Opinion
-
Hook: The Car Line Kings
—
by
Back in early 1999 my wife and I moved from Orlando, Fla., to Bucks County, Pa., in part so that our then 4-year-old daughter could attend school in what we, and many others, considered to be a good school district. We had gone so far in selling this pretense to our daughter – “You’re going…
-
Paterno: Dangerous Times for the First Right of the First Amendment
—
by
It’s been said that in polite society it is unwise to talk politics or religion… We’re about to test that theory. In the forests of “Penn’s Woods” springs enter streams and creeks headed to rivers that empty into oceans, bays and a Great Lake. The grand design of our planet is amazing when you see…
-
Frank: The Luftmensch’s Guide to Educational Reform
—
by
My academic home at Penn State is the College of Communications, but at heart, I’m a humanities guy. My bachelor’s degree was in Creative Writing, the English department’s home for would-be poets and novelists. My graduate degrees are in folklore studies. As anyone can plainly see, I was (and still am) a luftmensch, a Yiddish…
-
Hook: Delivering the Goods
—
by
“Things always work great. Right up until they don’t.” An acquaintance of mine is fond of saying that whenever there was a plan for something, but that plan, despite lots of planning, doesn’t go as planned. (A little semantic satiation for you Ted Lasso fans!) That saying is a cautionary tale that you should always…
-
Column: Taxpayers Are Paying a ‘Legacy Tax’ for Public Notices
—
by
With a vote on House Bill 1291 potentially days away, Pennsylvania digital publishers are urging lawmakers to reject legislation that protects a print media monopoly at taxpayers’ expense.
-
Letters: Penn State Women’s Hockey Made Us Proud; Who Does Thompson Serve?; ‘Reshaping the Media’
—
by
The narrative that Penn State women’s hockey lost in a “heartbreaker” in the Frozen Four semifinals misses the point and does our women athletes a disservice. Penn State women’s hockey didn’t lose. They went the distance. In their first-ever Frozen Four appearance, they fought the returning champions to a draw and took them into overtime. They proved…
-
Editorial: Bill Could Let Newspaper Lobby Collect Millions in Hidden Public Notice Fees
—
by
Beyond inflating prices, HB 1291 threatens a perpetual newspaper lobby ‘tax’ on public notices.
-
Paterno: Penn State Women’s Hockey Shows the Power of Ensuring Opportunities in College Sports
—
by
Years ago, while I was coaching at Penn State, our head coach came into a staff meeting to remind us to control recruiting travel expenses. “Remember that other athletes, men and women, came to compete in their sports. They all have the same or maybe even greater drive to win as our players. They need…
-
Op-Ed: 5 Reasons to Worry About How Penn State’s Board of Trustees, University Leadership Continue to Conduct Business
—
by
I was quoted in a column in October 2024 when I stated the Penn State Board of Trustees and university leadership had lost their way. Sadly, it has only gotten much, much worse. (1) In a brazen and unprecedented attempt to circumvent and in defiance of the Pennsylvania Right To Know Law (RTKL) and in…
-
Frank: On Not Fading Away
—
by
Question: What do Dolly Parton, Liza Minnelli and Cher have in common? Hint: It’s the same thing that Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Donald Trump have in common. Further hint: Also Sylvester Stallone, Reggie Jackson, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Patti Smith, Susan Sarandon and Steven Spielberg. Answer: If you guessed that all these…