Editorials

Wildlife Thriving in Ohio

Though a recent SmileHub study placed Ohio as seventh-worst in the nation for protecting wildlife — using 17 metrics that included data on things like the number of animal and environmental protection agencies per capita — the Buckeye State must be doing something right. Flora and fauna that were thought long gone from the state are reappearing. Most recently, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources reported fishers are colonizing. The first modern sighting of a fisher in Ohio was in 2013, but since then there have been 40 sightings in nine northern Ohio counties. Something has ...

Johnson Must Offer Answers on Hospital

The people of Martins Ferry and Belmont County deserve answers — or at least a public acknowledgment of what went wrong — from Dr. John Johnson. The founder and CEO of Access Ohio, one of the state’s largest independent behavioral health centers, was visible and active with the local community in 2020 and 2021 when he was acquiring and working to reopen East Ohio Regional Hospital. It had been shuttered by previous owner Alecto Healthcare Services in 2019. Fast forward to early this year when signs of trouble foreshadowed the hospital’s second closure in six years. ...

Caring for Older Ohioans

Plenty of Ohio families are struggling with caring not only for children, but older family members who need full-time attention. Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, aims to lighten that load. The Credit for Caring Act would offer up to a $5,000 nonrefundable federal tax credit to offset family caregiving-related expenses. “The Credit for Caring Act offers relief to caregivers, allowing them to prioritize their loved ones and worry less about the effects on their family budget,” said Carey. “This tax credit would offset costs American families have to bear to ...

Distracted Driving Not Worth the Risk

Plenty of us are guilty of hearing the alert from our phones and finding it difficult to resist the temptation to glance down, maybe even tap out a quick response. But during National Distracted Driving Month in April, law enforcement agencies are reminding us that it’s not just against the law, it could be deadly. Distracted driving can be anything from use of a cell phone to trying to feed a toddler in the back seat. It is anything that keeps a driver’s attention away from the road. According to the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program, in 2022 there were 1,860 ...

Improving Region’s Health Outcomes

With plenty of talk at the federal level recently about demographics, a recent study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington shows us maybe we should be talking just as much about how those demographics affect our ability to live long, healthy lives. The Ohio Capital Journal reports the study showed Native Americans living in Western and Midwestern states have the shortest life expectancy, at 63.4 years. At the other end of the spectrum are Asian Americans nationwide, at 84 years. Whites living in Appalachia and some Southern states, and ...

Context Needed on Budget Talks

It’s been interesting this week — and, if you just read the headlines, perhaps somewhat concerning — to see some of the revenue decreases being projected for local governmental bodies in the 2025-26 fiscal year. Consider: - Marshall County Schools, a projected $50 million drop in revenue; - Marshall County Commission, a projected $16 million decrease in revenue; - Ohio County Schools, a projected $7 million decrease in revenue; - Ohio County Commission, about $2 million less in revenue. That’s $75 million less those four governmental bodies have to spend on schools, ...