Breaking News

Opinion

Non-profits will need the help of individuals

Editorial

Repeated reminders of our need to take care of one another have often come with pleas from vital non-profits for support over the past few years. Charitable giving is a priority for many who are able to make it part of their budget — and the number of people who share that priority appears to be growing. According to the most recent “Giving USA” report, charities received approximately $592.5 billion in donations in 2024 — a 3.3% increase over 2023. The donations data used for this report came before the layoff of tens of thousands of workers for non-profits for 2025 due to ...

Ohio BMV at front of the upgrade line

Editorial

Not every technological “upgrade” is a homerun, but at least one improvement in Ohio is paying big dividends for the state and its residents. With a change as simple as allowing certain transactions with the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles to take place online instead of in person, more than 10 million trips to BMV offices have been saved since 2022. Among the options available online are renewal of driver’s licenses or identification cards. More than 608,000 Ohio residents have taken advantage of that so far; and now the option has been expanded to commercial driver’s license ...

Ohio Democrats are in a holding pattern

Local Columns

With Sherrod Brown, a former U.S. senator, considering a return to politics by either running for a seat in the Senate or for governor next year, both races on the Democratic side remain up in the air. Actually the entire Democratic ticket for 2026, unlike the Republicans, is uncertain. When Brown will make his decision on whether to run for Senate, governor or at all isn’t known, but it should be in a few months. Dr. Amy Acton, the party’s only declared candidate for governor, told me during a recent visit to Youngstown: “Sherrod Brown will probably be making some decisions ...

Finally, encouraging news for East Palestine residents

Editorial

It took long enough, but last week federal officials announced there are finally plans for long-term study of the possible health outcomes after the February 2023 train derailment in East Palestine. The National Institutes of Health is launching a five-year, $10 million research initiative. In announcing the effort, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thanked Vice President JD Vance for continuing to press the matter. “You helped drive the first large-scale, coordinated, multi-year federal study dedicated to the long-term health effects of the East ...

‘Digger’ Dawson and the Icy Pond Pooch Rescue

Editorial

(The column below was published in The Review on March 28, 1994. I offer it in loving memory of my friend Frank C. Dawson.) Last week Frank “Digger” Dawson risked life and health to save his family dog. The fact that the dog in question is a stupid old fat retriever which nobody in the family likes - in fact, a dog that everyone, including Frank, wishes were dead - makes his act of heroism all the more heroic. It happened in the early evening on one of the last days of this winter. Digger and his wife Gretchen were out on their customary walk along the wooded paths near their ...