The small plane that hit a helicopter and crashed into the Hudson River last weekend, resulting in the death of nine people, included casualties with local ties.
You've likely read about it in our Nation & World section.
Three members of the Altman family from the Philadelphia area - pilot Steve Altman, 60; his brother Daniel, 49; and Daniel's son, Doug, 15; - were on the airplane.
The Altmans own Hollidaysburg Manor, an apartment complex off Brush Mountain Road in Hollidaysburg.
Based in Philadelphia with properties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, the Altman Group bought the local complex, which has 194 units, in 2004.
"The Altmans were wonderful to work for," Patti Raugh, community manager of the Hollidaysburg Manor, said. "They were very kind to us. Steven and Daniel never acted like they were above us - they were part of us. We were always a team. Everyone here is just so sorry."
Byline history
In going through some old editions of the Mirror recently, I was intrigued by the lack of credit that was given to reporters and photographers.
So, of course, I consulted our resident reporting historian, Phil Ray.
It was the early 1970s when Ray caught up with a subject who was walking across the country and was passing through Altoona.
Former City Editor Charlie "Cubby" Rothrock liked the story so much, he put Ray's name at the top of it.
"That was my first byline," Ray, who started at the Mirror in 1967, said. "From then on, they decided the person who wrote the story should have their name on it. But it was rather slow in developing."
Ray let out one of his hearty, newsroom-echoing laughs.
"Plus if people had a complaint about the story," he said, "they'd know who to call."
Inquiring photog
We received a question about why the answers from those pictured in our "Sunday viewpoints" don't necessarily match up to the sentiments of those responding to the poll on altoonamirror.com.
Fair enough.
First, the photographer
doesn't go out with an agenda. Second, he might not even know the Web poll results. Sometimes, the pictures are taken early in the week, before many have weighed in on the subject.
The photog's job is simply to supply quotes from those willing to have their pictures taken, which isn't always easy depending on the topic.
To that end, it's almost like two different polls - one visual, one anonymous - on the same subject.
School notes
The annual homeroom listing section will run Tuesday.
School lunch menus will no longer be listed in the Mirror or on altoonamirror.com. We feel it's too labor intensive to process that information, given that it's available from each school and typically brought home.
Readers need us for a lot of things. What's on their kids' lunch menu, we're pretty confident, is not one of them.
Football fever
Football is in the air, and the Mirror will welcome the season with our annual tradition of three preseason tabloids - college (Aug. 29), high school (Sept. 1) and the NFL (Sept. 10).
Maybe this is the year I'll be invited to watch a Steelers game at the Gallitzin Moose.
Mirror Managing Editor Neil Rudel can be reached at 946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.
