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Ohio Republican officials are inept

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: Since 1992 the Republicans in Ohio have had 26 trifectas. This means that one political party holds majorities in both chambers of the state legislature (Senate and House of Representatives) and the governor’s office. The Democrats have had none. Ohio has had a few years of a Democratic governor and a few years of a Democratic majority in the House but they did not occur together. So we can safely thank the Republicans for Ohio ranking #36 in the country, making it one of the worst states to live in (according to a study conducted by US News and World Report in 2024). ...

Lawmakers must be all on board with rail safety

Editorials

In Ohio alone, residents received two reminders last week that rail safety reform is still desperately needed. On Wednesday a federal judge approved a $600 million class-action settlement for those affected by the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023. A day before, residents of Whitewater Township, Ohio, received an evacuation order after styrene began leaking from a Central Railroad of Indiana railcar. Styrene, which is both toxic and flammable, is carried in tank cars. A pressure release valve on the tank began to vent styrene, prompting crews to spend ...

Why are so many choosing to be their worst, not best?

Editorials

U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., could not have proved two points more handily last week if he had tried. First, he proved the spreading of vicious lies about an immigrant community in Springfield, Ohio, has indeed led to the kind of hostility that puts those people (and their entire community) in danger. Second, he proved even those we should be able to hold to our highest standards are willing to once again publicly shout their racism and hate. They believe they have been freed of the shame of doing so. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, Higgins was facing calls for ...

Cold feet could be sign of circulatory problems

Local Columns

Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published on May 1, 2021. 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 ...

Republicans gain edge in Ohio Supreme Court races

Local Columns

Before the 2022 election, Ohio Supreme Court justice candidates ran in partisan primaries and then had their party affiliation removed for the general election. Of course, the parties backed their candidates, spending money building them up and sometimes attacking their opponents. But without affiliation on the general election ballot, numerous people weren’t aware of who was a Republican and who was a Democrat. We can talk about judicial philosophy, but voters largely decide who to support in these races based on party affiliation and name recognition. Republicans, who control ...

Ohio GOP prioritizes religion not students

Editorials

In the absence of a viable, fair and constitutional school funding formula in Ohio, state lawmakers have decided instead to focus on manipulating the language of the state constitution to allow them to spend taxpayer dollars where THEY want to spend. A look at school funding by Columbus TV station WCMH shows more than $5.5 million in tax money is being used to support renovation projects at private schools, in part because of their link to the state’s education voucher program. WCMH reports there is funding in the form of grant payments for 11 private schools, hidden in the ...