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Check Medicaid, health care coverage

Access to health care — doctors, health screenings, prescription drugs and hospitals — is critically important for all Ohioans. Health insurance through employers, the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid helps make sure people of all ages and in every corner of the state can get this crucial coverage. More than 3 million Ohioans currently receive health care through Medicaid, the joint federal and state program that provides health coverage for low-income households. To ensure people didn’t go without health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicaid was ...

Misguided energy policy could sink renaissance of manufacturing

An extraordinary but little-noticed economic phenomenon is occurring across the United States today. Electricity demand — which has been relatively stable for more than a decade — suddenly is surging. The U.S. economy is embarking on a literal power trip, and the pace is likely to increase. Consider that California’s major utility, PG&E, expects the state’s electricity demand to jump 70% in the next two decades. New York’s electricity demand is on track to double by 2050. And Virginia’s power demand is projected to jump 85% in just the next 15 years. Why such huge ...

Fair maps essential for democracy

Three strikes and you’re out? The politicians in Ohio have struck out three times, and we, the citizens of Ohio, are crying foul. Strike 1: Ignoring the will of the voters and the Ohio Supreme Court by repeatedly imposing unconstitutional maps on us. Strike 2: Charging us $20 million for a desperate failed election in August to try to fool us into signing away majority rule. Strike 3: Democrats colluding with Republicans on the political redistricting commission in the dark of night to draw up and then pass even more heavily gerrymandered maps. Enough is enough. The citizens of ...

Shift continues for cultural climate

As we approach what would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v Wade, a landmark decision that secured the right to safe and legal abortions, the echoes of its impact resonate in the ongoing struggle for reproductive justice. This year, the commemoration takes on added significance, coinciding with the theme of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service: "Shifting the Cultural Climate through the Study and Practice of Kingian Nonviolence." In this reflection, we delve into the ongoing consequences of the overturning Roe v Wade, the transformative power of Kingian Nonviolence and crucial ...

When we set aside partisanship, parochialism

New Years is a time of renewal, and nothing says renewal to the Mahoning Valley’s economy than the recent announcement that Kimberly-Clark is acquiring 560 acres of some of the best shovel-ready property in the United States for manufacturing. It’s great to see the Valley’s stalwart economic development agencies, the Western Reserve Port Authority and the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber, work together as seamlessly as possible to make these opportunities happen. Congratulations to both teams. And now, like a good chess match, it gives the development actors ability to ...

Mahoning Valley’s story is changing

Economic indicators have not treated us kindly. According to the 2020 census, the Youngstown-Warren-Bordman metropolitan statistical area lost 8.35 people per day, every day, 365 days a year, for 10 years. According to recent data, Youngstown had the highest poverty rate in Ohio, and Warren was No. 2. In 2020, the Wall Street Journal highlighted our entire MSA as being among the most impoverished in the U.S., pointing out poverty is not confined to our urban cores. And, according to employment statistics, as we continue to get older and poorer, our labor force has shrunk by 34,000 ...