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Small business success must be just the start

Editorials

Some public officials in West Virginia have understood for years that we need to expand and diversify our economy -- and that maybe the best way to do that is to start small. Efforts to help people start and sustain small businesses here have strengthened to the degree that a study conducted by Franchise Opportunities has named the Mountain State the leading state for new business survival. That's a big deal. Plenty of small business owners will tell you it is easier to start one than to keep one going. Franchise Opportunities chose a five-year period that included the Covid-19 years ...

The Way I See It: Marietta was booming in 1900

Local Columns

As the new century began in 1900, the area went through phenomenal growth with several large building projects being completed within a few years that continue to shape life in the area 125 years later. A new courthouse, Catholic church, high school and Ohio River bridge all took shape ...

Backyard Gardener: Chicory, the roadside wildflower

Local Columns

Hello Mid-Ohio Valley farmers and gardeners! We are slowly drying out from the weeks of wet weather. Fall will soon be here, and this year may be a great time to plant trees and shrubs. We should have plenty of moisture and give plants some time to establish roots before the first frost. This week I want to talk about a plant in bloom this time of year, chicory (Cichorium intybus). In the late summer months of July and August, you may notice a sky-blue flowered plant along county roadsides or in pasture fields in the valley. Chicory has also been called blue sailors, coffee weed, ...

Don't give Columbus more control over college education

Editorials

Students across the country have already showed what they think of the government-mandated “intellectual diversity centers” popping up in some states. Further, voters’ rightful displeasure with such a blatant attempt at government overreach has been evident. Yet calculating politicians just can’t help themselves. Ohio Sen. Jerry Cirinio, R-Kirtland, has introduced Senate Bill 461, Enact the Strengthening Ohio Civics Act, which would give the Salmon P. Chase center for civics, culture and society — a purportedly independent unit within Ohio State University — “all the ...

Parton's legacy lives on in Ohio Imagination Library

Editorials

Plenty of the stories shared by those remembering Dolly Parton in the wake of her passing Tuesday revolved not around music, movies or even a theme park, but around books. Because of Parton and her Imagination Library, hundreds of millions of books have been sent out to children and their families. It was a project close to Parton’s heart, and one she expanded outside her beloved Tennessee to Ohio back in 2019. First Lady Fran DeWine had a lot to do with that step for the organization. "Her devotion to children and literacy is unparalleled. Because of Dolly, millions of children ...

Hard work doesn’t mean what it used to for our region

Editorials

WalletHub recently produced its “Hardest-Working States in America (2026)” report. Readers in West Virginia and Appalachian Ohio are likely thinking “Finally! A report in which our region will not be dead last.” About that … Both the Mountain and Buckeye states fall in the bottom ten, which WalletHub labels “least hardworking.” West Virginia is 42nd, Ohio is 47th – those some residents will be pleased to note that ranks above Michigan, which did, indeed, come in dead last. This study looked at direct work factors, including metrics such as average workweek hours, ...