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Lack of a solid energy plan is like cooking a frog

Last week on vacation, the resort where we stayed had a very hot, hot tub. Setting foot in the tub my first inclination was to jump out. It felt much hotter than my hot tub at home set at 102 degrees. Surprisingly, my body adapted to the hot temperature. The tub temperature hadn’t changed but it felt cooler to me. I limited my exposure time. The hot tub experience reminded me of the urban legend about how to boil a frog. If a frog is dropped into a small pot of boiling water, it jumps out. However, if the frog is put in tepid comfortable water which is brought to a boil ...

Helping our fellow human beings — whether they are homeless or not

We call them a “homeless person.” Yet even if defined by only those two words, a homeless person is not just homeless, they are also a person. Many in our community, including the City of Wheeling, seem to have forgotten that. The homeless are not faceless strangers. They are someone’s daughter, someone’s brother, or someone’s mother. In our small community, it’s likely that you know someone who is experiencing homelessness, but you don’t realize it. It could be someone from high school, someone you used to work with, a former neighbor, or even a relative. No child ...

MLK Day — a time to consider how we can change

I had not yet been born when, on April 4, 1968, an assassin’s bullet claimed the life of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. I did not live through the tumultuous era when people marched, proptested and literally fought for their civil rights. But I am grateful that they did so, and I also am disappointed that their valiant efforts have not yet yielded the results they had hoped and prayed for — equality and justice for everyone, regardless of their race, creed, gender or ethnicity. On Monday, America will pause to honor the memory of King, a Baptist minister, activist, ...

Remove the word ‘just’ from your vocabulary

This week, we are in Florida for a short vacation. I had a chance to read “Significance in Simple Moments “written by Jon Petz, a good friend, professional magician and fellow professional speaker who lives in Columbus, Ohio. In it he tells the story early in his career when he was asked to do a magic show for a sick boy in a local hospital. Jon is a really good magician. When I was in corporate and responsible for a large regional conference, I hired Jon to be our luncheon keynote speaker. He mixed magic with his message. Months later at the organization’s Christmas Party ...

Ohio voter: Why fair maps are essential for a thriving democracy

Three strikes and you’re out? The politicians in Ohio have struck out three times, and we, the citizens of Ohio, are crying foul. Strike 1: Ignoring the will of the voters and the Ohio Supreme Court by repeatedly imposing unconstitutional maps on us. Strike 2: Charging us $20 million for a desperate failed election in August to try to fool us into signing away majority rule. Strike 3: Democrats colluding with Republicans on the political redistricting commission in the dark of night to draw up and then pass even more heavily gerrymandered maps. Enough is enough. The ...

Misguided energy policy may sink America’s manufacturing renaissance

An extraordinary but little noticed economic phenomenon is occurring across the United States today. Electricity demand—which has been relatively stable for more than a decade—is suddenly surging. The U.S. economy is embarking on a literal power trip, and the pace is likely to increase. Consider that California’s major utility, PG&E, expects the state’s electricity demand to jump 7 percent in the next two decades. New York’s electricity demand is on track to double by 2050. And Virginia’s power demand is projected to jump 85 percent in just the next 15 years. Why ...