Back in Happy Valley

Retirement calls

It's time -- way past time actually -- that taxpayers stop paying the freight for Sen. Vince Fumo.

He retires soon but it can't be soon enough after the disgusting comments he made at a Senate hearing about how Pennsylvania legislators would vote to legalize slavery.

Oh, yes, he claims a day later that he exaggerated, but he didn't even come out and say that, instead hiding behind a press release.

Fumo should be shown the door by Senate leaders, since taxpayers in Philly haven't been able to do that and the feds haven't yet done it.

All this reminds me of a couple years ago, when a Centre County reader eager for reform in government --aren't we all? -- e-mailed me saying Fumo is a reformer and is leading the charge.

I almost fell over before responding that, no, he's not leading any reform. He'd want you to think that, but look at it closely.

Look at him closely today and you see a poster child for retirement. It can't come too soon, because we shouldn't pay another dime for his "public service."

Holocaust essays

Look for winning essays in the 11th Annual Holocaust Writing Competition published in Saturday's Centre Living section.

Yesterday's awards ceremony at the Nittany Lion Inn was captured well in Chris Rosenblum's story, enjoyed by readers today.

I think you'll enjoy the essays on Saturday, and again the students' work is special.

Just friends

You're not always seen as a friend in this job, but it's always nice when you are.

I want to thank the State College Area Education Association for the Friend of Education award, presented last night at a very nice banquet.

So many great things happen in our schools, and I'm very happy when we're able to present some of that work in the paper or online.

The door is always open to teachers to share that work, so the greater community can see it, and that was one of the messages I gave again last night.

Spotlight on volunteers

A new weekly series began quietly Monday, and it should become quite popular.

We're recognizing volunteers each week, spotlighting different people who are making a difference in Centre County.

Here's the initial story of the series, featuring Richard Wylie.

We're blessed around here with so many people volunteering their time. If you want to recommend someone for coverage in this series, send a note to cdtnewstips@centredaily.com.

600,000 on the Web

A Web site record was set and shattered today, and CentreDaily.com soared past 600,000 unique monthly visitors for the first time.

The previous record was a close 599,000 in January, and this makes the fourth straight month over a half million.

This is lofty territory and we thank you. Not too many papers our size have this kind of readership.

One thing to know about our readers, many start on the home page. There are links that send people here, like today's NFL draft stories linked somewhere.

But largely we have loyal home page readers, and now we're in uncharted territory.

All that Jazz

Chris Weddle had to work though more than 1,000 photos, and Anne Danahy was limited in words because we just have so much newsprint.

Together, they presented the story of Jazz today, and I'll link it here for you.

My printed column discussed how much access they had to Jazz's development, thanks to Suzanne Myers. It turned out great for our readers.

Thanks to Suzanne, and best wishes from here on out for Jazz.

No more messages

My home answering machine got a workout during the campaign, with three to 10 calls a day by candidates. I apparently missed one candidate's series of town meetings, according to the messages.

I mention this voice mail barrage because the unthinkable happened. The machine has refused to work since election day.

Did it have enough?

Too bad for me, not because I have to buy a new one but because I have to figure out how to install it. Something simple can turn into a true adventure.

Paying to fly

Have you tried to book a flight lately?

Maybe thinking of a long weekend away, or finally figuring out that summer vacation?

Well, good luck. Prepare for some sticker shock.

Ticket prices are way up and connections too are way up. There don't seem like many direct flights any more, even from Philly, Baltimore or Pittsburgh.

I've actually used accumulated miles successfully twice recently, rather than decide on high-priced tickets. But they'll only go so far, you know.

Looks like tickets are up an average of $150 to $200 per round trip. That's just my guess, but it got my attention and it'll get yours if you fly.

When big money isn't enough

Before we get past the 5th District Congressional race, here's an observation about the big money on the Republican side.

It certainly helped Matt Shaner, getting him known in a positive way in the 16 counties past Centre.

He got 18 percent overall and barely lost to Glenn Thompson. But he did lose -- all because of Centre County, his home base.

I received tons of Shaner mail at home, so I know he spent well in Centre County. Others certainly sent out mail, but only Derek Walker seemed to top Shaner and that's understandable since he needed to reach out get known by Centre Republicans.

But Shaner couldn't come close in Centre, despite the spending, and it's worth looking at who got elected and what they brought to the table.

