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DeWine opposes death penalty

Gov. Mike DeWine said he opposes the death penalty as it is not a deterrent against violent crimes, but faces an uphill battle to convince the state Legislature to either abolish it or put it in front of voters to decide its fate. DeWine, a Republican, said Tuesday: “I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent to murder. The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists. For the state to take a human life, there must — my opinion — there must be evidence that in doing so, it will help protect the public.” DeWine said there’s ...

PUCO staff: Raise SOBE rates by 145% during times of high usage

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio’s staff recommends huge emergency rate increases for SOBE Thermal Energy Systems LLC’s downtown Youngstown customers — 145% for most of them during the six months when the steam heat is most used and 75% during the rest of the year. The report filed Monday by Christopher Healey, PUCO’s Rates and Analysis Department’s chief of accounting and finance, reads: “Emergency rates are not a permanent solution to a utility’s financial distress; they are intended to be temporary, approved only as necessary to avert a crisis. The goal is for ...

Anderson reelected Mahoning County Democratic chairman

YOUNGSTOWN — Chris Anderson was reelected to his second and what he says is his final four-year term as Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman. Anderson said, “When I ran four years ago, I made it clear I had no ambition to make politics my career. I wanted to build the party infrastructure, modernize the party, build our bench and create new spaces for folks to grow in the party and offer new ideas. We made great progress in the first term, and we’ll build on that in the second term.” Anderson said his focus for the new term is to launch candidate training programs for ...

Skolnick earns 1st place in Ohio SPJ contest

Staff report Reporter David Skolnick, who covers politics for The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, won first place in the Best Government/Political Reporting category in the 2026 Ohio Society of Professional Journalists contest. The award is just the latest for Skolnick, a veteran reporter with more than 30 years of experience in the Mahoning Valley. He routinely won Ohio journalism awards when the annual contest was administered by the Associated Press Manager Editors organization. The Ohio SPJ took over the contest for newspapers, magazines, trade publications, independent ...

Jury finds man guilty of rape

YOUNGSTOWN — A jury found Brian T. Swansiger, 29, of New Middletown, guilty Monday of two counts of rape but not guilty of one lesser count of gross sexual imposition in a trial that began a week ago in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Judge Maureen Sweeney could sentence Swansiger to about 20 years in prison when Swansiger is sentenced later. The incidents that led to the charges date back to Sept. 4, 2018, when Swansiger was 21. The victim was 19. They had gone to school at Springfield Local High School at the same time, but they did not know each other personally in high ...

Youngstown Freedom School kicks off at Tyler museum

YOUNGSTOWN — Sophia Krannich has never met James Meredith, but that didn’t diminish her gratitude for the groundwork she feels he helped lay for her. “He was a very brave person,” Sophia, a Salem Middle School student, said Monday. “I think he was a good person for society, and ...