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Columbiana is inspirational

Editorials

I never thought two days in Columbiana would be so inspirational. The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and Columbiana Area Chamber of Commerce held their first signature event since executing an affiliation agreement this year. It was the 73rd annual Harvey Awards, named for Harvey Samuel Firestone, the prominent American industrialist and the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. The event was held at The Barn at Firestone Farms. The very place where Mr. Firestone grew up. The very place where Firestone, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford would frequently camp out and discuss how ...

Ohio, W.Va. have plenty of work ahead

Editorials

Residents of this region pride themselves on a pioneering spirit that has spread across generations of those who helped fuel and build this country. But these days, we’re falling behind as others have picked up the torch. In fact, according to WalletHub’s “Most and Least Innovative States (2026),” Ohio ranks 40th in the country, and West Virginia ranks a predictable 49th. According to the study, the most innovative places are Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and California. Those measures are based on data points such as the share of STEM professionals, research and ...

Is Ramaswamy digging himself a hole in Ohio?

Editorials

Vivek Ramaswamy wants to be Ohio’s governor, but he’s finding that Ohio’s reliably red reputation isn’t giving the Republican much of a bump just yet. In fact, Youngstown native Amy Acton — who once led the Ohio Department of Health under current Gov. Mike DeWine — had a slight edge over Ramaswamy in a recent poll. Acton, the presumptive Democratic candidate, led her presumptive GOP rival 45.9% to his 44.9% in a Quantus Insights poll released March 16. The poll surveyed 809 likely voters during the weekend of March 13-14. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus ...

Free speech in America exists not just for laughs

Editorials

Following reports that Bill Maher will receive the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to believe it. “This is fake news,” she told CNN. “Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.” Ah, guess again. On Thursday, the center confirmed that Maher was the pick. (This reversal was first reported by Politico.) The annual award, presented by the Kennedy Center, will be given June 28, right before the performing arts center closes for a two-year renovation. In the spirit of the honor, Maher thanked “the Mark ...

Politics online embraces distortion, lies

Editorials

“Hezbollah hit 19 IDF tanks today. That’s $95M lost in 1 day. The IDF is a paper tiger,” declared Ethan Levins on Twitter with a picture of a burned-out tank. He describes himself as an “independent journalist,” “American Christian,” and “truth seeker.” The picture he posted was from 2006. His claim is fiction. Mario Nawfal tweeted footage with the text of his tweet reading, “Iran releases footage claiming to down a U.S. F-18 fighter jet. If true, this only happened twice before: 1991 Gulf War and 1995 Bosnia War.” Nawfal is a prolific tweeter with over 3.2 ...

US needs strong guardrails to better rein in online gambling

Editorials

From professional sports to wars on the other side of the globe, online gambling has proven it can skew major events in dangerous ways. This industry is becoming a threat, and the United States should reign it in. Earlier this month, Emanuel Fabian of The Times of Israel reported on an Iranian missile strike. Shortly after, bettors pressured him to change details of the story, with some even making death threats. All that was apparently for the sake of a wager on Polymarket, an online platform that bills itself as a “prediction market.” The platform lets users buy and sell ...