Thompson and Mark McCracken on the Democrat side bring years of public service. They've been elected, they've served, they're serving. Thompson has made a lot of friends as county chairman.

Shaner has not served. He worked for a few months with U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum in Congress. He has not been elected, has no track record, and voters clearly were looking for that.

The spending gave him a great chance in a sprawling district. But some public service attached to his name wouldn't hurt and might counter other stuff.

School board? Municipal government? County commission?

Seems like that should be the starting point. It's worked for a lot of politicians.

Washington, where are you?

I'm sure I speak for a few of you in saying it's time -- high time, way past time -- for Washington to get off its collective butt and deal with the gas price situation.

Go ahead, say they pay high prices in other countries and you win. But in this country, right now, daily increases -- and twice a day increases like seen today -- are going to hit struggling people hard.

Hard-working people will have to make choices, and it's time Washington confronts it.

Bush, Pelosi, other leaders. ... What are you doing down there? Maybe you might talk to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or even John McCain for some ideas. They're the ones talking to people these days.

And better yet, maybe you should pay for your own gas? Get out that credit card in the nation's capital.

Rallying around the party chairman

Centre County Republicans didn't have a chance to weigh in on the spirited presidential battle on the other side, but they had their own election day voting task.

Decide among the nine Republicans for the 5th Congressional District seat, and decide particularly if any of the three home county candidates should get the vote.

The three -- Glenn Thompson, Chris Exarchos and Matt Shaner -- could divide the all-important county vote, allowing another candidate to win the nomination, some feared.

That didn't happen, clearly, as Centre County Republicans rallied around their party chairman, Thompson, giving him enough of a lead to overcome any deficit in the sprawling district.

He won big in Centre, by 3,200 votes over Matt Shaner, who finished last among the locals in Centre County GOP voting.

That was the difference for Shaner, and for Thompson, and Thompson has a great chance to go to Washington.

Read our coverage today, and look for a county-by-county vote chart and more converage tomorrow.

A lonely voter

Somehow, I picked a time to vote when there was no line and there were no supporters of candidates outside.

In fact, I was the only voter at 2:30 p.m. at Foxdale, my State College precinct.

How could this happen? Well, I usually vote late but this time listened to the county's suggestion to vote before 4 p.m. and avoid a rush.

And I picked a time that was well after the steady stream that kept Foxdale elections workers busy until 11:30 a.m. They're wondering what the pace will be later, after the slow afternoon.

We're wondering too.

Remember to make time to vote. The polls will stay open until 8 p.m.

Web traffic soaring

Web traffic is going up like gas prices, helped this month surely by the Pennsylvania primary and this past weekend's Blue/White game.

We topped 500,000 monthly unique visitors last night, marking the earliest we've hit that figure in any month.

It continues a streak that started in January of months over a half million uniques, and April could stand out when it's all over. It could be the first month on CentreDaily.com with 600,000 or more unique visitors.

Stay tuned, and of course thanks for reading us online.

Pennsylvania and change

Barack Obama, by his own admission, is going to fall short in Pennsylvania, and I'm predicting it'll be by 7 percent.

Not bad, because he never really had a great shot.

Sure, he energized so many voters, but it all comes down to one thing you have to know about Pennsylvania. I've lived here a good long time, so I can tell you this: The state's residents do not embrace change.

Nope, not here in Pennsylvania. Change? It could be a four-letter word in this state.

You only have to look to Harrisburg to know this. This state's voters keep electing and re-electing the same people, often the next generation of a family, because it's comfortable that way.

We had some turnover in the legislature in recent years, but largely it's more of the same, and this year 47 percent of legislators are running unopposed. That will make it easier on Pennsylvanians, actually. They won't have to think about voting for change.

Want to look away from politics and elections? Let's do so. We have 501 school districts in this fair state and thousands of municipalities, all doing the same thing and finding it more costly.

Consolidate? Merge? No, not here. Occasionally it does happen, but mostly you don't even talk about it. Fat chance, never happen. Residents, not to mention elected officials, don't want any part of it.

There are other examples, many of them, all pointing to the same thing: We don't embrace change. We don't even walk toward it.

And this Democrat race comes to this: Obama is all about change, change and more change. And Hillary Clinton? Yeah, she wants change, but Pennsylvanians know her. She won't bring too much change, they reason. They don't know Obama and they fear his change.

