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What other newspapers are saying: Harris wrong about packing Supreme Court

The rule of law for thee, but not me? To “fight fire with fire,” former vice president Kamala Harris is calling on Democrats to consider packing the Supreme Court with liberals and punishing conservative justices for lying during their confirmation hearings. “This is a moment where there are no bad ideas,” she said on a podcast this week. In any moment, these bad ideas would endanger the constitutional order. No matter how much someone disagrees with recent decisions by the high court, threatening to subordinate judicial independence to the whims of a political party befits a ...

Standardizing bail would require careful consideration

We don’t disagree with the idea of making sure local judges are properly using bail. It’s unfair if people are in a county jail solely because they can’t scrape together minimum amounts of bail. Bail should be used as a means to verify a defendant attends court — not a punishment ...

Juvenile crime more opaque by design

As Williamsport and Lycoming County debate juvenile crime and misbehavior, we must remind the public how difficult it is to understand how extensive or not these problems can be. Juvenile court records are sealed — unlike our reporting on felonies and misdemeanors for which adults are prosecuted, officials are prohibited from releasing the affidavits, sentencing reports and other documentation that sheds light on crimes in our region committed by adults. Thus, details about crimes committed by juveniles — regardless of whether neighbors are concerned about the teenagers circling ...

What other newspapers are saying: Schemes to gerrymander get worse

The redistricting arms race now roiling American politics was not merely predictable, but inevitable. It began the moment President Donald Trump picked up the phone last year to demand that Missouri, Texas and other red states gerrymander their congressional districts mid-decade to give Republicans an advantage in the upcoming midterms. Some Democratic-held states have responded in kind. The result is that in much of America this November, voters won’t be allowed to choose their politicians; the politicians are instead choosing their voters. It’s an untenable situation that will ...

Award winners a testament to value of volunteering

On a recent evening, members of our communities gathered in Williamsport to honor the sort of volunteerism and community service that we long have argued is both a cherished value or principle of our region’s character and something of which all of our neighborhoods and communities need ...

Tax hikes another reminder that state spending, mergers needed

We are glad for those districts in our region that will be able to avoid property tax increases this year. Of course we also worry about friends, family and neighbors in those districts that find it necessary to increase their millage rates. As we have noted before, the signs are clear that ...