Allegiant Air

Headwinds can be good things for airplanes, but not so much for airports. The Hagerstown Regional Airport has suffered from so much facial buffeting over the past several years that it was about due - and deserving - of a breeze at its back. Had I been a Hagerstown airport administrator, I would have given up. That's it. I'd have gotten out of there and gone into phosphate manufacturing or something. How do we count the troubles, some self-inflicted, some beyond local control?

The federal program that provides Hagerstown Regional Airport with a $1.2 million annual subsidy for air service could be at risk. The local airport has relied on federal Essential Air Service funding since the program's inception in 1978. The $200 million national program subsidizes air service to and from communities far from large airports. On Thursday, the U.S. Senate approved a Federal Aviation Administration budget with a new parameter for the EAS program that would eliminate Hagerstown.

"If you read The Herald-Mail on Thursday, the 1st of July, 2010, you will see that all the Republicans has once again stuck it to the working man. Every one of them voted against extending unemployment benefits to the millions of the unemployed. They have done this for ... they would have all voted for it. I know that a great many of you are Republicans. If you continue to vote for these people, you are getting what you deserve. " - Halfway "I think it's a pretty sad day for our country when the federal government of our country decides to, intends to sue Arizona over this immigration law and side with Mexico.

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The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved a temporary extension of a subsidy program to help Hagerstown Regional Airport land another commercial carrier, according to Sen. Benjamin Cardin's office. The Senate and House have approved the measure, which President Bush is expected to sign, Cardin's office said in a news release. The measure would let Hagerstown Regional Airport continue to be part of an Essential Air Service (EAS) program through Sept. 30, 2009. Cardin's office said Congress is expected to pass a bill next year continuing the operations of the Federal Aviation Administration for another four years and make Hagerstown Regional Airport eligible for the subsidy program for another four years.

The control tower at Hagerstown Regional Airport is included on a list of 149 regional airport control towers that will close because of federal budget cuts known as sequestration, the FAA announced Friday afternoon. “We got the word. We didn't like the word, but we got the word,” Hagerstown Regional Airport Director Phil Ridenour said Friday afternoon. A four-week, phased closure of the 149 control towers will begin on April 7, the FAA said, but Ridenour said it might be a week before he knows where in the order of closings Hagerstown Regional Airport will fall.

Thumbs Up To two often underappreciated, long-time institutions, the Rohrersville Band and Hagerstown Municipal Band. For years, these community bands have provided beautiful music for all of us to enjoy. They are truly local treasures. Thumbs Up To ex-Hagerstown Community College and former Williamsport High basketball player Will Taylor. Taylor was offered a basketball scholarship by Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo. Good luck out West this fall, Will! Thumbs Up To Hagerstown Community College grad Holly Bonenberger, an administrative assistant at the Maryland Correctional Training Center near Hagerstown.

Tickets went on sale Tuesday for flights between Hagerstown and Baltimore in a new service from Hagerstown Regional Airport, airport and airline officials said. Cape Air will begin the flights between Hagerstown and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on March 24, said Greg Larsen, business development manager for Hagerstown Regional Airport. There will be four flights each way per day, seven days a week, Larsen said. Flights will depart Hagerstown for Baltimore at 5:30 and 10 a.m., and 3:15 and 5:57 p.m., and will depart Baltimore for Hagerstown at 9 and 11:05 a.m., and 4:20 and 7:50 p.m. Ticket prices before taxes and fees range from $39 to $67 each way, with an average of about $50, said Andrew Bonney, vice president of planning for Cape Air. The $39 rate is a special for passengers who return the same day, Bonney said.

Direct Air is ending its service out of Hagerstown Regional Airport on Aug. 21, but might come back next year, the company announced Tuesday. Direct Air started flying twice a week from Hagerstown to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Lakeland, Fla., on June 23. Direct Air's imminent departure will leave Cape Air as the only local carrier. Cape Air flies between Hagerstown and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Ed Warneck, a managing partner for Direct Air, said the airline decided that Hagerstown could be a good "seasonal market" and hopes to resume service next spring.

Some local officials and the Hagerstown Suns baseball club want to build a new city stadium, paid for by the city, county, state and the Suns. As a baseball fan, I hope this happens; a taxpayer-funded stadium would be a nice government subsidy to me. But local residents should wonder whether the Suns and I, and other stadium users, deserve it. Providing subsidies is a duty of government. But subsidies should only pay for important goods and services that people are somehow obstructed from buying or selling privately.