John Hook
-
Some Positive Takeaways from Our Pandemic Year
—
by
The last few weeks, as COVID restrictions have eased around Pennsylvania, people’s spirits seem to be lifting a bit. With the exception of some masking requirements, all mitigation orders were lifted in our state two weeks ago, meaning businesses can open up at full capacity. The state also has announced that those last masking requirements will be…
-
PennDOT’s Interstate Bridge Tolling Proposal Raises Concerns
—
by
A recent email from our state senator, Jake Corman, notified me that today, June 1, is the last day for us to get in our comments on funding options that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation wants to use to fill our transportation funding gap. One of those funding options already received the necessary board approval…
-
Voting for School Board Directors Is a Decision with a Personal Financial Impact
—
by
Today is municipal primary Election Day in Pennsylvania. For decades that statement has carried with it an air of urgency, responsibility and decision-making. You woke up in the morning knowing that today was one of the two days this year when you would partake in that most democratic of processes and go cast your ballot…
-
Speaking Words of Wisdom
—
by
This upcoming weekend Penn State will hold live, in-person commencement ceremonies at Beaver Stadium for the first time in what seems like forever. Starting at noon this Friday with the Graduate School’s master’s and doctoral candidates, and finishing at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday with the College of the Liberal Arts, students will have the opportunity…
-
Pandemic Choices Have Strained Some Relationships, but in the End We All Want the Same Thing
—
by
Freedom of choice and peer pressure. Two aspects of our American society that we learn to deal with at a young age. In most cases the youthful choices we make are reasonably harmless in the grand scheme of things regardless of how earth-shattering they may seem at the time. For me, the choices that provided…
-
New Penn State Students Missed Out on Much During Pandemic Year
—
by
What kind of introduction and year has this been for first-year students? Abnormal, obviously. But mostly it’s been about missing many of the wonderful things that make the college experience truly enjoyable.
-
Why We Should ‘Wrestle’— Not ‘Fight’— with Our Challenges
—
by
March Matness has come and gone. That’s right, it seems like it was just yesterday the season started. And now it’s over. It culminated this past weekend when the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were held in St. Louis, Missouri and 10 individual national champions and one team national champion were crowned For those uninitiated…
-
Getting to the Core of Getting in Shape
—
by
Down the road from my house, each apple in the Harner Farm orchard has a core. The Breazeale Nuclear Reactor on Penn State’s campus has a core where fission occurs. Many colleges have a core curriculum program. Most skyscrapers in Manhattan have a vertical core for elevators, stairways and utility lines and wires. A core…
-
Why State College Should Move to Ward System, Reduced Term Lengths for Borough Council Elections
—
by
Here we are less than four months removed from a very contentious national election, one from which we could all use a breather, and what’s in the news? That’s right, who’s running for State College Mayor and Borough Council. More elections! Our primary election is May 18, less than three months from now. And we…
-
‘Do Not Attempt:’ Lessons and Laughs from the Fine Print
—
by
Given my newfound interest in the fine print in television ads, coupled with the exorbitant amount of money those ads cost to broadcast during the Super Bowl, I decided to do a little research and check out the fine print in every commercial from kickoff to the end of the first half.