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Ohio has chance to make difference

Editorials

Ohio lawmakers are missing an opportunity to show they are capable of stepping up when federal lawmakers do not. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, there have not yet been any hearings — nor are any scheduled — for House Bill 502, “Appropriate funds for SNAP, TANF, WIC upon lapse in federal funds.” Introduced by state Rep. Latyna M. Humphrey, D-Columbus, the measure would be a safety net — similar to efforts in other states — for the nearly 1.4 million Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients in Ohio. As Humphrey points out, “Grocery stores ...

Warner delivers important message

Editorials

Imagine being 18 (or nearly 18) years old and having someone like the West Virginia secretary of state tell you that, at least in one aspect, you are just as powerful as someone like Taylor Swift or the president of the United States. That’s what local students learned when Secretary of State Kris Warner visited Brooke and Oak Glen high schools to encourage them to register to vote when they are eligible. “No one is any greater or less than anyone else. We’re all equal when we get to the ballot box,” Warner told the students gathered at their respective schools. Warner ...

New chapter opens for Hancock shelter

Editorials

A new chapter has been opened at the Hancock County Animal Shelter. Following a contract signing Friday morning, operations at the shelter, located near New Manchester, will be overseen by the nonprofit Jefferson County Humane Society, which oversees the Jefferson County Animal Shelter in Wintersville. There will be some changes as part of the transition. Humane society managers will be working with existing animal shelter staff to review the operations at the facility and finding out what works and what improvements can be made, sharing ideas and making upgrades to the shelter ...

Be involved — cast your ballot

Editorials

This year’s general election might not be generating all of the attention and big spending that the one we had last year did, but that doesn’t mean it is any less important. Voters have, in elections such as this one, the opportunity to have a real say on the level that impacts their lives the most: In municipal and township government, on school boards and with tax levies. When they cast their ballots in Tuesday’s election, residents of Steubenville, for instance, have contested races for mayor and in the Second and Fourth wards. There are contested council races in Toronto, ...

General Motors layoffs complex

Editorials

The Detroit News reported Wednesday that General Motors has laid off thousands of workers from manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Michigan. Though it is tempting to suggest the reason is purely a matter of GM’s overeagerness to catch up to the electric vehicle push, the reality is a bit more complicated. At the company’s Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Warren, there are expected to be approximately 550 cuts and 850 temporary layoffs, according to a report by CNBC. There also will be approximately 700 layoffs at the Ultium Cells plant in Tennessee. Those gleefully ...

Guest column/Electricity prices are soaring — coal is a key solution

Local Columns

Electricity bills are climbing almost everywhere, and the reasons have little to do with ideology. Three forces are driving prices higher: Massive new utility spending on infrastructure, rising natural gas costs and growing capacity shortages in electricity markets as power demand soars from the AI revolution. In some states, prices have jumped more than 60 percent since 2022. The Trump administration inherited this mess and now has its work cut out for it. The strategy the administration has embraced is built around reinforcing dispatchable power — the generating resources that ...