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Affordability? Move to a ‘Red State.’

The buzzword of the month is “affordability,” and based on the election results from New York, New Jersey and Virginia, voters think that’s declining. Democrats think they’ve found a winning issue here to win back the hearts and minds of voters after the Trump sweep last year. It’s true that people are angry about prices. Steaks and hamburgers are more expensive than ever. So are coffee and rents and medical care. Many Americans are about to see a 10%-20% increase in their health care premiums starting in January. But who’s to blame? President Donald Trump said he would ...

In a year of noise, Thanksgiving still speaks softly

Thanksgiving has a way of slowing the world down, if only for a day. It’s the pause between what we’ve endured and what’s to come, a brief breath before the rush of the holidays and the churn of another year. It’s easy to get caught in the cycle of what’s wrong because there’s plenty to choose from. But the beauty of Thanksgiving lies in its quiet defiance of all that noise. It asks us to look up from the chaos, to notice what remains: the steady breath of life, the warmth of a kitchen, the faces that still gather around us. Gratitude isn’t denial. It doesn’t ignore ...

Airport’s success is gift to region

Count the Altoona-Blair County Airport as an early holiday gift-giver to this region, as well as to potentially many more places far beyond. The gift it has provided — this month, well before the placing of traditional holiday gifts under Christmas trees — is the great news about increased passenger numbers already recorded plus predictions that those upbeat numbers will be topped in coming months and, hopefully, beyond. Besides the numbers themselves, though, part of the gift to people who fly into and out of the airport is added confidence that the local air service upon which ...

Compromise to end shutdown acknowledges importance of focus

One complaint we have shared with readers about Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget process is that his proposals have been contingent on big, sweeping changes — legalization of marijuana among them — that we believe deserve nuanced, thorough debate on their own merits by our legislators. We were disheartened to see the Democratic caucus in the U.S. Senate approach the shutdown in a very similar way — and relieved Republicans and a handful of moderate Democrats are forging a path forward that excises the debate that might end in big, sweeping changes and thus required greater nuance and ...

For state, growth needs to be a priority

We agree with the warning state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township and state Sen. Tina Pickett, R-Towanda, shared in an op-ed column this past weekend about the effect Pennsylvania’s bureaucratic barriers have on expanding broadband in rural Lycoming County and we urge their fellow lawmakers to consider a bill they are sponsoring to address one such barrier. “If Pennsylvania fails to act swiftly, we risk falling even further behind in our mission to deliver reliable, high-speed internet to every rural household,” Yaw and Pickett noted. “States like Ohio, New York, New Jersey, ...

Let’s lead the way in giving this season

Charities here and elsewhere across the United States might have experienced a mild “mood boost” in June when the Associated Press reported that, after an adjustment for inflation, charitable giving in 2024 was found to have been up by 3.3% over 2023. But just as the busy “make-or-break” 2025 holiday shopping season is about to kick into high gear, perhaps that less-than-robust mood boost of five months ago might have to be replaced by a sense of caution more significant than any existing a year earlier. Much volatility has impacted the business-industrial climate this year ...