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Opinion

Stay vigilant in avoiding threat of West Nile Virus

Editorial

We all know that mosquitoes can, well, bug the heck out of us. If you are outdoors regularly and it is muggy and hot, they are likely buzzing around licking their chops. But some are more than mere nuisances. Some carry serious diseases. Such as the West Nile Virus. Public health agencies diligently monitor this, utilizing mosquito surveillance traps. In our area, there have been several recent reports of mosquitos detected with the West Nile Virus. If there are a few around, you can be sure there are many around. We know of no human infections yet. But the virus has infected humans ...

Full federal funding needs to continue for Fraud Control Unit

Editorial

As officials at the federal level go on and on about reducing spending on Medicare and Medicaid by eliminating fraud, waste and abuse, officials at the state level are showing they’ve already been working diligently on that front. Earlier this month, the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed indictments against nine Medicaid providers accused of stealing a total of $1.2 million from the program. These suspects are home health aides and mental health specialists who are accused of billing Medicaid for services they did not actually provide. One suspect, James Ferguson, 28, ...

Ohio boasts impressive pro-business credentials

Editorial

Ohioans have always had an entrepreneurial and adventurous spirit. But according to a new report by CNBC, our state now has the pro-business credentials to match. The news outlet ranked the top states in the country for business in 2025 — using 135 metrics in 10 categories — and the Ohio landed at fifth. The top ten: North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana and Minnesota. The two bordering states of our readership area, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, are ranked 17th and 40th, respectively. The only category in which Ohio received a ...

Paper clips and buggy whips

Editorial

If you are reading this in Monday’s newspaper it is something of a miracle because I am writing it on clay tablets and may have to deliver it to the editor by Pony Express. Our internet is out. Were sadder words ever written? I could blame it on Britbox, because that’s what we were watching on TV when an episode of “Ludwig” froze up, a spinning little blip on the screen telling us that it was buffering, buffering, buffering, which is to say trying to download the next packet of digital ones and zeroes comprising that funny, charming murder mystery. My children, or I should ...

Food banks continue to face funding challenges

Editorial

The esteemed Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley and the robust network of similar nonprofits in the Ohio Association of Foodbanks have never met a challenge they could not slay. Over the years, their critical mission has been far too important to let any pesky nuisances such as a national economic recession or a global health pandemic stand in their way of delivering essential food assistance to tens of thousands in the Valley and millions in Ohio. That’s why we’re confident that the same stellar resilient history of overcoming adversity will again shift into high ...

Recognizing the impact of volunteer fire depts.

Editorial

Volunteer fire departments across our area and the entire state are experiencing reduced staffing levels at the same time they are receiving an increased number of calls. Of course, most of those who are working in those departments also have full-time jobs; and for many, those jobs are also jobs of service. That’s why the State Fire Marshal Division and Ohio Department of Transportation took a moment last Tuesday to recognize the more than 70 ODOT employees who also serve as volunteer firefighters or emergency medical technicians. The event focused on employees in ODOT Districts 5, ...