Do what you can to protect yourself and your family

January 23, 2026

If it seems as though illness has been more prevalent in your school, church, office and other circles this winter, you’re not imagining things. According to Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, this year’s flu season has seen a stronger beginning than is typical. “You know, the typical pattern is that we see a relatively modest dip around the holidays, and then we see our major peak in mid-February,” he said, according to a report by WDTN. “What our data is showing us is that already, this year’s flu is having numbers that are consistently well above ...

Fighting fraud and fund freezing

January 22, 2026

Groundwork Ohio is among the organizations that has signed on to a letter from child care groups across the country, asking the federal Administration for Children and Families to continue funding the Child Care Development Block Grant and other resources. Though a federal judge has temporarily blocked a funding freeze to Minnesota, California, Colorado, Illinois and New York, there are still worries other states will have to defend their own child care systems and oversight. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, the letter says fraud “at any level is unacceptable and ...

We must do better for our kids

January 21, 2026

As Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine begins his final year in office, he appears to have his sights firmly on matters that will affect our youngest residents. Among the programs he hopes to see expand is OhioSee, according to a report by WSAZ. So far Ohio Student Eye Exam has been run as a pilot program in 15 counties: Allen, Butler, Clark, Clermont, Cuyahoga, Erie, Franklin, Guernsey, Huron, Jackson, Lorain, Mahoning, Marion, Montgomery, and Ross. It provides vision screening, comprehensive eye exams, prescription glasses (if needed), and further referrals. “Every school in the state, who is ...

Turning the tide on considerable damage

January 20, 2026

Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice and lieutenant governor Maureen O’Connor is certainly not resting quietly in her retirement. Though she left her seat on the court in 2022 because of age limits, she is still active in matters such as redistricting and protecting the judiciary from politicization. It’s easy to understand why that is important to her. When she was on the court, she repeatedly stood with the majority in rejecting clearly unfair and unconstitutional redistricting maps. For doing so, she faced insults and threats of impeachment from fellow Republicans — for not ...

Honoring the memory of Martin Luther King Jr.

January 17, 2026

For those preparing to enjoy a three-day weekend in observance of this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it is important to also honor the memory of a civil rights leader who died working toward a dream that in many ways still has not been fulfilled. Honor King this weekend by looking around — at your community, at your state, and at this country — and doing some honest thinking about how far we have to go. We are approaching 60 years now since King was murdered for believing that one day “my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color ...

Better cities, better lives

January 16, 2026

“Bike paths, it’s a fact that they make communities a better place to live.” Sam Skinner, president of Beverly-Waterford Growth and Revitalization, couldn’t be more right, as local residents who take advantage of other bike and walking paths in our communities can attest. It is a wonderful thing to be able to safely get out and enjoy nature in your own backyard. With plans for a new multi-use trail in Beverly to be built this year, residents there should soon have the same opportunity. A $1.2 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development’s Appalachian Community ...