On April 21, a forum was held at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown campus, on the impact of Medicaid cuts in the Alleghenies. The event was sponsored by the group Locals for Good. The Trump administration proposes slashing $880 billion in spending cuts to pay for his 2017 tax cuts because these tax cuts areContinue reading “The Impact of Medicaid Cuts in the Alleghenies”
Category Archives: Analysis
The Bitter Taste of Inequality: Downtown Johnstown’s Food Desert
Another post from Lyrical Capo on Downtown Johnstown’s Food Desert. The map below shows where it is difficult to get access to healthy foods in the area. We have posted about news deserts and legal deserts. Now it is time to discuss food deserts in the area. Downtown Johnstown, PA is a vibrant community withContinue reading “The Bitter Taste of Inequality: Downtown Johnstown’s Food Desert”
Pandemic Life Expectancies for Race in Pennsylvania
The 2025 County Health Rankings are out. Their current health model is in the video above. This may be the last time that the rankings are released. This is due to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s decision to discontinue funding. For this post, I will focus on pandemic life expectancies for race in the Alleghenies.Continue reading “Pandemic Life Expectancies for Race in Pennsylvania”
Fascism and Anti Fascism in Appalachia
As a followup to my last post on legal deserts in Pennsylvania, I also filmed the above workshop on fascism and anti fascism in Appalachia. I filmed it at the 48th annual Appalachian Studies Association conference at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN. It was convened by Amelia Kirby, of the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky.Continue reading “Fascism and Anti Fascism in Appalachia”
Stand with Letter Carriers Rally
Lyrical Capo has covered this weekend’s Stand with Letter Carriers Rally in Johnstown at the Central Park Gazebo this past Sunday (while I was at the Appalachian Studies Association conference). Her report is below. “Community Unites to Save USPS!” On Sunday, March 23rd, at 1 p.m., the community came together to fight against the dismantlingContinue reading “Stand with Letter Carriers Rally”
Legal Deserts in Pennsylvania
This past weekend I went to the annual Appalachian Studies Association conference in Cookeville, Tennessee. One talk I recorded was one by Ryan Comer of the Appalachian School of Law. He spoke on the challenges facing lawyers working in legal deserts. A legal desert is a region where there is less than one lawyer perContinue reading “Legal Deserts in Pennsylvania”
Fire, Rain, and Snow in the Alleghenies
This past weekend was a weekend of fire, rain, and snow in the Alleghenies. I was walking on the James Mayer Trail in Johnstown when I saw a bunch of sparks and heard a tree fall. I got closer to see what happened. What I saw was in the video above. I called 911 toContinue reading “Fire, Rain, and Snow in the Alleghenies”
Single Payer and Mass Movements
With all of the horror at the cuts being made by the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), there are planned economic boycotts which can be seen in the image below. The cuts to Medicaid will do serious harm to many at the lower end of the economic scale. The Democrats are currently focused on maintainingContinue reading “Single Payer and Mass Movements”
Trump’s Standing in the Polls So Far
It has been 27 days since Trump took office. He has been bolder with executive orders and DOGE than in his first term. For this post I thought would take a closer look at Trump’s standing in the polls so far. Today, the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average of Trump’s approval ratings has him atContinue reading “Trump’s Standing in the Polls So Far”
Socialism Program at the Johnstown Library
Socialism? What is that? Several dozen people seeking answers to those questions attended a socialism program at the Johnstown Library Jan. 26, 2025. The presenters were Madeline Burrows and Frank Scarsella of Johnstown, members of the Pittsburgh Chapter, Party for Socialism & Liberation – PSL. Attendees were mostly young people in their 20s or 30s,Continue reading “Socialism Program at the Johnstown Library”