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Brenda J. Linert

What happened to robust and good debate?

I cringed the other day during a newsroom discussion. Primary election season is right around the corner. As if that’s not bad enough, somehow it’s about to be campaign season for — brace yourself — the next presidential election. That is what triggered the cringe. You see, ...

Vaccine political divide not going away

At some point in history vaccinations became politically divisive. I’m not sure exactly when that happened, but it must have been sometime after American physician Jonas Salk invented the polio vaccine in the 1950s, because at that time, people seemed to have no qualms about lining up ...

Living in the golden age of lottery jackpots

I was forlorn. “We forgot to play,” I told my husband last week, moments before the Mega Millions drawing was set to go off. Or was it the Powerball? Does anyone else think all these massive lottery jackpots are running together in their dreams? It’s easy to confuse them. An ...

Ohio voters now must provide photo ID at polls

I’m not sure whether the date of Friday’s state legislative action was intended or merely coincidental. It was, of course, the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on our Capitol and on our democracy in an attempt to disrupt Congress’ affirmation of the 2020 presidential ...

Responsible owners don’t carry guns in airports

It’s travel season. It’s likely I didn’t need to tell you that, especially considering all the recent news reports about the onslaught of horrible travel delays affecting so many Americans this holiday season. I’ve personally heard some of those stories, including two friends who told ...

Legendary Harris always remained gracious

On a shelf in my home is a football bearing the logo of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It also bears a simple autograph: “Franco Harris 32.” I must openly admit I committed a grave sin of professional journalism in getting that ball autographed many years ago. It was the only time in my career ...