Sunday, December 30, 2018
Dip into Rainy Day Fund to save GM Lordstown
Republicans won every state office in the last election and presently hold every state office.
General Motors has fired 3,000 workers at the Lords-town plant and is about to fire another 1,500. Where are our Republican state governors, lieutenant governors and other officeholders? I guarantee you Rich Cordray would not be sitting down on the farm before a warm fire, while 4,500 people are looking at losing their jobs or have lost their jobs. He would be in Detroit with a solution.
Gov.-elect Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov.-elect Jon Husted have announced that in January 2019 they will try to meet with GM officials. That is 90 days after GM announced the layoffs and, frankly, too little too late. Although Gov. John Kasich is a lame duck, we haven’t heard anything from him since the layoffs were announced.
These 4,500 middle-class Ohio workers have spent their lifetime buying houses near Lordstown. They had hoped to sell their homes to the new generation of GM Lordstown workers and retire to warmer climates. Now they have no job, pay taxes, maintenance and insurance on their homes and have no real hope to sell their homes to a new generation of workers.
Trump promises made and not kept. MAGA.
I have a solution. State government has almost $3 billion in a rainy day fund. It is raining in Lordstown. GM says it would take $100 million to retool the Lordstown plant. The state should loan GM $100 million from the rainy day fund for 10 years at no interest to be repaid $20 Million a year starting in five years. GM commits to keep the Lords-town plant open for 15 years from the date of the loan with at least 2,000 employees. Also, current workers would be employed to retool the Lordstown plant.
Duke W. Thomas, Columbus
Stand Your Ground piece ignored positive findings
I read with interest Atty. Matthew Mangino’s recent column in The Vindicator criticizing the proposed expansion of Ohio’s Stand Your Ground doctrine. Mangino notes opposition to an expansion of Stand Your Ground from the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, as well as a study by the American Medical Association and the Tampa Bay Times also opposing similar expansion in other states.
What Mangino fails to cite is an article I published in the October 2017 issue of the Pennsylvania Bar Quarterly (Volume LXXXVIII, No. 4) – the official publication of the Pennsylvania Bar Association – where our analysis of the first five years since Pennsylvania strengthened its Stand Your Ground Law showed that: “Data collected by the Commonwealth show that these expanded self-defense rights have not emboldened assailants or encouraged violence. Instead, since the changes, violent crimes and murders have decreased. Nor have the changes served as some sort of ‘get out of jail free’ card for would-be criminals. Indeed, the murder conviction rate has remained consistent, and justified homicides in which a criminal attacked a civilian have decreased. Further, the amendments have coincided with a substantial decrease in burglaries, while effectively easing the legal burdens on victims of deadly attacks.”
It is also worth noting that our article catalogued the parade of horribles that the several professional district attorney associations, numerous elected officials, various editorial boards and Pennsylvania’s tiny but vocal anti-gun group CeaseFirePA assured everyone would occur. Literally none of their hyperbolic predictions came true.
I hope that our friends and neighbors in Ohio will ignore shrill and vocal critics and demand the same expanded Stand Your Ground protections that are working so well for the people of Pennsylvania.
Jonathan S. Goldstein, Hatfield, Pa.
Electric vehicles could be future of Lordstown
I believe the future of the GM Lordstown plant is electric. If you want to be what’s hot, that is it. Get Elon Musk or someone to build electric vehicle cars and other modes of electric transport – maybe scooters or moped vehicles.
And as far as the self-driving shuttle maybe special events, but it seems kind of wasteful for the feds to give us $10 million when we are $20 trillion in debt especially for something like that. That will not really help the common men or women or Joe Six Pack.
Ken Seeds, Boardman
$5 license fee sounds like a new money grab
The plan to add a $5 charge to license plate renewals in Mahoning County is just another money grab.
This is a permanent fee and if true to form, they will be back next year with an increase.
Our county commissioners would do well to think of ways to make cuts instead of spending their time dreaming up ways to make people pay more. Fixing the roads should be in the general budget and if they don’t have enough money budgeted for the roads, then they need to make cuts somewhere else.
As far as having public meetings, why bother? They do not care how the public feels about paying more. The truth is, the people will pay more or drive on bad roads.
I thought the governor of California was an expert at picking the public’s pockets, but our commissioners could teach him a trick or two.
Sherry Ross, Boardman
Shortage of nurses is real
Many people dis- cuss the health-care crisis in terms of insurance and bills. I have another take on this – nurse: patient staffing ratios.
Staffing ratios have been a topic of discussion among nurses for many years. It will be more of a problem in the near future for two reasons:
There are not enough nurses in Ohio hospitals for staffing to be adequate for patient safety and quality care.
As baby boomers age and the numbers of people with dementia (all kinds) increase, there are not going to be enough nurses to safely take care of hospitalized patients. Keeping people with dementia safe in the unfamiliar and scary environment of the hospital can be very difficult.
When was the last time you or a loved one were hospitalized? How long did you have to wait for pain relief, help to the bathroom, assist to walk in the hall, or your discharge papers? These are only some of the practical, important problems when you are lying in a bed wondering where your nurse is and a minute seems very long.
For those of you who like to write to your government, state and/or national, write to them about this. Your stroke, heart attack, cancer diagnosis, broken hip, severe accident is coming, and you, too, will find yourself waiting.
Sharon Hoover, Perrysburg
Jazz concert unites Valley
The smooth sounds of jazz filled the air in Youngstown at the DeYor Performing Arts Center earlier this month.
The Ford Family Recital Hall was milling with people from all walks of life there to enjoy the jazz stylings of Howard Howell and the Point Five Band.
Elected officials, famous faces and neighbors from all over filed into Youngstown’s beautifully decorated recital hall to enjoy a glorious performance of music that warmed the souls of all who attended.
Youngstown’s own jazz prodigy, Sean Jones, joined the headliners and played beautiful accompaniments.
Overall, this was a wonderful way to see the community come together. It’s important that the Mahoning Valley be aware that there are amazing cultural events right here at home.
Dania B. Gillam, Youngstown