Editorial roundup

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Excerpts of recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Ohio newspapers:

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, June 29

The bighead and silver carp keep swimming. And President Barack Obama keeps treading water.

Luckily, Congress and the Great Lake states recognize the danger if predatory Asian carp get into the Great Lakes system and disrupt its multimillion-dollar sport-fishing and tourism industry…

Earlier this month, by congressional order, the Mississippi River shipping lock at Upper St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis was closed to stop these piscine predators from taking that liquid elevator into the land of 10,000 lake.

It is the first time a navigable waterway has been closed to block an invasive species, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

But it is a proactive tactic to prevent these gilled guerillas from inexorably laying waste to the Great Lakes and the jobs and revenue — and weekend retreats — that they float …

The Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal connects the Mississippi River with Lake Michigan. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in January documented 23 positive hits for environmental silver carp DNA beyond the electric barriers the Army Corps had installed in the shipping channel. One eDNA sample was found within a block of Lake Michigan.

Obama must close the channel and order the Army Corps to hydrologically separate the Great Lakes basin from the Mississippi River watershed …

Online:

http://bit.ly/1Hq1FFA

The (Ashtabula) Star-Beacon, June 28

In the immediate aftermath of the killings, there had already been calls to remove the Confederate flag that flew in front of the State House in Charleston. These requests were almost universally met with replies of legislators “having a conversation” about the flag in the future …

President Obama said the Confederate flag belonged in a museum, a phrase that Jeb Bush and Rand Paul would echo days later. Mitt Romney called for the Confederate flag to come down, and Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina soon followed with the announcement she would request the state legislature remove the flag.

There was already agreement among a majority of Democrats. When the Republicans joined, we had a national consensus and the dam broke …

Businesses were among the first to respond to the Charleston shooting and subsequent pictures of the terrorist displaying the Confederate flag …

To be certain, there are thousands of good-hearted Southern citizens who regard the Confederate flag as a way to honor their relatives who fought. Many who displayed the flag in the past honestly did not mean to cause offense, pain or heartache. But the tragedy in South Carolina has forced everyone to realize the painful potency of the flag as a symbol …

Online:

http://bit.ly/1GHSdbU

The Cincinnati Enquirer, June 29

The first fatal shooting of an on-duty Cincinnati police officer in 18 years is a tragedy. It’s also a wake-up call that something must change in our city.

City Council’s main response so far has been for its law committee to talk about starting the next police recruit class early. That would require finding an additional $4 million for a $133 million police department budget was passed less than two weeks ago, along with the rest of the city budget.

… Training 40 new officers five months sooner isn’t guaranteed to do anything for the city’s 10-year high in gun violence except cost more money. Better to quickly reposition officers we already have.

… Officer Sonny Kim’s death on June 19 was a breach in the thin blue line that stands between citizens and danger. This is a moment when leaders need to step forward and lead, to say the violence won’t be tolerated, to stand with the good people who are combating bad elements in their neighborhoods …

Council members and Mayor John Cranley — both through their physical presence and ambitious thinking — need to show we won’t let criminals take our streets …

Online:

http://cin.ci/1RIK65e

The (Findlay) Courier, June 24

Voters elect representatives to make the tough calls, like whether or not to legalize marijuana …

While the pot plan seems like a bad idea because it limits the number of people who can profit from its cultivation and sale, it’s also a bad idea for lawmakers to try to change the rules at the eleventh hour.

The Legislature is considering its own ballot initiative that would prevent private groups, like the one behind the pot plan, from using the Constitution to set up a monopoly …

By putting a separate constitutional issue before voters, the House and Senate would be clouding the legalization issue, and likely create confusion for voters.

Should both issues make the ballot and be approved by voters, the one that gets the most votes would prevail, according to Secretary of State Jon Husted …

Legalization of marijuana is a controversial issue that could have been better handled “in-house,” that is, by easing into it by passing a limited-use law for marijuana for specific medical uses …

Come November, though, it should be left to voters, not lawmakers, to decide if the time is right to legalize marijuana or if that should wait.

Online:

http://bit.ly/1InLXvA

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