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Retired justice: Democrats made missteps setting up primary

Retired Justice Supreme Court of Ohio The Democrats have been the minority party at the Supreme Court of Ohio for the better part of two decades. Now the Democratic leadership of the Ohio Democratic Party wants to extend that dry spell by engineering an unnecessary primary. They have orchestrated a divisive primary between Columbus and Cleveland and once again demonstrated they have no idea how to run a Supreme Court race. Let me explain. There are two highly qualified Democratic judges running for an open seat which could readily change the balance on the Court from 4-3 ...

Finding reality through people in local media

What were you doing this week four years ago right before we went into pandemic lockdown? Lynnda and I attended the Marietta Chamber of Commerce dinner where Shale Crescent USA had an exhibit booth. This past Monday we attended the Marietta Chamber of Commerce’s 109th annual dinner. Attendance is back to normal. The dinner is a huge local event with attendance of around 600 people. I was told only the Columbus Chamber has a larger event in Ohio. Marietta usually has an excellent keynote speaker. This year Kerry Sanders, NBC News correspondent recently retired after 32 years, ...

Faucets, pipes, leaks and finding the bright side

It can be hard, but sometimes you have to take a situation that most would consider bad luck and find the good in it. For example, a few weeks ago my husband, Mike, and I encountered a home maintenance issue that could have led to a disaster. We had the best of intentions when it all started. We bought all new faucets to install in the sink and bath tub, hoping to eliminate some leaky joints in the old faucets and improve the overall look of the room. Our water is rather hard, and all of the existing fixtures had mineral deposits built up on them, making them dull and leading to ...

States disagreed on Daylight Saving Time from the beginning

If you think the disagreements among states today regarding political issues are unique in American history, well, you’re wrong. As the nation begins Daylight Saving Time this weekend, there’s still controversy about the measure, with some states wanting none of the clock switch, others wanting DST all year round. But it’s nothing like its 20th century history or early America when there was an even bigger time bomb. In the first two centuries of the nation, each town set the time according to the location of the sun. I’m serious. What was worse, differences between ...

Do you remember where you were when the pandemic started?

Late last night I returned from a business trip to Houston where I spoke at the Global Plastics Summit on the advantages for manufacturing in the Shale Crescent USA region. I was part of a panel discussing The Changing International Dynamics of the Industry. Plastics are an increasing part of our lives, especially as we move to more electrification. An EV is now close to 90% plastic. It is ironic, four years ago this week, Lynnda and I were in Houston at a conference. We had a great business meeting and dinner with a company from Asia who is interested in coming to the Shale Crescent ...

Fun ways to get outside when the weather warms up

Spring fever is officially here. Between glimpses of warm, sunny weather intertwined with moody, cooler days, most of us are itching to get back outdoors in some way or another. After the winter weather has kept us all inside more than we’d like, it is time to get outside again. And Belmont County offers a fun activity that will do just that … geocaching! What is geocaching? It is an outdoor scavenger hunt using GPS-enabled devices, like a smart phone, to locate hidden treasures in plain sight. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to ...