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Following a tragedy, we need honesty, not judgment

Editorials

As the tragedy of Nolan Wells' death continues to dominate the news, there are so many unanswered questions. Perhaps the most significant one is what his grieving parents shared in a recent interview with "Good Morning America's" Michael Strahan. Why did their 18-year-old son separate from his friends during their July 4 trip to Horn Island, a barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast? Nolan's father, Elmore Wonsley, told Strahan, "We always taught him that if you go with a group, you stay with a group. If you go with five, you come back with five. Do not separate from the group. ...

The measure of one man’s life: Remembering Lindsey Graham

Editorials

On Saturday, I lost more than a friend. It feels as though I’ve lost a member of my family. I have known Lindsey Graham since I was in my 20s. I will never forget those early days when he first began campaigning for public office. I took him to South Carolina State University, where I had served as Student Government Association president. He sat in the president’s box, met so many of the people who shaped my life, including my family and my brother Kent, who would later become a South Carolina state senator. From the very beginning, what impressed me most was not his political ...

Graham was the best kind of ‘operator’

Editorials

On Feb. 22, 2022, two days before Vladimir Putin sent his tanks rumbling toward Ukraine’s capital, Donald Trump said of the Russian leader: “This is genius. ... Here’s a guy who’s very savvy.” Eight days later, Lindsey Graham offered a starkly different sentiment: “The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out.” The Republican senator from South Carolina had a history of dismissing Trump’s worldview. When Trump first ran in 2015, Graham let loose, calling him a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” After Trump won, Graham shocked ...

Don’t be misled by Valley’s high jobless ranking

Editorials

The latest unemployment report from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is not kind to the Mahoning Valley. In fact, Trumbull County holds the dubious distinction of ranking No. 1 in highest unemployment in the state among all 88 counties. Mahoning County trails close on its tails, ranking No. 3. But before anyone flips out, a bit of perspective will prove that while there may be cause for concern, there is definitely no cause for alarm. We’re a far cry from the COVID-19-induced recession that shot local jobless rates soaring above 20% six years ago this spring and ...

Another sham deal with Iran comes undone

Editorials

An early period of World War II was known as “the phony war.” What we may be witnessing now in the U.S.-Iran war is the end of a “phony peace.” The nearly five-month-long conflict has featured a couple of sham ceasefires, each marked by supposed Iranian pledges to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that came to nothing. With the Iranians firing on shipping in the Strait again, Trump has declared the so-called memorandum of understanding signed a month ago to be dead. After lifting sanctions on Iranian oil and ending the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Trump reinstituted both. ...

Save Sparkle, but not with city funding

Editorials

For more than six decades, Sparkle Markets have stood as a formidable presence on the retail landscape of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. At its height, more than a dozen of the full-service grocery stores, emblazoned with the perky “Save With Sparky” mascot, kept hundreds of thousands in our region well-stocked with food and household supplies. Sadly, however, time and circumstances have taken their toll on the once-thriving iconic regional grocery store chain. Nearly all of them in the Valley have shuttered or rebranded, such as the last remaining two in Trumbull County ...