Editorial Roundup: Ohio

Recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Ohio newspapers:

We deserve COVID-19 transparency from schools

Akron Beacon Journal

Aug. 29

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said it well during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Mistakes that I have made throughout my career have generally been because I didn’t have enough facts, I didn’t dig deep enough,” DeWine told The Columbus Dispatch on March 12. “So, I made up my mind I was going to have the best information, the best data available.”

Last week DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health took a step to ensure parents have all the facts before they make the crucial decision about whether or not to send their children to school.

As part of a yet-to-be-written ODH order, school officials must report a COVID-19 case to their local health departments within 48 hours, DeWine announced Thursday. The local health department then must report positive cases to the state health department, which will compile the numbers and make them public each Wednesday.

Each school with a positive case also should notify the parent or guardian and, critically, “should also make non-identifying information about positive COVID-19 cases publicly available.”

We urge the state to ensure that “publicly available” doesn’t mean citizens must jump through bureaucratic hoops to find the information they need. Instead, it must be easily and readily available to all who wish to see it.

Facts, after all, only matter if you know them.

Fortunately, it seems likely the governor will come down on the side of transparency.

“Prompt reporting will help prevent potential further spread among students and staff,” DeWine said. “Knowing this information can help parents make informed decisions in regard to risks and exposure for their families.”

Making sure the information is known to as many as possible will also serve another purpose — it will help reduce rumors that would only add confusion to an already difficult situation. Uncertainty can breed suspicion and distrust, and there’s already too much of that in 2020.

Of course, we shouldn’t expect school reopenings to be seamless, and for one simple reason — we haven’t done this before. There will be missteps along the way. Not everything will be perfect.

Six months into this pandemic, we are still making some fundamental mistakes. We do not test enough. Too many of us still do not regularly wear masks or practice social distancing. Too many still regard COVID-19 as nothing more than the flu.

In short, we are making it more difficult for schools — and society in general — to safely reopen.

So school officials deserve some level of patience as they work through this unprecedented situation. All of us are learning as we go. We can build on the things that work and discard those that do not.

But we can only do that if we know the facts. Lives are at stake. We need to be able to accurately gauge the risks we are facing, and judge for ourselves what schools are getting right or getting wrong.

If it’s good enough for Gov. DeWine, it should be good enough for all of us.

Online: https://bit.ly/3lAZpnv

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Save the sturgeon, save the lakes

Toledo Blade

Aug. 31

Dead sturgeon carcasses have been washing up on the shores of Lake Michigan, setting off alarm bells for wildlife experts. Those dead fish should be alarming to us all.

National Parks wildlife biologists at Sleeping Bear Dunes say that about half a dozen dead sturgeon have washed up along Michigan beaches in recent weeks — an unusual occurrence. And even though there have been only a handful of dead fish discovered, the carcasses are worrying because the sturgeon are a threatened species and what’s killing them could be a big problem.

Sturgeon, the largest fish in the Great Lakes, can grow to up to 9 feet and 300 pounds and live for 100 years. They’re notoriously slow to reproduce, which contributes to their threatened-species status.

The fish were once plentiful in the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie, until overfishing, pollution, and loss of habitat depleted their numbers. Recently a coalition of the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, the University of Toledo, Lake Erie Waterkeeper, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, USGS, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Purdy Fisheries Ltd. collaborated to reintroduce juvenile sturgeon in the Maumee River as part of a larger effort to repopulate Lake Erie.

They haven’t disappeared from Lake Michigan yet, and authorities still are investigating what killed the sturgeon that washed up in recent weeks. State wildlife officials suspect they may have been killed by botulism that they ingested when they ate invasive species carrying the bacteria that produces the toxin. They also suspect that rising Great Lakes water temperatures may be to blame.

In either case, the sturgeon deaths highlight the fragile nature of Great Lakes ecology and should be a reminder of the urgent need for protective programs such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and other state and federal efforts to preserve the lakes.

