Joyce Davis

Harrisburg

Opinion Editor at The Patriot-News

Opinion Editor—PennLive

Articles

Penn State Harrisburg hosts event honoring people working for a better community and a more enlightened world | Column

1 week ago | pennlive.com | Joyce Davis

Marc Kline has served members of Temple Ohev Sholom as interim rabbi for almost three years, but he will soon be leaving to enjoy retirement on Florida’s sunny shores. Harrisburg’s Jewish community will assuredly feel his absence, but so will many others in our region. Rabbi Marc Kline accept the 2025 Torch of Global Enlightenment Awards during ceremonies at Penn State Harrisburg on May 22.Russell W. GoodmanIn his short stay here, Rabbi Kline has made a mark on the Harrisburg community.
Could Leo XIV be the first African American pope? His New Orleans roots say yes | Column

2 weeks ago | pennlive.com | Joyce Davis

People all over the world are still celebrating the transformation of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost into Pope Leo XIV, but none more so than Catholics in Pennsylvania and Louisiana. The new pope graduated from Villanova University in the suburbs of Philadelphia with a degree in mathematics. Philadelphia can lay a valid claim to helping shape his intellectual formation. But New Orleans may have an even greater claim – it helped shape his roots, and they are decidedly African American.
If you think things are bad now, remember what the 1960s were like | Column

3 weeks ago | pennlive.com | Joyce Davis

If you think times are tough now for those who believe in justice and civil rights, you need to visit the Susquehanna Art Museum to see the “Tribute to the Civil Rights Movement: Quilted Swing Coats by Patricia A. Montgomery.”In the SAM’s beautiful, sun-lit lobby, you’ll learn little-known stories about people in the Civil Rights Movement that will leave you gasping, all artfully depicted on 60’s-era swing coats.
Forum to reveal the impact of Washington upheaval on PA families | Column

1 month ago | pennlive.com | Joyce Davis

There have been cataclysmic changes in Washington, with thousands of federal workers losing their jobs, upheaval at the Department of Health, destruction of the Department of Education and dismissal of heralded generals at the Pentagon. All of this is being felt in Pennsylvania or will be very soon.
Cedar Cliff students go to Washington and make all of Pennsylvania proud | Column

1 month ago | pennlive.com | Joyce Davis

Four students from Cedar Cliff High School went to Washington last week and made all of Pennsylvania proud. In fact, they made history, defeating teams from throughout the nation, including from the great state of Texas that had dominated the competition for at least five years. Understand, this was no ordinary wrestling match.
Americans must save the voices dictators fear most | Column

1 month ago | pennlive.com | Joyce Davis

Three revered American institutions are under siege and may not survive. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFERL), Voice of America (VOA) and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) are all on the DOGE chopping block, and their demise could be a knockout punch to democracy movements worldwide. I know these organizations well. RFE/RL and VOA work as sister organizations to fight dictators and promote democracy around the globe.
Pennsylvania’s mothers and grandmothers took to the capitol to defend democracy, and they’ll be back | Column

2 months ago | pennlive.com | Joyce Davis

Updated: Apr. 07, 2025, 5:26 p.m.|Published: Apr. 07, 2025, 5:19 p.m.One thing was noticeable about Saturday’s “Hands Off” protest in Harrisburg. It wasn’t a bunch of screaming teenagers taking to the streets. Most of the people holding up hand-made signs and chanting were middle-aged people and older – including a good many mothers and grandmothers. Some hearty protestors rolled up in motorized scooters and wheelchairs, oxygen tanks and all.
Despairing at the state of the nation? Here are three reasons not to

2 months ago | pennlive.com | Joyce Davis

Updated: Mar. 26, 2025, 3:08 p.m.|Published: Mar. 26, 2025, 3:07 p.m.Joyce M. Davis, Outreach & Opinion Editor. July 23, 2024. Sean Simmers | [email protected] SimmersJust when you think there’s no hope for the world, something happens to prove you absolutely wrong. ICE may be sowing fear and threatening to break up families throughout the nation.
He could not abide injustice: Karl Singleton’s death leaves a void in Harrisburg | Social Views

2 months ago | pennlive.com | Joyce Davis

Anybody who knows Harrisburg had to know Karl Singleton. And if you knew nothing else about Singleton, you knew he was committed to doing his part to uplift the poorest communities in the city. Singleton exuded confidence and strength. If he was in a room, everybody knew it. That’s why many of his friends and colleagues are still trying to come to grips with his sudden death Friday at the age of 52.
You don’t have to gamble to have fun in Las Vegas, but you can’t avoid the smoke and slots | Travel Views Mobile

2 months ago | pennlive.com | Joyce Davis

Updated: Mar. 16, 2025, 8:01 a.m.|Published: Mar. 16, 2025, 8:00 a.m.No, that's not Venice. It's the Venetian Resorts in Las Vegas, among the city's best hotels, with luxurious rooms and great restaurants all within an easy walk. You can even take a gondola ride, complete with singing gondolier.Joyce M. DavisSo here’s the million-dollar question: Can you enjoy a few days in Las Vegas and never touch a slot machine? Can there be any fun excitement outside of the blackjack tables and roulettes?