Excerpts of recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Ohio newspapers:
The (Tiffin) Advertiser-Tribune, April 27
A major concern of many West Virginians and Pennsylvanians concerning the current natural gas drilling boom has been the condition of rural roads. Ohioans should not have to worry about that, too.
The bigger gas companies, including Chesapeake Energy, have been conscientious about repairing road damage caused by their heavy trucks. West Virginia and Pennsylvania have toughened requirements for road repair by drillers.
Ohio does not have demanding, formal rules in place — yet. But they may be on the way.
Ohio Department of Transportation and state Department of Natural Resources officials have developed agreements for use by township and county highway departments. In essence, the pacts require drilling companies to ensure that if roads are damaged by heavy trucks, they be restored to good condition. Bonding mandates are included to ensure that happens.
A few larger gas companies already have entered into such agreements voluntarily, the ODOT and ODNR officials said. But they are asking the state General Assembly to write the requirement into law. If that happens, drilling companies would not receive permits for wells without showing they have signed such agreements or made good-faith efforts to do so.
Legislators should waste no time in approving a law to that effect. ...
Online:
http://bit.ly/InQpvn
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The (Martins Ferry) Times Leader, April 26
The United States Justice Department has opted not to reopen the 1970 Kent State shooting investigation. Four-plus decades have come and gone, so we agree with that decision.
The Justice Department based its decision on "insurmountable legal and evidentiary barriers" in regard to the fatal shooting by the Ohio National Guardsmen during a Vietnam War protest at the university.
That tragedy played out 42 years ago May 4, taking four Kent State students and wounding nine more. ...
The recent request to reopen the probe came from one of those wounded victims. He based his plea on an enhanced audio recording that orders may have been given for the Guardsmen to prepare to fire on students during the protest. ...
Family members and loved ones of the Kent State victims have had 42 years to come to grips with a most sad and unfortunate occurrence. The pain will never cease but it does lessen.
A new investigation will only open old wounds. We see no reason to revisit the tragedy, evoking more heartache.
Online:
"Our goal is to guide the customer to the most appropriate place," Frederick said in an Enquirer interview. "The whole idea is to make people aware of all the options that exist for them."
http://bit.ly/Ks7eXk
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The Cincinnati Enquirer, April 26
By any reasonable standard, Ohio's job training initiatives are a tangled mess — 77 programs scattered among 13 state agencies, administering $290 million in workforce funds with a jumble of different rules, procedures and application forms. The system is so confusing that two thirds of employers don't get involved in it — and more than 80,000 jobs go unfilled each year as a result.
It's ripe for reform — but not simply because reform would make the state's flow chart neater, or even because workforce funds would be used more efficiently.
It's because making the system simpler and more transparent would better serve the people these programs are supposed to serve — to get them trained and employed.
It's all about jobs, says Rich Frederick, who was appointed by Gov. John Kasich in February to direct the new Office of Workforce Transformation.
"Our goal is to guide the customer to the most appropriate place," Frederick said in an Enquirer interview. "The whole idea is to make people aware of all the options that exist for them."
We applaud that effort. It's the kind of common-sense reform that's bound to get push-back from programs and agencies with turf to protect, but will benefit Ohioans struggling to regain their economic footing. ...
It's a smart, targeted effort that indeed could help transform Ohio's job picture.
Online:
http://cin.ci/IwsWsO
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Akron Beacon Journal, April 29
Every chance he gets, John Kasich lets it be known he does not care whose ox is gored by his efforts to transform Ohio's Medicaid system and funding focus. Facing down Ohio's nursing-home operators, who have been masters at getting favorable treatment in the Statehouse, is a particular point of pride for the governor. Imagine then how irked he must be that House Republicans are siding with the industry.
The House approved a budget review bill April 25 that included a provision Kasich had not proposed: routing $30 million to nursing facilities. The funds would go into a pool that covers incentive payments to nursing facilities that meet a number of quality measures. No surprise, Kasich's response to the House revision has been sharp: "That's not going to happen." ...
It shouldn't happen because directing the funds to nursing homes would undercut a carefully structured process to realign Medicaid payments and services to the changing needs of clients. ...
Without question, the intent of the House action is in line with the policy to reward quality and efficiency. Still, it is crucial to keep in sight the larger purpose of a unified long-term care budget: To align state spending with client needs in long-term care, correcting funding priorities that for far too long were skewed to care in nursing facilities.
Online:
http://bit.ly/IichFV