Breaking News

Editorials

Some things sound better on paper

Sometimes legislative proposals sound great on the surface — after all, the people who come up with names such as the “Ohio Property Protection Act” are hoping to persuade others to vote for it. But a deeper dive brings up serious questions. Ohio House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 88 are similar versions of the Ohio Property Protection Act, which would “modify the law that prohibits certain governments, businesses and individuals from acquiring certain real property.” Among the stated goals of the bills are to prohibit foreign adversaries from being able to own land within 25 ...

The need to prevent such disasters

Norfolk Southern says it still expects site restoration in East Palestine to be “substantially complete by early/mid June.” This despite additional monitoring wells being installed as recently as the end of March, and sediment and surface water monitoring that continues to show evidence of the catastrophic derailment that occurred there more than two years ago. Charts made available by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show there is still visible sheen on affected waterways — in fact, instances of heavy sheen being observed as late as April in part of Sulphur ...

Tune in to water safety

Most of us understand and follow the rules when it comes to keeping our phones out of our hands and remaining focused when we drive. But those little devices can distract us at other potentially dangerous times, too. How many times have you been puttering through a parking lot, only to have to slam on your brakes when a person with their eyes buried in their cell phones walks in front of you? Or, how many times have you been asked to watch pets or children — perhaps at a park — and gotten sucked into scrolling on your phone only to be jolted back to reality just in time to prevent ...

A real improvement

U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, signed on last week to be a cosponsor of a bill that would recognize May as National Foster Care Month. That resolution later passed. He was not alone, of course, in addition to sponsors Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., there were 14 cosponsors for the bill. It’s a sign of how important most senators understand our foster care system is. “Loving foster families offer stability and guidance when kids may need it most. My parents adopted me from foster care. I’ve seen how transformational a child’s first years of life can ...

A beneficial partnership

We often talk about the skills our students are gaining in school, and the real-world advantages they provide. But it is not often we get a chance to see those skills put to good use for the rest of us while students are still in school. For a group of Belpre High School students, that is exactly what has happened. A “culvert buggy” made by senior Christopher Boso, sophomore Jayden Haynes, senior Adrick McLaughlin and junior Keegan Marsh, will be put to service to help inspect some of Washington County’s more than 13,000 culverts. All that because of engagement made possible ...

Thank you, public workers

During last week’s National Public Works Week observations, Marietta seized the opportunity to recognize some of its public workers for their hard work and dedication. These are the folks who do the kinds of jobs most of us don’t think much about — until something goes wrong or those jobs aren’t getting done. They are incredibly important to the everyday function of the city in fields such as streets, bridges, water and sewer systems. Think for a moment about how much would fall apart (perhaps literally), if these workers weren’t so good at what they do. Because of their ...