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China weaponizing minerals monopoly

For more than a decade, Washington has talked a big game about breaking China’s grip on the world’s mineral supplies. And both presidents Trump and Biden have labeled America’s mineral vulnerability—along with China’s mineral dominance—an unacceptable and urgent risk. The alarming reality is this: China’s grip on the world’s mineral supply chains is growing tighter. And America’s reliance on Chinese minerals is growing deeper. This is a crisis that demands to be an important election issue. Now, China is all but goading candidates Trump and Harris to make it one. ...

Ballot drop boxes are targeted once again

After a federal judge ruled a state law violated the voting rights of those with disabilities, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose again went after ballot drop boxes outside county boards of elections. LaRose, a Republican, issued a directive to county boards of elections requiring them to get signatures on attestations from those dropping off ballots for others in response to the federal decision that the state violated the Voting Rights Act by restricting who could return absentee ballots for those with disabilities. That means that a person who under state law is permitted to put a ...

Suicide Prevention Awareness Month observed in September

As we enter Suicide Prevention Awareness Month this September, we extend a heartfelt message of support, compassion, and hope. This is a time for us all to come together, raise awareness, and demonstrate that no one has to face their struggles alone. Let us use this month as an opportunity to engage in open conversations about mental health, to offer our support to those in need, and to work towards preventing suicides in our community. Together, we can make a difference. In honor of World Suicide Prevention Day on Tuesday, Sept. 10, we invite you to participate in our special event: ...

Drought and a runaway waterbed mattress

Nothing I’ve ever done was more hoopie than my attempt to use an old waterbed mattress to water my garden during a drought in 2002. Before repeating that tale, I should comment on the current summer drought, which has to be one of the longest on record. We got virtually no measurable rain through July and August. “Radar shows rain right on top of us but nothing’s getting through,” my wife complained the other day. Sometimes I think we’d be better off without weather radar on our cellphones, but we’re addicted. A promising red or yellow line of rain on the screen would ...

Learning how to communicate with older adults

The following column was originally published Oct. 9, 2021 Thanks to breakthroughs in medicine and nutrition in recent years, we are living longer than ever before. But this increase in life expectancy also brings an increase in the number of diseases, injuries and impairments that affect older adults. With this in mind, we at the local Visiting Angels office in Salem have created this series of articles to keep our older population and their families informed and to offer some practical advice for meeting the challenges faced by seniors and those who care for them. When many ...

You should get ready for soaring electric bills

There is a ticking time bomb hanging over the U.S. economy. The nation’s electricity grid operators and utilities are projecting rapidly approaching power shortfalls. And instead of helping address the crisis, U.S. energy policy is making a bad situation far worse. Power demand is suddenly soaring. New battery and semiconductor manufacturing, reshoring of supply chains, and the arrival of electric vehicles are all driving demand. But it’s the emergence of artificial intelligence and the exponential growth of enormous data centers—with the power needs of small cities—that is ...