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Stacy A. Marling should be GOP candidate for Trumbull auditor

The Republican race for Trumbull County auditor is one of the most interesting in the May 5 primary. Incumbent Martha Yoder is bidding for a second term against GOP challengers Stacy A. Marling, the current deputy auditor in Mahoning County — who also serves as Bazetta Township’s fiscal officer — and former state Rep. Mike Loychik. In Yoder’s first campaign, she emphasized increased accessibility, transparency and fiscal responsibility. “We made a lot of progress,” Yoder said. “We revamped our website to make information more accessible by moving those things that ...

What are politicians thinking?

Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Tony Gonzales were both accused of sexual misconduct involving staffers. Californian Swalwell said he’d resign from his House seat after giving up on his run for governor. Texan Gonzales said he was withdrawing from the 2026 reelection race. Back in the day, male politicians cavorted with their female staffers and got away with it. But that was way back and many days ago. An official cheating on his wife with a woman picked up at a rally doesn’t seem to bother voters the way it once did. Donald Trump has numbed the electorate to that level ...

A sickness in our society is spreading

After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, podcaster Candace Owens turned her wrath on Mr. Kirk’s widow, Erika. Owens began perpetuating conspiracy theories about Mrs. Kirk with a heavy implication that Mrs. Kirk was somehow tied to Israel, which itself was tied to Mr. Kirk’s assassination. Meanwhile, in Utah, Tyler Robinson is standing trial for Mr. Kirk’s murder. His parents and his partner will be witnesses for the prosecution. Robinson left a trail of evidence and confessions behind. He had been radicalized into transgender politics and wanted to kill Mr. Kirk because of his ...

Orchids & onions

ORCHID: To incoming Boardman Township Administrator Mark Ragozine for besting more than 115 other applicants for his new position where he will play a critical role in guiding the Mahoning Valley’s second largest community into a prosperous future. Ragozine, formerly safety service director for the city of Girard, brings a wealth of public administration experience to the position and has earned high praise from Girard and Boardman leaders alike. As Boardman Trustee Steve Yacovone put it, “I think Mark exemplified all the qualities to help Boardman succeed in the future.” We wish ...

Don’t freak out over major loss of jobs in Valley

At first blush, the latest unemployment data for the Mahoning Valley hits like a ton of bricks. The report last week from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reveals that joblessness in the Mahoning Valley bounced disturbingly high between the end of 2025 and the start of 2026. Unemployment in January for Mahoning County rose to 6.5% from 4.8.% in December; in Trumbull County, the rate climbed even higher to 7.0%. Worse, unemployment in the city of Youngstown jumped to 8.5% and in Warren, the rate leapfrogged to 9.4%. Those latter rates reflect the highest levels among the ...

Subsidies keep America on top

That $7,500 tax credit to buy an electric vehicle, now gone, was a “grotesque misallocation of federal spending.” It was a form of “rent-seeking,” whereby companies seek “to dominate the bureaucracy instead of the marketplace.” Thus wrote Kyle Smith in a Wall Street Journal column titled “EVs Can’t Compete Without Subsidies.” Smith deserves the Pulitzer for Clueless Commentary, a competitive category. About six weeks earlier, Trump launched a war on Iran paid for — subsidized! — by the American taxpayers. Some of it was to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program, a ...