Breaking News

Editorials

School start times a local decision — and needs parents’ input

Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Export, is pushing pretty hard to get high schools to start their day later in the morning. It’s a topic that has been researched for decades, with experts at two virtual Rested and Ready forums convened by Cooper recently speaking about the possible benefits of a later start time for schools and how Cooper’s House Bill 2152 could help schools begin to move their start times. Cooper proposes state grants to schools that move their start times later into the day. There are several studies that show too many adolescents aren’t getting enough sleep, with that ...

Information doesn’t make a bot a doc

Doctors go to school for a long time. They spend four years in college and four more in medical school. That’s followed by as many as seven years in residency programs. There can be more training for fellowships and board certifications in specific specialties. It is not just about assimilating information. It’s about developing the discernment to connect the dots in a diagnosis. A medical license is more than just a list of credits accumulated. It is an indication of knowledge and experience. Artificial intelligence has access to vast amounts of data. One app on a phone can ...

‘The Quiet Man’ leaves visible legacy

Thomas Tull is walking along the old wooden brick floor of what began as the Pittsburgh Reduction Co. and later became Alcoa, a place where researchers and manufacturers created a hub of foundational aluminum manufacturing for nearly a century. In truth, this was the center of innovation and manufacturing in America. And after lying dormant for decades, Tull took his vision for remaking and rethinking U.S. manufacturing from an idea and ethos into reality two years ago. For exactly 80 years, the people who stood along these wooden floors fueled America’s leadership and industrial ...

Bullying bill leaves too much to imagination

We like the idea behind Rep. Jennifer O’Mara’s bill that would require schools to notify parents if their child has been bullied at school. Too many parents find out about incidents in school after the fact from their child, if they hear about them at all. That’s because, unless you’re reenacting your favorite episode of Colombo, getting children to talk substantively about their day is about as useful as talking to a brick wall. It’s not uncommon for parents to find out about bullying only after months of behavior that should have been stopped when they started. The ...

Unhealthy behavior not illegal

State Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Williamsport, isn’t wrong for wanting to stop people from smoking when children under the age of 12 are in a car. No study has found that cigarette smoke or e-cigarette vapor are good for anyone, much less young children. But there is a line between actions being unhealthy and actions being illegal that Yaw’s proposal ignores – to its detriment. To be fair, we haven’t seen legislative language yet, simply a co-sponsorship memorandum. But we have a hard time believing that Yaw’s proposal can be enforced at all. We don’t have enough police officers in ...

Rubber dams offer a lesson for others

The Altoona Water Authority has learned too late that it must be extra-vigilant regarding the inflatable rubber dams employed to increase water capacity at Lake Altoona and the Impounding Dam near Horseshoe Curve. Apparently, the authority, about seven years ago, put too much faith in the quality claims put forth regarding rubber dams made in China that ended up being installed locally. These current rubber dams are “clearly inferior,” said authority general manager Mark Perry. That’s indicative of the possibility that seven years ago not enough attention was given to quality ...