Some sobering and sad thoughts to consider

DEAR EDITOR:

I find it incredibly sad to know that:

Not only is racism rampant in our country and accepted by so many, but that it is led first and foremost by our president.

That this administration is working to erase black history and replace it with lies.

Almost 7,000 immigrant children are in detention centers right now.

The number of children killed in these latest wars numbers in the thousands.

Immigrants are being rounded up, thrown to the ground and beaten by thugs who would never let that happen to their own family members, all to satisfy a quota.

Legislation cannot institute intelligent laws regarding gun ownership!

Thousands of people in Ukraine, Palestine, Iran and many more countries are killed because men use wars as measures of power, rather than using intelligence, diplomacy, conversations and talks.

One man can control “seemingly” intelligent adults and have them cower in his presence and falsely praise him.

We have an ineffective “Supreme Court” that has granted such an enormous, almost total, amount of power to a felon.

This administration can blow millions of dollars on war, weapons and totally unnecessary vanity projects, and it can’t help its citizens with health insurance, children with food and the homeless find hope.

This administration won’t tax the ultra wealthy. Really no one needs that amount of money.

The Department of Education is being dismantled by an unqualified appointed head with little respect for the teachers of today who work under trying conditions and have the ‘best interest’ of our children.

All workers, “average” citizens, do not get the respect they deserve, nor the salaries. Without them we would not have services that actually take care of our country.

When will we ever have a decent hourly wage for all?

We have a lunatic as head of our health issues.

We have a president who has criticized Pope Leo, a holy man who is speaking for the common man.

This country, once respected and a leader in world politics, is now ridiculed and is being left behind on the world stage.

Our political parties and politicians can’t come together more peacefully, doing so for the good of our country.

We will probably have this mess for another two-plus years, and when things get worse (they really will), will the cowards still be praising our “illustrious” president, and bowing to the biggest crook of them all?

JEANNE McDERMOTT

Liberty

Ramaswamy’s smears of Acton getting old

DEAR EDITOR:

I have a big complaint! I’m so sick and tired of Amy Acton being smeared by Vivek Ramaswamy. First off, it was intelligent and very caring when she closed the schools. Millions were dying and children were amongst the dead and dying. It was refreshing to see her go to action instead of sitting there doing nothing.

I am of the belief that when someone is running against their opponent, they should have a platform to run on and the only thing Mr. Ramaswamy seems to be running is a bashing campaign. We all watched Amy during COVID and we all felt safer, in fact I would bet she saved many lives.

To finalize my complaint, I am assuredly voting for Amy because she used her head and took action, which is what we needed during a terrifying time like that. As far as her opponent, he obviously has NO platform and has a filthy and nasty disposition. He’s not worried about serving the people; he only cares about poisoning the public’s opinion of another person, because he has nothing worthwhile to express.

KATHY MAINE

Canfield

Kudos for holding City Hall accountable

DEAR EDITOR:

Kudos to Mark Matasic for his editorial, “The cost of cowardice at City Hall.” He raises many valid points that deserve attention. While we often hear about new housing developments in the city, we must also consider the need to clean up abandoned properties in neighborhoods where children play. Accountability.

Additionally, what steps are being taken to improve street lighting for safety? Are we looking into clearer street signs to help residents? Accountability.

Mr. Matasic emphasizes that these issues require not just discussion, but real accountability and action. Seven months into the new administration, many residents, including Mr. Matasic, are eager to see tangible results rather than empty promises. Accountability.

It’s important to remember that not everyone can attend council meetings or meet with the mayor, so we should recognize the challenges many face in voicing their concerns.

I commend Mr. Matasic for his strong and to-the-point editorial. His comments reflect the sentiments of many residents, and we should take them seriously. Accountability.

CHRISTINE SILVESTRI

Youngstown

Listen to Gov. DeWine on Haitians’ protected status

DEAR EDITOR:

Gov. Mike DeWine is right.

Ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians is a mistake — not only for Springfield, but for Ohio’s working communities. The Supreme Court’s decision in Mullin v. Doe lets the Trump administration move forward with ending TPS for more than 330,000 Haitians and about 6,000 Syrians. But this is bigger than Haiti and Syria. Nearly 1.3 million people in the United States had TPS as of last year. This ruling opens the door to stripping legal status and work authorization from far more families. TPS is not citizenship or a green card. It is temporary humanitarian protection for people already here when war, disaster or extraordinary instability makes return unsafe. In Haiti, that danger is not theoretical. The U.S. State Department still warns: Do Not Travel to Haiti.

Many Haitian TPS holders did what we say immigrants should do. They came forward, registered, passed background checks, paid fees, received work permits and worked. They followed the rules. DeWine understands the Ohio consequences. He warned that more than 10,000 Haitians living legally in Ohio, mostly around Springfield, could now be treated as unlawfully present and subject to deportation. People working legally yesterday may be illegal for employers to hire today.

Youngstown should pay attention. This region has spent decades fighting population loss, vacant housing, industrial decline and shrinking tax bases while trying to rebuild through manufacturing, health care and small business. A region that needs workers, families, customers and taxpayers should be careful about removing them.

