Breaking News

Opinion

Tourism Isn’t Just Big Fun in Ohio—It’s Big Business

Columns

As summer nears and calendars begin filling with weekend getaways, community festivals, and family road trips, it’s the perfect time to recognize a vital force driving local prosperity: tourism. While often associated with leisure, hospitality, and scenic views, the tourism industry is far more than a vacation planner’s playground—it’s a powerful economic engine that fuels jobs, small businesses, infrastructure investment, and quality of life in our communities. In fact, tourism may be one of the most overlooked drivers of economic development. In Ohio alone, tourism is a $70.7 ...

Ending power plant subsidies

Editorials

Ohio lawmakers finally acted in concert to rid Ohioans of a nearly $400,000 a day burden when they voted to end the subsidies for two outdated and unprofitable coal-fired power plants — one of which is in Indiana. The Ohio Valley Electric Corp. plants had been getting bailed out by a “legacy generation rider” in the infamous House Bill 6, back in 2019. For some, subsidies in HB 6 for coal-fired plants were deemed worse than those for nuclear plants, as the 1950s-era coal-fired plants were producing electricity that wasn’t needed, and are significant polluters. “It was an ...

Cheers & Jeers

Editorials

CHEERS to everyone who took the time to register to vote in the upcoming May 6 primary/special election. A few people have cast early, in-person ballots. The rest of us need to remember to vote on Election Day. JEERS to the violent storms that caused damages and sparked power outages all across the local region. Any storm can be dangerous. Take warnings seriously. CHEERS to Barnesville High School and Vitalant for again organizing the annual Blood Bash — an annually successful drive to collect needed blood donations. The 41st event happens 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 9 at BHS. JEERS to the ...

Ohio must move past hate

Editorials

If it seems as though in recent years the atmosphere has become more charged with hate and division — perhaps even to the point of being dangerous — you’re not imagining things. Hate crimes are on the rise. To examine one category, the FBI reports anti-Jewish hate crimes increased by 63% between 2023 and 2024. It seems as though the trend is not letting up. Earlier this month, an Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar in Miamisburg, Ohio, had to shut down for part of a weekend after it was tagged with anti-semitic graffiti, according to a report by WLWT. Some of the language ...

Capito right on NIOSH

Editorials

As efforts from Washington, D.C., to reduce the size of the federal government continue with mixed results, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was right to urge U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reverse course on a reduction in force effort that has affected the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Morgantown. “I believe in the president’s vision to right size our government, but I do not think eliminating the NIOSH coal programs and research will accomplish that goal,” Capito wrote to Kennedy Monday. “The ...

New trail an asset

Editorials

A project 10 years in the making was unveiled this weekend with the grand opening of the Hellbender Preserve and Recreational Trail. This new trail, set to be a link in the Great American Rail Trail and the first multi-use trail in Jefferson County, will join the various recreational offerings of our region, while also helping to showcase some of the area’s history. Located in Bloomingdale, the trail features the Lincoln Bridge, a sandstone structure built under order of Abraham Lincoln, as well as train tunnels from the 1850s. As with many local walking and bicycle trails, the ...