That's what it comes down to, in a nutshell. It's a tough state for Obama for this reason, and non-Pennsylvanians should know this.

Be sure to vote on Tuesday.

Fighting cancer

I was pleased to share young Garrett Safir's poem to grandma in Sunday's printed column.

It's wonderful and inspiring and should be read by anyone fighting a battle against cancer or knowing someone waging a fight.

It's not often that we share poetry, but when one like this arrives we certainly do.

Thanks to Roger Hummel for passing it on, and best wishes to Carole Hummel.

Our voters' guide

Our voters' guide came out last Tuesday, in plenty of time for voters to read and review.

It can be very helpful on election day, giving you a full rundown of the candidates on the ballot for all races.

Here's a link to it for your reference.

Role reversal

Blue/white weekend veterans will share my amazement, and enthusiasm, in pointing out how the best weather came on game day.

It was perfect, and it was followed by a day of cool rain here in Happy Valley.

This year, again, fans got a break, and 73,000 piled into Beaver Stadium for the annual spring day of optimism.

I hope you enjoyed our coverage, and congratulations to our fans and tailgate of the game. Look for that feature to continue this fall, and don't hesitate to nominate yourself or your friends.

Nothing like having your name in lights for something you love to do.

Paterno and the media

Penn State is planning a course on Joe Paterno and the media, and yesterday's Paterno exchange with Patriot-News reporter Dave Jones is probably worth one or two classes.

Here's Jones' column, recounting that exchange.

Ask what you will, but don't expect any recognition of the issue you even present. Not to mention answers.

I will say Paterno did a great job in the announcing booth again during blue/white. He's funny and engaging and it's clear he could do that when he decides to leave the sidelines.

But answering questions that fans ask, posed by reporters -- that's not for Paterno. It's none of your business, anyway.

Hillary follows Bill, Chelsea

This race is tightening up, you can feel it and you can see it in the polls. You sense the small-town sound bites didn't shake it up, really, and you're glad the Philly debate mercifully ended.

The stretch run will be interesting, and it's no surprise that Hillary Clinton is stopping right here in Happy Valley.

I didn't expect her to choose the same spot as Bill Clinton, but I did expect the visit because Hillary Clinton has to spend quality time in central Pennsylvania.

She can't afford to take it for granted, and she'll get good mileage out of stopping in Happy Valley just two days before the vote.

Western and Northeastern Pennsylvania may be in her corner, and Philly in Barack Obama's, but the rest of the state is in play and she needs a big win.

Obama will train it across the state, so a visit here is unlikely. His supporters have great energy here, and no doubt they'll put on quite an Obama tailgate tomorrow at Beaver Stadium.

This one is going down to the wire, it appears, and they're watching Pennsylvania from coast to coast. It's quite a different scenario that a typical Pennsylvania primary. Enjoy it.

Slick mailings add up

Yesterday's mail at home was interesting. Slick mailings from several candidates in the 5th Congressional District race, of course written before the recent developments.

I've been getting mail from the big money Matt Shaner and Derek Walker campaigns throughout, but yesterday brought more of a representation.

Chris Exarchos had a strong mailing including a letter to voters, explaining his experience and asking for their vote.

Walker's mailing drew my attention, because it featured an endorsement from former state Sen. J. Doyle Corman.

Walker's the best candidate, Corman said, just like state Sen. Joe Scarnati, the Senate president pro tempore from Jefferson County, said earlier in the day.

Other candidates were represented in the mailbox, including state Rep. Scott Conklin who hopes to win the GOP nod too and run unopposed in the fall.

Slick mailings all. I can't wait to see the next round.

Timing is everything

Let's see, the DA just finishes his investigation of an August 2007 incident less than a week before the election.

Yep, he had the last two interviews on Wednesday.

The charges came today against Derek Walker, just five days before the election for Congress.

Timing is everything, we always say, and we certainly have some questions about the timing here. Perhaps you do too.

Mike Joseph and Pete Bosak broke the story online, and heavy Web reading followed. Look for our full coverage on Friday and consider the timing for yourself.

A third show 'courage'

As expected, few candidates took time to fill out the Project Vote Smart "Political Courage Test."

I wrote about it in a previous column and today our editorial reports the results.

It's really ashame that candidates in Pennsylvania largely ignore this, which is simply meant to share their views with voters. I encourage voters to check out what candidates did send in, and hat's off to the four 5th District Congressional candidates who took the time.

