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What Transgender Awareness Day is really all about

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: We are writing in regard to the column “What is ‘Transgender Awareness Day’ actually about?” by Ian Haworth and would like to reply in good faith. Transgender Day of Visibility is about celebrating the rights and dignity of trans people, as well as bringing awareness to the issues trans people are facing in our community. Haworth argues that “no serious person denies their existence, or their right — as human beings — to ‘exist’”. Meanwhile, some serious elected officials in the Ohio Statehouse and federal Congress have already passed and continue to ...

Voters in the Valley, wake up about Ohio Sen. Al Cutrona

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: How many area voters have ever seen or met state Sen. Al Cutrona? The response is probably to what most people say — who? I often totally forget that our district voted him into the state Senate. Now it is election time, and he, like many others, searches for bills to sponsor and attempt to get his name into the newspapers. Did he NOT know until now that a trained police officer should be able to enter the schools as a resource officer? A no-brainer. But he again waits until elections are upon us to sponsor such a bill that would protect our kids. It is not unusual ...

Voting against commissioner Malloy and higher water rates

Letters to the Editor

Voting against commissioner Malloy and higher water rates DEAR EDITOR: When Denny Malloy landed in his role as a Trumbull County Commissioner, my Trumbull County water and sewage bill in Howland was around $51/month. After four years of Malloy, that same bill, with no changes in my consumption, is now $72/month. Denny raised my bill by $20! Why did the increase happen? Why did he vote to get rid of the county’s separate water districts, which allowed for metrics such as population density, the age of infrastructure and where the water came from when figuring out what people ...

Trump needs to employ diplomacy, not ultimatums

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: I agree that it is imperative for us to eliminate Iran’s pursuit of nuclear warfare but the president’s ultimatum to Iran and his comments about “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” serves only to throw fuel on the fire. The president only alienates those Iranian people who want to oust the Iranian regime and tears at the very fabric of our country’s long history of not being an aggressor. What we do not want to happen is a reversion to the days when the term “ugly Americans” was coined because of our leader’s misguided ...

President Trump is not helping on environmental issues

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: The Environmental Protection Agency just announced that Ohio is no longer on the list of states that do not meet clean air standards. U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce writes, “As someone who has worked hard to promote policies that protect our environment and boost our economy, this announcement proves that both goals can be achieved.” U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno states, “For Ohio to hit this milestone, Cleveland hit this milestone, is really, really important, because quite frankly, taking care of the environment and being good stewards is not really a partisan issue.” Yet our ...

Orchids & onions

Editorials

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 ...