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Inflation, rising energy costs could squeeze U.S. families

Americans have their hands full right now. The COVID pandemic has made a major resurgence. And at the same time, inflation just hit 7 percent—the highest rate in 40 years. Some of the toughest increases are happening in energy costs. In December, gasoline prices were up roughly 50 percent from a year ago. And the price of natural gas nearly doubled in 2021, driving up heating costs and power bills.  As bad as things are, they could be worse. Energy prices in Europe have exploded, and European households are now paying 54 percent more for their electricity than two years ago—even ...

New map making draws skepticism

Now that the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Republican-drawn state legislative maps are unconstitutional, the question is: How will the Ohio Redistricting Commission, which approved the gerrymandered maps, react? Based on the questionable methods it used to draw the rejected maps, Ohioans should maintain a healthy dose of skepticism. In the court’s 4-3 decision Wednesday, it gave the commission 10 days to create fair legislative districts that reflect the state’s voting trends over the past decade in partisan elections as well as not carve up counties and communities to make that ...

Loving our children

Are you concerned about the youth in our small corner of the world? We see our youth become more adultlike, so tall, so smart, so mature. But we tend to forget that on the inside they are not so sure of themselves because they don’t have experience enough, knowledge enough, to cope with adult issues. They are looking to the adults in their lives for guidance, for wisdom, for answers to their questions, to understand the whys they can’t quite grasp. Sometimes youth are handed adult responsibilities but nobody will listen to what they say because, after all, they are still children. ...

Aging can negatively affect sleeping

Thanks to breakthroughs in medicine and nutrition in recent years, we are living longer than ever before. But this increase in life expectancy also brings an increase in the number of diseases, injuries and impairments that affect older adults. With this in mind, we at the local Visiting Angels office in Salem have created this series of articles to keep our older population and their families informed and to offer some practical advice for meeting the challenges faced by seniors and those who care for them. ——— Nothing beats a good night’s sleep. But as we get older, many ...

Johnson clearly a big favorite to remain the 6th District Rep

It was going to be very difficult for a Democrat to beat U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson in the 6th Congressional District race. But now that Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti of Poland has chosen not to challenge him, it’s going to be nearly impossible for a Democrat to unseat the six-term incumbent Republican. The only hope Democrats had of beating Johnson, R-Marietta, was finding a moderate to conservative Democrat with name recognition and the ability to raise money who has a power base in Mahoning or Trumbull, the two most-populous counties in the new district. There are ...

Wanted: Customers for life

There are unscrupulous people out there who are interested in only one thing: Money. Yours. They don’t care how long your life span is. They don’t care anything about you. They are raking in the dough. And people are dying. The University of Washington conducted some research and found that in 2019, fentanyl was the #1 cause of overdose deaths among the under-30 population in that state. That is one in four fatalities per 100,000 people. One year later, the rate had doubled, eight per 100,000 people, reports Treatment Magazine. However, the author notes that the state’s ...