Late Christmas cards are least worrisome

January 31, 2021

The metered cost to mail a 1 oz. letter went up a penny this month. Good thing. Maybe the U.S. Postal Service will put the extra money to good use getting the mail delivered on time. Seriously, this is not a matter to joke about. Repeated and outrageous delays in mail delivery are leading many of us to rely less and less on the U.S. Postal Service. But that only exacerbates the problem. Like you, my family still is receiving Christmas cards. But that’s the least of my worries. Utility bills are arriving days after they’re due. And don’t even get me started on credit ...

Woman VP has been a long time coming

January 24, 2021

We have started down an incredible new path in history. Yes, given the events of the last four years, that statement is a no brainer. But I’m not speaking just about the presidential flip from Republican to Democrat, or from conservative to liberal, or even from unorthodox to traditional. Rather, I’m talking about the gigantic leap that garnered support from more than 80 million Americans who in November cast ballots for a presidential ticket shared not only by a woman, but by a woman of color. Indeed, it’s a new era for politics and a new era for America. It was Kamala ...

It’s time our children get back to school

January 17, 2021

I don’t always agree with our governor, but on at least one very important issue, I do. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and I are in complete agreement that kids need to get back to school. I say this just as my son, a senior in high school, is pressing me and my husband to allow him to change his education plan from in-class learning to remote learning, but it’s not because of health concerns. Rather, I suspect it’s so he can sleep later. Like any parent, we know our son’s personality and habits well, and we believe strongly he’ll learn better in the school building — ...

Riot in DC reaches way beyond just politics

January 10, 2021

Five people have now died after pro-Trump protests in Washington turned violent Wednesday and hundreds, perhaps thousands, poured unbridled into the U.S. Capitol building, overpowering the thin police line. By now, we’ve all seen the shocking video footage and photographs. Since then, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the latest casualty from the melee, Capitol police Officer Brian Sicknick, 42. The officer died Thursday night from injuries sustained after he was struck in the head by a fire extinguisher apparently hurled by a ...

New court ruling stresses gov’t openness

January 3, 2021

While America and individual states have varying levels of laws guiding openness of government, laws that have changed through the years reflective of high court rulings and legislation, most government officials understand the critical importance of public access to the workings of government. Acting on behalf of all residents, news media often seeks information that government holds or, in some cases, holds back. And when media requests for access are declined, journalists think hard about the value of pursuing those requests and whether added pressure is warranted – including the ...

We’d like to forget, but COVID-19 is part of history

December 27, 2020

I saw an editorial cartoon last week that was set in the year 2120. A child seated in a floating desk chair in history class of the future asks his teacher why all the textbooks skip the year 2020. The boy’s robot teacher responded, “Historians are still trying to sort that one out, dear.” Yep, that’s how we feel about 2020. Wiping it from memory might be the desire, but in journalism, where we record history every day, that’s just not an option. As always this time of year, the newsroom staff has been busy suggesting big stories and voting on what we saw as the top ...