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Ohioans likely to face abortion, pot issues

As long as enough valid signatures are on petitions, Ohio voters will have two statewide issues — abortion rights and legalization of recreational marijuana — to consider on the Nov. 8 ballot. The signature validity part of the equation is often quite a task. That’s because if people who sign do so in the wrong county, aren’t registered to vote or print their names, among other conditions, those signatures are invalidated or questioned. The timing of reviewing the signatures by county boards of elections for the two issues is challenging because deadline to certify the validity ...

Federal redistricting case will affect Ohio

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision regarding a North Carolina congressional redistricting case will have repercussions in Ohio, but we still may end up with the same map the state Supreme Court ruled last year was unconstitutionally gerrymandered. That’s because just like in North Carolina, the judicial philosophy of the new state Supreme Court in Ohio has changed to align with Republican legislators. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Tuesday in Moore v. Harper against North Carolina Republicans who used what is called the “independent state legislative theory.” The theory gives ...

Late evening philosophy

Random thoughts. Do you ever have those moments when you want to say something deeply profound, philosophical? When our children were growing up there never was time for such discussions, so I broached them late at night, the husband groaning, “Why do you always want to talk in the middle of the night?” Well, basically, because unless someone woke up in the middle of the night throwing up or feverish, it was the best time NOT to be interrupted. The children are all grown up now with children and step-children of their own and these days we still don’t have profound, ...

Exposure to sun can be dangerous for elderly

Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published June 20, 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 affect older adults. With this in mind, we at the Salem Visiting Angels office have created this series of articles to keep our older population and their families informed and to offer some practical advice for meeting the challenges faced by seniors and those who care for ...

Opponents of Ohio Issue 1 score a win

Opponents of a proposal to make it harder to pass constitutional amendments scored a partial victory when the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that some language in the proposal was misleading. The Ohio Ballot Board, which has a Republican majority, wrote the language for state Issue 1 on the special Aug. 8 ballot knowing it was wrong, but refused to change it despite opponents pointing out the problems. Instead, it took a court order to make simple changes. The language incorrectly stated the percentage of electors required for a constitutional amendment, effective Jan. 1, 2024, was 5 ...

Rail safety bill is facing obstacles

The rail safety bill, sponsored by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance in response to the East Palestine train derailment disaster, is having some issues in the Senate and likely faces a roadblock in the House of Representatives. Regarding the lack of movement, Brown, D-Cleveland, told me: “I never promised you, David, or promised anybody in East Palestine that this was going to be easy. That’s certain. But I’m optimistic because so far, we’ve done it right.” The legislation was introduced March 1 by Brown and Vance, R-Cincinnati, and was approved 16-11 May 10 by the ...