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Ohio lawmakers owe it to taxpayers to address EdChoice

Editorials

Lawmakers who never bothered to complete the phase-in of Ohio’s Fair School Funding Plan, or update data that could have helped more equitably fund the state’s public schools, are now also operating with the knowledge that their beloved EdChoice voucher program has been deemed unconstitutional by an appellate court. (Interim state Attorney General Andy Wilson has already said he plans to appeal that ruling to the 6-1 Republican majority Ohio Supreme Court.) If their consciences weren’t already being prodded by the knowledge that they abandoned fair school funding, and that an ...

West Branch's future depends on levy approval

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: On Nov. 3, residents in the West Branch community will have the opportunity to support our local schools by voting “for” the five-year permanent improvement levy. This levy, if passed, will generate funding that is much needed to provide upgrades for our school buildings and grounds. These upgrades include purchasing security cameras, emergency alert lanyards, and a paging system. Further upgrades include improving the fire suppression system and making asphalt repairs to parking lots. All of the upgrades will meet the safety requirements that ...

Ohio has some work ahead to avoid looking foolish in book bans

Editorials

School book ban trends come and go, but there are always groups of people who want to keep their children from having access to reading material that might expose them to new ideas or, worse, ask questions. The problem is particularly bad in Ohio, which ranks third among the states in PEN America’s study of school book bans for the 2025-26 school year. The free-expression advocacy group counted 117 instances of school book bans in the Buckeye State during that period. Only Texas and Florida were worse. Across the country, 11,982 books — 7,370 unique titles — were banned in public ...

Is Ohio for sale?

Letters to the Editor

Dear editor, I just saw where the GOP is pulling financial support from some races in other parts of the country so they can dump millions more into Ohio’s races for Senate and Governor. Billionaires have spent millions on this race. Why?? And What is all the money spent on? I suppose much of it’s spent on the hundreds of TV ads that bombard our prime-time watching. These ads are not fact-checked. They are full of nasty fear-mongering, intended to fire up the “culture wars”. There is little about policy. What will these candidates really do for Ohioans should they get elected? ...

Mahoning County sheriff must answer for rally assault

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, On Monday, Oct. 12, a woman attending the Trump rally at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown was assaulted by fellow attendees. Video shows her shoved to the ground, punched, and dragged by her hair. Her offense? A shirt reading “Release the Epstein Files.” Youngstown’s mayor condemned the attack and confirmed security was provided by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office. Yet Sheriff Jerry Greene now says no arrests were made — because, he claims, the woman did “not claim to be assaulted” and his department needs a complainant to file a case. That excuse ...

Guidelines monitoring Ohio's Medicaid need continuous enforcement

Editorials

A recent review of Ohio’s Medicaid enrollment by state Auditor Keith Faber’s office found plenty of people enrolled who should not be receiving benefits – and it is not perhaps the group of people some low-aiming politicians hope you would expect. According to a report by The Center Square, the audit found 3% of Buckeye State residents receiving Medicaid benefits have more resources than allowed. In fact, “several” of those people are millionaires. Further, Faber’s office reported more than 3,000 people receiving state Medicaid benefits are dead. Ohio spends approximately ...