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Ohio visitors and residents shine together

As we approach the unofficial start to summer, state officials hosted an event last week to celebrate Ohio Tourism Day. Hundreds of exhibitors and attendees gathered in Columbus as a kind of pep rally to kick off the season. “The experiences you’ll have in the Heart of it All are unmatched—and so is their impact,” said Gov. Mike DeWine. “Whether you’re paddling through Hocking Hills, watching the sun dip below Lake Erie, or sitting down to a five-star dinner in Over-The-Rhine, you’re a part of something much bigger. Tourism brings serious dollars into Ohio and breathes ...

Well-deserved recognition

In many newsrooms, there is a police scanner on most of the time, alerting us to events involving first responders that might also turn into news stories. Because we hear so much of the traffic that comes across each day, we have a window onto the incredible work done by dispatchers on behalf of both the rest of the first responders and the public. It’s gratifying, then, to learn that Washington County has become the first in Ohio to formally recognize 911 telecommunicators as first responders. County commissioners passed a resolution last week that officially acknowledged them as ...

How much will it take to improve prospects?

Across the country, families are struggling to keep their heads above water — maybe even pay down a little of their debt — with varying degrees of success. Some states are in better shape than others. So WalletHub took a look at “Cities Paying Off the Most Household Debt,” in a recent report. Those living in some California cities appear to be having the most success, as seven of the top ten are in the Golden State. If your own household debt situation is giving you a sinking feeling about how well Ohio cities performed, you see where this is going. In the report listing 182 ...

What comes next?

For whatever reason, one fast food restaurant in particular has made enough inroads with the federal government that the U.S. Secretary of Labor visited Delaware County Monday to help the company tout its additional 375,000 jobs for the summer — 20,000 of which will be Ohio, according to a report by WSYX. Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel was there, too, trying his best to turn the announcement into economic news. Perhaps state officials are smarting from the loss (or, rather, failure to materialize) of so many of the jobs promised by larger employers who never put their money where their mouths ...

Take heed of Totman’s example

“It was my pleasure and actually my duty to do it and I enjoyed every bit of it.” How many of us can speak with such certainty about the fruits of a life we have carved out for ourselves? Ninety-four-year-old Perl Totman is a wood carver known to most in the Mid-Ohio Valley as the man who carved two wooden sculptures that for years graced Marietta’s Muskingum Park and now stand at the Washington County Public Library genealogy library. The Frontiersman and The Pioneer have been restored, preserved and are once again on display for all to see. But Totman has also traveled the ...

Why the rush?

Ohio Republicans jumped the gun a bit in what some news outlets are reporting as one of the earliest gubernatorial endorsements in the party’s history. Last week, the state GOP announced its endorsement of Vivek Ramaswamy, the former co-chair of the federal Department of Government Efficiency, nearly a year before the 2026 primary election. This move comes despite members of the State Central Committee not even knowing yet who might enter the race. Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel says he is considering a bid for governor. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has already made his intentions clear. ...