Breaking News

Opinion

Take a deeper dive into election’s winners, losers

David Skolnick

One interesting part of the primary elections in Mahoning and Trumbull counties was how few people were in contested races for the seats they currently hold. The only incumbents in contested races in the two counties were Trumbull County Commissioner Denny Malloy, Trumbull Auditor Martha Yoder and the Valley’s two U.S. House members — Michael Rulli of Salem and Dave Joyce of Bainbridge. They’re all Republicans. You can also include Thomas Summers, who was reelected as the 32nd District state central committeeman despite losing Trumbull County to Tom Letson. But state central ...

Ohio seems open to more energy growth

Editorials

Politicians and bureaucrats are sometime fonder of putting up roadblocks than clearing a path for growth. That appears to have been the case in recent years when it comes to expanding Ohio’s energy portfolio. But PJM Interconnection says Ohio and many of the other states it serves are now reviewing applications to build and connect new sources of power. Credit is given not only to reforms at PJM but also reforms in state-level permitting and regulatory processes. “As the numbers document, PJM’s interconnection process is not standing in the way of generation development, and ...

Teachers often have new roles in students’ lives beyond the 3 Rs

Editorials

Society has given teachers increasingly greater responsibility for our children over the past decade or two — in loco parentis truly means, teaching, feeding, clothing, keeping safe and healthy, and protecting — all with the expectation these teachers will also help students keep up with ever-changing educational standards, too. But teachers have kept adjusting. After all, they do their jobs because they care about students’ wellbeing on more than an academic level. A recent partnership between University Hospitals and the Willoughby-Eastlake school district may give them another ...

Addressing the data center freak-out

Editorials

Data centers are big buildings full of machines that process what we do on our phones and computers. AI requires even more computing power, so companies are eager to build more data centers. The usual suspects are freaking out. “We must stop it!” says Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “Slow it down!” demands Sen. Bernie Sanders. Data centers do use lots of power and water to cool them down because their computers generate heat. One center can use as much power and water as a small town. “Uses resources like a madman!” says one protester in my new video. Last year, ...

Mifepristone: Another reason to assert the sanctity of life

Editorials

The abortion issue won’t go away, as so many politicians wish it would. It persists because the discussion and debate are about our very existence. What is life? The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, which has defined the abortion landscape in the United States since 1973. That landscape defined a right to abortion protected by the U.S. Constitution. Dobbs reversed this, concluding that the Constitution contains no such right, directing that the issue be “returned back to the people and their elected ...

We have lost one of the greatest grumps of all time

Editorials

In every school, work or personal gathering, you need at least one grump for the group to thrive. Grumps do the work that no one else will. When everyone else is being mercilessly upbeat, they swim against the tide and complain. The grump may follow your inane rules — but grudgingly, oh, boy, will it be grudgingly — but they never let them pass unremarked upon. Where other folks try to fit in, the grumps stand out, not because they want to, but because they must. Even in a children’s show like “Sesame Street,” you need an Oscar the Grouch to balance out what otherwise could ...