Shamokin | Opinion

Pennsylvania: The Wild West of campaign financing

Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro Cortes is an incurious fellow, in keeping with the intent of state lawmakers. The Department of State, which is under Cortes' direction, is supposed to enforce campaign finance laws. Instead, it is a glorified file cle

Back in 1941 ...

- The war in Europe raged on, with Adolf Hitler's forces at Moscow's Door - a goal the Nazis would never reach. And with every sign pointing to the U.S. getting into the conflict, the Nazis torpedoed a U.S. tanker in the North Atlantic. It was apparent

Voters show they want results

Voters in New Jersey and Virginia demonstrated Tuesday that they still are deeply worried about the economy and that the electorate still is in a mood for change. Whether the election of Republican governors in those states signals trouble down the road

Energy: A reason to come home

I recently had an opportunity to sit in on the Mount Carmel Supper Club at Mattucci's. The supper club is a quaint gathering established years ago to recognize student athletes in our area. One of the main focuses of the club is to raise funds to benefit

Letters to the editor

Parents need to teach kids better behavior

To the editor: Today I read your item about the bus driver from Southern Columbia. I do not agree with what happened, and God knows how any one of us would have reacted. But your saying that the bus drivers owe the utmost respect to the students floors

Veterans honored by D.C. trip

To the editor: It was a great honor for the participating veterans to partake in the bus trip to Washington, D.C., sponsored by King Coal Tours. During the trip, veterans gathered for breakfast and then visited the World War II, Korea and Vietnam memoria

Tip of the camo hat to rescuers, friends

To the editor: On Saturday morning, Oct. 17, I fell more than 20 feet while bow hunting and severely fractured my left leg. Although the accident was due to a faulty tree stand, there was nothing faulty about the combined efforts that resulted in my resc

Paying tribute to WVIA-TV Ill-advised state funding cut will hurt station's efforts

WVIA-TV Channel 44 is a television station located in Pittston, and it covers most of northeastern and central Pennsylvania, carrying PBS programs, local news and weather. Recently, the station did itself proud by sponsoring an all-week free screening of

Recognizing respiratory care professionals

To the editor: Each year during National Respiratory Care Week (Oct. 25-31), we pay tribute to respiratory care professionals who are committed to helping patients breathe easier. Respiratory care professionals assist physicians in diagnosis, treatment a

Don't get me started

Einstein and Baby Einstein: It doesn't take a genius to settle this controversy

Albert Einstein, whose name is synonymous with genius, was a slow learner as a child. He was so slow to speak, his parents consulted a doctor, according to Walter Isaacson, who wrote "Einstein: His Life and Universe." Before he became the greatest physic

Better times at 'Soldiers Circle'

I'm so glad the war over Soldier's Circle is over. On Sept. 24, the Soldiers Circle Veterans Association held its first meeting, attended by 30 members. They conducted a typical meeting, talked about new business, agreed to have an election of officers

Week in News

Walts Way

Look on the bright side: Be positive you're not negative

When my brother and I were discussing the lineup of college football games coming up one weekend, I suddenly realized that I was rooting against more teams than I was cheering for. As a matter of fact, there were quite a few games where I was put in the

When it comes to TV, the trick is to find the treat

Back in the days when kids actually had to sing for their candy while trick-or-treating, there was naturally a bit of pumpkin and witch overkill. At a rate of 50 halloweeners every 60 minutes singing "Three Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Fence," a person

Talking Points

Once upon a series

The New York Yankees are appearing in their fortieth World Series. No other major league baseball franchise even comes close. Back in February, while watching the Bucknell Bison struggle on the hardwood, I heard the talk for the first time about how no m

Next stop - Budget Canyon

It is said the only thing guaranteed in life are taxes and death. Provided you call Penn's Woods home, you may want to include on that infamous list state lawmakers failing to come up with an annual budget by the statutory deadline of July 1. The budget

Style vs. substance

When I first was told the news that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, I thought it was a joke. Perhaps they meant the Nobel Speech Prize, or maybe the Nobel Prize for Literature, because, after all, he has written a couple of books. Jokes

Circus of the Crackpots

Growing up, the United Nations meant one thing to me: the annual sixth-grade class trip. As an adult, it has become another venue for entertainment if you can't afford or acquire tickets to a Broadway matinee or Ringling Bros. & Barnum Bailey's Circus at

Capital Matters

Revenue sources uncertain

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania will rely on a variety of revenue sources to support $27.8 billion in spending this fiscal year. A portion of this revenue will come from new taxes.

Trouble brewing over revenue

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania will rely on a variety of revenue sources to support $27.8 billion in spending this fiscal year. A portion of this revenue will come from new taxes. Transfers from special state funds will also provide needed revenues for the al

Funding plans could meet trouble

Pennsylvania will rely on a variety of revenue sources to support $27.8 billion in spending this fiscal year. A portion of this revenue will come from new taxes. Transfers from special state funds will also provide needed revenues for the all-purpose Gen

Revenue sources not sure things

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania will rely on a variety of revenue sources to support $27.8 billion in spending this fiscal year. A portion of this revenue will come from new taxes. Transfers from special state funds will also provide needed revenues for the al

Sound Off

Sound Off 11/07/09

Missed out I enjoyed the article in The News-Item regarding the long-gone Central Community Concerts series. The photo showed Reba Hirsch, Irvin Liachowitz and Mary Ellen Lowe reviewing some concert memorabilia. These worthwhile programs still flourish i

Sound Off 648-2340

It's electric With the hike the electric people want to do, nobody ... who is getting retirement checks will be able to pay the electric and heat. Repulsed As one of the trolls at Wal-Mart, it's fun to go as a troll. It is fun to watch the way you snee

Sound Off 11.05.09

Always Froggy "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is the funniest show in the world. I am so glad that you put that in today's Sound Off. Did you see the one last week? It was pretty funny with the wrestling and how they dressed up as eagles. This change

Sound Off 11/02/09

Wonderful I think it is wonderful that the King Coal Bus Company took the veterans to Washington. It was very pleasant to read something good in the paper at a time when there are not many happy things to read in our local paper. Thank you King Coal, and

Sound Off 11.01.09

Executive indecision Frog, when is our president going to make a decision on Afghanistan? Our boys are dying there and they need more help, and they can win this war in no time flat. Just like Bush sent the troops to Iraq and they took over and won the w