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Ohioans 18-20 will need to take approved driving course

Editorials

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

Editorials

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

Editorials

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 Rather than outdated and intimidating goals that might throw a young person off track, the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge would let students pick their own activities and ...

Acton rolling out endorsements with Ryan’s candidacy looming

Columns

With Democrat Tim Ryan on a self-imposed Sept. 30 deadline to decide if he’s going to run for governor, Amy Acton, the lone declared Democrat for the position, is rolling out endorsements. The endorsements, including some locally, likely won’t impact Ryan’s decision. But it’s an effort to show Acton has support and isn’t going anywhere, even if the former 20-year congressman, who used to represent the Mahoning Valley in the U.S. House, enters the gubernatorial race. It’s no coincidence that the endorsements started coming out right after it was initially reported Aug. 12 ...

Smart housing policy builds strong rural communities

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: Senator Moreno is right about one thing: expanding homeownership is essential for Ohio’s future, especially in rural communities. During my time on Wellsville’s City Council and Board of Education, I saw how a home provided more than shelter. Families who owned their homes put down roots, contributed to the community, and gave their children the stability they needed to succeed in school and beyond. But families can only build that kind of stability if the housing market itself is built on solid ground. We learned the consequences of weak foundations in 2008. ...

This weekend is for all the workers

Editorials

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 ...