John Hook
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Hook: Why Are So Many People Unsatisfied in the Workplace? Horrible Bosses
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Welcome back to work and happy day-after-Memorial Day to those of us who received Monday as a paid holiday! I hope you celebrated properly. Speaking of paid holidays, there are currently eleven federal holidays established by law in the United States. In addition, many people who get Thanksgiving Day off – always a Thursday –…
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A Spring of Momentous Happenings in Centre County
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There have been a lot of momentous things happening lately here in Happy Valley! One of those was that last week PennDOT announced its recommendation for where the long-debated U.S. 322 four-lane highway connection would go through the valley to match up the highways ending in Potters Mills and Boalsburg. Having arrived as a freshman…
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A Warm Welcome to Warmer Weather
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It’s finally that time of year here in Happy Valley! No, I don’t mean when the students leave and we can all breathe a little easier as we navigate downtown. I mean, when winter is finally gone. The beginning of last week – April 20 – was the first time all year when the long-range…
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Hook: Why Tax Day Is My Least Favorite Day of the Year
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Today is my least favorite day of the year. It’s April 15 – Tax Day. Today is the day when federal individual income tax returns for calendar year filers are due. What that means in plain English is that most of us have a deadline tonight. According to the IRS, our income tax returns are…
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Hook: Closing the Department of Education Might Have Some Financial Positives, but With a Big Catch for Schools Like Penn State
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Let’s talk about education. Education is one of those great bipartisan issues in this country in that everyone agrees it is a good thing, right? And here in Happy Valley, education is what pays the proverbial bills. The name of the town is “State College” for gosh sakes. Since its founding in February 1855 as…
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On Second Thought, Back to Home Viewing
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The 97th Academy Awards were on television on Sunday night. The Oscars, as many of us refer to the show, honors movies that were released the previous year. Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor (technically “Actress/Actor in a Leading Role” are the official category names) are just a few of the many awards that were…
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NCAA Should Live Up to Its Mission and Increase Athletic Opportunities
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Here’s what I’m sure is a news flash to you: Happy Valley is a sports-oriented town. We are home to the second-largest stadium in the country by capacity. And the third-largest indoor arena in the state by capacity, behind those in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. All while State College is only the 24th-largest “city” in Pennsylvania,…
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Hook: Changes Would Improve Transparency of Governing Council That Will Pick New Penn State Alumni Association CEO
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I have been a lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association for well over 30 years. It’s a badge of honor I share with more than 173,000 others. And, our favorite mantra since 1995 is that we’re the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world. A pretty impressive statistic and one I’ve repeated many…
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In the Year 2525, or 2025?
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Welcome to the year 2025. For those of us old enough to remember the summer of ’69 – maybe we got our first real six-string – we know we only have exactly five centuries to go until the year 2525 – the prophetic first year in the one-hit wonder song by Zager & Evans, “In…
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17 Ideas and Questions Inspired by a Bombardment of Holiday Season TV Ads
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My extended holiday season TV watching meant seeing more commercials than usual. The results of which are the following 17 random thoughts, ideas, suggestions and questions about the televised advertising I was bombarded with in late December and early January.