Columns
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Twists, Turns and Taxes
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Discerning investors know that volatility comes with the territory. As we all feel right now, U.S. stock indices can experience wide-ranging swings. While not exactly comforting in your retirement years, those who recognize that the zigs and zags for a specified portion of your overall portfolio are par for the course, can harness that momentum…
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The Quiet Moment After Arts Fest Is Bittersweet
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Monday after Arts Fest concluded here in State College, I drove down College Avenue in the early morning. Outside of one small business an employee was busy hosing down the sidewalk. On Allen Street, I could see the backhoes and workers starting to dismantle the temporary landscaping and stages that had been set up for…
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‘And Castles Made of Sand…’
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Up and down the beach, kids with pails, shovels and rakes were shaping the sand. The youngest ones dug holes and pushed up ramparts around the holes. The ambitious ones built fortresses, carved moats and channeled the tide. Behind them, facing seaward, were the houses, some built right on the beach, some on the embankment…
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The Courage to Get Things Done
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Courage. It has been on my mind a lot lately. So many critics out there, so many people who are great at being a part of the problem but don’t have the courage to be part of the solution. Why? Because it’s easier to talk a big game than to actually make a difference by…
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Penn State Athletics: Keeping Good News Secret Doesn’t Need to Be the Policy
in Columns, Latest Penn State News, Local & Penn State Sports, Local News, Opinion, Penn State Sports, Penn State Wrestling—
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“This is the way.” – The Mandalorian For the better part of forever, Penn State’s policy has been to only discuss the contract details of the head football coach and athletic director. Of course, this is only partially true — Joe Paterno’s contract was long a point of contention for transparency advocates, the university shielding…
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We Need More Duplexes to Help Solve Our Affordable Housing Puzzle
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Seven years ago, my wife and I bought our house in the State College area. Rents looked high, and we said, “Why rent when we could spend the same amount on a mortgage?” Boy, was that naive. After buying a fixer-upper in Park Forest in the low-$200s, I learned just how costly homeownership can be.…
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Spiritual Director, Celebrant and End-of-Life Doula: My Wife’s Unusual Job Titles Mean Helping People Through Difficult Times
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President, nurse, truck driver, doctor, sales associate, cook, teacher, judge, accountant, web designer, dog trainer, receptionist, superintendent, real estate agent, electrician. These and thousands of other titles like these describe the jobs people have – and in many cases what they aspire to be (“I want to be an astronaut when I grow up!). The…
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UCLA, USC & Penn State, Part 1: By The Numbers
in Columns, Latest Penn State News, Local & Penn State Sports, Local News, Penn State Football, Penn State Sports—
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There are many ways to compare Penn State with both UCLA and USC, who will soon join the Big Ten Conference.
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Things I Love About America
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With the Fourth of July just having passed, it is time for a more light-hearted look at things to love about America. So here is a partial list of things I love about America in no particular order… Start with Food: Coca-Cola: Not Diet Coke or Coke Zero, no cans, no plastic bottles. Ice cold…
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Nature’s Ways: The Long-Lived Wood Turtle
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The adult orange-legged turtle first entered my life during the spring of 2008, when it showed up at our newly built koi pond. After several visits, I noticed that it was missing its left front foot. So, we nicknamed it Stumpy. Stumpy’s orange legs and a unique wood-like shell are the trademarks of our common…