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Rise of Heroin Chic (Again)

To the Editor: Fashion trends come and go and they cycle back every couple of years. Most recently we have started to cycle into early y2k fashion. Characterized by tiny tight crop tops and extremely low low rise skinny jeans. While I was not alive at the beginning and wasn’t aware of the world till the end of this phase of fashion which was around 1995-2009. The fashion was bright and fun, very different from the more conservative fashion trends of decades before. The only problematic aspect of this era is the constant scrutinization around women' s bodies. Heroin Chic was on the ...

Open Line

While in line to pay my grocery bill on December 8th at the Mifflintown Weis Market, I was happily pointed out by a wonderful lady in front of me when I pulled my wallet out to pay for my bill, she turned to me and said, you can put that away. I've taken care of your bill. That evidence of human kindness just flabbergasted me. I hope she knows how appreciative I was. I wish I had asked for her name, because I would like to have thanked her perhaps more enthusiastically than I did. I hope she knew I was just so surprised. But I hope she understood that I was very, very pleased at her ...

What are these politicians thinking?

Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Tony Gonzales were both accused of sexual misconduct involving staffers. Californian Swalwell said he’d resign from his House seat after giving up on his run for governor. Texan Gonzales said he was withdrawing from the 2026 reelection race. Back in the day, male politicians cavorted with their female staffers and got away with it. But that was way back and many days ago. An official cheating on his wife with a woman picked up at a rally doesn’t seem to bother voters the way it once did. Donald Trump has numbed the electorate to that ...

Don’t be scammed by skimmers

As we march ever closer toward a cashless society, the time is now to ramp up security at the checkout. Credit card fraud is on the rise and the most common form of identity theft. The statistics are staggering – and somewhat surprising: • 63% of U.S. credit card holders have been victimized by fraud; 51% were hit multiple times. • 62 million Americans reported fraudulent card purchases last year. • Losses surpassed $12.5 billion in 2024 alone. Odds are pretty good that you or someone you know has been a victim. Jen Garofalo’s story in Sunday’s newspaper took a ...

Lawmakers need to hold firm on spending

About 10 weeks ago, Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled his 2026-27 state budget proposal. The budget is due June 30 — about 11 weeks away. As close to the mid-point as we are, we hope our lawmakers are making substantive progress on deciding what the state budget should look like. We can reiterate what we said about 10 weeks ago — Shapiro’s proposal spends too much money. Our state is facing real, long-term challenges to how we fund public education. Courts have determined the disparities between school districts and property values are great enough that Pennsylvania is not truly ...

Youth sports shouldn’t be limited to rich

It’s often said a parent’s love can’t be measured, but a recent survey on youth sports may come close. For each day a child plays a sport, researchers found, parents expend three hours and 23 minutes in effort: organizing and driving, watching games and practices, making snacks and doing laundry. Then there’s the money. At $40 billion per year, spending on youth sports has surged in recent years. This burden falls disproportionately on middle-class parents, whose average annual expenses of more than $1,000 (for a single sport) comprise a larger portion of their income than the ...