It’s hard to believe that it was almost 3 years ago that I somewhat naively agreed to become the new editor of The Williamsport Guardian and take on the task of bringing it back from the brink of extinction. The Guardian had not been published for over 4 months and the Board was meeting to…
Dear Editor: For the past three months I had the privilege of serving on the Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission, which hosted five hearings across Pennsylvania to give citizens a voice on Marcellus Shale gas drilling. More than 400 citizens attended and dozens testified, eager to have their voices heard. Last week, the Commission released its…
To all concerned citizens: As a Pennsylvania resident, business owner and employer of 75, I have very serious concerns about the pace of the development of Hydraulic Fracturing in Pennsylvania. As a property owner in Sullivan County, PA, I have firsthand knowledge of the Gas Industry and the high pressure tactics that the energy companies…
Ever since Steve Jobs died, I’ve been thinking about my heroes. Steve Jobs changed my life by thinking differently. In the mid 80s I walked into a computer shop with my fiancé. We were two kids in our early 20s who looked as if we didn’t have two dimes to rub together, so no one…
I admit it: I love celebrities. I love to see what “they” are doing. I love to see what “they” are wearing. I love the air of glamour they portray while I am wearing peanut butter-crusted yoga pants that I happen to be wearing for the second day in a row. It is escapism for…
I am for laughter. I am for hugs. I am for playing in the dirt with my kids. I am for romantic movies. I am for songs that make me sing out loud. I am for believing that people are generally good, no matter how many times they try to prove me wrong. I am…
The Williamsport Guardian thought our readers might be interested in the following e-mail exchange on the subject of public comment on Chesapeake Oil and Gas’s application for a water withdrawal and filling station in Hillsgrove, a topic we covered in our last issue. Dear Mr. Dehoss and Ms. Ballaron, Please include what I…
In our last issue we printed a letter to the editor that asked: “What are you for?” and so in this issue we asked some of our regular writers as well as candidates for local office to tell us what they are for. It therefore seems appropriate for me to use this editorial space to…
Cliff Rieders, author of “Yiddish for Politicians,” listed his membership on the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Board at the end of the article. That got me wondering. Is there a Pennsylvania Client Safety Board? It seems only natural that if there is a need for a Patient Safety Board, there must be a need for a…
One of our readers, who doesn’t have ready access to a computer, objected that most of the information in our Take Action section was lists of web sites. It was an important reminder to me that whenever possible we need to list phone numbers or other non-Internet based contact information, and we strive to do…
Dear Editor, I found your paper interesting but am skeptical of your motives. This is the first issue I have read, and it is clear to me what you are against. But what are you for? What would be a good way to make a living and have a vibrant local economy? Would it be…
Up until last October, my wife and I lived in the Mid-Hudson Valley in New York, a half hour from Woodstock, possibly best known for Bob Dylan and having the 1969 music concert named after it. This part of the Mid-Hudson Valley is a beautiful area with many apple orchards, corn fields, wineries, and the…
To The Editor, I’ve been watching the nastiness of the Tea Party for two years and wanted to do something to gather together people who will support a more positive and respectful kind of civic action. So when MoveOn started a new program called “The American Dream”, I hosted one of 1500 house meetings held…
A few weeks ago I attended a meeting in Hillsgrove. Chesapeake Gas & Oil has applied for a permit to extract water from the Loyalsock Creek in Hillsgrove, and this meeting was intended to allow Hillsgrove residents to hear from and put questions and comments to representatives of Chesapeake and the two government agencies that…
It may seem strange to get a gas drilling story from Lancaster County, but the industry has changed our lives. For years my wife and I made regular trips to Lycoming County to visit family and get away from the cities. Neither of us care too much for life down here. There’s too much flat…
I had the opportunity to attend the Oil & Gas Expo held at the Hughesville Fairgrounds on May 7th, and felt it worth reporting on. I noticed right off that there is a definitive cultural aesthetic that is openly pursued by industrial fossil fuelers. The expo was a great case study of this crafted image,…
Are people like me who are speaking out against natural gas fracking just beings selfish, deluded NIMBY-types? The debate about gas drilling here in north central Pennsylvania, the place I call home, has prompted me to consider the usually derogatory label of NIMBY in a new light. I first remember hearing the term, which stands…
On February 4 Tom Ridge, in his new role as “strategic advisor” for the Marcellus Shale Coalition, visited Waterville, to unveil the gas industry’s “Commitment to the Community”, a promise to follow practices that will protect the people and the environment of Pennsylvania. Present at the event were representatives of Anadarko Petroleum, a company that…
E-mails leaked to Pro-Publica indicate that law enforcement action against criminal actions by corporations fracking in communities above the Marcellus Shale mustbe pre-approved by political appointees of the Governor. This, after news that the appointed head of the Department of Community and Economic Development will have monarchical authority to override agencies of the state that…
The gas drilling has only recently begun, but already we are seeing an increase in traffic congestion and accidents and an increase in crime. And no one seems to have fully thought through how to safely deal with the toxic waste coming out of these wells. If we don’t do something now, this will only…