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Thank you, Justin Kline!

In the most difficult battle of his life against a formidable foe, Justin Kline has persevered to become an inspiration to us all. This outstanding guy, who gave his all to the youth of our region in helping to mentor and guide members of what surely can be called the legendary Keystone Little League All Star team to the 2011 Little League Baseball World Series, has yet again earned the respect of many with his courage and love. This past week, Justin’s dream of a local shrine to baseball greats came true with establishment and opening of the Clinton & Centre County Baseball Hall ...

Feeding our children

On this Labor Day Holiday, behind the unemployment statistics — between 16 million and 18 million Americans without jobs, many as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic — are children. Millions of kids across our country are in homes where the coronavirus continues to make it difficult to put bread on the table. Now is not the time to cut back on initiatives meant to help keep them fed. As the economy began throttling back because of the epidemic, many public school districts shut down, too. To their eternal credit, officials in many of the schools — including in our region ...

Food & Music: Thankfully, the ‘Regatta’ will go on this weekend

Congratulations to the Lock Haven Area Jaycees for forging ahead with a scaled-down version of the annual holiday weekend Regatta. The 50th version of this popular — and very important — event will start at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. It is reduced in size and attractions due to COVID-19. While there will be no powerboats in competition on the river this year, there will be food vendors and music on Water Street, east of Jay Street and along the beautiful West Branch of the Susquehanna River. Food and music! So why not take some bag chairs and sit atop the levee to take ...

Rah-rah for home sales!

Among the brightest bits of news linked to the COVID-19 epidemic was the report recently that home sales are booming in the United States. The pace of home purchases jumped by a record-high 24.7% last month, according to the National Association of Realtors. Analysts credited low mortgage interest rates and a limited supply of houses for the boom. Think back a few years to the so-called Great Recession. You may recall it was sparked by a crash involving sub-prime mortgages, or home-buying loans granted to people who could not make the monthly payments. When that house of cards ...

The clock is ticking

We’re here to say that, unless restrictions on businesses — small businesses — are eased in the coming days, many likely may not be around much longer. Already financially fragile, the pandemic caused “massive dislocation” among small businesses just several weeks after its onset and before the availability of federal help through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Indeed, in-depth research by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that included a survey of nearly 6,000 small businesses found that 43% of businesses had temporarily closed not ...

Cheaters had no solid moral compass

Virtually all of the rich and powerful parents caught in the federal probe last year of cheating schemes meant to get their children into prestige colleges and universities have insisted their hearts were in the right place. They just wanted to help their children. What mom or dad cannot understand that? But there is more to it, as the case involving entertainer Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, demonstrates. Recently, they joined about 30 others who have pleaded guilty to federal charges in the college admissions scandal. Working with an ...