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Opinion

Don’t freak out over major loss of jobs in Valley

Editorials

At first blush, the latest unemployment data for the Mahoning Valley hits like a ton of bricks. The report last week from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reveals that joblessness in the Mahoning Valley bounced disturbingly high between the end of 2025 and the start of 2026. Unemployment in January for Mahoning County rose to 6.5% from 4.8.% in December; in Trumbull County, the rate climbed even higher to 7.0%. Worse, unemployment in the city of Youngstown jumped to 8.5% and in Warren, the rate leapfrogged to 9.4%. Those latter rates reflect the highest levels among the ...

The ongoing Guthrie case

Editorials

The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been a grueling national story. It has been over two months since Nancy was last seen on Feb. 1 at her home in Tucson, Arizona, and her case is perplexing and incredibly frustrating, as no specific suspects have been identified, and authorities continue to analyze surveillance video and retrieve DNA samples. Savannah returned to the "Today" show this month, and even for those of us who do not regularly watch her on weekday mornings, our hearts are still broken for her, and many of us have ...

Subsidies keep America on top

Editorials

That $7,500 tax credit to buy an electric vehicle, now gone, was a “grotesque misallocation of federal spending.” It was a form of “rent-seeking,” whereby companies seek “to dominate the bureaucracy instead of the marketplace.” Thus wrote Kyle Smith in a Wall Street Journal column titled “EVs Can’t Compete Without Subsidies.” Smith deserves the Pulitzer for Clueless Commentary, a competitive category. About six weeks earlier, Trump launched a war on Iran paid for — subsidized! — by the American taxpayers. Some of it was to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program, a ...

Experience makes Campbell the right pick for probate

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: As a law enforcement officer with over 30 years of experience investigating crimes, I am writing to express my unequivocal support for Judge Tom Campbell in his candidacy for probate judge. I have observed Judge Campbell in countless criminal proceedings and have found him to be consistently fair and impartial. He works hard to carefully weigh harm to victims, risk to society and all relevant aggravating and mitigating factors in making decisions about sentencing and bail. I have always been confident that he is guided by the law and by what best serves public safety, and ...

WRTA should protect riders from the elements

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: I am writing to you because of a disturbing observation I made this winter, a very brutal one. I live near Route 422 and frequently drive either toward Warren or toward Niles on it. During those drives, I noticed designated areas for Western Reserve Transit Authority stops. However, at these stops there are no stalls for passengers to keep them safe from harsh elements. In other words, there is no refuge from severe weather conditions — rainstorms, aggressive heat or biting cold. It is inhumane to have people stand without cover in any of these. Therefore, I, not ...

What Transgender Awareness Day is really all about

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: We are writing in regard to the column “What is ‘Transgender Awareness Day’ actually about?” by Ian Haworth and would like to reply in good faith. Transgender Day of Visibility is about celebrating the rights and dignity of trans people, as well as bringing awareness to the issues trans people are facing in our community. Haworth argues that “no serious person denies their existence, or their right — as human beings — to ‘exist’”. Meanwhile, some serious elected officials in the Ohio Statehouse and federal Congress have already passed and continue to ...