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Archbishop Fulton Sheen and me

Editorials

History yields people whose influence extends far beyond their earthly lives. They become teachers to generations they never met, spiritual companions to people whose names they never knew, and reminders that faith is not merely a set of propositions to be accepted but a way of life to be embraced. For me, one of those extraordinary figures is Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Fulton Sheen possessed a rare gift: He could bring the richness, beauty and intellectual depth of traditional Catholicism into the homes of ordinary Americans. Through his Emmy Award-winning, half-hour weekly ...

Will increasing pay for rail safety inspectors help?

Editorials

Rail safety reform is not a matter of partisan politics — or it shouldn’t be, anyway. But since February 2023, when a derailment in East Palestine ignited renewed calls for reform, politicians in Washington, D.C., have sat on their hands while their friends in the railroad industry made promises and assurances that weren’t worth the paper their public relations teams hoped it would be printed on. This week, U.S. Sens. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., are giving it another shot, with a bill that would increase pay for federal railroad inspectors and ...

Ciccone appears safe despite controversies

David Skolnick

Despite causing numerous problems and great embarrassment to Mahoning County, Clerk of Courts Michael Ciccone isn’t going anywhere. When I last wrote a column about Ciccone, a Republican, nearly 10 months ago, the county Republican and Democratic parties were united in an effort to have him ...

Extra incentive for giving blood through Oct. 18

Editorials

September was National Preparedness Month. Local residents who have experienced an unusually wet and stormy summer are already experiencing a taste of what some regions must be prepared for constantly. And with those storms and floods came the reminder: Disasters can strike anyone, at any time. When those disasters hit, organizations such as the American Red Cross step up in several ways. Often, they provide food, shelter and comfort to individual families; or relief to entire communities, with the help of their volunteers and donors. They also help make sure our hospitals have the ...