Excerpts of recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Ohio newspapers:
The (Toledo) Blade, May 5
Predictably but shamefully, the Senate has blocked a measure that would, over three years, increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. In an election-year showdown, Senate Republicans rejected a centerpiece of the Democrats’ 2014 campaign. But the real losers are the nation’s workers, especially those who are struggling to make ends meets.
Last week, the Fair Minimum Wage Act failed to get the 60 votes needed to start a Senate debate. The vote was 54 to 42 - nearly half of the world’s greatest deliberative body didn’t think a living wage for millions of Americans was worth even talking about.
Supporters should reintroduce the measure soon; whatever political influence this issue has on the midterm elections favors them. The Senate’s action should spur more young, low-income, and minority voters - constituencies that tend to skip midterm elections - to show up this year….
Ohio’s minimum wage is $7.95 an hour. Roughly 330,000 workers - nearly 7 percent of the state’s work force - earn the statewide minimum or slightly more….
Polls show Americans strongly support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. A Bloomberg survey last month found 69 percent back the move nationwide. Support in Ohio is similar….
Americans consider a living wage a matter of basic fairness. They don’t believe anyone who works full-time should live in poverty. It’s a shame their elected representatives don’t feel the same way.
Online: bit.ly/1lRlPNx
___
The Marietta Times, May 2
Obtaining a college degree can be very costly - and price tags have followed an upward trend during the past several years. News of increases planned at eight of Ohio’s 14 public universities has prompted an organized protest by a student group.
Tuition increases have been proposed or approved at the Universities of Akron, Cincinnati and Toledo as well as at Ohio University, Youngstown State, Miami, Wright State and Shawnee State.
In dollar amounts, the increases do not seem exorbitant. For example, the University of Akron’s 2-percent tuition hike amounts to only a little more than $200 a year. Ohio University’s $150 increase is even less.
But what seems to have many students upset is that the increases are added to costs that can place the price tag of a bachelor’s degree at about what one might pay for a house….
Again, however, the ever-increasing bottom line has many students and parents up in arms. Five years at the University of Akron - what it seems to take these days to earn a bachelor’s degree - can cost a total of $126,580, based on current tuition and living expenses.
No wonder the Ohio Student Association is planning rallies and “teach-ins” on some campuses, to protest tuition increases….
Clearly, however, colleges and universities that can hold costs down will be more and more attractive. That is something higher education administrators should bear in mind.
___
The (Youngstown) Vindicator, May 4
What’s the most obvious question each of the three finalists for the presidency of Youngstown State University should be asked when they’re on campus this week?
This is it: “Will you publicly pledge to serve out your first contract, however long it may be, and not pull a Randy Dunn on the university?”
Dr. Dunn, who began his tenure as president of YSU last July with lots of fanfare and eager anticipation, left at the end of March to take over the presidency of Southern Illinois University….
Dunn violated the public trust by leaving YSU before serving even a year, which is why the three finalists on campus this week, Dr. Mary Cullinan, Dr. Gary L. Miller and James P. Tressel, should be asked about their professional goals.
Is Youngstown State the last stop on their higher education journey, or is the position a steppingstone to a dream job?…
There is a way for the trustees to make sure the tenure of the new president will not be as short-lived as that of Dunn’s: The contract they negotiate should not include an escape clause….
Topping the list of issues is the continuing decline in enrollment, which stood at 12,823 this spring semester, compared with 15,194 in the fall of 2010. The downward trend is expected to continue, thus exacerbating YSU’s fiscal problems….
Cullinan, Miller and Tressel should be prepared to talk about higher education funding in the context of declining state support and demands by the governor and General Assembly for universities and colleges to clearly define their missions - and to do more with less.
Online: https://bit.ly/1kChU2X
___
Steubenville Herald-Star, May 3
Orange barrels are starting to pop up around the area as the summer road construction season begins….
Driving in a construction zone can be dangerous, with narrow lanes of travel, reduced speeds and anxious drivers staying way too close to other vehicles.
Every year there are accidents in construction zones that make a traffic headache more like a traffic nightmare.
The Ohio Department of Transportation reported work zone crashes are on the decline. There were 6,389 crashes in work zones in 2004. The number has dropped to 4,616 crashes in 2013. Injury wrecks during the same period dropped from 1,522 to 1,143….
Traffic is slowed in a construction zone for a reason. Construction vehicles are pulling onto and off the highway. There are workers and heavy equipment operating sometimes just feet from the open lanes of travel.
Drivers have to be alert when traveling through a work zone. That means allowing enough distance between vehicles so a sudden stop can be made without a wreck.
Pay close attention to the instructions of flaggers and construction zone signs that warn or advise a motorist of what to expect in the work zone.
Remember, speeding violations can be very costly in a construction zone.
Everyone complains about the condition of area roads and bridges and work is under way to make repairs.
But patience and safe driving go hand in hand with summer road construction season.
Online: https://bit.ly/1nebz49
Please read our comment policy before commenting.