How I learned to cover the mob in the Valley

May 23, 2021

Growing up in a tiny, rural community in southwestern Pennsylvania, I never encountered much drama, or crime. Right out of college, I worked briefly in the “big city” of Johnstown, and even then I car-pooled to work with my mom, who worked at a bank a half-block from the real estate developer where I was doing PR and marketing. Let’s just say I didn’t get out much. But when I settled in as a “cub reporter” at the Tribune Chronicle a few years later, I learned quickly. After all, this was the Mahoning Valley. I recall sitting at my newsroom desk early on, quietly taking it ...

Thankful for a more normal senior year

May 16, 2021

It’s that time of spring when the school year is winding down, and children are growing increasingly impatient for lazy summer days that can’t get here fast enough. And for many students like a special one in my house, the end to their high school career is upon them. As my youngest son prepares to graduate from high school, my family’s calendar has been consumed lately with all those senior traditions — awards events, honors celebrations, sports banquets, senior athlete nights and, of course, prom. Many evenings and weekends in the early part of our approaching summer will ...

Good journalists own up to their mistakes

May 9, 2021

Former President Donald Trump, who first coined the phrase “fake news,” has been gone from elected office and also from most major social media platforms for more than four months now. Yet, those words — Fake News! — that make most journalists’ hair stand on end, still resonate around the country. Journalists at media outlets everywhere, including this newspaper, will tell you they still hear it frequently. Elected officials and other sources — especially those who might not particularly like critical stories we write about them — have lots of ammo to use on the media ...

What happens when transparency ceases?

May 2, 2021

He risks death or, at the very least, becoming physically and emotionally broken. But as much as the outside world can see, so far Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny remains resolute. Only a few months into his 2 1/2 -year Russian prison sentence on charges of violating terms of a suspended sentence while he was in Germany, Navalny somehow is remaining unwavering and relevant, even behind bars in a penal colony near Moscow. The sentence stemmed from a 2014 embezzlement conviction, but Navalny, the most adamant opponent and critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has ...

Some candidates just avoid the press

April 25, 2021

The reaction of voters to some far-right proposals by freshman Ohio Rep. Mike Loychik, R-Bazetta, seems to be utter shock — on both sides of the spectrum. Voters either are thrilled with what Loychik is doing in Columbus and believe Trumbull County has long needed such a conservative representative, or they’re spitting fire over Loychik’s extreme proposals to make Ohio a Second Amendment sanctuary state and to rename Mosquito Lake State Park after Donald Trump. The fact is, love him or hate him, voters went to the polls voting for a guy they really knew little or nothing ...

More on FEMA funeral expenses reimbursement

April 18, 2021

You’ve probably heard by now that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is offering financial funeral and burial assistance for families who lost a loved one to COVID-19. We’ve written a few stories about it, and last week we published an editorial explaining some details. Our editorial board — of which I am a member — thought it was an important topic deserving our commentary. Within a day after the editorial was published, I received a few calls from grieving readers seeking more information. So, in response, I’ve been in contact with FEMA, and here are some more ...