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College not only option after graduation

Last week’s National Apprenticeship Week gave employers, apprentices, graduates, industry representatives, labor organizations, community organizations, educational institutions — even government agencies — a chance to highlight the importance of training programs that help develop a skilled workforce. The demand for such well-trained and skilled workers is only growing. Now, as the attention of many students and families in our region turns to high school graduation — and what comes next — it is important to use that knowledge to inform the decision-making process. Each ...

Lead line removal requires funding first

“Everybody wants lead lines to be replaced, especially the mayors in our cities, but it’s a lot of money,” Sarah Biehl, policy director at Ohio Mayors Alliance, told the Ohio Capital Journal last week. Her comment came as state lawmakers take a look at House Bill 307, to “Enact the Lead Line Replacement Act.” Sponsored by state Reps. Dontavius Jarrels, D-Columbus, and Monica Robb Blasdel, R-New Waterford, the measure would mandate state replacement of all lead service lines. It’s an important project. According to the Capital Journal, there are 745,000 lead service lines in ...

Keep calm and avoid scams

Decent people are assaulted regularly by scammers attempting to gain their personal information, their money, and usually, both. A new round of scam attempts has taken things up a notch by including the state seal of West Virginia in its attempt. Law abiding citizens are used to being able to believe that if something comes with that kind of official imagery, they should pay attention. And because they ARE the kinds of people who want to do the right thing, they are more likely to fall for attempts by those who would prey on their sense of responsibility by using state seals, bank logos ...

Support for paid leave would help Ohio families

State lawmakers are not always in touch with what ordinary Ohio families are facing, but a bipartisan group of them is trying to make headway on an issue that touches many. According to a report by the Statehouse News Bureau, more than 75% of Buckeye State workers do not have access to paid leave to deal with medical emergencies, elderly or ill family members or even newborn babies. There are two efforts to change that. First is state Senate Bill 396, to “establish family and medical leave insurance benefits” by creating a program administered by the Ohio Department of Job and ...

Yost right to join effort on PBM transparency

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has joined an important effort by 45 state attorneys general to push the federal government to seek more transparency in prescription-drug transactions through pharmacy benefit managers, and to ensure federal efforts do not pre-empt state transparency laws. It’s a significant effort because PBMs — the companies that are supposed to represent insurers in drug transactions — have always favored the federal rules and regulations over state laws. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, the three largest PBMs control approximately 80% of ...

Students, teachers achieve success together

As the school year rapidly winds down, Marietta High School students got a chance last week to look back on their academic careers and celebrate not only their own achievements, but the educators who helped them reach this moment. At the annual Academic Excellence Awards banquet, teachers were spotlighted alongside their students for the impact they have on these and thousands of other kids over their careers. The event recognized students for their academic excellence — achieving a grade point average of 3.5 or higher; and students were given an opportunity to reach out to a ...