ORCHID: To U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., for his aggressive campaign to recharge the U.S. electric-vehicle industry. Khanna recently toured the Ultium Cells EV-battery production plant in Lordstown and called it “impressive.” In the U.S. Congress, he has been a leading advocate for reinvesting in the industry with a focus on jump-starting domestic manufacturing and ensuring labor protection. He is working to block Chinese battery companies from receiving U.S. production incentives and has emphasized the need for American-made, non-foreign-licensed battery production. Given the hundreds of layoffs at the Valley battery plant and the more sluggish sales of EV vehicles in recent months, we urge lawmakers representing the Valley in Congress to give full-throttled support to Khanna’s initiatives.

ORCHID: To Trumbull County MetroParks for taking action recently to greatly enhance park property in Champion. The project will include clearing vegetation from a wetland area and other improvements to make way for a new walking trail on property off state Route 45 near Prentice Road. The work, totaling $18,737, will be provided via a Clean Ohio grant from the state. We hope the work can be completed expeditiously so residents can enjoy this new MetroParks asset as soon as possible.

ONION: To the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for this week authorizing the sale of fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes for public consumption. After years of denying nearly 1 million applications for fruit- and candy-flavored vaping products, FDA officials said the new approval will serve as a test case. We, however, join health and parental organizations in fearing the fruity contraptions will risk reversing a decadelong trend of declines in unhealthy teen vaping and e-cigarette use.

ORCHID: To The Cafaro Company for hosting the third annual CAN-struction benefit for Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley at its Eastwood Mall Complex last weekend. Eight teams used thousands of nonperishable canned food items to build artistically designed statues dedicated to the theme of “Under the Sea” — everything from pirate ships to “Jaws for a Cause” creations. Once the project is complete, the canned raw materials will be donated to the food bank at a critical time in spring and summer when donations tend to decline while demand for food assistance tends to increase. If you haven’t witnessed the canned maritime sculptures yet, there’s still time. The CAN-struction exhibits will remain on display in the Target concourse of the mall through June 11.

ORCHID: To David “D.J.” Colella for being named a quarterfinalist for the 2027 Grammy Award for Music Educator of the Year. That award recognizes current public and private school educators across the United States who have made a significant and lasting contribution to music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. The 11-year veteran instructor and band director in Girard clearly has made his mark in those noble goals. We wish him the best moving forward to semifinalist status for this striking achievement, particularly in showing the important role music education plays in a students’ curriculum. In addition to mastering the artistic and technical skills of their chosen instrument, solid music education programs have been proven to boost overall academic performance, enhance cognitive development and foster mature social-emotional skills.

ONION: To the seemingly growing ranks of fraudsters who in their seedy quest for easy money target senior citizens over the internet. One such scammer, Shreyas Baldevbhai Chaudhary, 25, of Gandhinagar, India, pleaded guilty earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Cleveland to conducting a money laundering conspiracy in which six older adults, including one 77-year-old man in Columbiana County, lost a total of $5 million in the hijinks. To prevent such elder abuse, seniors are urged to ignore unknown pop-ups, refuse to share personal information with strangers, never send payments via gift cards and use updated security software.

ORCHID: To the Ohio State Highway Patrol for launching an Operating a Vehicle Impaired Checkpoint blitz and heightened saturation patrols across the state this week. The campaign clearly is warranted. According to the patrol’s OVI dashboard, Ohio has already logged more than 60 fatal crashes and nearly 200 serious-injury crashes tied to impaired driving since the start of 2026. In Mahoning County, OVI citations by the patrol have increased from 76 at this point last year to 161 so far this year. In Trumbull County, the increase from 84 to 110 is lower but still troubling. We hope the aggressive patrol campaign launches a needed downward trend in those numbers. Meanwhile, motorists should heed these tips from the patrol: schedule a sober ride, use rideshare options or a designated driver and call in unsafe drivers when you see them.

ONION: To those pinheaded motor-vehicle operators in the Valley who foolishly insist on texting while driving. In Canfield, for example, police Chief Chuck Colucci recently reported his department has issued 17 such citations and issued 13 texting-while-driving warnings since February. Need we remind all that texting while driving in Ohio is illegal under a 2023 “hands-free” law, with violators facing up to $500 fines and two license points. Most importantly it is extremely dangerous, making drivers 23 times more likely to crash, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.

ORCHID: To the Youngstown State University men’s and women’s track and field teams for maintaining their long record of front-runner status in the Horizon League. Both teams finished first again last weekend in the league championships in Rochester, Michigan. The men earned their seventh straight title, while the women captured their 17th Horizon championship. Their consistent speed and stamina bring home honor to themselves, their team and their university.