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When it comes to budget, Rainy Day Fund needs to remain off-limits

We share the concerns of state Rep. Joe Hamm, R-Hepburn Township, regarding Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan to pull money from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to fill the gaps in his own spending plan. As Hamm noted in an article in the Feb. 14 edition of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, the state does not have the prerogative to draw money from the fund at any given time — the money is earmarked for economic downturns. Any time that fund is touched, it must happen only under conditions of a recession or economic downturn, Hamm said. If he tries to do that, as indicated in the proposal to ...

He needed me, but I let him down

The “he” in this case was Rusty, an ornery old mutt who didn’t do the cute doggy things that get clicks on social media videos. He wouldn’t “sit.” He’d rarely lick my face. And if a baby was gurgling nearby, he’d go the other way. But Rusty had two things going for him. He was part Chihuahua, which meant he was small with a cute face. Strangers took him for a puppy even in his advanced years. Rusty tried to set them straight. If someone picked him up the wrong way, he’d growl and clamp his teeth around the person’s arm. But he was human. We communicated on ...

Dumb things that Socialists promise

Socialism is popular! A Pew study reports that more than a third of American adults view it positively. How is this possible? Little has brought more misery -- first in the Soviet Union, then in China, Cuba, Nicaragua, now Venezuela ... One reason young people support socialism is because their social media feeds show videos made by popular but economically illiterate people. TikTok star Madeline Pendleton has 1.6 million subscribers. My new video shows her telling them: “Socialism is working better than capitalism 93 percent of the time!” Where does she get 93 percent? From ...

Arts are alive and well in Juniata Valley

Last week, we lauded the efforts of high school musicians for their efforts in participating in district concert band, chorus and jazz and contemporary A Cappella. We will continue to follow them as they hope to advance to regional competitions for concert band and chorus. This week, our focus shifts to high school productions at Mifflin County High School for “Anastasia: The Musical,” which received amazing reviews. This weekend, the curtain goes up at Juniata High School for “The Music Man” and at East Juniata High School for “Disney’s Frozen Jr.” If dress rehearsals ...

Local elections still important

Election 2025 is underway. The time period for potential candidates to collect petition signatures has begun. We hope the process goes well and affords voters in our region real, distinct choices for our local offices. We have editorialized before that these local offices are almost certainly the most important offices on which we can vote — that is still true. In our federalist, democratic republic, the authority and responsibility of governing is meant to be decentralized and kept closest to the people affected. While the presidency receives the bulk of voters’ attention, ...

What other newspapers are saying: Fewer births are startling trend

Seventy-five years ago, New York held nearly 50 seats in the House of Representatives — 45 to be exact. It has 26 today. It’s not news that rural New York has been losing population, with its rural communities being hit particularly hard. That’s a story throughout the Rust Belt. The real issue is that what has been a regional problem is soon going to be a national problem. According to a report released this week by the Congressional Budget Office, deaths will outstrip births across the country by 2033, seven years earlier than previous projections. The country’s population ...