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Guest column/God bless America: A clean, unmistakable message

The State of the Union delivered a clear and unmistakable message: America First. When we put our country first, we are at our strongest. President Donald Trump outlined key priorities of the America First agenda — priorities I have been working to advance for years. One of the most important issues raised was the crushing cost of health care. As the president said, he is confronting “one of the biggest ripoffs of our times.” I couldn’t agree more. That is why I spent more than two years fighting the healthcare cartel to pass the Hospital Price Transparency Act in Ohio. This ...

Guest column/Ohio led the way on term limits, it must do so again

On Friday, Americans observed Term Limits Day, marking the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the 22nd Amendment, which limited presidents to two terms in office. It is a moment to celebrate a rare act of constitutional restraint — and to remember that Ohio played a central role in making it happen. In 1951, after decades of informal tradition and following Franklin Roosevelt’s unprecedented four terms, the nation decided that no president—no matter how talented or popular—should remain in power indefinitely. Ohio understood this truth clearly. Our state became the 13th ...

Part of the community

Shannon Tirone wears a lot of hats in her job at Youngstown State University. Her official title is associate vice president for university relations, which includes work with the school’s marketing and communications departments, alumni relations and even its public radio station. For the past several weeks, though, her assignment that has had the most importance to residents of our area is serving as project manager of the transformation of the former Eastern Gateway Community College building along Sunset Boulevard in Steubenville’s West End into Youngstown State University ...

Guest column/Re-thinking private property rights, projects

As of Feb. 12, the Trump administration revoked the 2009 Endangerment Finding that classified carbon dioxide, methane and four other greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and welfare. Trump and his EPA director Lee Zeldin declared climate change a “hoax.” If carbon dioxide is no longer a threat, why are we are spending billions of tax-payer dollars to capture emissions? As Ohio’s Republican lawmakers are moving forward to pass carbon capture and sequestration bills, HB 170 and SB 136, Republican lawmakers in other states are having second thoughts about CCS bills that ...

Guest column/Setting the record straight: Ohio is growing

Recent headlines have suggested that Ohio’s population is destined for long-term decline, citing projections from a state development report that rely heavily on birth and death rates. While those demographic trends matter, they tell only part of the story and overlook one of the most important drivers of population growth: Economic opportunity. The reality is that Ohio is growing, and it’s growing because people follow jobs. The analysis in question focuses on natural population change (births minus deaths) but does not fully account for domestic migration, particularly the ...

We need to teach our children how to live

There is a quiet wisdom in the way a child watches the world. Their eyes are wide and not yet clouded by the cynicism of adulthood. Their hearts are constantly open, always believing in a way that most of us have forgotten how to do. Questions come tumbling out of their mouths like marbles spilled across a hardwood floor. But for some reason, we tend to take that precious innocence for granted. Instead, we spend so much of our time hurrying them toward the next milestone in life. We are continually preparing them for standardized tests, college applications, their future ...