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Put public notices where they will be seen the most

New mandates buried deep in the 6,198-page state budget bill passed June 30 by Ohio legislators will remove some requirements that local government post official notice of public projects and business in the newspaper of record. The move is just the latest assault by Ohio legislators in its ongoing barrage against government openness and transparency. This latest assault comes in the form of new law that takes effect Tuesday, softening rules that previously required municipalities to publish in the newspaper details of the public’s business. Until now, Ohio law ensured local ...

Ohioans should be proud of earthworks in our state

Angkor, in Cambodia; The Great Wall of China; Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo; the Pyramid Fields in Egypt; Chichen-Itza in Mexico; Stonehenge in Great Britain … and now, the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in southern Ohio. All are United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage sites, deemed among the human cultural and natural heritage sites that are “irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.” The network of ancient Native American ceremonial and burial mounds is described as “part cathedral, part cemetery and part ...

Marsy’s Law is already bringing darkness to Ohio

When we start picking and choosing what the public may know about crimes or the work and actions of their local police departments, where does it end? It is a slippery slope and, frankly, the public’s right to know always should trump privacy issues. Ohio’s Legislature must act quickly to make changes to a new law intended to protect victims’ rights, but that, undoubtedly, will close doors on transparency of crimes and limit information about what is happening in neighborhoods that the public absolutely has the right to know. A sweeping piece of victims’ rights legislation ...

Add dental care to services some school districts provide

While we press teachers to do better in educating our children and preparing them for the real world, Ohioans are also expecting schools to fill nearly every other role for some kids, too. Schools are their safe haven, the place where they will be fed — maybe even get the shoes or warm coats they need, the place where they might be able to speak with a counselor, visit the school nurse or go back to the locker rooms for a much-needed shower. Advocates are pushing for schools — especially those in poorer and rural communities — to be a place where those students can receive dental ...

It’s about time Biden got involved with EP

It took long enough, but it appears President Joe Biden has finally decided to get involved in the mess made by Norfolk Southern in East Palestine. On Thursday, Biden issued an executive order that federal agencies must continue to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the derailment that has interrupted the lives of residents in those communities. He still, however, has not declared the incident a disaster. While the bulk of Biden’s order was essentially “keep doing what you’re doing,” it did establish the need for a Federal Emergency Management Agency recovery coordinator ...

Bad Columbus Police behavior needs fixed

Whether the problems at the Columbus Police Department are the quality and number of recruits, training, policies, culture or all of the above, ordinary citizens continue to suffer. Just a few days ago, Columbus Division of Police Detective Demetris Ortega pleaded guilty in a fatal hit-and-run crash, and admitted he had been drinking heavily before the tragedy. Back in February, the U.S. Department of Justice recommended reforms for the department after a two-year review of scandals ranging from how officers handled protests against racial injustice to deadly officer-involved ...