Trust and distrust are fundamental ingredients of representative democracy.

Chester Township Trustees in early September set a date for trick-or-treating in the township, a routine matter in years past. But just a few days later, township leaders said the Oct. 31 date was just a placeholder to be revisited next month.

Vote just once. That was the message from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to citizens statewide earlier this week as we approach the general election less than two months away.

You know that insurance commercial where everyone in the restaurant goes bananas when they recognize the “save 40 percent” guy?

The Chardon High School football team ran onto the field last week with one player waving a Blue Lives Matter flag. The student’s show of support for law enforcement officers touched off a firestorm of reactions across social media and Geauga County that ranged from measured, thoughtful comm…

Police blotters from Solon to Chagrin Falls to Bainbridge to Chardon are filled with reports of stolen or defaced political signs.

Silent family behind Sen. Harris

This week marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote.

On any given weekend, Chagrin Falls serves as backdrop for one of the most important days in the lives of happy couples who promise to love one another until their last breath. Sigh.

Mowing too early?

Fear of contracting COVID-19 has led many poll workers to opt out of working during the general election on Nov. 3.

Reports of campers tenting in Chagrin Falls village parks and even the stairway to the falls, have been a regular addition to the police blotter and town gossip this summer.

The ugly saga of alleged corruption, bribery, money laundering and racketeering on the part of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four political operatives in Ohio lays bare a nasty truth in the Buckeye State: Unaccountable dark money has corrupted our politics, so now we must demand t…

Lessons of local history

Don’t rush rezoning

It didn’t seem right that schools and parents are somehow expected to shoulder the staggering responsibility of deciding whether to return kids to the classroom amid a raging, unpredictable pandemic. 

As an American citizen, I could argue that my inalienable rights are being infringed upon by the “nanny state” requirement to wear a shirt and refrain from smoking cigars in most public establishments.

We are all disappointed. The 198th Great Geauga County Fair will be much different this year. By order of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health, county fairs across Ohio beginning in August must be limited to individuals who take part in 4-H, Future Farmers of America or ot…

We took a lot of road trips back in the days when the kids were little, fidgety and easily irritated with one another. There were no electronic devices to keep them content but there were other distractions. Comic books and chapter books, for instance.

The Trump virus

Mom and Dad had the same sofa for years. That livingroom mainstay had been rebuilt, reupholstered and slipcovered multiple times and still going strong when it was passed down to us when we bought our first house on East Cottage Street, many years ago.

School will be in session for the 2020-2021 academic year even as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. What a typical day will look like depends on the public or independent school system.

This is part four of an occasional series about the history of the Chagrin Valley.

This is an election year, so we can expect a fresh round of China-bashing. American politicians love to use China as a punching bag; it never stops, really, but the trend accelerates when candidates are running for office.

The United States is the most powerful country in the world. By any measure, we are preeminent. We have challenges and vulnerabilities, and we are not as dominant as we once were, but no one else comes close to America’s military, economic and political might.

Tell the whole truth

Confusion surrounds the controversial Beech Brook rezoning effort in Pepper Pike.

The following is dedicated to moms and dads who are doing their best to maintain their own sanity while maintaining the intellectual engagement, physical well-being and emotional stability of their children all of whom have been out of school for way too long.

No quick judgments

Apparently, vegetarians are hard for some omnivores to understand. I say this because when I tell people I am a vegetarian, I get responses like, “Oh, so you only eat pasta.” Or, “Oh, so you only eat lettuce.” Once, when a family member found out I was a vegetarian, we went to a restaurant a…

Once again masks are at the epicenter of controversy across the country. The latest lightning rod of news in Ohio is Gov. Mike DeWine’s four-level Ohio Public Health Advisory System that goes into effect when counties reach a specific rate of increase in coronavirus cases.

The other day, when I pushed the lever on my old John Deere tractor from tortoise to rabbit and headed down the straight-away along the wood line, I became, at least for a couple of hours, the person I’ve always most wanted to be. It’s been like that for 49 years. Every weekly mow takes me r…

A special celebration