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Bellaire seems on right track after rough patch

If the acrimony that surrounded Bellaire Village Council and Mayor Robert Dodrill late last week and earlier this week is what led to the conciliatory tones that group ultimately took with each other, then the earlier chaos might have been worth it. Dodrill shocked his constituents last week by announcing he would resign as mayor just three months after taking the oath of office, following former village fiscal officer Ginny Favede out the door. Among the reasons he offered were concerns over the village’s finances with the previous administration, as well as a feeling that other ...

Affordable housing must be fixed in Ohio

Affordable housing remains a challenge for Ohioans — and that challenge only grows as rent puts a greater strain on an increasing number of households. According to the 2026 Gap Report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, there are 422,098 extremely low-income renters in the state, and 73% of those report spending more than half their income on rent. That is an increase from 66% only five years ago. “For people at the bottom of the pay scale, rent is gobbling up most of their paychecks. But this report shows the rent ...

St. C. helping its own

It’s always good to see communities come together when one of their own is in need. The way that folks in St. Clairsville have rallied for police officer Greg Clark is a shining example of that. Clark recently was life-flighted to WVU Medicine Ruby Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia, after suffering a medical emergency while on patrol. St. Clairsville Police Chief Matt Arbenz told city council this week that he, recreation director Eric Gay and Mayor Kathryn Thalman are organizing a steak fry benefit to help Clark and his family with his recent medical bills. That benefit is ...

Douglas a wrestling legend

There are so many ways to describe what Bobby Douglas meant to the world of amateur wrestling. Legend. Icon. Pioneer. Champion. All are true. So it’s important to understand just what the amateur wrestling world and the Ohio Valley lost with Douglas passing at the age of 83. Here’s a person who hitchhiked to West Liberty for classes and slept in a dorm attic because he couldn’t afford room and board, who became an NAIA national champion and NCAA national runner-up before becoming the first Black Olympic wrestler, an Olympic team captain, a collegiate coach who won an NCAA ...

Communication needed

The federal government last week announced a $33 billion natural gas plant that it said would be the “largest natural gas generation project in the world.” The proposed site would be near Portsmouth, Ohio, a city not too far from Huntington, West Virginia. That, somehow, was news to the mayor of Portsmouth. “I wasn’t privy to these discussions,” Portsmouth Mayor Charlotte Gordon told The Center Square. “I started calling some of the people I thought should know and they didn’t know.” That also, somehow, was news to Gov. Mike DeWine. “We do not have any ...

Big business in Ohio

Good news came this week out of the U.S. Commerce Department, which says Japan is planning to fund three projects totaling approximately $36 billion in the coming years — one each in Ohio, Texas and Georgia. According to Reuters, this is the first wave of investments in the planned $550 billion reportedly pledged as part of a trade deal with the U.S. The Ohio project is expected to be a $33 billion natural gas-fired power plant in Portsmouth — perhaps the largest ever, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Reuters reports Lutnick said the plant would have a 9.2 ...