Invasive species, pollution, and climate change all threaten the Great Lakes. Commercial and sportfishing alone account for $7 billion a year in economic impact across the lakes. More than 1.5 million jobs are directly connected to the lakes. They’re the source of drinking water for millions of people and a vital part of our culture and quality of life.

The threats to Great Lakes sturgeon are threats to the health of the lakes overall. The concerning deaths of fish in Michigan recently should be a reminder to redouble our efforts to protect the lakes.

Online: https://bit.ly/31Ih2d3

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Teens are taking the lead during virus crisis

The Marietta Times

Aug. 31

As is often the case, a few bad apples make us forget about the good in the basket as a whole — particularly when we are talking about young people. It is too easy for members of older generations to grumble about “kids these days,” and point to examples of irresponsibility, apathy and even active defiance in the news.

But the majority of young people don’t deserve that kind of curmudgeonry.

Across the country — and of course, right here in the Mid-Ohio Valley — young people are stepping up to help us all get through this truly bizarre chapter.

For example, look at Dhruv Pai, 16, and Matthew Casertano, 15, of North Potomac, Md., who realized that while they were already delivering groceries to their own grandparents as a result of COVID-19 precautionary guidance, they were capable of doing much more. And so were their friends.

They started Teens Helping Seniors, which now has more than 650 volunteers nationwide and in Canada, making free deliveries to those who feel unsafe leaving their homes for shopping during this time.

In addition to helping their neighbors, “It also provided a way for us to feel like we were making a difference in the world at a time when this pandemic was sort of disconnecting us from everyone else,” said Casertano.

We’ve got to remember most young people are more like these teens than we give them credit for. It’s good to know that in an unsettling — maybe even frightening — time like this, we can count on young people to understand what is the right thing — and to have the energy, motivation and know-how to get it done.

Online: https://bit.ly/3bcD5vu

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Let’s do our part to flatten the voter curve in Licking County

The Newark Advocate

Aug. 30

This fall’s general election will be both unusual and important.

The COVID-19 pandemic will undoubtedly change the way people go about voting, and the presidential race during a time of heightened national division will spark high interest to participate.

That is why we believe it is up to all of us to do our part to make the process go as smoothly as possible.

In a typical presidential election, roughly a quarter of Ohioans vote by absentee ballot, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose. That number could double this fall.

Many people have justifiable concerns about going to a potentially crowded precinct to cast a ballot during a global pandemic. Others have equal concerns about whether their mail-in ballot will be counted.

The good thing is time is on our side as an electorate. Let’s not waste it.

The deadline to register to vote for the fall election is Oct. 5, more than five weeks away. That is plenty of time to check your registration at voteohio.gov or by calling your local election board. In Licking County, the number is 740-670-5080.

LaRose said similar to how health officials are working to flatten the curve of coronavirus infections, voters should work to flatten the curve of votes to not overwhelm the system.

In practice, this means people should request an absentee ballot as early as possible. While voters technically have until the Saturday before the election to request one, that is not a reasonable time frame for the request to be entered and the ballot delivered.

Voters can request an absentee ballot now. Unlike other states, Ohio does not require a reason to request one. Even if it takes a few weeks to process this request, that still leaves plenty of time to receive a ballot and cast it if voters act now.

Requesting ballots early also gives election board officials time to work with voters who accidentally fill out the form incorrectly, a process that can now be handled over the phone.

LaRose has requested money to pay for the postage for people to return their absentee ballots - a request that should be approved while conducting an election during a pandemic.

Voters should not wait until the last minute to cast their ballots. They can be cast by mail or in person at the election board beginning Oct. 6. Voters should take the time to study the candidates in all races now so they can make an informed decision early in the process. For people concerned about sending a ballot by mail, secure drop-off box for absentee ballots will be available 24 hours per day in each county.

There are steps that could be taken to make voting easier in Ohio. A secure online portal to request an absentee ballot is an obvious first step. In addition, the state should examine how the elimination of polling places across the state has affected people’s ability to cast ballots - especially those voters for whom technology or transportation provide challenges.

