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Opinion

Our opinion: Labor Department oversight necessary

Our Opinion

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 ...

Rounding Third: Caterwauling in the great outdoors

Local Commentaries

Finian, our Maine Coon cat, longs to be outdoors. He sits in the windows staring at the birds, the occasional chipmunk, and the resident bunny family. He paces, his huge furry tail swishing with urgency – the same swishing he displays as mealtime approaches. We have to work at keeping him safely indoors. Finian is not a warm and fuzzy personality. He’s loyal, just not cozy. He wants to be where I am, just not on me. When I head to the kitchen to prepare dinner, he follows. He follows me to bed at night, requiring five minutes of head and neck scratching before curling up behind my ...

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

Our Opinion

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

Our Opinion

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 ...

Our opinion: Part-timers preferable to less legislature

Our Opinion

There’s been talk of shrinking the state Legislature for years, and we’re sure that talk will continue for years to come given that Pennsylvania’s statehouse is the largest in the nation. Pennsylvania is one of 10 states that has a full-time legislature, and its 253-member legislature is the largest in the country. While the General Assembly meets nearly every month of the year in Harrisburg, the legislature takes lengthy recesses and votes a few times a month. Actual session days are about the same as states with part-time legislatures like New York, though some legislative ...

Readers Speak

Letters To Editor

Going again to the wells Dear Editor, The recent Times Observer editorial on orphaned oil and gas wells unfairly blames today’s conventional oil and gas operators — many of which live and work in Warren County. Most of Pennsylvania’s estimated 200,000-plus orphaned wells were drilled long before modern regulations existed. The 200,000-plus orphaned wells are the responsibility of a bygone era, not today’s operators who work under strict state oversight, bonding requirements, and reporting rules. In fact, PA’s modern conventional oil and gas industry has plugged tens of ...