Breaking News

Opinion

War isn’t the solution we need

Letters to the editor

Linda Westrick Boalsburg Americans are facing many serious problems: — An affordability crisis: High prices for food, housing, and utilities — A health care crisis: Unaffordable insurance and rural hospital closures — A weakened safety net: Millions cut from SNAP and Medicaid — Rising inequality — Tariffs that function as taxes, paid by small businesses and consumers — Unreleased Epstein files and continued lack of accountability for child sex predators — Overly aggressive immigration enforcement that ensnares citizens and legal immigrants — Detention ...

Upgrade our air defense systems

Letters to the editor

Donald Moskowitz Londonderry Iran retaliated against our recent air strikes by launching missiles and drones against our military bases in the Middle East. They hit on and near our U.S. Navy base in Bahrain, which is the headquarters for our Fifth Fleet. Iran also hit a U.S. base in Kuwait with drones that killed six and wounded a number of our military members. The dozen destroyers prepositioned in the region were able to shoot down some of the missiles and drones. Looking to the future, U.S. Navy warships are typically scattered over the world’s oceans. They would not be ...

Who does Thompson serve?

Letters to the editor

Patty Satalia State College Voters across Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District are dealing with rising costs, shrinking health care access, and growing uncertainty about the future. Yet Congressman Glenn Thompson seems focused on something else entirely. Thompson wants another term representing this district. We shouldn’t re-elect him to a job he isn’t doing. His record shows he represents the interests of wealthy donors and large corporations—not the people of central and northern Pennsylvania. Too often, he’s out of touch with the concerns of the people he was ...

In response to another war, Harrisburg must act to break our addiction to foreign oil

Columns

If you’re feeling a sense of deja vu when you look at your utility bill or pull up to a gas pump, you aren’t alone. For the second time in four years, global instability is reaching into the pockets of Pennsylvania families and shaking out every spare cent. First, it was Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that sent shockwaves through the global oil trade. Now, with Donald Trump’s war against Iran driving oil prices above $100 a barrel and pushing American gas prices to nearly $4 per gallon (as of March 24) , the message is clear: as long as we remain addicted foreign oil, our ...

Where is the arc of justice headed?

Columns

Former President Barack Obama liked to quote the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s line that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Of course, what was an expression of optimism for the moral reformer King was more in the nature of a victory spike of the football for a competitor in a zero-sum electoral contest like Obama. More importantly, the belief that things are moving toward justice comes more naturally to believers in American exceptionalism, of which Obama isn’t one. He famously said that he believed in America’s exceptionalism only as much ...

Dear Annie: A coffee shop connection worth exploring?

Columns

Dear Annie: I’m writing with a small story that left me with a surprisingly big question. Every morning before work, I stop by the same little coffee shop down the street. I started going there because it was convenient, but over time it’s become something more than that. The barista remembers my order, the regulars nod hello, and there’s an older man who always sits by the window reading the newspaper like it’s still 1985. It’s a quiet, ordinary ritual — but somehow it makes the start of my day feel steadier. A few months ago, I started noticing a young woman who comes ...