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In election fraught with tension, cast your vote

After an exhausting, bruising election season — the day is here at last. Regardless of whether you consider yourself left, right or middle, the time has come to wield the ultimate power afforded to you, the voter, under our system of government: the power of your vote. Every year, there are stories of races decided by a handful of electors. America has been closely divided for some time, and that means that, on average, your vote matters more than it would otherwise if you live in a swing state. There are reasons campaigns dedicate resources and energy bringing in extra help ...

Halloween a time for scares, sweets

The growth of Halloween over the years has been remarkable — and a little wild to behold. Many of the current Express staff are fans of the spooky season going way back, as many of you have likely noticed, and we can’t help but feel every now and then like an odd — if appropriate — transformation has happened to the season. Halloween is bigger than it has ever been, with the National Retail Foundation seeing just over $12 billion in sales in 2023. They are expecting around the same amount again in 2024, with around $4 billion of that being candy sales. According to an article ...

Want to be heard? Register to vote

People love to express their opinions. Whether we find those opinions offensive or they perfectly align with ours is irrelevant. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to let others know what we think or how we feel. We’re closing in on one of the most powerful ways to do that. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters will elect the 47th president of the United States. Today, Oct. 21, is the last day for Pennsylvanians who are not registered to vote to make sure their voices are heard by going to the polls. The process is not complicated. Voter registration ...

Lies threaten to beget violence as our society shudders

The fever pitch of politics has reached many previously unreachable areas in the last decade. The latest to fall is the politicization of disaster relief, as FEMA has come under fire for various reasons, some legitimate and others... perhaps less so. Criticism is fair. Of government agencies? Doubly so. But criticism cannot give way to violence — the threat of which looms large in hurricane-ravaged regions of Appalachia. It was recently reported by the Washington Post that National Guardsmen in western North Carolina had encountered roving, armed militias, whose apparent goal was ...

75th Flaming Foliage Festival shows power of community

If you read our preview guide for the 75th anniversary Flaming Foliage Festival, held this past weekend in Renovo, one constant consensus is that Renovo is one of the most beautiful places on Earth — or at least that many of the queens have ever seen. While it is perhaps fair to say that Renovo stacks up poorly against the likes of the Grand Canyon or Victoria Falls, those are also commensurately more difficult — and expensive — to reach. Unfortunately, relatively little is left of the former industrial town. In what is a familiar story for much of rural America, especially ...

Unkel Joe’s closure is a warning to local consumers

A few days ago, while waiting for comment from the General Manager of Unkel Joe’s Woodshed in Flemington, we trekked up and got the pictures ready for the story ahead of time, since it was a sunny day and one never knows if that will hold true on any given day this time of year. The cropped photo, which shows the building clearly, also missed a bit of the story. Out of frame, you see, Unkel Joe’s parking lot was packed. In frame, the front of the building was lined with vehicles — but we wanted to call attention to the number of vehicles present in their lower parking ...