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Letters to the Editor

Heat up the future of downtown Youngstown

DEAR EDITOR: Youngstown’s recurring struggles with downtown district steam heating point to a deeper reality: the existing system is in need of major investment. With SOBE Thermal operating under emergency conditions and relying on temporary fixes, the real question is not whether we must spend significant money — but whether we spend it just to survive the next winter or to build something that works for the next century. One promising option deserves serious consideration: pairing a modernized district heating system with waste heat from data centers. Servers generate enormous ...

Youngstown residents: Be patient, but vocal

DEAR EDITOR: As we start 2026 with a new mayor for the city of Youngstown, congratulations, Mayor Derrick McDowell, and congratulations to the new administration. Let’s remember that patience will be the real key to the city. The voters have spoken, and it is up to the residents to help the new mayor understand their neighborhoods’ concerns. The mayor has already implemented the 5-minutes with the Mayor. I encourage those able to take advantage of that one-on-one opportunity. I would also encourage those who are able to attend the council meetings. The dates and times are listed ...

A fitting home for America250 in the Valley

DEAR EDITOR: As we prepare to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, the Reuben McMillan Library in Poland should be considered as the headquarters for the Mahoning Valley’s America250 activities. The library is the perfect place to explore the history of Town One, Range One, the Connecticut Western Reserve, and the townships and villages that shaped our region. It offers insight into the early settlers of the Mahoning Valley and the homes and structures that have stood for more than 200 years. Nearby, the grist mill on Water Street once stood along Yellow Creek, part of a ...

Stop the ongoing atrocity at Mill Creek Park

DEAR EDITOR: Having been born and raised on the city’s West Side, I read the Youngstown news daily. I recently read an article on the WFMJ app about the grants to several Mahoning Valley community parks. I found the quotes within the news article to be hypocritical given what Aaron Young hasn’t done to keep up with the maintenance and safety of Mill Creek Park! Worse yet, allowing the park to become a killing field, eliminating the deer population along with other wildlife! For decades, there never seemed to be the need for slaughter and the removal of animals from Mill Creek Park ...

A few random thoughts for you to sit and ponder

DEAR EDITOR: After spending millions of dollars, and inconveniencing people for two years, the diverging diamond is reality. It is certainly no better than what was before, and in some areas is worse. Many things in this world are good in small, controlled quantities, but very bad in large quantities; such as fire and water. The internet is one of those things. Books are great. And newspapers. And some magazines. We are destroying this planet, the only one we have. The biggest problem — there are too many people. It amazes me to read that some of the Founding Fathers thought ...

Sentimental feelings for the Poland Library

DEAR EDITOR: Residents of Poland are urging the trustees of the Mahoning County Public Library to consider the sentimental feelings we have for our library. One has only to look at the extensive list of residents from our community who donated to bring this building to fruition. Many of the contributions to this effort were given by people in memory of their loved ones. For example, the cupola atop this masterpiece was gifted by the Alexoff family in memory of their mother. The clock tower elevator was donated by the late John MacIntosh in memory of his parents. The fountain ...