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Gender gap grows wider and wider

The gender gap, we’re informed by some of the best polling analysts in the business, is bigger than ever. Ever, in this case, means since the election of 1980, when men were more willing than women to vote for Ronald Reagan and oust Jimmy Carter. That spurred political journalists to emit multiple articles examining just exactly what was on women’s minds and probing their different and presumably superior opinions. The assumption was that the gender gap was costing Republicans votes. Being of a contrary disposition, in October 1982, I wrote an opinion article titled (paraphrasing ...

Heat brings wave of high energy costs

The weather forecast says the heat is here with more coming, and so is the next electric bill. It’s not news that summer in Pennsylvania brings more than sunburn and long evenings — it brings a jump in energy costs that has a habit of sneaking up on households across Mifflin County and beyond. Every year, air conditioners switch on, fans start humming, and the meters outside our homes spin faster. If you’ve glanced at your bill and wondered how it got so high, you’re not alone. Over the past five years, electric costs in Pennsylvania have taken a steady, stubborn climb. Last ...

Traffic safety, other quality-of-life issues matter

While it may not excite, anger or frustrate Pennsylvanians in the same way as many of the topics addressed in Sun-Gazette headlines — as they are reading the articles or discussing the news of the day with friends and family — we suspect most motorists and even passengers in our region have, at times, found traffic to be an angering or frustrating experience. For this reason, we believe everyone can appreciate the efforts of city leadership, featured in recent editions of the Sun-Gazette, to improve traffic safety in Williamsport. We specifically believe Williamsport’s ...

Now’s the time to make a safer Middle East

The aftermath of the 12-day war with Iran looks mixed more than two weeks later. Iran’s nuclear program was badly damaged and likely set back for years. But the Ayatollah’s government isn’t admitting defeat and shows no signs of dropping its revolutionary or nuclear designs. That puts into focus the next policy question for the U.S.: Will Trump’s cease-fire give way to diplomacy that deepens the achievements of the war, or will it put those achievements at risk? Iran is still talking tough and rejecting Trump’s demands, even after bailing out of the fight with Israel and ...

Superloads frustrating for drivers

The moving of windmill “superloads” on area roadways to their destination near Patton in Cambria County in coming weeks will necessitate much more than a modicum of patience and understanding by motorists who encounter them during their travels — to work, for medical and dental appointments, for recreational intentions, for household reasons, whatever. Perhaps too much is being asked of those motorists who encounter them, and we’ll explain why later in this editorial. For now, suffice to say that the size and length of superload caravans will not be conducive to traditional ...

Americans deserve probe of Biden’s health

Former president Joe Biden’s onetime personal physician, Kevin O’Connor, announced on Wednesday that he would plead the Fifth before the House Oversight Committee rather than discuss Biden’s fitness while in office. Republicans claimed this was evidence of a “cover-up.” Democrats dismissed the House probe entirely, insisting that Biden’s health issues were overblown. Both are getting this wrong. Congress should thoroughly investigate whether Biden was physically and mentally capable of carrying out his duties — not just to sate understandable public curiosity. Biden’s ...