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Our Opinion

Our opinion: Getting a better read on adult literacy

A lot of attention is being paid to what our children are reading nowadays, turning once sedate classrooms and libraries into battlefields in our country’s never-ending culture wars. Some overzealous parents and community members have gone on book-banning benders, even though restricting ...

Our opinion: Striking a balance on rentals

A first blush of a county short-term rental ordinance did not go well. Those attending a recent Planning Commission meeting gave the ordinance a frosty reception, with Arthur Stewart calling the proposed law “draconian.” We’re not sure we’d go that far. There are issues with ...

Our opinion: State should help with impaired driving

County officials are doing the right thing looking for ways to determine if drivers are impaired by marijuana. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has noted marijuana is the illicit drug most frequently found in the blood of drivers who have been involved in vehicle crashes, ...

Our opinion: State should act on ‘gas station heroin’

Many states, including Ohio, have taken notice of an energy drink that allegedly has opioid-like effects. Pennsylvania should take notice as well Rep. Andrew Kuzma, R-Allegheny/Washington, is circulating a co-sponsorship memorandum for legislation that would prohibit tianeptine, an ...

Solar Projects New tool can help protect farmland

A new tool created by the county Farmland Protection Board could help assuage concerns about good farmland being used for solar and wind energy projects. Jim Joy, a member of the board and a grape farmer in the north county, worked with Lauren Sharpe, a junior planner with the Department of ...

Our opinion: Many ways to fill an Easter basket

On this Easter weekend, no one is alone in concerns and uncertainties they might be feeling. Many others are enduring similar anxieties, while others are feeling various degrees of emptiness because of circumstances in their lives — wondering how that emptiness might be resolved. This ...