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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. electricity—the one sector that affects all consumer industries in some way—is also racing upward. America’s electricity costs have jumped 32% in just the past five years. That’s a major problem for our new digital economy. Why are electricity prices rising so rapidly? Soaring power demand—particularly ...

Communities keep momentum in fight against addiction

As we begin 2026, I am filled with optimism for the progress Ohio is making in the fight against addiction. Across our state, communities are working together to save lives, support families, and restore hope. This year, we have both the responsibility and the opportunity to build on that momentum. This past year marked a turning point for the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, the nonprofit organization created by our state’s leaders to manage and invest 55 percent of the funds received from the national opioid settlements. Through its first cycle of regional grants, the Foundation awarded ...

Acton, Ramaswamy running mates play vital campaign role

In Ohio, the lieutenant governor doesn’t have many responsibilities. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the latter leaves office. Also, the second-in-charge is usually a sounding board for the governor and if the governor chooses to, that person can be appointed as an administrative department head. If the governor doesn’t want anything to do with the lieutenant governor, the latter can spend most of his or her time collecting a paycheck and nothing more. But selecting a lieutenant governor running mate is always a big deal even though the most important quality that ...

Late-arriving ballots will not be counted

Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican responsible for overseeing elections in Ohio, often says that in this state “it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat.” Yet Republicans continue to follow President Donald Trump’s lead by restricting voting despite the minuscule instances of fraud in Ohio. The latest law, approved Nov. 19 by the General Assembly and signed Dec. 19 by Gov. Mike DeWine, requires all mail-in ballots to arrive at county boards of elections no later than the same day as the election. Before that, voters had to have their ballots postmarked by the day before ...

AG Yost highlights 2025 human trafficking wins

Reducing the demand for human trafficking remained a top priority for Attorney General Dave Yost in 2025, as evidenced by task force successes and changed lives. Following is a press release from his office that we present as a guest column today on criminal activity we should all be aware of and on the look out for during our day-to-day lives: “Our message is simple: Don’t buy sex in Ohio,” said AG Yost. “Every time we arrest a trafficker, raid an illicit massage parlor or free a victim from a tormentor, we move closer to the day when no human is bought or sold in our ...

Wrinkles can be brought on quicker with UV light exposure

Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published Nov. 14, 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 local Visiting Angels office in Salem 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 ...