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Letters to the Editor

To the editor: After recently listening to a radio talk show, I’ve come to the realization that indeed there is a solution to the problem of our nation’s diminishing population growth, i.e., couples are not reproducing at a rate necessary for sustaining healthy growth. Many young people don’t want to raise a family at all. A lady, a caller to the show, claimed she was making more by staying at home and accepting welfare checks than she otherwise would by joining the workforce and putting in the 40 hours. It was about $800 a week, or something like that. “Why should I ...

Musk’s American Party could be interesting

Local Columns

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is about to form a new third party after announcing his plan on the social media platform X, which he owns. It is registered with the Federal Election Commission and is expected to focus on two or three U.S. Senate races and about eight or 10 House seats in the 2026 election cycle. Heading up DOGE and wielding a chainsaw as he slashed one government program after another, Musk, before his fallout with President Trump, was dubbed the first buddy after pouring millions into Trump’s campaign war chest. In the previous elections, he had supported ...

Interesting numbers

Local Columns

Among the things that happen when you are away from your desk for an extended period of time is that there is a lot of mail and e-mail that needs to be sorted out. There were several interesting items delivered to the office during the last couple of months, including some annual reports. Like every similar submission, they offer a lot of information about things that are happening around us. Among those was the annual report on Ohio’s concealed-handgun licenses, which offers some insight into our region. State Attorney General David Yost’s report on the gun licenses showed ...

Restore the power of the patent to win tech race

Local Columns

The United States is falling behind in the global race for technological leadership. China now leads the U.S. in 37 out of 44 critical technologies. This includes fields that will define the future, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing. If we’re serious about keeping pace with China, we must restore the legal foundations that once made America the global leader in high-tech innovation. That means passing legislation like the bipartisan RESTORE Patent Rights Act. By strengthening inventors’ ability to stop the proven theft of their ideas, ...

Energy concerns grow across Ohio

Editorials

The high temperatures and humidity that the Tri-State Area has experienced during the past several weeks has led to many households cranking up the air conditioning and using plenty of electricity. And when you combine household need with that of Ohio’s industrial energy consumers, you reach the point where PJM Interconnection is advising the strain on our electrical grid may be too great. “At the current pace, we are projecting a shortfall of energy,” said David Souder, executive director of PJM operations, according to a report by WBNS-TV in Columbus. In fact, Souder said ...

25-Year Club tradition lives

Editorials

While the facilities of the Weirton Steel Corp. and its successors that once dominated downtown Weirton appear to be no more, that doesn’t take away from the history and traditions for which they stood. That includes an annual picnic where longtime steelworkers gather to reconnect and relive their experiences as they contributed to the building of America and the rest of the world. The Weirton Steel 25-Year Club has existed for more than 75 years, and, for much of that history, has organized a picnic for employees and retirees with at least 25 years of service in the local mill. ...