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Local journalism is woven into the fabric of our communities

Columns

Across Pennsylvania, from small towns to major cities, a common thread quietly weaves communities together. It draws attention to a local high school’s championship hopes, the detectives who solved a decades-old cold case, a proposed data center seeking approval in a township or the celebration of a hometown business reaching its 100th anniversary. That thread is local journalism, and it is an essential part of the fabric that binds our communities. National Newspaper Week offers an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the role local news organizations, both print and digital, play ...

Christa Pike and the incomplete justice of death

Columns

Why do we kill? It’s a question unlikely to ever be answered to any degree of satisfaction, but one I found myself asking the other day after hearing about the botched execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike. In reading about the story, I learned that Pike and I are almost the same age. It occurred to me that while I was finishing up high school and preparing to go off to college, she was torturing and killing a Job Corps classmate who she thought was trying to steal her boyfriend. She’s been in prison ever since — spending most of the time on death row — while I’ve ...

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 78-year old man who was diagnosed with asthma about 10 years ago, after a severe coughing attack left me unable to breathe. Since then, everything has been pretty much under control with Symbicort or Singulair. While I assumed that it’d be a good idea to get a COVID vaccination each year due to my asthma, both my general physician and pharmacist have recommended against it. Along with the reasoning that COVID isn’t as deadly as it was a few years ago, they’ve pointed out that the medications to treat it are highly effective if I do happen to catch it. Even ...

Voters deserve more than a choice between extremes

Columns

Many Americans are wrestling with a political dilemma they may not discuss openly. They are concerned about progressive policies they associate with socialism, expanding government, DEI mandates, gender-affirming policies, anti-American sentiment in higher education, and rising lawlessness. Yet they may also have reservations about Donald Trump’s combative style, divisive rhetoric and the political drama that so often surrounds him. For these voters, the decision is not as simple as choosing a party. They may agree with some of Trump’s policies and still question his temperament. ...

Cornell 7 case puts a spotlight on fraternity misconduct – and the limits of universities’ power to stop it

Columns

Universities have been trying for years to cut back on the abuses among fraternities, with limited resources and limited success. A new lawsuit, filed by a former Cornell University student in September 2026, is now rattling higher education and drawing national attention. The person, identified as Jane Doe, has alleged that seven Chi Phi fraternity members drugged and gang-raped her at an on-campus fraternity house when she was a sophomore in 2024. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined to pursue criminal charges against the fraternity members in 2024. ...

Explaining the process of radioactive thyroid cancer treatment

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 74-year-old male who is in good health and works out. I recently had a thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer and had my entire thyroid removed. This month, I’m scheduled for a radioactive thyroid treatment. I understand this should cleanse any remaining cancer that was left around this area. I was told to drink plenty of fluids so that I can drain my bladder every 1.5 hours, so as not to damage my bladder. My question is: How is this affecting the rest of my body? If it can negatively affect my bladder, what about my organs and, in particular, my heart and stomach? ...