Four out of 12, a whopping 33 percent took time to share their views on issues with voters.

I'd like to hear why the eight no-shows didn't fill it out. They're welcome to call me at 231-4640 and I'll let readers know why they didn't have any courage this time around.

Just in time for Blue/White

Just in time for Blue/White weekend, we have higher gas prices in Happy Valley.

No big deal, right? It's everywhere.

But $3.45 is an all-time high and it is coming just before tens of thousands descend on Happy Valley.

Just has me wondering. I appreciated the comments at the debate last night, because it's about time the government gets off the sidelines in dealing with this. An energy policy is needed desperately, and some watchdog attention should be placed squarely on this gas price situation.

Spring at Penn State

You know it's spring when ...

You might think the answer is 60-degree temperatures, which we've been having, or blue/white weekend, which is straight ahead.

But the real answer is protests at Old Main, and yesterday we had round two (or is it 12) of the sweatshop protests.

You can read about it here and I applaud the students for making their point, in previous protests. I also notice that Penn State has answered it.

But now we have spring and that means what we saw yesterday, on one topic or another. This year we've been interrupted by the election, but surely there's more.

Old Main no doubt is ready.

Alum's good news

Chip Minemyer, former CDT colleague, received good news that's worth sharing.

Minemyer moved over to the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat as editor about four years ago, and he's obviously doing a fine job.

The Tribune-Democrat was just named newspaper of the year in its ownership group, Community Newspaper Holdings.

The company, based in Birmingham, Ala., recognized the Tribune-Democrat's work on flood anniversary coverage and more, and it's a great story of a local guy and a great friend doing well.

Glad to share it here.

Cell phone takes a hit

Photo intern Catrina Rawson was in the way while simply doing her job and shooting the action of the Bellefonte-Philipsburg-Osceola game.

She was hit on her left hip pocket by a ball, and the impact destroyed the cell phone in that pocket.

She's fine and talking about the day she became part of the game, and the dangers of shooting photos. You just never know.

Here are her photos linked with Guy Cipriano's story today.

Residents deserve better

State College residents deserve better than the school board's behavior last night.

Should we put up a tent and charge admission?

This is about adults, and I'm not talking about one side or another or one personality or another. Adults should know how to behave in a public forum and if they can't figure it out they should visit their own schools. Perhaps the teachers and students can prepare a lesson plan.

Get over it, ladies and gentlemen. Focus on business and act like adults.

Power of Drudge

What do online readers look for on a Sunday?

The Drudge Report, apparently.

The state briefs on our Web site ended up linked on Drudge Sunday morning at about 10:30 and stayed there for about 24 hours.

The result: 139,000 people read that story, most coming from Drudge or another Web site linking the story.

Of those, 99,000 visited on Sunday, giving us 187,000 page views yesterday. That ranks second as a traffic day only to the day after Penn State's three overtime victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

Amazing numbers, and they even stand out on our Web site which has topped a half million unique visitors for three straight months.

Our unique count so far in April: 350,000.

Thanks for reading us, no matter where you're coming from.

Pre-election plans

Our plans for coverage this week were outlined in my column today, linked here.

Be sure to get Tuesday's edition of the Centre Daily Times for a special On Centre section, led by nearly five full pages of a voters' guide.

Turning 7

My niece, Cassidy, officially turns 7 today and she's excited about her party at the gymnastics center. So excited, past Christmas excited.

It's actually birthday No. 4, as she says, because we started the whole thing with a party in March when we visited Colorado. 

That kicked it off, and it's been fun, fun, fun.

I have to thank places like Wal mart for stocking up on Hannah Montana and "High School Musical" stuff. It was easy shopping this year.

She's online a lot working on math programs and visiting the Disney site. Maybe she'll find this blog.

A cool 7.

And, by the way, if you're still interested about that previous post about permission slips for photos, let me say that Cassidy's first grade class had them signed right when school began. It is possible.

Clowns but no kids

You'll see photos in Saturday's Centre Daily Times of clowns visiting Easterly Parkway Elementary School on Friday.

So cool, a visit by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's finest.

So cool, except you may wonder why no kids are visible in the photos.

Photographer Chris Weddle was told not to include kids in the photos. Come on in, but don't take photos of the kids. That was the principal's message.

That is the message often in State College, where the district does not offer parents a chance to sign permission sheets to authorize photos of their children early in the school year. Some other districts do this, but not State College.

