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Editorial

Like for breweries, some laws in Ohio need updated

In pitching state Senate Bill 138 to revise Ohio’s franchise law and give small craft brewers more flexibility to deal with wholesalers, state Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, said the old law “was written for the market of 50 years ago. “Distributors worth hundreds of millions of dollars do not need protection from our local neighborhood breweries,” he said, according to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, “and it’s time state law reflected that.” As Brenner does his work in the state Senate to free craft brewers of the crushing weight of laws written to restrain ...

Keep workers on the job in West Virginia

West Virginia is used to being behind trends around the rest of the country, but in at least one category, it is ahead of the game. That might not be good thing. West Virginia is at the top of the class when it comes to the number of those who joined in with the nationwide “Great Resignation.” According to WalletHub’s “2023’s States With the Highest Job Resignation Rates,” the Mountain State is first in the nation, with a 4% resignation rate in the latest available reported month and a 3.4% resignation rate in the last 12 months. This news comes hot on the heels of state ...

State Senate Bill 168: Removing regulations

When lawmakers can move government out of the way for employers, most of them jump to do so. The same should hold true for educators, as the folks in Columbus consider a bill that would change the way teacher evaluations are handled, as well as some contracts and school screening requirements. “Just like businesses, schools also benefit by removing unnecessary and burdensome regulations while maintaining strong accountability measures,” Tom Perkins, of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators told the Ohio Capital Journal. State Senate Education Committee members learned ...

Extremist religious violence is wrong

No matter your thoughts on one social issue or another, most decent human beings can agree those differences do not warrant resorting to violence. But time and again over the past few years we see instances in which those who have bought in to the fear-and-hatred method of buying votes believe they are justified in translating their extreme views into action. Sadly, that has been — repeatedly — deadly. In the case of a community church in Chesterland, Ohio, the damage was only to a building, but the situation could have been much worse. Aimenn Penny, of Alliance, has pleaded guilty ...

Key development, jobs come to Appalachian Ohio

Though Appalachian Ohio got some good news recently with the announcement of hydrogen hub locations in our region, it is encouraging to know our representatives in Washington, D.C., continue to push for more. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office has announced $1.25 million to the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, the Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership, for small and medium manufacturers in Appalachia. Brown, D-Ohio, says the funding is meant to grow production in energy and technology sectors. “Rural communities and workers have been overlooked for too long. If we want ...

Seat belt use is hardly an automatic habit for drivers

Ohio may be making progress improving vehicle safety by tightening the laws about driving distracted, but a new report suggests Buckeye State residents are moving backward on another front. According to a report by Axios Columbus, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration numbers show fewer Ohioans are wearing their seat belts. As Axios points out, most of those killed in car accidents in Ohio were not wearing their seat belts, yet more people appear willing to take that risk. Citing research that shows Ohio seat belt use is at its lowest since 2005, Axios reported approximately ...