The end of the year is a time for reflecting on 2025 for Allegheny Independent Media. We have had 68 posts this year on a variety of issues in the Allegheny Mountains. By comparison there were 50 posts in 2024, a 36% increase. We had 11 posts by Lyrical Capo, 3 posts by Jackie AllisonContinue reading “Reflecting on 2025 for Allegheny Independent Media”
Category Archives: Analysis
Jingle This
by Jackie Allison The retail company I worked for came up with a ploy to motivate their employees. Instead of a decent raise or vacation pay, the company used slogans. I’m not talking cool words encouraging us to just go out and achieve our best. No, I’m talking slogans that made you retch up breakfastContinue reading “Jingle This”
Homelessness in the Alleghenies Outside Cambria
The last post on student homelessness in Cambria County School Districts got a huge response. The map above from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania shows that this issue is not just a Cambria phenomenon. This post will take a look at student homelessness in the Alleghenies outside Cambria County. Not all of the school districtsContinue reading “Homelessness in the Alleghenies Outside Cambria”
5.7% of Greater Johnstown Students are Homeless
This holiday season (and every other season) it is important to remember those less fortunate. Accordingly, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania produced the map above. It shows all of the school districts in the state. The districts highlighted in green have rates of student homelessness that are higher than the state rate of 1.89% forContinue reading “5.7% of Greater Johnstown Students are Homeless”
Why Trump’s War on Statistics Matters
I am a longtime reader of The Nation Magazine. Recently, I came across an article by Eric Reinhart in the magazine titled Destroy the Metrics, Destroy the Truth. It details how the Trump Administration’s firings of scientists and statisticians at the CDC and other agencies are really cover for their misdeeds. In the article, ReinhartContinue reading “Why Trump’s War on Statistics Matters”
The Write-ins and the Johnstown Mayoral Election
Much has been made of the recent elections in Pennsylvania New York, New Jersey, Virginia and California. Locally we had a hotly contested race for mayor and city council of Johnstown. The race was between Democratic Councilwoman Sylvia King, Republican John DeBartola and write-in Republican Councilman Chuck Arnone. This post will look at the influenceContinue reading “The Write-ins and the Johnstown Mayoral Election”
Delay in SNAP Benefits
Imagine your fridge is empty, your mailbox is quiet, your children are waiting — and the federal safety net you depend on is just… paused. That’s the reality for many families right now. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Propel’s 2023 report, about 26% of SNAP participants identify as Black/African American, 16% asContinue reading “Delay in SNAP Benefits”
We the People
Jackie Allison has written another post on the Constitution. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this ConstitutionContinue reading “We the People”
GJSD School Board Candidate Shannon Burch Errett
Today I interviewed Shannon Burch Errett. She is a GJSD school board candidate. Burch Errett is running as a write in candidate. GJSD stands for Greater Johnstown School District. We spoke for 17 minutes. In the most recent estimates from the Census Bureau, GJSD had the 5th highest poverty rate in Pennsylvania in 2023 atContinue reading “GJSD School Board Candidate Shannon Burch Errett”
No Kings In America
Denise Miller wrote this poem titled No Kings in America on her Substack about the No Kings Rally on June 14. It is reprinted here with permission. There will be No Kings Protests on October 18 throughout the U.S. as well as Johnstown. An unapologetic protest poem about power, truth, and the fight to reclaimContinue reading “No Kings In America”