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For the sake of development, lawmakers need to re-energize

As the most obvious economic development in Ohio is data centers and server farms — necessary, but not exactly providing a lot of jobs while they place a greater burden on our energy infrastructure — lawmakers are looking for new ways to make sure those hungry facilities get all the electricity they need. The growing demand is creating the possibility of energy shortages, prompting lawmakers to come up with energy efficiency and energy generation ideas. “Until we get new baseload built, there is still not enough energy,” state Rep. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, told the ...

Vaccines remain a big part of our health care

As political chatter raises questions about vaccines and legal requirements for them, some news close to home should remind us of their importance. According to the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department, a measles outbreak was confirmed in the county on Aug. 29. Three children from the same family — all unvaccinated. And while those children are reportedly improving at home, the health department’s task now is to work with the family “to identify and follow-up with any exposure and contacts, and help where needed.” The Ohio news made its way into a report by the ...

Ohioans 18-20 will need to take approved driving course

Get ready. At the end of this month, Ohio drivers aged 18, 19 and 20 will be required to take an approved driver training course and complete 50 hours of driving practice supervised by a licensed adult to get their driver’s license. This is training that is already in effect for those 16 or 17 years old, but it may come as a surprise to older new drivers unfamiliar with the “Class D” training, which must be completed before a driving test can be scheduled. Gov. Mike DeWine has been working to find ways to improve driver safety in Ohio. “We know that somebody who’s had ...

Senate Bill 64 would put some bite into animal protection laws

Twelve years ago, the Mahoning Valley took center stage in a successful statewide movement to significantly strengthen Ohio’s lame animal abuse laws. In the summer of 2013, Gov. John Kasich signed Nitro’s Law, named in memory of a Rottweiler that had been starved and neglected along with many others at a kennel in Youngstown. Notably, it marked the first time in history that Ohio would raise animal abuse and neglect to its rightful place as a serious felonious crime. In the intervening years, however, it has become painfully evident that Nitro’s Law — and several other ...

Tressel leading the way in motivating Ohio’s children

Ohio is getting ahead of the game in terms of student fitness with a new plan from the lieutenant governor. The Team Tressel Fitness Challenge for students in grades 4-8 is a program developed by Jim Tressel — who has some experience in keeping students fit and healthy. “If we can add just a little better fitness and health, it will make us that much better,” Tressel said last Monday. His idea is a solid one. Rather than outdated and intimidating goals that might throw a young person off track, the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge would let students pick their own activities and ...

This weekend is for all the workers

Many will be enjoying a long holiday starting today as part of the Labor Day weekend. A real nice four-days off stretch to mark what many folks consider summer’s end. Labor Day once marked the end of traditional summer including back-to-school and the start of fall sports such as high school football. But not so much any longer. Schools have been in session, local swimming pools are closed for the season and school sports are well underway. Autumn is coming soon. With it comes the gorgeous colors of changing leaves, chills in the morning and evening airs, checks of our home heating ...