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Orchids and onions for Nov. 7

Editorials

ORCHID: To the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health for marking a worthy watershed last week with its 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The service, which began in July 2022, officially recorded its 1 millionth help session via phone call, text message or online chat last week. Gov. Mike DeWine applauded the news thusly: “Reaching 1 million contacts is a significant milestone for Ohio and a powerful reminder that people are reaching out for help. Behind every call, text, or chat is a person who deserves to be heard, supported, and treated with compassion.” With suicide rates up ...

Letters to editor: Ohio's failed school funding, Election 2026, Trump, more

Editorials

State legislators should enforce school funding law DEAR EDITOR: I recently attended a meeting (for another candidate) to become more educated on those running. As part of the presentation Lauren McNally gave a detailed and revealing discussion of the current dispute about school funding, taxes and vouchers. I had no idea that charter or non-public schools are not held to the same state standards as public schools, and that the dollars the students that opt to attend one of these schools are taken in whole from the students’ home district. The state provides a free and in most cases ...

Choose Youngstown air base as home for new squadron

Editorials

Seventy-five years ago, ground was broken on what would become one of the Mahoning Valley's most significant and robust economic and military gems. Back in 1951, construction began on the Youngstown Air Reserve Station toward its April 1952 grand opening. In that ensuing three quarters of a century, YARS has grown fast and furiously to become a top-tier economic catalyst for the Mahoning Valley, employing about 2,000 reservists and active-duty personnel and reaping an annual monetary impact on our region of approximately $150 million. In recent years, the Vienna Township air base ...

Trump helped tank Republicans

David Skolnick

There were a lot of reasons why Democrats did so well during the midterm elections, but none greater than having Republican Donald Trump as president. Trump holds a special spell over many Republicans. It’s the rest of the country that has issues with him and there are far more voters who are unaffiliated than loyal members of the Democratic and Republican parties combined. Trump’s decision to wage war with Iran caused the prices of gas to skyrocket and, with it, the cost of everyday products. Even with the Republican-controlled Ohio Legislature eliminating the state’s gas tax ...

Losing weight can help us get healthier

Editorials

National Diabetes Awareness Month takes on a different significance in Appalachia, and WalletHub’s “2026’s Most Overweight and Obese States in America,” gives some idea why. Obesity is one of the bigger risk factors and primary cause of type 2 diabetes, and West Virginia is the most obese state in the country. Ohio is 15th. Digging into the data gets more and more disturbing. The Mountain State is first for the percentage of obese adults and the percentage of adults with type 2 diabetes. It is seventh for the percentage of overweight children, second for the percentage of ...

The real history of American aid to Israel

Guest columnists

Right before the midterm elections, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would stop providing military aid to Israel, forcing the most dedicated Israel-obsessed antisemites to declare that this, too, was evidence of nothing more than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest scheme. However, as debate swirls over what this means for America and one of its most consequential foreign policy relationships in the world, it's worth pushing back on the underlying premise of all military aid: that America has been manipulated into giving up the goods. Nothing could be ...