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A sickness in our society is spreading

After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, podcaster Candace Owens turned her wrath on Mr. Kirk’s widow, Erika. Owens began perpetuating conspiracy theories about Mrs. Kirk with a heavy implication that Mrs. Kirk was somehow tied to Israel, which itself was tied to Mr. Kirk’s assassination. Meanwhile, in Utah, Tyler Robinson is standing trial for Mr. Kirk’s murder. His parents and his partner will be witnesses for the prosecution. Robinson left a trail of evidence and confessions behind. He had been radicalized into transgender politics and wanted to kill Mr. Kirk because of his ...

Orchids & onions

ORCHID: To incoming Boardman Township Administrator Mark Ragozine for besting more than 115 other applicants for his new position where he will play a critical role in guiding the Mahoning Valley’s second largest community into a prosperous future. Ragozine, formerly safety service director for the city of Girard, brings a wealth of public administration experience to the position and has earned high praise from Girard and Boardman leaders alike. As Boardman Trustee Steve Yacovone put it, “I think Mark exemplified all the qualities to help Boardman succeed in the future.” We wish ...

Don’t freak out over major loss of jobs in Valley

At first blush, the latest unemployment data for the Mahoning Valley hits like a ton of bricks. The report last week from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reveals that joblessness in the Mahoning Valley bounced disturbingly high between the end of 2025 and the start of 2026. Unemployment in January for Mahoning County rose to 6.5% from 4.8.% in December; in Trumbull County, the rate climbed even higher to 7.0%. Worse, unemployment in the city of Youngstown jumped to 8.5% and in Warren, the rate leapfrogged to 9.4%. Those latter rates reflect the highest levels among the ...

Subsidies keep America on top

That $7,500 tax credit to buy an electric vehicle, now gone, was a “grotesque misallocation of federal spending.” It was a form of “rent-seeking,” whereby companies seek “to dominate the bureaucracy instead of the marketplace.” Thus wrote Kyle Smith in a Wall Street Journal column titled “EVs Can’t Compete Without Subsidies.” Smith deserves the Pulitzer for Clueless Commentary, a competitive category. About six weeks earlier, Trump launched a war on Iran paid for — subsidized! — by the American taxpayers. Some of it was to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program, a ...

How to impeach President Trump, for real

Speaking at a Jan. 6 retreat for House Republicans, President Donald Trump stated, "You gotta win the midterms 'cause, if we don't win the midterms, it's just gonna be — I mean, they'll find a reason to impeach me. I'll get impeached." This was before Trump's agents murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, before the Justice Department released more Epstein files, before Trump's disastrous war in Iran, before Trump threatened death to the entire Iranian civilization, before a gallon of gas hit $4 or more, before other prices also began rising because of the blockage of the ...

The ongoing Guthrie case

The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been a grueling national story. It has been over two months since Nancy was last seen on Feb. 1 at her home in Tucson, Arizona, and her case is perplexing and incredibly frustrating, as no specific suspects have been identified, and authorities continue to analyze surveillance video and retrieve DNA samples. Savannah returned to the "Today" show this month, and even for those of us who do not regularly watch her on weekday mornings, our hearts are still broken for her, and many of us have ...