Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine -- like most residents of the Buckeye State -- is eager to get the state’s economy moving again. He has pledged to do that, in a measured manner. Although he is optimistic most of the time, he has cautioned the people of our state that there may be setbacks in the ...
No reasonable person can blame public school teachers and/or officials for not being ready for the COVID-19 shutdown. For years, in a much different context, many of them have been recommending two steps that, had they been implemented fully, would have helped students and teachers deal with ...
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gained an enormous amount of credibility by the way he handled the COVID-19 outbreak in its early stages. Beyond any reasonable doubt, the Buckeye State approach, led by the governor, has saved lives. As of Friday night, the state had recorded 9,107 cases of COVID-19, ...
Ohio’s primary election, postponed until April 28 because of the COVID-19 epidemic, will be historic. It will be the first in memory that most votes will have been submitted by mail. Election Day has been set for April 28 — but the in-person voting to which most people are accustomed ...
Gov. Mike DeWine has handed a difficult situation well as he has led the Buckeye State through the novel coronavirus pandemic, but we believe he made a misstep last week. DeWine acted early and decisively to close schools, halt large gatherings and, ultimately, to instruct people to stay at ...
When pubic schools reopen in August, or perhaps even later this spring, a significant number of students are going to be far behind their classmates. That may prompt some teachers to wonder if there is some way they can hand out a few F grades — to parents. Public schools in Ohio have been ...
One would hope that nursing home administrators would inform potential residents and their families of the presence of COVID-19 in the facilities. No doubt most would do that. Apparently the practice is not universal. A few days ago, The Associated Press reported that, “A woman in the ...
It’s time to change our focus a bit, so that we don’t forget to do a couple of things that are very important. Of course we must continue to keep the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease always at the fronts of our minds. But we should not allow it to preoccupy our minds to the ...
Telling a fellow who has been on a strict diet that he needs to tighten his belt seems cruel. Ask Steubenville City Council members. Finances have been tight in Steubenville for several years. City officials have had to watch nickels and dimes carefully to keep municipal budgets in ...
COVID-19 has forced most units of government to alter how they interact with the public. No reasonable person questions the necessity of using technology to avoid in-person gatherings of people who may help the coronavirus spread. But the trade-off between public health and the public’s ...
We in the Ohio Valley have had our first death from COVID-19, a 92-year-old Belmont County man. Public health officials noted the man had underlying medical conditions that put him more vulnerable to the coronavirus. The tragedy occurred as the emotional drain of confronting the virus ...
During the past decade, the population of the 10-county region including Eastern Ohio and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia has dropped by 21,324 people, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. That is only slightly less than the total number of people who live in Brooke ...
The biggest concern on the minds of public officials now should be how to keep their constituents and employees safe from COVID-19. Complying with mandates from higher echelons of government ought to be put on the back burner unless, of course, they involve immediate matters of public safety or ...
Martins Ferry Mayor John Davies is frustrated. He feels as if his pleas for help in implementing what seems to be a reasonable and wise plan are falling on deaf ears. Davies wants state officials to reopen East Ohio Regional Hospital as Ohio prepares to deal with a surge in COVID-19 ...
Last Thursday, the Ohio County Health Department in Wheeling revealed that an animal there had tested positive for rabies. It was a raccoon, found in the Woodsdale neighborhood of Wheeling. People in and near that area now know to be especially cautious about raccoons, because it is now ...
Most of the news about government’s response to COVID-19 has been released at the state and federal levels. But as the epidemic spreads, local governments will become more and more critical. Some municipal and county officials in our area already have begun planning for that time. Those who ...
Should Gov. Mike DeWine have called the Ohio General Assembly into session last week to decide whether the state’s primary election should have been delayed? Of course. Should Secretary of State Frank LaRose have left it up to lawmakers to set a new date for the election? ...
The U.S. health care system — and thus, public policy regarding it — is coming under fire because of COVID-19. Among complaints are that there are not enough COVID-19 test kits, not enough ventilator machines to help sufferers breathe, no vaccine to be available quickly and not ...
Today will be the last day of school for students in Eastern Ohio for three weeks — unless their school has closed already as a precaution against COVID-19, the coronavirus. That makes sense from a public health standpoint — but it will result in difficulty for many children and families. ...
“Share facts, not fear.” That is the best advice we have heard regarding COVID-19, the coronavirus. It came from Dr. Clark Milton, chairman of Wheeling Hospital’s infection control committee and director of corporate health, on Tuesday. One key to remaining calm as we deal ...