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Kristi Noem rides off into the sunset

Editorials

At times, you could be forgiven for having thought that Kristi Noem wanted to be a uniformed DHS officer rather than the secretary of the department. Now, the cabinet member most inclined to glamour shots out in the field is going to have to go back to wearing civilian clothes. For all his trademark firings during “The Apprentice” and the rapid turnover of his first term, President Trump has been loathe to oust top officials this time around. Kristi Noem is the exception, and she’s earned the dubious distinction. Incompetent and preposterously self-promoting, Noem took a ...

DeWine missed opportunities to address key issues for Ohio

David Skolnick

During his final State of the State address this week, Gov. Mike DeWine declined to discuss in detail — and not at all in some cases — the main issues that are important to Ohioans today: property taxes, the electric grid, rising utility costs and the economy. But that came as little surprise as DeWine, who is serving his eighth and final year as governor, has a different agenda than his fellow Republicans, who control the state House and Senate. DeWine took an active role in property tax reform after vetoing four items in the state budget dealing with it last year. After some ...

Lack of affordable housing still plagues low-income Ohioans

Editorials

Affordable housing remains a challenge for Ohioans — and that challenge only grows as rent puts a greater strain on an increasing number of households. According to the 2026 Gap Report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, there are 422,098 extremely low-income renters in the state, and 73% of those report spending more than half their income on rent. That is an increase from 66% only five years ago. “For people at the bottom of the pay scale, rent is gobbling up most of their paychecks. But this report shows the rent ...

Senate six declare war on Iran war

Editorials

Readers, does it seem we’re going through one constitutional crisis after another? Six Democratic senators told a scrum of journalists that President Donald Trump’s newly launched war on Iran, with Israel, pushed them past a breaking point. They vowed to force public hearings and debate on the war, which is costing about a billion dollars a day without a clear endpoint. Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) voiced the strongest case against the escalating war in the Middle East. “The president jumped into a war of choice with no oversight, no hearings,” he said. “The Senate has to do ...

Fix what’s broken at home so we can defend ourselves abroad

Editorials

In 2024, for the first time in almost a century, the United States spent more financing its national debt than it did, as a percentage of GDP, on national defense. In 2024, interest on our national debt expenditures came in at 3.1% of GDP and defense spending at 2.9%. This has been the case through this year, although it’s too soon to say what the picture will finally be for 2026. But it’s very close. We’re in this situation because of the massive increase in federal spending, and the massive increase in federal borrowing to finance the spending. At the same time, defense ...

Next governor must follow DeWine’s lead on education

Editorials

In his final State of the State address, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was right to spend so much time on education — particularly reading. If we aren’t giving Buckeye State children the best start possible, it’s hard to see how public officials are going to be able to get much else right. They’ll just be playing catch-up. But there are bright spots on that horizon. DeWine’s persistence regarding the Science of Reading may be helping our youngest readers improve their reading performance. The governor and his team at the Department of Education and Workforce must be seeing evidence ...