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Lawmakers need to serve voters

It is not just federal elected officials who have dropped the ball for their constituents as they got tired of pretending to work on our behalf before their holiday break. In Columbus, necessary change was avoided when Senate Bill 271 and House Bill 263 failed to advance, stalling the effort to reform property taxes. Nearly everyone agrees something must be done to protect taxpayers. But that knowledge has not translated into any sense of urgency. “I’ve talked to so many of our seniors, and sometimes crying over the phone, regarding this property tax issue,” state Sen. ...

There’s plenty to look ahead to as 2025 arrives

With the beginning of every year comes a sense of hope and the feeling that the future ahead of us is at least a little brighter than the past that is behind us. That’s the case as we say farewell to 2024 and welcome 2025. We see that there are plenty of positive things on the horizon. Construction work continues at the site of Form Energy — the Massachusetts-based company is looking forward to opening a manufacturing facility that will produce specialty batteries on former Weirton Steel property in Weirton. Full production is scheduled to start later this year at the ...

Our lives remain touched by many

It’s likely that you lost a cultural icon who meant something to you during 2024, whether from the world of science, politics, the arts or sports. Whether they helped to keep us informed; entertained us on stage, on film or on television; whether they dazzled us through their accomplishments in athletics; or whether they helped to change the course of the world, each reminded us about the importance one person can make on many lives. Two of those who died in the past year helped to entertain us in many different ways, but a couple of characters portrayed by Dabney Coleman and ...

No excuses for impaired driving

New Year’s parties are about to get under way, and it is a good time to again remember not to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking or using any impairing substance at one of those events. National statistics offer a sobering look at the dangers of driving while impaired. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 13,524 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2022. And, NHTSA adds, 32 percent of traffic fatalities involve drivers with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or higher. Breaking those numbers down even more, NHTSA reports ...

Time for action on rail safety

“This is why people hate Washington.” Outgoing U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, had good reason to speak his mind last week when lawmakers dropped the ball on the Railway Safety Act. Inspired by the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine on Feb. 3, 2023, the act would have enhanced existing rail safety regulations and added mandates such as reducing train lengths, shortening the distance between hotbox detectors on freight lines, notifying local officials in advance of trains carrying hazardous cargo and a minimum two-person crew on every locomotive. But, as reports ...

Another attempt to limit our rights

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has been a champion for police departments throughout his career, working to secure more funding, better equipment and more training for departments across the Buckeye State. He also was a huge factor in helping departments across the state acquire money to purchase body cameras for officers, which have protected officers — and also the public. Now DeWine is the last, best hope that a higher level of integrity can be maintained regarding government transparency in Ohio. Lawmakers, in the late hours of the last days of the 135th General Assembly, approved ...