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Debate on marijuana needs to be its own merits

A column in last week’s Chamber Connection, published in the Wednesday editions of the Sun-Gazette, by Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jason Fink raises a number of excellent questions about the resurfaced push to legalize recreational marijauna in Pennsylvania. Will employers be able to find staff that ensures safe workplaces — particularly when machinery and heavy equipment are used? As one of the last states in the Northeastern U.S. to not legalize recreational marijuana, would it make more sense for Pennsylvania leaders to recruit industries and ...

Cellphone law could be tougher

The expression “time flies” is familiar to most people. However, time cannot “fly” fast enough regarding Pennsylvania’s new handheld-cellphone ban for individuals operating motor vehicles on commonwealth roadways. Until the full teeth of the law replaces the wishy-washy provisions currently in place, innocent drivers or vehicle passengers could die or be maimed — just because only a warning will be issued now, rather than a monetary penalty from violators’ wallets or pocketbooks. The possibility of a fine, rather than a warning, could deter some drivers from risking ...

Cheers and Jeers from the week that was …

Cheer: Motorists, take note, and put down those cellphones. Beginning June 5, enforcement of Paul Miller’s Law, which prohibits the use of cellphones while driving, began. That means police can pull over drivers who are on their phones for any reason. For the next year, violators will be issued a written warning. After that, offenders will receive a $50 citation. Paul Miller, for whom the law is named, was killed in 2010 in Monroe County when the driver of a tractor-trailer, reaching for his cellphone, crossed into the opposite lane and crashed head-on into Miller’s vehicle. ...

Biden’s border nihilism will live long after he’s gone

The spiteful open-borders legacy of Joe Biden will plague America for generations to come, long after the former president is a fading bad memory. Somewhere between 10 to 12 million foreign nationals are believed to have entered the U.S. illegally under his watch, to add to the existing 12 to 20 million illegal aliens. Almost all were unaudited. They stormed the border for four years without background checks of the sort that American citizens must undergo to purchase a firearm or take out a loan. At a time when citizens were expelled from the military for not submitting to the ...

Step right up: Your guide to can’t-miss summer fairs

You can hear the season before you see it. A distant pop song on the breeze. The clang of a game bell. The sharp, sweet smell of funnel cake. In Mifflin County, fair season doesn’t so much begin as it blooms—one event spilling into the next, each with its own character, its own traditions, and its own pull on the community. This summer, the Embassy Fair’s bright lights and music once again fill Kish Park, marking the unofficial start of the fair season. And it’s only the first of many. From Reedsville to Newport to Port Royal and beyond, a circuit of fairs stretches out, giving ...

Don’t get ‘tick’ed off

Sunshine and warmer temperatures mean more time outside, but a pest about the size of a sesame seed can bring a halt to the summer fun and have a potentially lifelong impact. Lyme disease, transmitted by a tiny deer tick, can affect both humans and their furry friends. While ticks can attach themselves any time of the year, the warmer months are prime time to get bitten. Nearly half of the 16,605 tick bites that led to Lyme disease in the state occurred between June and August last year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which noted our state ranks first in the ...