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Ohio boasts impressive pro-business credentials

Editorials

Ohioans have always had an entrepreneurial and adventurous spirit. But according to a new report by CNBC, our state now has the pro-business credentials to match. The news outlet ranked the top states in the country for business in 2025 — using 135 metrics in 10 categories — and the Ohio landed at fifth. The top ten: North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana and Minnesota. The two bordering states of our readership area, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, are ranked 17th and 40th, respectively. The only category in which Ohio received a ...

Salem appeals annexation denial

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: It is highly ridiculous that Salem City Council, strongly led by Law Director Brooke Zellers and Mayor Cindi Dickey is going with yet another scheme attempt to gain township property —and this time against Judge Megan Bickerton’s accurate ruling and the accurate finding by Commissioner Michael Halleck based on the recordation of legal documents in the Columbiana County Courthouse. Perhaps the Salem city officials and their planing officer need a continuing educational course in document searching. In 1965 I was hired by the Salem City Municipal Engineer in the ...

Recognizing the impact of volunteer fire depts.

Editorials

Volunteer fire departments across our area and the entire state are experiencing reduced staffing levels at the same time they are receiving an increased number of calls. Of course, most of those who are working in those departments also have full-time jobs; and for many, those jobs are also jobs of service. That’s why the State Fire Marshal Division and Ohio Department of Transportation took a moment last Tuesday to recognize the more than 70 ODOT employees who also serve as volunteer firefighters or emergency medical technicians. The event focused on employees in ODOT Districts 5, ...

Closing the digital divide across Ohio

Columns

In today’s digital age, access to high-speed internet is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. Yet, Ohio lags behind much of the U.S. in broadband availability. According to a study last year by BroadbandNow, which collects and analyzes internet service provider plans to help consumers find and compare options, Ohio is ranked 30th among states for internet coverage, speed and availability. For more advanced services, the picture worsens. The study shows that only 34.2% of Buckeye State residents have access to 1G broadband—that ranks 47th among states. Digging down further, a ...

Don’t take the summer off from donating blood

Editorials

Disasters near and far have deepened the desire in many to help — to somehow do something amid all this suffering and struggle. In many of the hardest hit places, the American Red Cross is helping — and if we can’t be involved in those direct efforts, we can certainly do something to help that organization fulfill its mission. Part of that mission is, of course, keeping hospital shelves stocked with blood and blood products. The need for that never ceases. At the moment, the organization is asking especially for those with type O to donate blood, though all types are ...

Non-use of seat belts can be a grave error

Editorials

Seat belts. For the vast majority of us, putting on a seat belt when entering the car is second nature. But for some, apparently, the act remains optional — and that’s leading to fatal results. In Ohio over the Fourth of July weekend, 10 people died in car crashes, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Of those 10 fatalities, six were not wearing seat belts.  The issue goes deeper. According to the Columbus Dispatch, during the Fourth of July weekend troopers issued 2,286 seat belt and child safety seat violations. How is that possible in 2025? The problem is not isolated ...