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45 years, six days and still counting

Editorials

(First published Oct. 7, 2024) Isn’t it amazing? How you might forget where you placed, say, your car keys just minutes ago but can vividly recall a single moment from decades ago? Such an instance for me was actually a first professional moment for me: getting my first byline as a daily newspaper staff member. The name Bob Lewis would strike a memory for only the most avid of golf historians. He was the 1978 Ohio Open champion. I interviewed him at the Salem Golf Club in August that summer — having just been hired as a part-time sportswriter for the Morning Journal. Dang, my very ...

The Perry Township Annexation Fiasco: Answers

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: Reading the questions placed by William Hupp in his inquiry to you, brought to my mind that famous editorial entitled “Is there a Santa Claus?” There is similarity and my editorial follows his very pertinent concerns that need to be addressed. No, Bill, it’s not a vendetta but a land-grab by way of several schemes based on a mindset that it would gain a legacy by recognition. Is it a two-part phase? No, more like a three-part phase to cause confusion development with township trustee involvement. It was first developed in the early 1980s in the mindset office of ...

Million-plus Ohioans are living below poverty line

Editorials

Ohio residents don’t have to be reminded, but research from the Urban Institute might help elected officials and policymakers remember a significant number of their constituents are struggling with economic insecurity. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, the institute updated its 2023 research with help from U.S. Census Bureau data to look at “income fragility,” and other factors here. For example, the cost of average rent, groceries and daycare for two in Ohio is more than $55,000 per year. That means even those who aren’t sitting at or below the official ...

Ramaswamy proposes Ohio universities consolidation

Columns

Asked about his goal to eliminate the state’s income tax, Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican front-runner for governor, proposed consolidating Ohio’s universities. It was a curious response. Ramaswamy said: “The reason (eliminating the income tax is) possible is that you look at certain areas of excess spending where we can not just cut costs, but improve effectiveness. Look at the number of universities in our state. I love the universities in Ohio. I want us to have the best universities. But we have too many of them. They need to be consolidated. And when you consolidate them, ...

Vivek Ramaswamy needs to tread lightly on Threads

Editorials

Social media platforms can tempt politicians into hyperbole that doesn’t always match reality. It can tempt anyone to do that. So, Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy can perhaps be forgiven for wondering on Threads whether it is possible to eliminate the state income tax (the real question is, if we do, how do we pay for everything?), and suggesting the Buckeye State’s colleges and universities should be consolidated. “Look at the number of universities in our state. I love universities in Ohio. I want us to have the best universities,” Ramaswamy said, ...

Lauds mayor, council for stepping up

Letters to the Editor

To the editor, In a recent article stating, “East Liverpool Council Discusses How Best To Use Cannabis Funds To Benefit City,” it was interesting to note one suggestion was to control vegetation along the highways at key entrances to this city. Initial perception —of anything —is critically important. Anyone coming to the city for the first is going to see the unkept entrances and think: “Oh, my!” Council member Brian Kerr stated that Mayor Bobby Smith said many times that these monies should be used for tangible improvements. Tangible means, “something than can ...