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Guest columnists

Regional Chamber presents its goals for 2025

According to research conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Community Development team, the disconnect between where jobs are and where people live continues to grow. And, according to Fed research, our region’s slow post-Great Recession housing recovery means that some ...

Bill could create un-level field in turf industry

Aren’t sports meant to be played on natural turf? That’s what I thought when I first heard Mount Union College (now University) was trading in its natural grass for an artificial field in the summer of 2002. It wasn’t until after I investigated this new breed of synthetic turf that my ...

Shipbuilding essential to US

Thank you, Sen. Brown, for taking the helm on shipbuilding. I served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps, maintaining radar packages on the warplanes based aboard aircraft carriers. That experience left me with deep respect not only for my fellow service members in the Navy but for the ...

East Palestine on our minds

More than a year after the derailment, East Palestine continues to rebuild — long after the media spotlight has faded, and most reporters have moved on. We all remember the sight of dark smoke billowing over the small Ohio town. These disturbing images came shortly after a Norfolk Southern ...

BILL JOHNSON: YSU is the best bang for your education bucks

You may have heard, and maybe even believe yourself, the value of a four-year college degree has decreased. Well, for Pete’s sake! What is the basis for such thinking, and where do Youngstown State University and our region fit in? This is the first of several articles over the coming ...

Community must help assess workforce challenges

Only 57% of residents over age 16 in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys are employed. That’s 6% lower than the 63% average of those in the same age group who are employed statewide and nationwide. At the same time, local employers struggle to fill job vacancies in nearly all industries and ...