Breaking News

Our View

Fire and consequence

Another year is underway, and already the first calamity is striking: horrific fires in Los Angeles which have produced some truly apocalyptic photographs and videos. As of this writing, some quick stats from the Associated Press: — 42 square miles consumed. Because we were curious, we used a web tool that calculates measurements based on points placed on Google Maps. How much is 42 square miles? Imagine an area from the slopes of Bald Eagle Mountain in the south to back past Farrandsville in the north — drawn from just past Mill Hall in the west to Jersey Shore in the east. ...

Greeting 2025 with open arms — but a set jaw

There’s a saying among Millennials and Gen Z: “we are very tired of living in historic times.” Sometimes, it will get spun in slightly different ways, such as “I would like to live in precedented times,” or “I have lived through so many once-in-a-lifetime events already.” Of course, every generational cohort has their fair share — or more than their fair share — of challenges. Millennials and Gen Z are certainly not alone in this. And yet, we can certainly see how the wheel of time feels like it is spinning quite quickly indeed, these days. Our rapidly evolving ...

We breathe, and we hope

It’s Christmas — if not in date, certainly in season. We wanted to take the opportunity to say a few words this weekend before festivities really kick into high gear for most people. We know that in the fervor of family dinners, gift wrapping — more importantly, unwrapping — and whatever your particular religious tradition, your friendly community newspaper is likely, and justifiably, forgotten. Obviously, Christmas is significant to Christians, and despite cries about the alleged war on Christmas, Christmas has become much more. Christmas is a warm kitchen filled with ...

Fate of monarch butterflies, and more, depends on us

A story which ran in yesterday’s Express provided an update on the plight of the monarch butterfly — a particularly beloved and notable species for many, many people. Two key takeaways from that story: eastern monarchs face a 57 to 74 percent chance of extinction by 2080, and eastern monarchs have seen a 59 percent decrease in their occupied overwintering space from the previous year, which is now down to just 2.2 acres. Some readers have houses that sit on more acreage than that. Imagine the entire overwintering population of eastern monarchs fitting in your ...

American anger — and unity

Christmastime is a season of unity and peace on Earth. How fitting that this year, not even a month until Christmas, something happened which has somewhat strangely brought people together: the killing of a UnitedHealthcare CEO. Aside from being fascinating from the true-crime aspect, the murder has captured peoples’ attention in part because a large subset of the population agrees with the killer. Perhaps most surprisingly, though, the people who are agreeing on this subject are from all walks and political sides. Make no mistake: we are not advocating for reckless violence, ...

‘Where are they?’

This week, The Express reported on the city council meeting where the council approved the nativity scene now displayed in Triangle Park. It’s a beautiful addition, and we’re fortunate to have a wonderful view of it from our office. We feel blessed. On the same day, we shared our opinion on the meeting itself. While we won’t revisit the topic in depth today, one question raised during that meeting has stayed with us: “Where are they?” As a longstanding part of this community — serving Clinton County for over 140 years — The Express holds a unique position. We’re not ...