Municipal brush piles — and access to them — has become a hot topic in recent years. It’s quite the situation for the average homeowner. There was a time when municipal street crews would pick up limbs and yard debris left at the curb. As resources dwindled, policies changed, with ...

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania recently met to devise five priorities the organization hopes to address. We have to give them credit — they’ve got the list about right. The organization will be working to address property tax reform, increased funding for mental ...

“More variety, and more.” That’s what Chuck Still said he plans to bring to the Community Arts Center in his new role as its executive director. In fact, he told the Sun-Gazette that it just might be his mantra. Looking at his experience, it’s apparent that he just might be the ...

Clean water. That should be the goal for the planet and its inhabitants. And that should be a concern to everyone living in Pennsylvania, which has 85,000 miles of rivers and streams. One fourth of the state’s waterways are “impaired,” which means they are not safe for drinking, ...

The words of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have served as inspiration over the five decades since his death. Slain Aug. 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, King’s speeches have become legendary. Today, as we observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let us find new inspiration in ...

State Rep. Garth D. Everett, a Muncy Township Republican who serves much of our region from his seat in the 84th House District, is observing a self-imposed term limit. After seven terms in office, Everett recently told the Sun-Gazette editorial board that he will bow out when his current ...

The nanny crowd ­— folks who insist only government is capable of protecting us against any hazard — wasted no time in criticizing proposed new federal guidelines for autonomous vehicle makers. “This is a science experiment playing out in real time on our roadways without any safeguards ...

Among the good reasons for getting a flu shot is to keep yourself healthy enough to be there for the folks who need you this time of year. That is true in a larger sense when it comes to those in need of donated blood — and there are many more than we may think. According to blood banks, ...

The year may be young, but campaigning for public office in this year’s elections has been underway for some time, particularly as it relates to the office of president. While electing a person to serve in the nation’s highest office is deserving of paramount attention in the next 10 ...

While we may desire an easy winter with temperatures much like we’ve experienced this past week, the weeks ahead are sure to see area schools closed because of snowy, cold, windy and icy weather. And predictably, when people awaken to see fewer than 12 feet of snow on the ground and less ...

The time-honored saying is you only get one chance to make a first impression. Newly elected Lycoming County District Attorney Ryan Gardner played his first-impression card rather distinctively, requesting and gaining approval of the Lycoming County commissioners to streamline operations in ...

There is no substitute for hard work. We keep coming back to that time and again. Among the many principles we follow is that which says, “Great work is not performed by strength but by perseverance and humility.” Here we are on the doorstep of a new decade in this very short journey ...

At least three times while Bill Clinton was president, he rejected proposals to kill Osama bin Laden. That enabled bin Laden’s al-Qaida network to continue making terrorist attacks leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, assault on America that killed nearly 3,000 people. Despite knowing bin ...

He was a tough politician. He made a lot of people angry at times. But over 12 years at the helm of Williamsport city government, Mayor Gabriel J. Campana accomplished a lot. Sure, not everything worked, but he tried and he tried. He was the mayor who did not give up, no matter how ...

Our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico just can’t seem to catch a break. Still attempting to recover from Hurricane Maria in 2017, many on the islands have been affected by a strong earthquake this week. In comparison to the hurricane, which killed nearly 3,000 people and caused nearly $100 ...

“I can’t wait for Friday basketball.” That’s what the sixth-graders are saying out loud at Ferrell Elementary School in Picture Rocks these days. It’s not about the game, though. It’s about the team and sense of belonging that takes place during a Friday lunchtime basketball ...

We love when good history is made. It’s a sign, we believe, of progress and the inevitable — change. We congratulate new city Mayor Derek Slaughter upon taking the oath of office. In a ceremonial inauguration Monday at City Hall, Mayor Slaughter promised to lead an inclusive ...

So here we are, the warmth of the holidays has given way to the cold of January, and we go into winter survival mode. Do we have enough food in the pantry to weather what we know will be periods of cold and ice? Have we shored up our living spaces, making them impenetrable to the harsh forces ...

Gov. Tom Wolf has announced a right-minded priority for 2020 — a broad effort to improve mental health services and change public perceptions of mental illness. The initiative includes more resources and a public-outreach campaign similar to the strategy that has been deployed in response ...

Should parents need any more reminders they ought to know where their children are, both physically and online, the Cincinnati, Ohio, Police Department can provide one. The Northgate Mall in suburban Cincinnati had to be shut down recently on what should have been one of its busiest days of ...