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Brown, Vance find common ground

When Republican Rob Portman represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate, there weren’t many national issues where he and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, found common ground. There were some, such as supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia and the infrastructure bill. But the two worked well together on issues important to Ohio. It was uncertain whether Brown would forge a similar relationship with Republican J.D. Vance, who succeeded Portman. After all, Vance said he opposed the infrastructure bill and questioned U.S. help for Ukraine. Brown, a liberal, and Vance, a ...

Derailment and its aftermath bring politics to East Palestine

The well-being of East Palestine residents after a horrific train derailment and attempts to get the Columbiana County village back to some sense of normalcy should be top priority. But the Feb. 3 derailment and aftermath that included releasing toxic chemicals — and the response to the issues — has turned this situation into a game of political gotcha for some. It’s also resulted in politicians on both ends of the political spectrum pointing fingers at each other. East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway told the media Feb. 22: “We’re a small community. We don’t want the media ...

Redistricting? DeWine has no choice about it

When it comes to redistricting, Gov. Mike DeWine is clear he wants nothing to do with it, but the fact is he has no choice. DeWine sits on the seven-member Ohio Redistricting Commission that will convene at some point this year to approve state legislative maps and possibly a congressional map. The state Legislature gets the first opportunity, if it chooses, to create a congressional map. The redistricting commission consists of five Republicans — DeWine, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Auditor Keith Faber and one appointee each from the Ohio House and Senate — as well as two ...

Ryan’s new position brings controversy

Former Congressman Tim Ryan’s new job as a member of the two-person leadership council of Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future, an organizations that promotes natural gas as clean energy, raised eyebrows from some environmentalists and fellow Democrats. Dave Scott, a former Sierra Club president, tweeted in response to the decision: “Tim Ryan has done a lot of good things for working Ohioans. This is a sellout of Americans’ future. Read the science. There’s no feasible path to the cuts we need that includes investment in new gas. Gas means carbon and a lot of it.” Others ...

Looking for a little bit of hope

Recently someone spoke of hopelessness after the mills closed and the effects on the residents of Jefferson County. The remark took me back to the late 1970s and early 1980s in Columbiana County. The tumble of the region into depression – economic, emotional and psychological – came back to me in full color. Families were torn apart. Men who were used to supporting their families, suddenly, were unable to find any job that would support their families. Difficult, difficult, times in an area that had always been prosperous. Hopelessness was all around. And it still is. Men ...

Questions remain over the arrest of reporter

My newsroom staff and I spent much of last week working with our sister newspapers in Columbiana County covering the devastating train wreck in East Palestine that threatened people’s homes, health and even their lives. Every day — every hour, really — something new developed in what very likely someday could become the script for a blockbuster movie. We reported rapidly the developments, repeatedly adding new Breaking News posts at www.vindy.com. Like the entire community, we held our collective breath when crews worked to rid the twisted rail cars of deadly chemicals that easily ...