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Make sure you are registered to vote

Ohioans know how important the November general election will be — and those who are eligible and registered to vote are no doubt thinking seriously about the decisions they will make. They must also be certain they are registered properly, and not about to get a nasty surprise. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has ordered county boards of elections to begin a “routine but enhanced” sweep of the voter rolls to clean out inactive registrations. “Every state is required to have an ongoing process to verify the accuracy of its voter rolls, but Ohio has the most advanced and ...

Ohio ranks second in problem puppy mills

Many Ohioans are animal-lovers. We have pets we love and do our best to take care not only of them, but of other animals when the opportunity arises. Yet too many still purchase their dogs rather than adopting from animal shelters. Puppy mills are big business here in Ohio — so much so that we are second only to Missouri on the Humane Society of the United States’ “Horrible Hundred” report this year. Twenty of the 100 problem puppy mills on the list are in Ohio. “Our report is the tip of the iceberg — as shocking as circumstances are in licensed puppy mills, there are many ...

In Ohio, there is a turn to migrants for labor needs

Political answers for handling the volume of those from other countries seeking to live in the United States are not simple. But if you ask employers desperate to fill jobs, you might get an answer similar to that from Tim Lyman, who works in a factory in Columbus: “If they want to learn, I’ll teach them.” Reuters took a look at the employment landscape for migrants in Columbus — and across Ohio — and discovered trade unions and other businesses are increasingly turning to migrants to fill labor needs. Kelly Fuller, vice president of talent and workforce development for the ...

House Bill 319 is another try at centralizing power

Ohio employers have plenty of requirements and standards for employees. As the people best equipped to understand what is necessary to run their own businesses — while keeping employees healthy and safe — policymakers generally allow employers to uphold those standards. For example, a restaurant owner who required kitchen workers to wear a hair net or otherwise keep hair out of food (and away from flame) would not be frowned upon for disciplining an employee who failed to follow that health and safety rule. A couple of Ohio lawmakers, apparently desperate for Columbus to have even ...

We should help police departments do better

Across Ohio, law enforcement agencies continue to have a hard time recruiting new officers. Perhaps part of the reason is that incident after incident shows a few in some of those same agencies are either receiving poor training or are disregarding their training — either way forcing the public to question whether they can be trusted. On April 18, officers from the Canton Police Department apprehended Frank Tyson in a bar, after he was suspected of leaving the scene of an accident. Bodycam footage released by the department shows the officers entering the bar, an altercation taking ...

Protecting victims and not protecting criminals

Slowly but surely, Ohio lawmakers are progressing in the effort to better protect victims, rather than offering protection to criminals. On Wednesday the state Senate voted unanimously to eliminate exceptions to certain sex offenses that apply if the victim is the spouse. This outdated remnant had been allowed to do damage for too long. But last November, the state House of Representatives passed a similar bill with a nearly unanimous vote. Goodness knows what state Rep. Bill Dean, R-Xenia, was thinking when he cast the lone “nay” vote. But no matter. A bill that eliminates the ...