Case renews respect for First Amendment

June 21, 2020

The thought that kept flashing through my mind Monday was, “And I thought things were tough here.” I was reading a shocking Associated Press story about award-winning journalist Maria Ressa who apparently had been critical of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration and who now will spend up to six years in prison, convicted of libeling a wealthy businessman on the online news site, Rappler Inc. Ressa, CEO and executive editor of the Rappler, was accused of libel in a 2012 story that linked the man to illegal drugs, human trafficking and murder without getting his ...

Police complaint openness big part of reform

June 14, 2020

In Ohio, like most states, residents may easily access a public database of disciplinary records involving any educator licensed to teach our youth in the state of Ohio. Same goes for medical doctors, psychologists, dentists and even lawyers who practice here. Easy public access to this information is critical. We all need to be informed of those we trust to care for us and our children. Yet, across America, complaints against police officers are often kept secret. There is no massive database of disciplinary records or complaints of misconduct. Former Minneapolis Officer Derek ...

Some police teach, allow neck restraints

June 7, 2020

By now, we’ve all seen the hard-to-watch video depicting former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin calmly kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed George Floyd. Chauvin remains in the position for several minutes, appearing undaunted by Floyd’s pleas and even when Floyd falls silent. Similarly unfazed are other Minneapolis police officers who stand around while Floyd falls unconscious. Floyd ultimately died, setting off nationwide protests, including those held last week in Warren and Youngstown. In the video, officer responses to the arrest appear calm and measured, as if ...

Despite past outcomes, keep planning

May 24, 2020

Little did we know when my eldest son, a senior at Youngstown State University, headed off in March to Fort Lauderdale for a last hurrah during spring break with his college friends that it REALLY would be a last hurrah for college. I recall my mother asking in the early days of the coronavirus leading up to his trip if her grandson still was planning to travel. Believe me, there was little chance my son, like most carefree college kids, was going to cancel his plans. He was in Florida when I received word via a press release to area media from YSU President Jim Tressel that the ...

Safety must never cost us our freedoms

May 17, 2020

Scotch-taped to the computer monitor in my very messy newsroom office are a few things critical to my daily routine that I have collected through the years. There’s a list of the telephone extension numbers for members of my staff. There is a photocopy of the AP Stylebook page delineating the difference between “lay” and “lie” — because I have been known to confuse the two. There is a Bible verse, Matthew 19:26, that gives me strength. And there are a few typed quotes from people in history — Einstein, MLK, Jefferson and Franklin, in which, as a journalist and an ...

All roads still lead to the Mahoning Valley

May 10, 2020

For as long as I can remember, we’ve had a light-hearted saying in our newsroom: “All roads lead to the Mahoning Valley.” It originated because reporters and editors here always have marveled at how every big national news story seems to have some amazing connection to our Valley. When the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated Feb. 1, 2003, as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, on board was an experiment involving internet communications equipment prepared by Warren native and Western Reserve High School graduate astronaut Ron Parise. Remember the LPGA’s tour that used to ...