Black Friday has come and gone with slim crowds and retailers looking for creative ways to attract customers while keeping shoppers and staffers safe. The coronavirus is changing many aspects of our daily lives, and the holiday shopping season is no exception. It simply isn’t safe for ...
It may not seem like it, but today we have much for which to be thankful. Sure, it’s easy to get bogged down with all that seems to be wrong with 2020. We have spent months limiting our activities and travels, hoping to somehow avoid contracting or spreading the coronavirus that arrived in ...
Give Harrison County Prosecuting Attorney Owen Beetham credit for thinking of those he serves rather than only of himself. Beetham, defeated by Lauren Knight in the April primary election, was scheduled to leave office in early January. Knight, who went on to win the general election, will ...
We know by now that testing is a key component in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. It has become quite clear that the ability to test many people for the coronavirus and to obtain prompt results helps slow the spread of the disease. By identifying positive cases of the illness, ...
Announcements of two vaccines that are highly effective against COVID-19 provide some much-desired light at the end of a deadly tunnel. But it is far too early for us to declare “mission accomplished” and ease up on efforts to contain the virus. “In the next several weeks, we’ve got ...
Joe Biden is not yet president-elect officially, but it seems clear he will be the nation’s next chief executive. The sooner he clarifies his agenda — especially regarding energy — the better. It is probably no coincidence that within days of the election, some energy companies began ...
We all need a little something to make us feel good these days. As autumn winds down and we head into the dreary days of winter, there is no sign that the coronavirus will slow its spread through our communities. Schools and colleges are switching to remote learning. Gov. Mike DeWine is ...
It’s time for a different approach to the crisis we are facing. It’s not that the official guidance provided at the local, state or federal levels is flawed. Instead, too many of us are simply ignoring that advice. There is no question that a dangerous virus is circulating among the ...
The time is now, people of the Ohio Valley. Tuesday is Election Day in America. We will be voting to select the most powerful person in the land and choosing the voices that will speak for us in Washington, D.C., and in Columbus. We also have plenty of important choices to make at the ...
Leaders of both major political parties agree on one thing: The presidential election scheduled for Tuesday is among the most important in American history. Its outcome will shape our government, economy, even our society for many years to come. Your life and that of your children and ...
More than 600 residents of our Eastern Ohio and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia are battling COVID-19 right now, according to public health agencies in both states. In truth, the numbers are higher than those reported, because state counts lag behind actual local totals. More ...
It is time for all of us to do our duty for our nation, for our communities and for our families and friends. It is time to vote. The democratic process is the bedrock of America. By giving the people of the United States the opportunity to decide how they would be governed, our founders ...
Belmont County commissioners recognized this as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. That came after commissioners heard statistics on the problem in East ern Ohio. Last year, the Tri-County Help Center in St. Clairsville helped hundreds of people involved in domestic violence. To cite just ...
When an institution has a decades-long pattern of covering up or failing to acknowledge abuse by one of its own, it is necessary for both the wellbeing of the victims and of that institution to do everything possible to set the situation right. We see the degree to which institutions ...
Body cameras have become very important equipment for law enforcement personnel. If you have to ask why, you have not been following the news. Video and audio records of interactions between the public and law enforcement officers serve multiple good purposes. First, they protect good cops ...
Unacceptable. That is the best way to describe any behavior that interferes with others’ right to cast their votes. And some of the behavior that has been occurring during early in-person voting in Belmont County this month is absolutely unacceptable. According to elections officials, ...
Like so many local government officials, those in Martins Ferry have been looking for ways to reduce spending and increase revenue. They were right last week, however, to reject a proposal that would have increased the burden on city taxpayers. An ordinance that would have slashed the ...
Ohio legislators are right to be furious about the way they were manipulated into taking $150 million a year out of their constituents’ pockets to benefit two nuclear power plants. At the same time, however, they are correct to avoid a knee-jerk reaction to the scandal. In July, ...
October is a special time of year — particularly for children. Not only do the leaves begin to show their fall colors, but our thoughts start to turn toward the holidays, beginning with Halloween on Oct. 31. Halloween has roots that date back many centuries to Celtic festivals that aimed ...
Local government budgeting always has been a guessing game. In Ohio, local entities such as municipal councils must have spending plans for the coming year in place before they have a good understanding of revenue trends for the current one. COVID-19 has aggravated the dilemma. Like many ...