ORCHID: To the Ohio Liquor Control Board for recently acting in the interest of public safety by upholding the city of Warren’s objection and denying renewal of the Convenient Food Mart on Elm Road NE’s Class D5 liquor license. The decision followed numerous complaints regarding shootings (including a murder in the parking lot last year), illegal after-hours liquor sales and loud late-night disturbances at the store and its parking lot. The state board accurately and wisely described the store as having a “total disregard for the law and neighborhood.” We hope its new owners succeed in restoring calm and order to the premises.

ONION: To heartless pet owners who have failed miserably to keep their dogs and cats sheltered from the extremely high temperatures and direct sunlight during the ongoing heat wave this week. As a reminder, under Ohio Revised Code Section 959.131, it is illegal to confine pets in such conditions and to deny them easy access to an adequate supply of fresh water. Violators can face penalties up to and including hefty fines and serious prison time. We commend the Healthy Hearts and Paws Project in Trumbull County for its work this week to actively enforce the state’s animal cruelty laws by tracking down such callous and abusive brutes. Sadly, at least one dog it sought to help this week died of heat stroke.

ORCHID: To the Board of Trumbull County Commissioners for last week taking the praiseworthy and highly unprecedented action of lowering taxes for county residents. The board approved a 2.5% reduction in property taxes for property owners occupying their homes that will take effect next year. It is based on the Owner Occupancy Tax Exemption law enacted in response to calls for property tax relief and reform. It will, however, force schools and local governments to reevaluate their operations with cost-cutting in mind and also send a message to state legislators that they must continue to work toward reforming and lowering constantly rising property values and taxes in the Buckeye State.

ORCHID: To Korea Southern Power Ltd, Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corp. and Siemens Energy for their successful partnership that resulted in the opening of the $1.2 billion Trumbull Energy Center in Lordstown. Korean, U.S. and local officials recently celebrated completion of the facility. The natural gas-fired plant is designed to provide clean, reliable and efficient power generation while helping meet increasing electricity demand driven by advanced technologies, artificial intelligence and data centers. Together with the similar nearby Lordstown Energy Center, the two facilities can generate enough electricity to power 1.8 million homes. We’re confident this mega power center will help fuel additional economic development and growth throughout the Mahoning Valley.

ORCHID: To 2026 Newton Falls High School graduate Ellie Falb for receiving deserved national accolades as a member of the prestigious 2026 Congressional Gold Medal Class. She was one of 877 honorees from across the U.S. who recently attended the Gold Medal Summit in Washington. The award recognizes those young people for their extraordinary commitment to voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness and expedition or exploration. As a valedictorian in her high school class, as a public servant who has donated more than 600 hours of volunteer community service and as the 2026 winner of this newspaper’s Twenty Under 20 program, Falb has clearly demonstrated her gold-medal status in scholarship, achievement and volunteerism.

ONION: To the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for allowing hundreds of thousands of life-threatening fentanyl-laced pills to hit American streets without seizing them on the spot. An investigation by The Associated Press revealed that between 2023 and 2025, DEA agents repeatedly monitored — but chose not to seize — massive shipments of fentanyl. The agency defends its policy, arguing that long-term investigations require agents to trace shipments to dismantle cartels and catch bigger fish. But given the immediate death sentence fentanyl-laced drugs obviously can cause, clearly that policy needs to be reexamined. Meanwhile a criminal investigation has been launched of this disturbing public health travesty.

ORCHID: To Daniel Adkins for his appointment last week as chief of the Vienna Township Police Department. Trustees approved the appointment of the respected and seasoned law-enforcement professional who spent 34 years with the Weathersfield and Niles police departments, retiring from the Niles force earlier this year. Adkins has won state honors as Ohio’s Crisis Intervention Team officer of the Year, instructs cadets at the Youngstown State University Police Academy and has vast experience in grant writing. All of those assets will serve the department and township residents well in his new position.

ORCHID: To the Western Reserve Transit Authority, the Mahoning Valley’s primary mass transit agency, for ceremonially breaking ground last week on a new, larger and state-of-the art bus barn to house its upcoming new fleet of battery-operated electric buses. The $7 million investment, funded almost entirely by grants and state support, will help to revitalize the western gateway to downtown Youngstown. Moreover, it signals WRTA’s full-throttled commitment to keep Valley residents on the move for decades to come.