So it's left up to the building principal to help or not to help, and in the clowns' visit there was no help.

I bring this up because this is a constant with State College, and readers wonder why we don't photograph this or that. Readers point out things happening in the schools, and occasionally teachers do.

But readers have no idea what roadblocks are in place for photographers just trying do their jobs, and readers are left to say the paper doesn't care.

Think back to the homeless community set up outside State High. A reader tipped us to that. The school didn't want us, but the photographer went anyway since it was outside and the kids really wanted to share what they were doing.

In this case the photographer waited for an hour and a half in the school office while parents were called and asked permission if their child's photo could run in the paper.

The story and photos got tremendous response, from all over, from people applauding the students. Those people would never know the roadblock set up to cover it.

I offer all this only to perhaps spark change -- or at least consideration of change. State College residents want their students to be highlighted. Does the district?

Peterson's pick

What does U.S. Rep. John Peterson's endorsement mean for G.T. Thompson and the eight other candidates in the wide-open Republican race for the 5th district seat?

It means Thompson vaults to the level of the big-money candidates, Derek Walker and Matt Shaner.

I've been waiting for Peterson to weigh in, because it's not like incumbents to leave without trying to put a stamp on the seat.

Peterson's popularity is up given his stance against the Interstate 80 tolls. He started the whole federal opposition, you recall.

Peterson's timing in endorsing matches our thinking that voters just really start tuning into a campaign around this time. I'll write more about that Sunday in my printed column and tell you about our upcoming politics coverage.

It will be interesting to see how much Peterson does for Thompson, and what kind of impact that has.

This race just got more interesting on the Republican side, so stay tuned. And follow it all on our 5th district page if you missed anything.

Weekend best bet

It's a big weekend in Happy Valley, with music and events.

I want to highlight one event as a best bet, rare for me. But allow me to applaud John Sanchez and everyone who helps to bring Native Americans here for a weekend for the fifth annual "New Faces of Ancient People" powwow. Be sure to read John's column in today's paper.

This is a wonderful event at the Mount Nittany Middle School, and I look forward to it every year. Of course I shop and try the fry bread and Indian tacos, and I also admire the Native Americans as they participate in a traditional event.

It's amazing how many tribes are represented here, and believe me you'd have to travel for another powwow like it. I've been to the Red Earth Festival in Oklahoma City three times now, and that's perhaps the biggest of all. I've also been to other major Native American events, and let me just say it's great to have one in Happy Valley.

Hope you can visit, and consider a drive a week before Blue/White weekend if this interests you. It's special.

Decisions, decisions

Jon Eich is the chairman of the board of the Centre County commissioners but he just can't vote on whether to house out-of-county inmates here.

Just can't do it. He's torn.

So his colleagues are left on their own, and fortunately decisions by the three-man board haven't ground to a halt. Steve Dershem and Rich Rogers agree on this issue so it passes 2-0.

Eich was elected to make decisions, as were his colleagues. Is he waiting for a task force report or a community survey on the out-of-county issue? I think not.

The issue here really isn't this one issue, but let's look ahead. Will Eich abstain on something else? And what will it be?

Decisions, decisions -- they're tough for elected officials. But when you're elected, you have to make them.

Let's hope county government doesn't stall waiting for one person to make a decision.

Questions, questions about politics

We're two weeks out from the election and as you'd expect I have questions about politics.

Here you go, in no particular order:

-- When will U.S. Rep. John Peterson weigh in? I have trouble believing that he's going to let nine Republicans run for his seat without supporting one of them. Peterson could sway this whole thing, I think, if he gets involved. He started the whole anti-toll push on Interstate 80, you know. These candidates didn't.

-- When will Hillary Clinton visit Happy Valley? Come on now, she can make it to Montana and not come here? Calling Hillary: Your Pennsylvania lead is shrinking. Might you visit the heartland to greet the loyalists?

-- Will Barack Obama return? Should he return to remind the students who are clearly supporting him that they must vote. Yes, they must, if he has any chance to win a state he shouldn't win. How about a return appearance?

-- Will voters see past the money and the ads in the 5th district Congress race? Two candidates are outspending the others. Will voters look past that to choose the best candidate, perhaps even one of the spenders?

