Editorial

Ohio is a state that has seen more than its share of military sacrifice. The reminders are all around us: the gravestones, memorial highway signs, observances for those lost in combat, including the 2005 casualties suffered in Iraq by the Brook Park-based 3/25th Marine reservists. But long before, this state, settled in part by Revolutionary War veterans, found itself on the front lines of the War of 1812, and of the Civil War, weaving military service into the state’s history, and its family traditions. Ohio also remains a largely rural state, where agriculture is part of the economy’s lifeblood, and hunting a seasonal pleasure.

The long-running battle over investment management of Ohio’s State Teachers Retirement System is now in front of the 10th District Court of Appeals in Columbus. If justice prevails, Gov. Mike DeWine will be reminded that he is not a law unto himself.

From diapers needed in the cradle to firearms that could put people prematurely in the grave, Ohio lawmakers appear to be in a sales-tax-cutting mood.

The state’s school funding situation that more than two decades ago was declared unconstitutional by Ohio’s Supreme Court remains unresolved today for the state’s public school districts.

When it comes to East Coast garbage, Ohio is now and long has been “the heart of it all.” The $4.75 per-ton tipping fee in Ohio is way below the cost to dump on the coast, so for more than a generation trains loaded with out-of-state waste have been bound for Ohio. Now, because of strong opposition from Fostoria over the unwanted freight shipped to Sunny Farms Landfill, the only constitutionally acceptable remedy is up for debate at the Ohio Statehouse.

There are many, many things wrong with how the GOP supermajority in the Ohio legislature is trying to ram through a hugely consequential constitutional amendment during a likely low-turnout August vote — an election costing $20 million to hold.

Obfuscation is the order of the day when it comes to a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would make all subsequent amendments harder to pass.

Lawmakers — well, most of them, anyway — are working to do better for Ohio’s children. A recent study suggests there still is much to do, at least when it comes to our preschool-aged students. Rutgers University’s Institute for Early Education Research studied early childhood education across the country, and found the Buckeye State ranks 36th for preschool enrollment at age 4, with 10% enrolled; and 27th for those at age 3, with 2% enrolled.

The state auditor, acting on behalf of his political allies in the General Assembly, is using the power of his office to intimidate school district boards of education from pursuing an anti-voucher lawsuit.

“Cities fighting gun violence have found foes in state leaders who do not seem to understand or care about the concerns of people in big urban centers,” the Dispatch Editorial Board writes.