Breaking News

Columns

There’s still time to soak up summer in Belmont County

Summer may be winding down, but there’s still time to make memories right here in friendly, beautiful Belmont County. Whether it’s enjoying a festival, paddling a quiet lake, dancing to polka music, or discovering scenic trails, our communities are alive with adventure, culture, and connection. This weekend, head to Martins Ferry for Betty Zane Days, a tradition hosted by the Martins Ferry Volunteer Fire Department. Named after the legendary Revolutionary War heroine, this multi-day celebration blends history and hometown pride with live music, amusement rides, a 5K race, food ...

Summer shows — one way this girl has fun

This girl just wanted to have fun in July, and that’s precisely what she did on a few occasions — thanks to her husband, Mike, who arranged for her to attend three separate concerts. It all started with a band that Mike follows much more closely than I do. It is called Ghost, and it’s not exactly a mainstream rock band, though its fans are extremely devoted. With most of its songs and videos performed in elaborate costumes and makeup with religious overtones, I’m sure it’s not a band for everyone, but I also felt that it was a very good show. It’s certainly not the ...

Following the road to success means knowing where you’re going

The late Charlie Tremendous Jones said, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for two things, the people you meet and the books you read.” Sunday, in Phoenix at Influence, the National Speakers Association’s Annual Conference, my wife Lynnda, got randomly selected by presenter Robert Fogarty of Dear World from 900 attendees in the General Session, to read her short story. “Dear World” is a collective of innovators, change-makers, development leaders and storytellers dedicated to amplifying voices and fostering connection. Lynnda was interviewed, ...

Why the budget law is tailored to help Ohio families

“Where I land on policy always depends on how it affects people in Ohio.” That’s what I wrote earlier this year, and that’s why I supported the bill that extended the 2017 tax cuts and made urgent investments in our national defense and border security. This budget bill saved Americans from a $4 trillion tax hike, and that’s a significant win for the nation. So, what does the Big Beautiful Bill mean, in real world terms, for Ohio families, workers, and taxpayers? Our work results in more take-home pay. Specifically, the tax cuts we cemented for workers and job creators will ...

A week of losses for the entertainment world

What a week! The past several days have been filled with nothing but bad news from a pop culture perspective. First, last Sunday came word that Malcolm-Jamal Warner, known to my generation as “Theo” for his 1980s role as Theodore Huxtable in “The Cosby Show,” had died. He was 54 years old and apparently died of drowning after he was sept away by the current of the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Costa Rica. That was sad news for me. I always kind of favored his character Theo, sympathizing with his plight as the only boy in a large family that included multiple sisters. As ...

Just before President Trump pushed her out at the behest of his corporate donors, former Federal Trade Commission chairwoman Lina Khan released a damning report about the most rapacious and anti-competitive actors in the entire healthcare system: pharmacy benefit managers. These middlemen in the drug supply chain don’t discover new medicines. They don’t manufacture them. They don’t even physically dispense most prescriptions. Yet they rake in tens of billions of dollars each year by driving up costs for everyone else — especially patients battling cancer, HIV, heart disease, ...