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The Twelfth Amendment

Local Columns

The Twelfth Amendment tweaked how the Electoral College functioned to select the president and vice president. There still would be no direct popular election, and electors would still meet in each state to do the voting. Each state would still get one elector for each representative and senator they had in Congress. In the first election (1789) four of the eleven states had a popular election to choose their electors. In the remaining states, the state legislatures chose the electors. By 1832 the voters in all states except South Carolina elected their electors. You may ...

MOV Climate Corner: No more time to waste

Local Columns

At a recent meeting I attended with a representative from Congressman Riley Moore’s office at the Resiliency Center in Parkersburg, another meeting attendee referred to the anthropogenic (human-caused) global climate crisis as, to paraphrase, a hoax or a farce. I was floored that someone who seemed otherwise competent, rational and data-driven could hold such a willfully ignorant view. There is more evidence for human-driven global climate change than for the scientific theory of gravity. The greenhouse effect has been well-understood since at least the 18th Century. As I’ve shared ...

What are we racing toward now

Editorials

Just a few days ago was the 105th anniversary of women being granted the right to vote in this country. Ohio was among the first states to ratify the 19th Amendment, twelve days after the U.S. Senate passed the amendment and set off the ratification process. Today, the Buckeye State isn’t faring so well in terms of equality for women, as WalletHub’s “Best and Worst States for Women’s Equality in 2025” ranks Ohio 41st. “Ensuring women’s equality requires more than simply giving men and women the same fundamental rights,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “States also ...

Marietta was once an industrial center

Local Columns

100 years ago, a walk around Marietta would have brought you the sounds of a city building things from a wide variety of businesses that were producing a wide variety of goods within walking distance of where people live. The city was buzzing with the sound of giant saws and hammer ...

Biscoe Family Picnic August 11, 1883 at 2:30 p.m.

Local Columns

Thomas Biscoe photographed hundreds of scenes around Marietta, often with family. He often recorded the exact date and time. Scan the photo carefully; what do you see? I noticed the odd position of the hammocks, almost touching the ground. The left side of each hammock is anchored to the ...

Breaking cycles and instilling hope is important

Editorials

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has earned national recognition for its success in implementing the IGNITE program this year. In fact, the program is featured in this month’s issue of the National Sheriff’s Association’s IGNITE Insight publication. It is a significant accomplishment for those who have developed the program under Sheriff Mark Warden, with the department saying IGNITE represents a major shift from traditional incarceration to rehabilitation and long-term success. The initials stand for Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education. “Our ...