“That sense of community again” — that’s what Shanin Dougherty, co-chair of the First Friday Committee, hopes to find tonight when the widely popular Lycoming Arts First Friday event returns after a long pandemic-prompted hiatus. Yes, Shanin, that’s something we long for too. As a ...
In an age when police have come under intense scrutiny, we are proud of the majority of the work of law enforcement right here in our backyard. Just consider a couple of local “top cops” who recently were honored by their peers. City police Agent Brittany Alexander, an eight-year ...
We’d like to send along a couple of Sun-Gazette shout-outs today to two people whose names now appear on local buildings — and for good reason. Larry A. Ward graduated in 1966 from the former Williamsport Technical Institute, which later became the Williamsport Area Community College and ...
If a new report dealing with unpaid federal taxes is accurate — and doubt has not been cast regarding the correctness of the information — it is time for the government to assemble a major strategy built upon the old adage, “You have to spend money to make money.” Beyond that, the ...
“Protect all your private information,” state Rep. Jeff Wheeland, R-Loyalsock Township, recently warned. “Guard it with your life.” Wheeland issued this warning after having the unsettling experience of becoming a victim of identity theft. The lawmaker became aware of suspicious ...
Among other things, President Joe Biden called for passage of the “PRO Act” on Wednesday during his first address before a joint session of Congress. The Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which the U.S. House passed by a narrow margin of 224-194 in March, is part of Biden’s American ...
Successive grand jury investigations dating to the early 2000s exposed the scale of child sexual abuse and cover-up in Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic Church. The most recent panel of jurors pored over the evidence, then outlined searing findings in a 2018 report: More than 300 priests and had ...
American energy independence was the topic of a recent webinar in which U.S. Rep. Fred Keller, R-Kreamer, and House Whip Stephen Scalise, R-Louisiana, spoke with George Stark, executive director of public relations for Cabot Oil and Gas. Among the topics was the benefits of maintaining ...
A couple of headlines in this past weekend’s edition of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette caught our attention. “‘Heroism phase’ — US suicides dropped last year, defying pandemic expectations,” read the first. It was enough to make us stop and take a second look, given reports during ...
We’re scratching our heads over this one. A bill co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Fred Keller, R-Kreamer; Mike Kelly, R-Butler; and Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, would prioritize Americans ahead of illegal immigrants for COVID-19 vaccines. On the surface, yeah, sure, make sure Americans get it ...
Young people grow up, finish their schooling and leave the area in search of jobs. Meanwhile, local employers could grow their businesses if only they could find skilled workers. So how can our society get the two together? State Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Wellsboro, is the prime sponsor of a ...
Gov. Tom Wolf, apparently unsatisfied with controlling merely everything in Pennsylvania related to the COVID-19 pandemic, has decided he now needs to decree what is best regarding the state’s charter schools, despite the fact that up until recently it appeared he and the state Legislature ...
The Pennsylvania State Police recently announced it will make it a priority to hire as many as 65 women who were otherwise qualified to become troopers but were not hired because they could not meet rigorous physical fitness standards — standards that apparently were not required to perform a ...
Today we offer a couple of Sun-Gazette shout outs to two fine young men from our region. We are excited for an 18-year-old who is about to “aim high” — high enough to reach the stars. Isaiah Firestine has become the first person signed by the local Air Force recruiter for the newly ...
Wanted: School bus drivers. We’re hearing that a number of school districts, including Loyalsock Township, are facing a shortage of bus drivers. Loyalsock Superintendent Dan Egly recently characterized the shortage and its impact as “outrageous.” Good word. Youngsters need solid, ...
Traditions are traditions for a reason, so we understand why some — perhaps many — hunters may be opposed to the Pennsylvania Game Commission choosing to combine the firearms buck and doe seasons (the PGC calls them “antlered” and “antlerless” deer seasons) into a single two-week ...
Hope was delivered to all Pennsylvanians who are 16 or older with word that all are eligible as of this past Tuesday to get the COVID-19 vaccine. We should all embrace this opportunity. A successful vaccination program is essential to our recovery and the renewal of our full and vibrant ...
For many people, on the coattails of hearing good news comes their pessimism-rooted instinct to question what bad news might be lurking in the proverbial shadows. This month, on the state front, Pennsylvania residents received bad news first, followed a day later by welcome news that a ...
There’s an unfortunate game of monkey in the middle being played right now in county government. It threatens to upset the balance of power between two elected offices — the board of commissioners and the controller. We’re not sure if the monkey is the four staffers whom the ...
We’re used to looking for signs of spring, particularly after a grueling winter. This year, not only did we welcome every sign of spring that entered our field of vision, we also have been counting the signs that this terrible pandemic we’ve navigated for more than a year is easing its ...