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We’re still facing some more winter

Editorials

Regardless of what Punxsutawney Phil and his furry woodchuck pals said this morning, reality is on the calendar, and that indicates we have reached the midpoint between the end of fall and the start of spring. Groundhog Day lore relies on Punxsutawney Phil and his fellow forecasting groundhogs to tell us if there will be six more weeks of winter ahead or if we can expect an early spring. And it’s all based on whether or not the groundhog sees its shadow, according to the animal’s handlers. It’s great fun and a chance to relax a little and direct our attention to Gobblers Knob ...

Having to say goodbye never gets easier

Local Columns

There is a silence unlike any other when a certain heartbeat stops. It is a specific kind of quiet. One that seems to settle into the floorboards. And it remains a part of our home forever. It is a quiet so heavy that it feels as if it has its very own weight to it. How can air feel so heavy? We tell ourselves when we bring them home — those tumbling little balls of fur who trip over their own paws — that we are ready for the end. We tell ourselves that we understand the math. We convince ourselves that we realize there is not a lot of time when it comes to the life ...

Month offers a chance to reflect

Editorials

Black History Month 2026 offers a chance to look at the impact Black Americans have made on our lives, and a special chance to reflect on an event that has been a part of the nation’s calendar for 100 years. “A Century of Black History Commemoration” is the theme that has been selected this year by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the founders of Black History Month. It’s a wide-ranging topic, and one that puts the focus on how the commemoration of Black history has evolved during the past 100 years, and the impact it has had on the status ...

What it’s like to be the bad man

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: I believe it was the famous philosopher, Peter Townshend, who wrote the apt phrase, “Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.” On Monday, Greg Bovino, who many have compared to Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler, was unceremoniously fired as U.S. Border Patrol commander-at-large. The comparison to Himmler, however, is inartful. Bovino is better likened to the other Heinrich, Gestapo Chief Heinrich Muller. Himmler oversaw the SS and Schutzsaffel — a broader portfolio, closer to a modern border czar. If anyone fits the Himmler role, it would be Tom Homan, the man ...

We had been warned

Local Columns

There are many things that you can say about the snowstorm that hit our area last weekend, but one you can’t is that no one told us it was coming Reports started to come in more than a week before that the potential existed for a major snow event the weekend of Jan. 24-25. Many of the predictions came from sources that didn’t seem to have much credibility, but some came from the meteorologists across the Tri-State Area who almost always advised that “the conditions are there, but it’s too early to know anything for sure.” Depending on where you live in the region, it’s ...

History in the Hills: A look back at WW I

Local Columns

I am very proud of all my children, especially my oldest son, Paulie. He is smart, compassionate and is growing into a fine young man. What’s gratifying to me, though, is that he is developing a genuine love for history. As a child of two historians, he has always been exposed to our past, either through TV shows, books, trips to historic sites or the constant chatter from my wife and I about what we remember from the past and how things have changed. He likes to tease us when we start a story with the phrase “well, back in my day …” A huge part of his interest in so many ...