a branding effort. We hope branding works better here than it did across the border in New York state, or your initial investment is going to be wasted. Chautauqua County recently branded ...

Our opinion: A deal too good to be true

You already pay for Pennsylvania State Police protection with the taxes and some fees you pay to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A proposal once again under consideration by some state legislators could result in an increase in your local taxes to pay for the State Police, too. It’s not surprising, really, that House Reps. Tim Brennan and Michael Sturla want to study the idea of a fee on municipalities that don’t have their own police force. Sturla initially proposed a fee on municipalities without a local police force back in the 2017-18 legislative session before the idea ...

Our opinion: Find middle ground on divorce

No one enters into a marriage looking forward to divorce, particularly marriages that involve children. But for many commonwealth residents, the 1950s ideal of a husband, wife, children and a dog living in a house with a white picket fence never materializes. Financial troubles, domestic violence and mental abuse too often enter the picture - and Pennsylvania makes it pretty difficult for couples to cut ties when the going goes from tough to impassable. We’d love to live in a world where divorce isn’t necessary. That is not, unfortunately, the world in which we live. State ...