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Potholes are popping up everywhere

They’re a sure sign of spring. Potholes, much to the chagrin of motorists attempting to navigate the region’s roadways, are popping up again everywhere. The state Department of Transportation will spend more than $1.8 million and use 1,900 tons of asphalt to fix potholes across Washington, Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland counties this year. The seasonal freeze-thaw weather cycle is the culprit, and they are the bane of road crews who spend countless hours repairing them. As you drive around the next few months, keep an eye out for the bone-jarring craters. And watch out, too, for ...

Ditch the distraction

Rivers of a certain age might recall the days before cellphones encroached on our lives. It was an era free from constant communication with spouses, friends, co-workers and bosses. No text messages, no emails, no phone calls. No calendar alerts pinging reminders of forgotten appointments. No scrolling Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media platform. To be sure, there were – and still are – plenty of other distractions to divert the driver’s attention from the road: fumbling with radio controls, swatting the occasional bee that flies in through an open window, or ...

Residents around the Keystone State losing out by not stepping up

Pennsylvania has 67 counties, 500 school districts and 2,560 municipalities. With each step down that ladder, there are more and more opportunities for people to step up and participate in their government. There are commissioners, controllers, registers and clerks at the county level. There are directors for school boards. There are supervisors and auditors for townships. There are mayors and council members for cities and boroughs. And on top of that is a long list of appointed positions on authorities, committees and boards. And yet fewer people seem to be running for ...

What is Democratic legality?

Since 2021, the left has waged a veritable war against the American legal system in a variety of ways. One serial target of Democrats and the left has been the Supreme Court. In 2020, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) spoke to an angry throng of pro-abortion protestors assembled at the very doors of the court chambers. He threatened two of the justices, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, by name. Schumer yelled to the volatile crowd that the justices’ views would make them “reap the whirlwind,” and the two would not know what “hit” them. In the ensuing months, protestors ...

Crosson shares spotlight with others, grateful to ‘cast of all-stars’

Having good teachers is important. Having great teachers is necessary. And you find them in every community, in every school. Students at Mifflin County High School are fortunate to have the newly-crowned National Teacher of the Year Ashlie Crosson teaching them. A 2007 graduate of Lewistown Area High School, Crosson is a product of the Mifflin County School District. She has come back home to impact the lives of future generations by teaching English and leading the journalism program. But Crosson will be the first to tell you that her success was the result of having an all-star ...

Taxes aren’t the only skill game issue

Sooner or later, the state Legislature and Gov. Josh Shapiro will have to come to an agreement on a path forward for skill games that have popped up in bars, taverns, veterans halls and convenience stores throughout the state. State courts have ruled the games aren’t illegal gambling because they are games of skill rather than games of chance that are limited to casinos. The state Supreme Court said last summer that it will consider an appeal by the state Attorney General’s office of a lower-court decision that found that what are often called skill games are based on a player’s ...