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Spelling and stage presence strengthen at national bee

Veritas Classical Academy’s Aadhya Adhikari advanced through two rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, missing the third-round cutoff and finishing in the top half of the national field last week. That’s quite a feat considering there were 247 spellers in the competition. Even better than her performance was the experience and confidence she says she is gaining through the national event. Not yet a sixth grader, Aadhya said “I love being on stage and seeing all those people in the audience cheering me on,” and that she has a new study plan for next year that will focus ...

Adults must set better examples

From school sporting events and recitals to board of education meetings and awards assemblies, plenty of adults have set terrible examples for the kids in their lives by behaving badly. A recent example from Queen of Apostles School in Toledo is particularly bothersome. One parent has been charged with felonious assault after a fight broke out, allegedly over seating, according to a report by WTVG. The event? A kindergarten graduation ceremony that had to be rescheduled because of the melee. Though the fight is under investigation, cell phone video appears to show a large group of ...

Exclusion efforts not the answer for public schools

Opponent testimony is piling up against Ohio Senate Bill 113, and rightly so. The effort to “prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion in public school,” was primarily sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, who introduced the measure last year but has since lost his Republican primary race. “This bill is frustratingly vague about what does and doesn’t qualify as prohibited diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives,” Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper said during last week’s Ohio Senate Education Committee meeting, according to a report by ...

Improved health care access good for everyone

Earlier this month, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously advanced two pieces of legislation meant to improve health care access, improve early intervention efforts and expand community-based care. Both were spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson, R-Ohio. Now, the entire House will get a look at the Accelerating Access to Dementia and Alzheimer’s Provider Training (AADAPT) Act and the School-Based Health Centers Reauthorization Act (harder to come up with language that leant itself to an acronym for that one, it seems). “Alzheimer’s disease and dementia ...

Don’t let up on support of Ohio River Restoration Program

State Rep. Kevin Ritter, R-Marietta, was among those testifying this week in support of House Concurrent Resolution 40, which urges Congress to enact the Ohio River Restoration Program Act. Speaking before the House Natural Resources Committee, Ritter reminded those in Washington, D.C., of what we here already know. “The Ohio River Basin is not merely an environmental asset,” he said. “It is a productive economic engine that supports jobs, commerce, transportation, and regional competitiveness.” The act in question would create a federal restoration initiative for the Ohio ...

Ohio should close loophole for prediction market trading

Athletes can’t bet on their own sport, right? That could lead to charges of taking bribes or fraud. Employees of publicly traded companies can’t give stock tips based on non-public information. That’s insider trading. There are legal consequences for some people who make money based on information only they have, or on situations over which they have some control. Meanwhile, prediction markets such as Kalshi or Polymarket provide platforms so new there are not yet consequences for many cases in which a person might make money betting on something they know more about than the ...