-- And finally on this Happy Valley Tuesday, will State College council tackle gas prices? They're going up and up, shouldn't council resolve something to help the motorists? Council is in deep angering the public about a bike path. Seems opposing gas price hikes would be a popular thing.

Those are just a few of many politics questions. We'll see if we get any answers.

Penn State's black eye

Daily Collegian readers were greeted with three Page 1 stories today about football players in trouble.

We have those three stories packaged here online, with disturbing detail concerning Chris Bell's alleged threat toward another player in a campus dining hall. Coaches broke it up.

Bell is thrown off the team, we now know, in a move that had to be made quickly.

Penn State will get national attention today regarding all of this, here in early April. Is that what the Nittany Lions need?

We've had two incidents involving groups of players last April and last October, and of course charges are still out there on those. We have the Austin Scott case, the incidents involving Andrew Quarless, and now today's news about Chris Bell.

Am I forgetting any?

These off-the-field incidents take away from Penn State's on-the-field mission, and it seems it should be top priority to stop these from happening.

Blue/white is coming and there's reason for optimism, isn't there?

Pay it Forward begins

The statewide "Pay it Forward" campaign sponsored by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association has come to Centre County.

Linked is my printed column for details.

This campaign is generating goodwill and great ideas for good deeds around the state. I'm looking forward to what will come here.

Think about it and share your good deed idea. Perhaps all of our readers will read about it at some point.

Reporter moves on

Adam Smeltz is in the process of moving to New Jersey, and today's printed column salutes him for such fine work for the Centre Daily Times.

Smeltz is a young journalist beyond his years, and it showed in his coverage of Centre Region and university issues.

He will do well anywhere, and it's great to see him stay in newspapers.

Mission of public schools

The next Public Issues Forum comes Thursday, and today's paper features the different viewpoints on the topic of the mission of public schools.

Here's the full content for Web readers.

Join in an online discussion prior to the forum, and try to attend to share ideas on a most important topic.

A Cincy fan

Perhaps I should be upset that Delta is dropping the Atlanta route from University Park Airport, but the only time I intended to use it the flight was canceled.

That was in February when I joined a group taken by van to Pittsburgh for a flight to Atlanta.

I too have flown to Atlanta from Harrisburg, and I'll do that if necessary now.

I'm a big fan of Delta's Cincinnati flight, so any improvements to those planes will be applauded.

Cincy remains the best airport for me to fly through, and perhaps you agree. Let's hope Delta follows  with positive changes.

Like one of yesterday's posters I had a flight to Atlanta scheduled and rebooked just a day before the announcement this week. My flight was set for November, so there was plenty of time and availability to get me through Cincy.

Now, how about a US Airways' Pittsburgh flight? How about it?

Candidate profiles on the way

The 5th district congressional race is front and center in today's paper, featuring Mike Joseph's coverage of the Centre County League of Voters debate.

Issues were covered, and we applaud the 10 candidates in attendance.

There are 12 candidates in all, and you'll meet them up close soon as we present profiles.

Following that, we'll have a voters guide co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters, and we intend to publish it earlier than usual on April 15, a week before the primary election.

Of course our Tuesday question-and-answer forums will continue, thanks to the candidates, as will day-to-day coverage of this fascinating, wide open race.

Ranking first among my questions:

Will U.S. Rep. John Peterson throw his support to one of the candidates? In a nine-member GOP field, that could be the major development of the primary campaign. Stay tuned.

Video watching

A few videos have taken off in Web viewing here on CentreDaily.com, namely the Barack Obama rally video and the same-sex ceremony video.

Both were produced by Penn State senior and part-timer Sara Ganim, with assistance from photographer Chris Weddle.

They'll still online linked to the stories,linked above. Take a look if you'd like.

Video is still a new element here but you can post your own in our video player and you should look for them when you visit. In March they accounted for 6,251 total plays, and with the way Web traffic is going I'm sure that will rise monthly.

Hope you enjoy them, and remember to share your best with us. If you can't navigate the video player on the home page, send a note or send the video to cdtonline@centredaily.com.

Soaring past 500,000

Web traffic has been soaring, with some thanks to Barack Obama's big rally and the return of Penn State football news.

CentreDaily.com ended March with 530,000 unique visitors, making it three straight months over that half million benchmark.

That's lofty territory for us, and we thank you.

April is off to a strong start, helped of course by football fans anxious to see Stephfon Green play a game. Blue/white is coming, just wait.