Breaking News

Opinion

Our opinion: Dialing up a policy on cell phones

Our Opinion

Without a statewide edict regarding cell phone use in schools, Warren County district board members broached the topic last month. At the July meeting, members discussed several reasons driving the proposal, including classroom distractions, excessive screen time, the effects of social media on student mental health and the challenge teachers face in keeping students focused during instructional time. In Harrisburg, officials have the item on the radar, passing a bill on a bipartisan vote to restrict cell phone use in state schools in June. According to the bill, students would be ...

The marauding creatures of the night

Local Commentaries

They are thieves. The bigger ones are bandits. What’s more surprising is that they are assisting our housekeeping efforts. I’m talking about the fact that we seem to be hosting a mini traffic jam on our deck in the middle of the night. They are eaters, but so far, the good kind. Two nights ago, as darkness set, Dear Richard was heading inside from our dinner on the deck. Since we had chomped down two luscious cobs of corn each, he was carrying the butter dish along with his dishes. Somehow, between the table and the living room door, he tipped the butter dish and the ...

Our opinion: City wastes no time with Sunshine Law training

Our Opinion

It’s encouraging that the city is taking quick action after questions arose over the way the city Redevelopment Authority applied the state’s Sunshine Act during a recent, contentious, meeting. The city Parks, Recreation and Landscaping Commission received a refresher on Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act during a recent meeting. The training follows criticism surrounding the Redevelopment Authority’s June 10 special meeting, where residents raised concerns about the meeting’s location, public access, and adherence to open meeting procedures. During a subsequent City Council ...

Our opinion: Missed deadline on murder sentencing fix inexcusable

Our Opinion

Missed deadlines are nothing new for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. But missing a court’s deadline to rewrite sentencing laws for those convicted of second-degree murder is a bridge too far, even for Pennsylvania lawmakers. In Commonwealth v. Lee, the state Supreme Court struck down mandatory life sentences for people convicted of second-degree murder as unconstitutional under the state constitution. The ruling stems from the conviction of Derek Lee, who is serving a mandatory life sentence for the death of a man in a 2014 home invasion in Pittsburgh. Attorneys for Lee argued ...

Who’s responsible when youth aren’t vaccinated?

Local Commentaries

What is the death count under Donald Trump? We're not talking about loss of life in his war with Iran. We're not talking about natural deaths by aging or unpreventable diseases. We mean Americans who die because they refuse safe vaccines that Trump or his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., questions or discourages. A recent occurrence of death and suffering comes from the refusal by many parents to let doctors give their newborns a vitamin K shot. Infants are naturally deficient in vitamin K, which helps prevent blood clots and internal bleeding, which can be horrific. K is a ...

Our opinion: District can make its own cell phone decision

Our Opinion

It is likely that the state General Assembly will, at some point, get together on a final version of legislation banning the use of cell phones in schools during the school day. Given the experience of neighboring states, including New York, we have a hard time believing the state Legislature hasn’t yet come to agreement. But, sooner or later Pennsylvania will end up adding the commonwealth to the list of states that limit student cell phone use. Unlike the legislature, which has shown no problem with not meeting deadlines on small things like the state budget, school districts ...