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Faults found with Trumbull Transit Board

In July, I wrote about the issues plaguing the provision of transportation to the elderly and disabled in this county since Trumbull Transit took over from the Department of Elderly Affairs at the beginning of the year.The idea of consolidating all the transportation services in the county to prevent redundancy is a good one and has been around almost 10 years. County Commissioner Paul Heltzel campaigned in 2004 on the promise of a countywide transportation matrix. Finally in 2011, the Commissioners formed the Trumbull Transit Board to that end.Unfortunately, the execution of a good idea ...

Generations need to listen, act

There is an old adage that many of us have said for years and it goes something like: "Seek to understand before being understood." It is an important call to slow down, to listen, and to pay attention to the opinions and stories of those different from us.Since returning to the Valley, I find myself challenged to put this into practice on a daily basis.In my work, I spend a great deal of time with people much older than me (sorry, friends). As such, I have had to choose to ask questions and to listen to the answers - and in doing so, I have grown to appreciate and value the opinions and ...

Add trendy stores to rehab efforts

On an almost daily basis, I have a conversation with myself on the way to work. As I drive down Atlantic and Scott and Porter, I wonder what it would take to revitalize our city-to see it return to a place in which people want to live, work and have families.For decades, similar conversations have been happening in boardrooms all across the county, and steps have been taken to make the dream of revitalization a reality. Decaying homes are being renovated to their former beauty, and those homes beyond repair are being replaced by community gardens. Many movements are afoot to make Warren ...

Playing make believe in Warren

State Rep. Tom Letson, D-Warren, must have liked to play make believe when he was a child. He still plays it today.Last year, he played it when he made the public believe that his taxes had been paid in spite of the fact that there was still a lien on his house for the unpaid debt, and he offered no proof that he had paid the taxes. For years, he has made some people believe that he is a good legislator when he hasn't accomplished anything of substance during his tenure.Now he wants to play make believe in a whole new situation.In July, Warren Councilman John Brown was notified by a ...

Gambling addiction on the rise even as state fosters more

If it's not one thing, it's another. Our society is increasingly plagued with all sorts of addictions, whether alcohol, drugs (legal and illegal), pornography, tobacco, food, video games, etc., etc.It's no secret that the human psyche can become addicted to just about anything. It's not what we control, but what controls us that makes the difference.For instance, there's nothing wrong with money per se, but it's the love of money that creates havoc.Most people who love money don't have it, which makes the lottery and casinos such an insidious temptation. Consequently, gambling has become ...

New beginnings and new semester

Four days early. I finished my Community Column four days prior to the deadline that the Tribune gives me every two weeks. It was a decent piece of writing too. Then life happened, and I encountered two situations causing me to jettison that effort and start anew.The two situations were, in chronological order: listening to the State of the University speech by new YSU President Dr. Randy Dunn; then, upon my return home from YSU, reading a Community Column on the TribToday website written by Andrew Herman.I decided to change the course of my column because that is exactly what might ...