There’s been a lot of discussion recently about how judges set bond for those accused of violent crimes. That’s because in January, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a controversial ruling in which it held — by a one-vote margin — that the safety of the community or victims of crime can never be a factor […]
Columns
Opinion columns written by staff or submitted to Richland Source from the community.
Posted inColumns, Opinion
Brown: We must support our teachers & invest in Ohio’s classrooms
The COVID-19 pandemic only highlighted what we already knew – teachers are essential workers. Educators sacrifice so much for their students, and for our state. Unfortunately, that hard work never pays off the way it should. On average, teachers are paid 20 percent less than other college graduates. Many of them work second jobs just […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion
LaRose: Biden policies foster illegal immigration, drugs & human trafficking into U.S.
COLUMBUS — The Biden Administration recently announced it would end Title 42, pandemic-era border controls. Make no mistake, this will only increase the already skyrocketing flow of illegal migration, drugs, and human trafficking across our southern border. As an active duty soldier I served as part of a counter-narcotics task force on the U.S./Mexican border […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion
Opinion: Bail reform legislation has widespread bipartisan support
A recent Ohio Supreme Court decision reached by following existing law has prompted renewed focus on changing the state’s bail system for people accused of crimes who are subject to jail while awaiting trial. Bail is a cash payment put up as security to keep a defendant out of jail pending trial and to assure […]
Posted inColumns
COMMENTARY: And the winner is phonics
Debates about reading go back centuries. In the 1800s, Horace Mann, the father of the public-school movement in the United States, denounced the idea of teaching children that letters represent sounds. By the 1980s, the debate was so intense that people referred to it as “the reading war.” It was phonics versus whole language. The […]
Posted inColumns
What is different about SPARK Ohio?
Scientific studies have repeatedly found that explicit systematic phonics instruction is the most effective way to teach children how to read. And parents are a child’s first teacher. Across the United States and Ohio, many programs for children from birth and beyond are funded and implemented. And many programs for early literacy and school readiness […]
Posted inColumns
Can Ohio libraries be a place for a phonics awareness program?
Should librarians or library specialists teach phonics to parents? To young children at libraries? Or to both parents and young children? Every Child Ready to Read at your library (ECRR) is a parent/caregiver education initiative, directed toward public library staff, intended to promote early literacy. Early literacy is what children learn and know about reading […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion
Rob Portman: Postal service could face insolvency unless changes are made
Editor’s Note This story was first published by the Cincinnati Enquirer, before being distributed by Sen. Rob Portman’s staff. The United States Postal Service is in dire need of help. Last year, Gary Peters and I introduced the Senate version of the Postal Service Reform Act. S.1720 had 26 additional cosponsors equally divided between Democrats […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion
Sherrod Brown: We need to lower the cost of prescription drugs
The cost of prescription drugs is too high in this country. We know Ohioans are concerned about the cost of living right now, and some of the worst inflation we see, year after year, is drug prices. And often, the culprit is price gouging by big pharmaceutical corporations. It’s why I introduced the Affordable Medications […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion
Sherrod Brown: Infrastructure plan will help restore Lake Erie, create Ohio Jobs
Last week, we announced more good news for Ohio — because of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan, we’re making a dramatic, $1 billion new investment in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), to clean up the entire Great Lakes watershed and to support the jobs and businesses that depend on it. The Lake is one of […]