×

Columns

Changing political parties has become commonplace

With the changing political climate in the Mahoning Valley, it didn’t come as a major shock that Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Cynthia Westcott Rice, a longtime Democrat, switched political parties and filed as a Republican. But after pledging her allegiance to being a Republican, ...

Checking out the Valley’s court of appeals elections

Tired of losing courts of appeals and Ohio Supreme Court races, Republicans changed the rules starting with the 2022 election — and have largely benefited. The Republican-controlled state Legislature passed a law in 2021, which took effect with the 2022 election, requiring party affiliation ...

Congressional candidates facing struggle to defeat incumbents Rulli, Joyce

Those challenging the two incumbents who represent the Mahoning Valley — U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge, and Michael Rulli, R-Salem — face tremendous odds to beat them. Defeating a sitting member of the U.S. House is very difficult. With the power of incumbency comes name recognition ...

Carbon monoxide poisoning: The silent killer

EDITOR’S NOTE: This column was originally published March 21, 2020. Thanks to breakthroughs in medicine and nutrition in recent years, we are living longer than ever before. But this increase in life expectancy also brings an increase in the number of diseases, injuries and impairments that ...

China’s stranglehold on critical minerals is now a national crisis

In the 1970s, when OPEC halted oil shipments to the United States, Congress established a “Strategic Petroleum Reserve.” It was an emergency measure to stockpile oil against a future crisis. Now, 50 years later, the United States is building a new strategic reserve. With China repeatedly ...

Next frontier is building digital assets framework

Ohio has a long history of producing people who attempt what others insist cannot be done. When two bicycle mechanics from Dayton argued that human flight was possible, the response was fear — warnings about danger, disorder, and defying nature. When an Ohio inventor promoted electric light, ...

When to see a podiatrist

Let’s face it — our feet sure take a beating over the years. For seniors, those daily miles really add up, and sometimes, trouble sneaks up before anyone notices. Ignoring those aches, odd tingles, or slow-healing wounds can land us in hot water faster than you’d think. So, when is it ...

DeWine regrets he signed sports gambling legislation

While Frank Sinatra sang about “regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention,” Mike DeWine was quick to mention his biggest regret during his seven years as governor: signing the bill to legalize sports gambling. In a 60-minute interview earlier this week, DeWine said: ...

Sizing up state election, most Democrats face uphill battles

Despite a history of losing in Ohio, Democrats say they are optimistic about this year’s election. A Democrat has not won an executive branch race for state office since a 2008 special election for attorney general. That came two years after Democrats had remarkable gains in the state, ...

Can the U.S. solve its electricity crisis?

As America moves into 2026, consumers are looking for relief from an ongoing “affordability crisis.” While prices for some key items have mercifully held steady—or even come down—other costs such as rent, dining out, and hospital visits continue to climb unabated. U.S. ...