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Let’s hope Congress takes up animal protection bill this time

Editorials

Back in 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that made animal cruelty a federal felony. The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act included penalties for the crime ranging from fines to up to seven years in prison or both. But PACT, it seems, was lacking teeth — or those in charge of giving it teeth lacked a sense of urgency. U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio 14th, has his heart in the right place, in once again introducing legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Justice to establish an animal cruelty crimes section and “to vigorously pursue ...

Common sense should trump free markets

Letters to the Editor

To the Editor: I believe in freedom and thus free markets, but I also believe in common sense. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) allowed pharmaceutical companies to start advertising prescription drugs on TV in 1997. Big Pharma calls this direct marketing; I would call it stupid and wasteful spending. In 2020 they spent $4.58 billion on TV advertising for products that you are not able to buy unless your doctor writes you a prescription. If you have to tell your doctor what to prescribe for you, then I suggest you need to get a new doctor, not a drug. You have probably noticed ...

Civics 101 briefing

Letters to the Editor

To the Editor: Civics 101 briefing. Washington D.C., state, county, and township governing entities and an overlooked body of elected representatives significantly affect your daily life. Every county in Ohio has, as defined by law, namely the Ohio Revised Code 3517.03, a county Central Committee being the controlling committee elected by you, respective to each major party. Each county’s distinct voting precinct district citizens elect one representative. Under its authority are its officers, formed Executive Committee, and sub-committee(s). The Central Committees’ primary ...

Broadband internet no longer a luxury, it’s an urgent necessity

Editorials

While Bill Johnson was serving Ohio’s 6th district in Congress, he tried twice — in 2021 and 2023 — to introduce legislation that would help Americans (particularly those living in rural areas) have easier access to broadband internet. His successor, Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, has taken up that mantle and has again introduced the Wireless Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act. It may be an uphill battle, as others have also tried. U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., introduced the same bill in 2024 after Johnson resigned. None of these efforts ever left ...

Food banks need our help now to handle a cut in state funding

Editorials

As part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget proposal, food banks across Ohio could see a significant reduction in the amount of state funding they receive. Most of this is due to the loss of what had been a one-time $7.5 million appropriation in the previous budget. But that decrease has food bank organizers worried. “It’s about 3.4 million Ohioans who live in households that are under that income limit (200% of the federal poverty line),” Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, told the Ohio Capital Journal. “SNAP in Ohio, there’s only about 1.5 ...

Political gains and what is best for Ohioans not always the same

Editorials

State lawmakers are going to have to start making difficult decisions about where they want to gain political points and where they want to do better for Ohioans. The two goals are not always reached by the same path. Continued economic uncertainty, rising food insecurity and proposed changes at the federal level to programs such as the Community Eligibility Provision mean hundreds of thousands of students could be at even greater risk of being hungry throughout their school day (and beyond). But a bill proposed by state Sens. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Twp., and Kent Smith, D-Euclid, ...