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Aging Ohio population needs all of us to step up

Elected officials and policymakers in Ohio have plenty to work on in the coming years. We talk a lot about the loss of population, but there’s a follow-up to that: The Buckeye State’s population is shrinking AND aging. Data projections show that by 2040, the percentage of residents 65 or older will rise to 25%, while the percentage of those 85 and older will make an even more significant leap. This is not just an Ohio problem, of course. “For the first time in our nation’s history, we will have more older people than young children,” Ursel McElroy, director of the Ohio ...

Youth should consider skilled trades market

Those who have the opportunity to spend time with younger family members over this holiday break may be tempted to ask questions such as “What do you want to be when you grow up?” or “What are you studying in college?” A growing number of employers are hoping the answer to that question is plumber, carpenter or even conveyor belt repairperson. There are so few people entering (or staying in) the skilled trades that consulting firm McKinsey predicts an estimated imbalance of 20 job openings for every one net new employee between 2022 and 2032. Employers such as Walmart and Lowes ...

New Year’s resolution: Give to the Red Cross

If your New Year’s resolutions included finding small ways to do good more frequently, the American Red Cross has some ideas for you. You — yes, you — are needed, right now. A glance at the organization’s website reveals an alert that there is an “EMERGENCY NEED for type O blood” because winter weather has caused a decline in donations. There’s even a pitch that if you donate by Jan. 4, you will receive a Red Cross long-sleeved t-shirt; and if you give blood before Jan. 31, you can earn points to be used toward rewards. Local opportunities abound. To find one go to ...

Concerns about Ohio EPA’s data centers draft permit

Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency has extended the public comment period to Jan. 16 as it considers fast-tracking a general wastewater permit for new data centers in the state. Right now, the state EPA’s draft permit includes “a lowering of water quality of various waters of the state associated with granting coverage under this permit necessary to accommodate important social and economic development in the state of Ohio.” But among the questions such a statement raises are why it is necessary? WCMH spoke to water quality advocate Amy Swank, of Dublin, who said the ...

The Biblical story of Christmas Day

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of David) to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, ...

‘Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus’

As has become this newspaper’s holiday tradition, today our editorial board once again offers readers a belated gift in the form of what we believe is the best Christmas editorial ever written. It initially appeared not in December, but in September 1897, in the New York Sun, after 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon asked her now famous question: “Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus … Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?” We believe no one has answered the question better, nor has anyone better described the spirit of Christmas. In fact, the Sun’s ...