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Lawmakers prioritize online safety

Editorials

A Pew Research Center study shows approximately 20% of teenagers report social media has damaged their mental health. Interacting with online platforms (this includes video games and chats, too) can create a host of ways for young people to endanger not just their mental health, but their physical safety, too. U.S. Sens. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and John Thune, R-S.D., are joining Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in supporting the Kids Online Safety Act, which would help protect kids’ personal data on these online platforms AND give ...

Ohio is the heart of manufacturing

Editorials

Data centers are getting a lot of attention in Ohio, but one organization reminds us the backbone of the Buckeye State economy is still an industry with a more human touch. The Ohio Manufacturing Association released its 2025 Ohio Manufacturing Counts report Thursday, in which the analysis shows manufacturing is the largest private sector contributor to the state’s economy. Manufacturing supports jobs, income, exports and investment. The association says it also continues to make progress in efficiency and environmental metrics. “Manufacturing sets the pace for Ohio’s ...

What we have here is worth protecting

Editorials

Work to preserve our region’s incredible natural treasures and the environment that sustains us all is most effective at the local level. Through the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, that work gets done with the help of grant funding for “locally led conservation and environmental stewardship efforts that advance the greater well-being of the region.” This year, with the help of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, the group awarded more than $120,000. Community grants included Base Camp Alpha in Jackson County, Caldwell Exempted Village School District in Noble County, ...

The need to employ common sense and decency

Editorials

Details continue to be revealed regarding FirstEnergy’s behavior while it was involved in financing a $61 million bribery scheme, according to a report by the Energy and Policy Institute. Evidence suggests FirstEnergy was classifying lobbying and donations as “construction expenses” while it was also funding what became a bribery scandal. However, the Ohio Capital Journal says the report does not determine whether any of that misclassified money was being used to pay for bribes. However they were labeled, $108 million in such errors have been found. Now, FirstEnergy has the ...

Finding solutions with energy permitting

Editorials

Those who want a clear picture of the challenges facing Ohio’s economy would do well to take a look at the state Chamber of Commerce’s “Energy Permitting in Ohio: A Process Analysis,” which takes a look at just one industry, but reveals some larger truths. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation released the study at a policy forum Monday, where a number of stakeholders were discussing how to modernize the state’s energy permitting system and support growing demand. “Ohio is in a period of unprecedented opportunity, but our energy capacity has to keep pace,” ...

The line must be drawn somewhere

Editorials

Thank goodness common sense prevailed in Columbus last week, as Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a bill that would have allowed Ohio children ages 14 and 15 to work until 9 p.m. year-round. State Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, had introduced both Senate Bill 50 to alter allowable work hours for minors and Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, which asked Congress to change the Fair Labor Standards Act to accommodate Ohio lawmakers’ desire to let 14- and 15-year-olds work longer. But, “I believe it unwise to provide for 14- and 15-year-olds to work, on a school night, that late at night,” ...