Breaking News

Opinion

Good Ohio nature news

Editorials

Ohioans got an early Christmas gift this year, as the state Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife announced this week it can confirm the sighting of a fisher — the weasel-like animal, not a person standing in a river in hip waders — caught on a wildlife camera in Cuyahoga County. Fishers have not been seen in Ohio since about the mid-1800s, according to the ODNR, until recently. They were run out because of unregulated harvest and loss of habitat. But this latest sighting joins 40 others in Ashtabula, Columbiana, Geauga, Trumbull, Mahoning, Portage, Lake, Jefferson, ...

A reminder that everything will be all right

Columns

On Christmas Day 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem we now know as the song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Earlier in the year, Longfellow had unsuccessfully pressured his son, Charles, not to join the Union Army. On Christmas Day, Longfellow learned his beloved son had been critically wounded at the Battle of New Hope Church. “I heard the bells on Christmas Day / Their old, familiar carols play, / and wild and sweet / The words repeat / Of peace on earth, good-will to men! “And thought how, as the day had come, / The belfries of all Christendom / Had ...

Sharing some reflections about Bondi Beach

Columns

When I go to synagogue, I always smile and wave at the armed police officers stationed outside. I want them to know they’re appreciated, but also, at some level, I guess it’s fair to say that I’m trying to ingratiate myself so that the cop will want to put his or her life on the line to save us if a gunman decides to open fire on or torch our congregation, as happened in Pittsburgh (2018), Poway (2019), Miami (2019), Monsey (2019), Halle, Germany (2019), Colleyville (2022), Jerusalem (2023), Djerba, Tunisia (2023), Berlin, Germany (2023), Yerevan, Armenia (2023), Rouen, France ...

Here’s what Rob Reiner had to say ­— and did to ­— Donald Trump

Columns

Yes, President Donald Trump could have taken the high ground rather than excoriating Rob Reiner, the actor, director and producer found stabbed to death, along with his wife. The Reiners’ son, Nick, has been arrested in connection with the murders. Trump doubled down in a Truth Social post, telling reporters: “I think he hurt himself career-wise. He became like a deranged person, Trump derangement syndrome. So, I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country.” Criticism about Trump’s harsh remarks even came from ...

Funding freeze no good

Editorials

Ohio’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership is facing a sudden freeze on millions of dollars in federal funding after the U.S. Department of Commerce cited an ongoing federal review of the program. According to the Ohio Manufacturers Association, the loss of funding could mean several programs will be halted at the end of the year. At issue is the Commerce Department’s Office of Inspector General looking into allegations of fraud or misconduct — and deviating from its usual procedure because it has not filed a report on preliminary findings that would give administrators of the ...

Taking stock of all of the non-Christmas lists

Columns

‘Tis the season. No, not that season. It’s the season for end-of-year lists. Time magazine, which, like so much in print journalism has suffered from a loss of readers, has published its annual list called the “most influential people of 2025.” The list includes “Artists, Innovators, Titans, Icons, Leaders, and Pioneers.” Time’s “Person of the Year” is Artificial Intelligence. That might also apply to Congress. Most of the people Time considers influential I have never heard of, so they haven’t influenced me. Maybe it’s a generational thing. You may be ...