But the reality also is that Ohio offers more opportunities to vote than many states. To ensure our elections go as smoothly as possible, we encourage voters to take advantage of them.

Online: https://bit.ly/31KqNr9

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Brennaman should be fired; our role is to forgive

Cincinnati Enquirer

Aug. 28

Being the voice of the Cincinnati Reds is a privilege. Thom Brennaman should lose that privilege after using a homophobic slur on-air during the first game of a Reds-Kansas City Royals doubleheader last week.

The Reds play-by-play announcer didn’t know his microphone was on when he referred to an unknown place as “the f(asterisk)(asterisk) capital of the world.” The public outcry was swift as were the repercussions. Fox Sports removed Brennaman from the network’s NFL broadcasts. The Reds suspended him, too. Both were right to immediately take Brennaman off the air. Now, the Reds should show him the door.

Brennaman is damaged goods in Cincinnati and no longer belongs on the air calling Reds games. The Reds organization cannot claim to value diversity and inclusion and continue to employ someone who openly disparaged LGBTQ+ people, who are part of the team’s fanbase. Using a homophobic slur would have been inappropriate even in a private moment, but on the job, in the broadcast booth, it’s a terminable offense.

Brennaman apologized for the slur during the game – though he did interrupt his mea culpa to call a Nick Castellanos home run – and later wrote a letter to the editor to The Enquirer admitting he was wrong and asking for forgiveness.

His apology seemed sincere, and we need to forgive him. That is what we are called to do. Brennaman deserves an opportunity to redeem himself, and maybe he will. But he doesn’t deserve to keep his job.

Brennaman’s words were clearly unprofessional, offensive and insulting. Slurs – racial, homophobic, antisemitic or otherwise – have no place in the broadcast booth, sports or society in general. It doesn’t matter that Brennaman didn’t know he was speaking into a hot mic. And no one should dismiss such derogatory comments as a mere “slip of the tongue” or “faux pas.” Slurs are rarely used by mistake, but rather with hurtful and demeaning intent. In his apology, even Brennaman acknowledged there was no excuse for his behavior.

Homophobic slurs, particularly the one used by Brennaman, conjure up painful memories for many LGBTQ+ people of some of the worst experiences in their lives, as Cincinnati Public School Board Vice President Ryan Messer detailed in a recent oped. Brennaman’s claim that he didn’t understand the painful nature of his language strains credulity. As a communications professional whose job depends on the careful selection of words, he certainly should have known better.

And in more than a week since the incident, Brennaman has not answered any questions, such as the context of the conversation, who he was talking to, why that word was used, whether it was used more and whether it’s used with any regularity by Brennaman. It would also be good to know whether those in the broadcast booth objected to his language or joined in the conversation. And if they did, are the Reds and Fox Sports holding those employees accountable too?

The Enquirer’s Paul Daugherty wrote that “a baseball radio or TV booth is not a genteel place. It can be as full of overcooked testosterone and raging ego as any clubhouse or locker room. The jokes between innings would get a deacon banned from church.”

The problem with slurs of any type is they can’t be compartmentalized with time-and-place explanations. The language will always leak and spread until it’s embarrassingly exposed. Brennaman is exhibit A for why such a toxic masculine culture needs to change. Clubhouses and locker rooms, fueled by testosterone and decades of socialization, pave the road for Brennaman’s chutzpah. He forgot which room he was in.

Brennaman is a good broadcaster with a distinguished career that spans three decades. This incident, while embarrassing and despicable, should not define his career or his life. But he has a lot of work to do to rebuild his reputation and trust with listeners. Right now in Cincinnati, the name Brennaman doesn’t give you the same warm feelings it once did.

We hope that Brennaman will follow up on his commitment to get diversity, equity and inclusion training, and that he will continue to reach out to those he so deeply offended to make amends and learn from them. We also hope that Brennaman can find work doing what he loves in another market. But his time in the Queen City should come to an end.

Online: https://bit.ly/3lzuyHS

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