Opinion
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The Morning After
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The world woke up as a very different place on Wednesday morning. I woke up as a white man who will be on the edge of old age when the next presidential election comes around. My rights haven’t been and likely won’t be curtailed. I won’t have to wonder if I’m being profiled. I won’t…
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Praying for Our Nation(s)
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“…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863, Gettysburg Well, Nittany Nation, I hope the hangover from the latest gridiron disappointment against Ohio State has started…
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Ain’t No Cure for the Pre-Election Jitters
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I’m known as a calm guy. Where others overreact to difficulties, I under-react. Where they spin worst-case scenarios, I believe — correctly, usually; naively, at times — that nothing really terrible is going to happen. Like Anne Frank (no relation), I believe that most people are good and that therefore, the good will prevail. Or…
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Column: ‘They’ve Lost Their Way,’ Former Trustee Says of Penn State Board
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Updated 5:53 p.m. Oct. 30 with corrected attribution of a quote by a trustee. I’ve tried my best this fall to focus on Happy Valley news that really matters. Like the exploits of the Penn State football team or the pre-season rankings of the Nittany Lion wrestlers. But doggone it, even sports fans like me…
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Letters: Casino Still Not a Good Bet; Questioning Borough Handling of Protests; Supporting Fenchak
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It’s great to see College Township leadership planning to find a qualified consultant to conduct the new Local Impact Report for the Nittany Mall casino. Hopefully those elected leaders will find a consultant that has both the credibility and experience to determine sociodemographic factors involving gambling problems or addiction and trend analysis of possible gambling-related…
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Paterno: My Father Believed in Building, Not Bullying
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Jay Paterno can’t speak for what his father’s views might be on the current state of national politics, but he knows the values he believed in.
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Opinion: 7 Penn State Trustees Call Fellow Board Member’s Behavior ‘Intolerable,’ Disagree With Injunction
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As trustees of Penn State, we are outraged that a verified claim from a junior female staff member has been dismissed as nothing more than a “joke.” The thorough investigation (shared with the court) conducted by Penn State’s Office of Ethics and Compliance—not Penn State’s Board of Trustees—revealed that Trustee Barry Fenchak said directly to…
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Fixing a Hole — in the Ceiling and the Workforce
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Living here in Happy Valley we’re lucky to be among a very educated populace. According to the United States Census Bureau, almost 71% of the State College Borough’s population aged 25 or older has a bachelor’s degree or higher. Which is double that of the rest of the state of Pennsylvania, where just above 35%…
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Op-Ed: Don’t Be Distracted by ‘Inactivists.’ Solar Is the Present and Future
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Last week, this outlet published Josh Portney’s misguided and ill-informed opinion piece on the regional solar power purchase agreement (SPPA). Portney presents himself as a sleuth and advocate for the truth. In fact, he shows his fundamental lack of understanding about the SPPA, governmental processes and the drivers of climate change. I wouldn’t fault readers…
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Op-Ed: No Apologies for Standing Up for the Taxpayers
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The author of this op-ed, Josh Portney, is a member of State College Borough Council. At the Sept. 9 State College Borough Council meeting, in a rather unprecedented and unsettling move, my friend and colleague Mayor Ezra Nanes essentially asked me to apologize for my questions and comments surrounding the Solar Power Purchase Agreement (SPPA).…