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Brenda J. Linert

Ruling will impact access to information

Who owns the law? Odd question, isn’t it? Laws are owned by everyone, right? How could it be any other way? After all, laws have been crafted, debated, voted on, approved and signed all in the public spectrum by those we elected to represent us in virtually every form of government. It’s indisputable that everything about the language of each and every piece of legislation is absolutely public record. Right? Not so fast, says the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court agreed last week to take the case of Georgia, et al. v. Public.Resource.Org Inc., which is expected to set ...

Change is constant, but future is strong

The news hit all of us with a thud. As word spread through the Tribune Chronicle newsroom Friday afternoon, the reaction repeated over and over by members of newsroom staff and co-workers throughout our building was simple — shock and disbelief. The people at The Vindicator, our worthy opponents in news coverage for decades, soon would be out of work. The newspaper based in Youngstown that has been covering local news every day for 150 years — and still doing it well — will close its doors and shutter its operations Aug. 31. Vindicator executives broke the news to their ...

‘America’s backbone’ needs financial help

Think about the many times lately that we all have bemoaned the fact that our yards are so flooded or waterlogged that we can’t even cut the grass. Then consider what the deluge of rain this spring has meant for those who rely on the fields for their livelihood. Rightly, these folks often are referred to as the “backbone of America.” Undoubtedly, the fortitude of Ohio’s farmers and those in the Mahoning Valley — especially in light of this spring’s weather — must be recognized and appreciated. Still, that appreciation doesn’t pay the bills. Seemingly non-stop ...

Not all drones constitute privacy invasion

It was clear by the many reader comments posted on the bottom of our story last week that residents are adamantly opposed to a proposed Trumbull County plan to use drones to look for work being done on local homes or other buildings without the necessary building permit. The idea was to have the camera-carrying unmanned aircraft fly over neighborhoods and homes, record video and save the images to check for signs of illegal building activity. So, citing privacy concerns, Commissioners Dan Polivka and Mauro Cantalamessa sided with the opponents, and last week they voted down the ...

Case shows cycle of domestic violence

At age 20, she stands just 4-foot-11 and weighs less than 130 pounds. Her Trumbull County Jail booking photo shows the Warren woman’s heavily bruised face, including two blackened eyes. The charge filed May 26 against her is listed in the Warren Municipal Court file as obstructing official business. Two days later, charges of felonious assault also were filed against a man identified in a police report as the woman’s boyfriend. In that case, she is listed as the “victim.” As we’ve detailed in recent news stories, that man is accused of brutally beating the young woman inside ...

Being center just may be right way to go

The letters bearing no return address began arriving over the past few weeks via U.S. mail, each one addressed specifically to me by name and title at my newsroom office. Because my address appears on a meticulously typed computer label, I suspect I’m not the only person who’s been receiving them. The first time I received one of the letters, I had glanced quickly at the envelope and noticed that in place of a return address, it said only this: “You are invited to the Center Party!” At the time, that didn’t strike me as suspicious since I often receive invitations to ...