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Editorials

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 ...

Are black bears finally returning to woods of Ohio?

Since the mid-19th century, Ohio has been a relatively bear-free state. Humans drove out the black bears 150 or so years ago, and they’ve been considered rare and an endangered species here ever since. That might be changing; however, as researchers are beginning to see black bears naturally expand their range back into the Buckeye State. Recently, a female black bear was captured and fitted with a GPS collar in Ashtabula County in northeast Ohio at the Pennsylvania border. It will be the first time such study is possible for a female, according to the Ohio Department of Natural ...

U.S. support for Israel remains strong

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and first lady Sara Netanyahu hosted a high-profile diplomatic reception Wednesday evening at the historic Blair House in Washington, D.C. The event, titled “A Reception in Appreciation of the Enduring Bond Between the United States and Israel,” was convened to honor the strategic, moral and longstanding partnership between the United States and Israel. Before the prime minister spoke, I asked him whether he was concerned that the United States was heading in the same direction as Europe, where antisemitism has risen as a result of ...