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Lawmakers should do the right thing

Ohio lawmakers have an opportunity to do the right thing, now that Secretary of State Frank LaRose has sought an opinion that resulted in a letter to Ohio Democratic Chair Liz Walters last week. In the letter, LaRose’s office told Walters about an “apparent conflict in Ohio law,” according to a report by ABC News. The Democratic National Convention is set to convene Aug. 19. The deadline to certify a presidential candidate in Ohio, for placement on the November ballot, is Aug. 7. “I am left to conclude that the Democratic National Committee must either move up its ...

Press forward on rail safety

In a victory for rail safety, a new federal rule has been finalized, which will require major freight railroads to maintain two-person crews on most routes. It is wonderful news. But lest anyone become too encouraged that Congress has finally gotten itself in gear on rail safety reform proposed after the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, this new rule was first proposed during the Obama administration. Once the new rule was announced, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg offered a reminder that a country like ours should not be satisfied with the average of nearly ...

Ohio takes another step in drug fight

Ohio is working at every angle to attack the substance abuse epidemic that continues to grip our region. A recent change could make a big difference in the way we think about (and therefore, react to) drug overdoses. For many of us the overdose data with which we are familiar involves fatalities. That doesn’t give us the whole picture. Now, a change approved by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review will require emergency departments to report non-fatal drug overdoses to the Ohio Department of Health. As Gov. Mike DeWine put it, this is a way to do better to “address the ...

Organ donation still important

April is National Donate Life Month, and that offers a reminder that it’s important to consider registering as an organ donor. It’s likely you know someone who has received a transplant, whether it was a heart, a liver, a kidney or a cornea. And while those operations can be life-saving, the sad reality is that 103,801 people in the United States are waiting on transplants. Of those, 58,789 are active waiting list candidates, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Included on those lists are just under 10,000 people in our region, the Health Resources and Service ...

Book challenges concerning issue

If the pen is mightier than the sword, it makes sense that those who are afraid of ideas, questions and critical thinking have chosen libraries as their battleground. According to a report by Axios, the American Library Association says that fight is intensifying across the country. In Ohio, there was an increase in the number of book titles challenged between 2022 and 2023. Last year, there were 40 formal complaints filed in the Buckeye State, challenging a total of 235 books, based on library association data. By contrast, in West Virginia — where much has been said about the ...

Patience a must in bridge work zone

The barrels have officially returned to the Veterans Memorial Bridge (though some never left) following the announcement of yet another lengthy maintenance project on the span. It’s a scene we’ve become accustomed to during the last few years, but this time there is an additional complication as the W.Va. Department of Highways also has closed the exit ramp leading from the bridge to state Route 2 south. According to the official announcement, the work is scheduled to run through May 31, but these maintenance projects have been extended by days and even weeks in the past, ...