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A new voice for us

Editorials

State Rep. Don Jones, R-95th Dist., has been tapped by the president to become the state executive director for the Ohio Farm Service Agency under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jones has already been a fighter for farmers, sponsoring legislation that helped support them with funding after severe drought; and improving laws to address the harm done to the state’s livestock industry by feral swine. Now he has a chance to embrace a new role in that fight. “The 95th District may have changed its configuration since my beginning in 2019, but one thing has remained the same — ...

House Bill 96 deceptive

Editorials

In a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, Ohio lawmakers appear to be hoping residents won’t notice what they slipped into House Bill 96 on Tuesday afternoon. While some of them tout efforts to reduce and reform other taxes, they may be hoping to make up some of the difference by collecting what the Office of Budget and Management estimates to be more than $100 million in new ones. When the state Senate Finance Committee adopted its substitute version of HB 96, it included the repealing of sales and use tax exemptions for rental payments for motor vehicles provided to the ...

Move on the RAIL act

Editorials

Norfolk Southern says it still expects site restoration in East Palestine to be “substantially complete by early/mid June.” This despite additional monitoring wells being installed as recently as the end of March, and sediment and surface water monitoring that continues to show evidence of the catastrophic derailment that occurred more than two years ago. However infuriating the progress of Norfolk Southern’s effort to “make it right” may be, though, the progress being made in Congress is even more frustrating. On the two-year anniversary of the derailment on Feb. 3, ...

Rethink tax cut proposal

Editorials

Proposals from advocacy groups and lawmakers have plenty of Ohioans talking about what it would mean to reduce or eliminate property taxes in the state. Certainly, state government should always be working to leave as much money in residents’ pockets as possible. But responsible public officials must be careful not to venture into extreme ideas that would do more harm than good. State Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, has sponsored a bill to provide a 50% property tax reduction for any homeowner at least 65 years old. Income would NOT be a factor. It is tempting to wonder why, if ...

Driving practice is essential

Editorials

As has always been the case, young drivers need not just lots of practice, but lots of guidance from experienced drivers before they get their driver’s licenses and hit the road on their own. One would think that would go without saying, but Ohio officials are worried enough about a growing trend that Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new media campaign to encourage parents to help teen drivers learn driving skills. State law requires teens to complete 50 hours of driving practice with a parent or guardian before receiving their probationary license. But the Ohio Traffic Safety Office ...

DEI

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It’s a framework and set of principles that many organizations and institutions are adopting to promote fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially those who have historically been underrepresented or discriminated against in the grip of oppression. Opponents call DEI “WOKE,” as if learned and discriminatory people have just woken up. What utter nonsense. The dismantling of DEI, by the Trump Administration and his MAGA syschopants — according to the Washington Post — “will leave a ...