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Increase in youth voting registration seen in Ohio

What wonderful news! According to data analyzed by the Civics Center, the number of 18-year-olds registered to vote in Ohio as of Jan. 6 was a 35% increase compared with late August. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, the Civics Center data shows there are more than 48,600 18-year-olds registered to vote here. Civics Center is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing voter registration. “What we typically see is that registration rates, especially for the youngest voters, can go up very significantly when young people become more aware of elections in which ...

Ohio lawmakers must stop dragging feet on marijuana

Ohio lawmakers cannot ignore the will of the people much longer. Gov. Mike DeWine was right this week to ask them to stop dragging their feet on implementing rules for legalized recreational marijuana, which voters approved more than three months ago. “What we don’t want to do is see a big black market expand in the state of Ohio with absolutely no control when people don’t know what they’re buying. So again, we need the Legislature to take action …” said DeWine, according to a report by WKRC-TV. Ohio House Bill 86 would allow recreational marijuana to be sold, and it would ...

It is time to raise expectations for law enforcement officers

Ohio residents have been bombarded in recent years by stories that indicate our law enforcement officers are not always fully equipped to protect and serve. Among the many calls for reform have been increasing the training requirements for becoming an officer in the first place. It would be a good start. After all, according to a report by the Dayton Daily News, less training is required to become a law enforcement officer in Ohio than to become a barber or cosmetologist. Predictably, there are those in law enforcement who believe making it harder to become an officer is a bad idea. ...

ODOT is on right track with automated warning systems

Ohio officials continue to find ways to make driving safer. Enforcement began months ago on the distracted driving law that makes it illegal to use or hold a cell phone or electronic device in your hand, lap, or other parts of the body while driving. Now the Ohio Department of Transportation is installing “state of the art technology” at 13 sites across the state to try to reduce serious crashes. According to a report by WKYC, automated traffic queue warning systems will be installed to alert drivers of slow or stopped traffic. “The advanced cameras monitoring live traffic that ...

Here’s hoping visit by Biden isn’t just for show

President Joe Biden has finally decided to visit East Palestine. He is set to visit the scene of a fiery Norfolk Southern derailment Friday — more than a year after it happened. Community and state officials have criticized Biden for not making an appearance earlier, and rightly so. They’ve also asked for a federal emergency declaration that still has not been made. And though other administration officials have made a few visits — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan, for example — Biden seems to have waited until he feels as though the sense of ...

News about Intel delay is jolting for Ohioans

Residents of rural and eastern Ohio were probably already steeling themselves for the news out of Intel earlier this month. After all, they have been prepared by the disappointment of one local-economy-saving large employer after another making grand promises and then disappearing. To be fair, Intel says it is not disappearing. In fact, they claim this pumping of the brakes is simply a change in timeline. Now, rather than finishing the $20 billion chipmaking project in New Albany by next year, the company says it plans to complete work by late 2026. More time for communities to figure ...