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You might be missing the love right in front of you

Editorials

Valentine’s Day arrives every year with its cards, flowers, and expectations. It asks us, quietly and sometimes loudly, to measure love. Did you say the words? Did you buy the thing? Did you remember the date? For many people, that measuring stick is narrow. When love doesn’t show up in the form we expect, we’re tempted to believe it didn’t show up at all. That’s where we get it wrong. People express love in different ways, shaped by habit, upbringing, temperament, and experience. Some people are fluent with words. Others are not. Some say “I love you” easily and often. ...

US protection must not end at the border

Editorials

On July 30, 2022, Marc Fogel’s name first appeared on this opinion page. It would not be the last. The Butler County native and Pittsburgh resident was a recurring topic in editorials for four years as TribLive did two things: We kept the story of his detention in a Russian prison in the headlines, and we kept advocacy for bringing him home. Today — nearly a year after Fogel came home — we return his name to the spotlight. Not to argue for his freedom, but to understand what his experience revealed. This editorial does something different. We do not advocate for Fogel this ...

Future of school funding needs to drive budget process

Editorials

As we noted in Sunday’s editorial — and a year ago and before — the state and its budget have to contend with court rulings that funding public schools by district has led to unconstitutional imbalances. For decades, the primary source of funding for public schools in Pennsylvania has been property taxes, assessed by local school districts. One affect of this has been that schools in communities with higher property values are able to provide greater resources to their students. Another aspect is that officials would be in better fiscal positions to address property taxes — ...

Readers' opinions

Letters to the Editor

Support small businesses this Valentine’s Day To the Editor: As Valentine’s Day approaches, many of us are thinking about small gestures that show appreciation—flowers, chocolates, a thoughtful card. This season of love is also a perfect reminder to show some appreciation to the small businesses that give so much to our communities every day. Small businesses are truly the backbone of our local economies. They create jobs, spark innovation, and help shape the unique character of our towns and neighborhoods. More importantly, they show up for their communities ...

Sunshine Act’s notice problem needs to be fixed

Editorials

Since 1957, Pennsylvania has codified a responsibility to make public meetings accessible to the people. The state law also evolved, eventually becoming what is now known as the Sunshine Act. The earlier Open Meetings Law required only the most basic transparency. If a vote was taken, the meeting had to be open. That was all. That changed in 1987 with the sterilizing light of the Sunshine Act. The new law created a framework that established open meetings as the default. Instead of limiting access only to the most action-oriented gatherings, government entities were given a ...

Juniata County Dairy Promotion pointers

Local Columns

Did I hear someone say love is in the air? With Valentine’s day right around the corner, what’s a better time to celebrate our love for our favorite agriculture commodity: dairy. This is dairy princess Kera Bentz, here to remind you of a couple of reasons why you should love dairy as ...