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Law enforcement agencies continue to fight trafficking

Editorial

“We have to attack this scourge by curbing the demand,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Monday, referring to those who seek to buy sex in the our state. He was announcing the arrests of 132 people as part of a statewide human-trafficking operation that involved more than 100 law enforcement agencies, with major activities in Akron, Columbus, Cleveland, Marietta, Portsmouth, Toledo and the Mahoning Valley. Operation END-OHHT, named after the state’s human trafficking hotline, had three purposes: round up as many suspects as possible, help those victimized by human trafficking ...

Animal tranquilizer emerges as a new drug abuse danger

Editorial

Just as Ohio is beginning to see signs the tide is weakening (though not quite turning) in the substance abuse epidemic, a new danger rears its head. Xylazine-related overdose deaths are on the rise. Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer — not for use by humans — that is becoming popular. Speaking to WTOL about his observations in other cities, Matt Bell, the chief executive officer and founder of Team Recovery, said the drug is frightening. “These folks in Philadelphia, their drug of choice is Xylazine,” Bell said. “And in fact, if they know that someone has fentanyl, and ...

Editorial

Ohioans hope for a rosy future, as politicians hand us promise after promise to distract from reality. We know there is potential, but numbers don’t lie, and the Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Research took a look at population projections from 2020 to 2050 to show us what the trends really suggest. Population change: Ohio’s population is projected to decline by approximately 675,000 (5.7%) by 2050 if current rates of fertility, mortality, and migration remain unchanged. Ohio is currently the seventh most populous state. Georgia and North Carolina will likely surpass ...

Communities suffer damage caused by undervaluing news

Local Columns

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 ...

Protect each other with fall vaccines

Editorial

Wondering whether or when you should get your seasonal vaccines this year? Well (provided your doctor agrees), the answers are yes; and, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, right now. Staying up-to-date is important for the latest COVID-19 vaccines, flu shots and maybe even respiratory syncytial virus, if you are of a certain age or risk group. “Right now is the best time” to get all the recommended fall vaccinations, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s “the single most effective thing you can do ...

Kripchak, Rulli offer blunt responses during interviews

Local Columns

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 ...