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US Reps. Rulli, Joyce roll in campaign dough

It was a foregone conclusion that Dave Joyce and Michael Rulli, the two Republican congressmen who represent the Mahoning Valley, were going to win reelection. The only questions were: By what margin and how much money would they raise? The quick answer to both is: a lot. Joyce, R-Bainbridge, will start serving his seventh two-year term representing the 14th Congressional District next month. The district, which includes all of Trumbull County, had a 9.7% Republican advantage based on statewide partisan voting results during the previous decade. That number will definitely increase ...

Supporting each other: Preventing suicide and healing together

As the coordinator of the Columbiana County Suicide Prevention Coalition, I want to take a moment to reflect on the challenges our county has been facing. Recently, we’ve seen a rise in suicides, and with the holiday season fast approaching, I feel it’s crucial to address how we can support one another. The holiday season is often associated with warmth, joy, and togetherness, but for many, it can also be a time of deep sadness, isolation, and heightened stress. The pressures of the holidays can amplify these feelings, making it an especially difficult time for those who are ...

Replacing Vance in Senate will be DeWine’s decision

Gov. Mike DeWine has a big decision to make: Who will he select to replace U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance who will resign to be sworn in as vice president of the United States? Vance’s political career has skyrocketed in a short time. After getting the coveted endorsement from Donald Trump before the May 2022 Republican primary for the Senate seat, Vance had never held political office. Vance won the crowded Republican primary and then defeated Democrat Tim Ryan in the November 2022 election for the post held for 12 years by Republican Rob Portman. About 18 months into his Senate term, Trump ...

Voters sound alarm on rising energy costs

American voters soundly rejected Bidenflation at the ballot box. In an ABC exit poll, 67% of Americans said the economy is in “bad shape.” That shouldn’t be too surprising, though, since inflation is wiping out many family budgets. In fact, a half-gallon of milk now sells for as much as $10 in parts of the United States. But what’s driving all of this budget-busting inflation? And what to do about it? Much of the problem stems from higher energy costs. CBS News reports that the price of electricity in the U.S. has jumped 28.5% since 2019. In some states, the increase has been ...

Communities suffer damage caused by undervaluing news

For too many years people undervalued having a local newspaper, local radio station and local journalists who they knew by name and trusted. People eagerly turned to social media as an alternative to subscribing to their local paper or tuning in their local radio or tv station. We saw early signs of trouble as more and more people started sharing unsubstantiated rumors with their friend groups as news or facts. We saw the dangers of this during the Covid pandemic and 2020 election. We continue to see that no topic is immune. Springfield has dealt with viral social media posts ...

Kripchak, Rulli offer blunt responses during interviews

As we started doing candidate endorsement interviews last week, one thing struck me: Those I spoke with were blunt. They were so blunt that it probably didn’t help them though it was refreshing after about three decades of talking to candidates who primarily said what they thought we wanted to hear or what they believed would get them elected. While I participated in only a few endorsement interviews this time around, the conversations were much more interesting than they have been in the past. While I ask a lot of questions during these interviews, I don’t vote on who gets the ...