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Protecting the vulnerable

Up and down the Ohio River Valley, communities have gotten used to seeing what comes out of the many industrial facilities that help support our economy. (And, to be clear, some of that is just water vapor.) We have also gotten used to the increased number of medical conditions some experts say are caused by those emissions. There are entire swaths of West Virginia where the residents refer to themselves as living in “Cancer Alley.” Poor, rural and minority communities have for centuries shouldered a heavier burden when it comes to the consequences of living near the economic ...

GOP should make exception

Ohio lawmakers have an opportunity to do the right thing, now that Secretary of State Frank LaRose has sought an opinion that resulted in a letter to Ohio Democratic Chair Liz Walters last week. In the letter, LaRose’s office told Walters about an “apparent conflict in Ohio law,” according to a report by ABC News. The Democratic National Convention is set to convene Aug. 19. The deadline to certify a presidential candidate in Ohio, for placement on the November ballot, is Aug. 7. “I am left to conclude that the Democratic National Committee must either move up its nominating ...

State declaration needed

Friday morning, Gov. Mike DeWine announced the state’s emergency operations center will be activated Sunday … in preparation for Monday’s eclipse. On Tuesday, as horrific storms were raging across the Buckeye State, DeWine reminded listeners he had requested assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency … a week ago, because of the tornado that ravaged the Indian Lake region three weeks ago. As of this writing he has not made a peep about what is happening to the communities under water along his state’s eastern border. Across the Ohio River, West Virginia Gov. ...

Cheers & Jeers

CHEERS to all the candidates who turned out for a meet and greet event hosted by The Times Leader, The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register on Thursday. JEERS to the large effort that lies ahead to clean up and recover from flooding in many parts of the local region. Flood water can damage structures, and it carries plenty of germs and debris. CHEERS to the Antero Foundation for donating $15,000 to support tornado recovery in Monroe County. An EF-2 twister struck the Beallsville area on Feb. 28 JEERS to the fact that a large amount of dangerous waste will need to be removed from ...

More rail reforms needed

In a victory for rail safety, a new federal rule will require major freight railroads to maintain two-person crews on most routes. But lest anyone become too encouraged that Congress has finally gotten itself in gear on rail safety reform proposed after the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, this new rule was first proposed during the Obama administration. Once the new rule was announced, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reminded us that a country like ours should not be satisfied with the average of nearly three derailments per day we experience now. “When ...

Fighting book bans

If the pen is mightier than the sword, it makes sense that those who are afraid of ideas, questions and critical thinking have chosen libraries as their battleground. According to a report by Axios, the American Library Association says that fight is intensifying across the country. In Ohio, there was an increase in the number of book titles challenged between 2022 and 2023. Last year, there were 40 formal complaints filed in the Buckeye State, challenging 235 books, based on ALA data. By contrast, in West Virginia only one formal ban attempt was made, related to three ...