Well worth a bloody nose

November 13, 2023

PUGHTOWN, W.Va. - Sally Stover was the only girl I ever got into a fight over. I was probably 10 years old. I said Sally was my girlfriend. The other boy said she was his. I got a bloody nose out of it, punched while I was held down in a two-on-one fight in front of my house. I got up mad as hell and chased my laughing antagonist and his stooge over the hill. Sally Ann Stover Graham died suddenly Oct. 19 at Pawleys Island, S.C., the community she had made her home since 1998. She was 72. Her sudden death caused a mighty ripple through the Mayhew galaxy of relations and friends. Sally ...

Ohio Issue 2 gets minimal attention

November 4, 2023

Backers of state Issue 2 to legalize the adult-use of recreational marijuana have implemented a low-key campaign strategy rather than draw voter attention to the proposal. Opponents to the issue also don’t seem that motivated to get out their message. It’s an unusual strategy, but probably an effective one for supporters with so much attention being paid to the other issue on the ballot — an abortion rights constitutional amendment. Television commercials and, to a lesser extent, radio ads are very common during statewide campaigns in Ohio. It’s typically the largest ...

Vance capitalizing on Trump indictments

October 31, 2023

Several emails sent by the campaign of U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance seek to capitalize on the indictments of former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement of Vance last year was a significant help in his Senate victory. Vance, R-Cincinnati, has endorsed Trump for president in next year’s election. Vance’s campaign used Trump’s mug shot in a few emails with the line above one on Sept. 28 reading: “PRESIDENT TRUMP COULD BE IN JAIL FOR LIFE.” It adds: “President Trump will Never Surrender and will always fight for secure elections and a free America, even with the entire weight of ...

LaRose lags in raising funds for Senate race

October 23, 2023

Secretary of State Frank LaRose needed to raise an impressive amount of money in his first filing quarter for the U.S. Senate to show not only that he can compete with the two wealthy Republican candidates in the race but with incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown. But when the financial numbers came out for the third quarter, LaRose reported raising $791,657 from donors while the two other GOP Senate candidates, Bernie Moreno and Matt Dolan, received more. Moreno raised $1,192,655 from donors in the third quarter and Dolan got $1,107,341 from contributors. Also, Moreno and Dolan each gave ...

We must preserve and protect West Virginia

October 16, 2023

We live in a great country that has a noble history. The strengths of our nation have always outweighed our weaknesses. We have met threats from within and from without. With extraordinary determination, courage, and sacrifice, we have defended the very best things: our families, our children, our neighborhoods, our main streets, our land, our history, and our sacred bond to those unchanging truths that built Western civilization. These are now everywhere under attack from the rapid spread of a radical ideology. This emergent ideology is a diabolic development which has few comparable ...

Redistricting reform sought by frustrated organizations

October 11, 2023

With a number of organizations still angry about the Ohio Redistricting Commission’s approval of General Assembly maps, the effort to change how federal and state legislative districts took a step forward. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost approved summary petition language as “fair and truthful” for a constitutional amendment that would take the power to draw those districts away from politicians and give it to a 15-member citizens commission. The approval from Yost, a Republican, came after he twice rejected petition language from an organization called Citizens Not ...