Opinion

Everyone should be able to find a good-paying, rewarding job – regardless of whether or not you have a 4-year degree.

Throughout Ohio, children are heading back to school for a new academic year. Students are excited to be with their classmates and teachers to learn and grow.

Between 2019 and 2021, the number of Ohioans working from home tripled, demonstrating the vital function of high-speed internet services like broadband in Ohio’s workforce. Additionally, remote learning, telemedicine and other online programs continue to thrive well after the pandemic. A 2022 analysis by The Ohio State University, however, indicates over 1.4 million Ohioans continue to lack residential access to fast, reliable high-speed internet service.

Years ago, I covered a public school district where two gentlemen would complain about how their tax dollars were being spent during the public comment portion of each board of education meeting.

I continue to shake my head in disbelief at the willingness of apparently normal people to blithely disregard both biology (a bonafide science) and thousands of years of human experience (the lived experience of overwhelming numbers of people over long periods of time, as opposed to the experience of a single person over perhaps a few decades at most, which some insist must be accepted as validation for an otherwise unsupported opinion). Is there perhaps an inconsistency here?

One of Delaware County’s state representatives, Beth Lear, has a bit of legislative bigotry to her credit. Her HB 183 would prohibit schools from allowing trans students to use a bathroom that doesn’t correspond with the gender assigned to them at birth. She argues that the legislation is necessary to protect women from being assaulted by “biological males.” That such events are not happening — as several recent studies have shown —says much about Lear’s fear of, and loathing for, the LGBTQ+ community, which she has used as a platform to advance her political career.

“So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your knees. Don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet!” (Hebrews 12:12). “Help each other out. And run for it! Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity” (The Message).

Last month, the president signed the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2024 into law, which includes wins we secured for airports across Ohio and important steps to keep air travel safe.

Not everyone would have gotten out of their car, gone back into the CVS drugstore and dropped to their knees to look for a contact lens on the carpet near the register. That’s what I did. The store wasn’t busy that Saturday morning. If I wanted to explain what I was doing there was no one to tell. No one was around the front of the store. Soon large feet surrounded me. A voice said, “Are you ok? Do you need help getting up?”

Last week we observed National Police Week – a week to honor the law enforcement officers who sacrifice each day to keep our communities safe.