Springfield has faced real strain: housing, schools, language access, health care and local services. Those problems deserve planning and support. Ending TPS will not fix them. It will make them worse. According to FWD.us, Haitian TPS holders in Ohio contribute about $160 million annually to the state economy, including $18 million in federal and payroll taxes and $21 million in state and local taxes.

Ending TPS does not make people vanish. It does not make Haiti safe. Employers lose workers. Families lose income. Local governments face confusion. Taxpayers pay for enforcement.

Congress should create an earned path to stability for the long-term TPS holders who passed background checks, paid taxes and built lives here.

Ohio gains nothing by stripping legal status from people who followed the rules and went to work.

RICHARD T. HERMAN

Immigration Lawyer

Cleveland

Youngstown can play a big role in healing our society

DEAR EDITOR:

Fifty years ago, on the Bicentennial of the U.S., in 1976, the late Howard Aley published a book, “A Heritage to Share” giving a complete history of the Youngstown area from prehistoric times until July 4, 1976. He grew up on the South Side, graduated from South High School and YSU, and was the editor of the Jambar and Trinity Chimes and was a teacher at Wilson High School for years. He referenced much of his book from Joseph Butler, the founder of the Butler Art museum. Joseph Butler was also a historian of Youngstown, writing its early history too and he died in 1927, on the day before his birthday Dec. 21 and a year after the 150th anniversary of America. He has been called Youngstown’s first citizen.

One year after the 1976 Bicentennial — on Sept. 19, 1977 — Black Monday hit Youngstown with the closing of Youngstown Sheet & Tube, setting off a domino effect in our community. Republic Steel, Wean United, US Steel, Sharon Steel and Copperweld followed and then Strouss, McKelvey’s, Livingston’s,and Standard Slag.

Then the second wave of dominos, Cafaro, North and South side hospitals, GM Lordstown, Packard, and church closings and declines in attendance at many local churches. Other casualties included Idora Park and the recent closing of Trumbull and Hillside hospitals and now SOBE and Schwebel’s. It has led to a drop in population from 150,000 50,000 in 50 years. A book for the 250th Anniversary should be called “Hang in there Youngstown, you’re all right.” A video and song by that name was sung by Stan Boney at age 25 in 1982. It can be found on the U Tube. Later in Stan’s video is the appearance of the late Father Richard Madden, a local iconic priest presenting a communion host and the video continues singing “With a little help from The Lord above, we will make it all work out!” Father Madden was a Carmelite Monk with a Monastery on Volney Road. His church services were held outside with a view of Mill Creek Park. He called it “God’s Backyard” with as many as 1,000 attendees, many representing the Protestant faith. He was truly inspirational to our community, giving us hope and a strong closeness to GOD during the bad times that continued.

This July 4th will be special, as we remember the majority of our Founding Fathers were Christians and set up our country on basic Judeo-Christian values. Let us now again rededicate our country to those principles for the next 50 years and beyond. Moral renewal, humility, and returning to divine principles are foundational to restoring and healing a society.

DR. CHARLES WILKINS

Youngstown

Just another Rulli bill that doesn’t help Ohioans

DEAR EDITOR:

So Mike Rulli actually did something! Will it be the first bill he has ever introduced that will help the people of Ohio?

No way! It is designed to protect the federal government from being sued for its negligent acts! That is more likely to hurt Ohioans, like all the other bills he has sponsored. Rulli says the bill will protect the federal government from “radical special-interest groups with exorbitant budgets and massive legal teams.” Would it have protected the U.S. when Trump sued?

Rulli says, “Now they will have to find other ways to survive and thrive that don’t involve tax-payer dollars.” He means besides becoming a U.S. representative!

Mike Rulli has done nothing to help the state of Ohio and needs to get packing.

STEVE SOLAK

Youngstown

Celebrating 36 years of the ADA

DEAR EDITOR:

July 26, 2026, marks the 36th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. It was signed into law in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush to ensure individuals with physical impairment have full access to programs and services in the mainstream community.

The signing of the ADA in 1990 ushered a lot of change over the years. Revisions were made to provide guidelines for the disabled such as service dogs for the deaf and the blind in government-subsidized buildings. Other changes require public transportation to be wheelchair accessible and placing disabled children in the same classrooms with able-bodied students in the public schools.

However; discrimination against deafness exists in several areas. Some major hospitals refuse deaf patients’ requests for a live interpreter due to the high cost of interpreting. Communicating with medical teams through a remote interpreter on a pixelated screen or an iPad may not be suitable for the deaf-blind in a hospital room. Deaf individuals who are college educated or completed their training at a trade school face rejection by employers due to the high cost of interpreting for staff meetings.

At the workplace, every disabled person should be aware of their ADA rights to protect themselves against liability by providing them with reasonable accommodation such as qualified interpreters and visual aids. This law has been in place for 36 years and it is time that we all take personal responsibility for preserving the rights of fellow Americans who are deaf or disabled. In the fight for social change, let’s make sure we do not leave the deaf community behind.

IRENE TUNANIDAS

Poland