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Ohio State Fair ranks with the best in nation

Editorials

Other states may have well-known state fair attractions — North America’s largest traveling Ferris Wheel in Wisconsin, or Big Tex in Texas, for example — but there’s nothing that matches Ohio’s most famous attraction. Sculpting has already begun on the 2024 butter cow, in addition to a butter calf and other sculptures to be unveiled. There’s more to our fair than that, though. This year’s fair runs July 24-Aug. 4 at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fair Grounds in Columbus. It has been showcasing the best of Ohio agriculture and providing entertainment for fairgoers since ...

Innovation hub could be a driver of change

Editorials

Ohio development officials keep coming up with ideas purportedly designed to support the kinds of innovation (and employers) that will keep our economy growing and diversifying. Last week, Gov. Mike DeWine announced another such project, with the launch of the Northwest Ohio Glass Innovation Hub, at the Owens-Illinois campus in Perrysburg. It will be, as a WTOL report put it, “a place for industry and academia to come together.” With more than $31.3 million in state funding and more than $10 million matched by local companies, the possibilities are exciting — not just for ...

These numbers should be troubling for Ohioans

Editorials

Numbers tell a story, and a recent batch of numbers should be raising some eyebrows. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says both initial and continued unemployment claims increased in the last week of June. In fact, initial claims increased by 725 from the previous week, for a total of 5,879 initial unemployment claims files. Continued claims for that week were at their highest level in two months — the 8-week average is 39,377 continued claims filed. Meanwhile, Ohio’s unemployment rate for May was higher than the national average, at 4.2%; and the labor force ...

Johnson’s resignation led to a series of moves

Columns

Republican Bill Johnson’s Jan. 21 resignation from the U.S. House put in motion a series of moves during the past few weeks that led to the election of his replacement and the appointment of two others to state legislative positions. Also, those two Republican appointees won’t have to run in a primary and when Democrats select a state Senate candidate on July 16, that person will go straight to the ballot as the party’s nominee without a primary. While we’ve seen candidates appointed by political parties before without a primary, this is the first time there will be three in ...

Lawmakers should push through House Bill 230

Editorials

House Bill 230 is now on its way to the Ohio Senate, and lawmakers should give careful consideration to the measure, which would, among other things, authorize law enforcement to collect saliva from those suspected of driving under the influence of drugs. The saliva would be used in a rapid test that would help an officer determine next steps — similar to the manner in which a Breathalyzer is used for checking blood alcohol levels. “They can do a swab of your mouth, test your saliva, and get an immediate result to know if you’re under the influence of drugs or not,” said state ...

Citizens of Ohio serve notice to Redistricting Commission

Editorials

Members of Ohio’s Redistricting Commission were served notice earlier Monday that ordinary Ohioans have had enough of the mess the commission purposefully made of our voting districts. According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, the group Citizens Not Politicians managed to collect more than 731,000 signatures to prove the point. The effort was aimed at getting an amendment to the Ohio Constitution placed on the Nov. 5 general election ballot, which would replace the commission with one made up of citizens rather than politicians. According to a report by the Ohio Capital ...