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Brenda J. Linert

It’s tax time; don’t fall prey to scammers

It’s the beginning of March and for the first time in decades, my husband and I are just now getting around to filing our income tax returns. We usually get this important annual task accomplished in early February, as soon as all our required documents arrive, but this year we got a bit behind. The slight delay gave me feelings of consternation, especially when I received a media release from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine recently pointing out how waiting too long can sometimes invite scams. Regular Tribune Chronicle readers know we often publish news briefs about police and ...

Class, strength exuded by Gabby Giffords

Gabrielle Giffords may have had a lot of thoughts she wanted to share during her recent appearance at Youngstown’s Stambaugh Auditorium. They were communicated with few words, though, from a woman who should be an inspiration to us all. Giffords appeared with her husband, retired U.S. astronaut Mark Kelly, as part of the Youngstown State University Skeggs Lecture series. By a fluke of timing, Giffords — the former Arizona congresswoman who suffered a near-death injury during a 2011 assassination attempt — was scheduled for the public speaking engagement one day after a mass ...

Perseverance is key in life — not just for Foles

“He has traveled a long road: starter and castoff, journeyman and backup,” Associated Press pro football writer Barry Wilner wrote last week, chronicling the unusual path that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles followed to the summit of his sport. You all know much of the story. It picked up with the mid-December season-ending injury to starting QB Carson Wentz, landing the backup Foles in the driver’s seat for the playoffs and ultimately into the biggest game of his year — and of his life. Many football fans were discounting the Eagles. Bookmakers in Vegas had ranked ...

Ryan-Carlson exchange highlights questions, passion

Fox News host Tucker Carlson has a way of bringing out the worst — or best, depending on how you look at it — in people. Carlson, the Fox News host of the nightly show that examines political issues of the day, is known for not only asking the hard questions that good journalists aren’t afraid to ask, but also riling up his guests by arguing with them and making matter-of-fact statements like, “That’s not true.” When appearing on the show last week, U.S. Rep. Timothy J. Ryan, D-Howland, and Carlson got into such a heated exchange that Carlson ended the conversation by ...

Public officials must know, live by sunshine laws

Openness and transparency always is guaranteed when it comes to public boards that deal with public funds. Every elected or appointed official carries a responsibility to know the law and enforce it. And if questions exist, I believe the bodies that conduct the business of its citizenry should err on the side of openness. Frequent readers of this column know that I write often about openness of public bodies. I believe strongly in the responsibility of our elected and appointed officials to share the public body’s activities, discussions, plans and, of course, spending to the people ...

It’s a new year, so let’s shape up our health

Trumbull County is among the most smoker-heavy counties in the country, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In fact, the county has well more than twice the national average of the population puffing on cigarettes, the Tribune Chronicle reported last week. It’s a dubious title to hold, but admirably, agencies and local leaders are working to change that. The FDA has launched a $60 million initiative called Every Try Counts, a first-ever campaign to deliver a quitting message in a positive and motivational way, placed directly in the places they buy their ...