The hypocrite Mitt Romney and the 1 percent under God

Breaking the Sound Barrier

Although Mitt Romney has yet to win a majority in a Republican primary, he won big in Florida. After he and the pro-Romney super-PACs flooded the airwaves with millions of dollars' worth of ads in a state where nearly half the homeowners are under water, he talked about whom he wants to represent.

Life after college – one pending OU grad’s experience

For any Ohio University senior, it seems like just yesterday we were attending freshmen orientation, aimlessly following our designated tour guides with anticipation of memories and lessons to come. As a senior myself, on track to graduate one quarter early, I bet I speak for many students other than myself when I say that college goes by insanely fast.

Syria crisis has no easy answers or resolution

"The Security Council cannot go about imposing solutions in crisis situations in various countries of the world," said Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, as the U.N. began discussing what to do about the Syrian crisis last Friday.

Obama makes late payment on mortgage-fraud victims

Breaking the Sound Barrier

In President Barack Obama's State of the Union address last Tuesday evening, many heard echoes of the Obama of old, the presidential aspirant of 2007 and 2008.

Stand up for more than your own interests

This generation is about as disconnected as it gets. Years of stressing the importance of the individual politically and socially, as well as advancements in technology, have led to a whole country of people who have very little in common.

Guantanamo at 10: The prisoner and the prosecutor

Breaking the Sound Barrier

Ten years ago, Omar Deghayes and Morris Davis would have struck anyone as an odd pair. While they have never met, they now share a profound connection, cemented through their time at the notorious U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Deghayes was a prisoner there.

While the Republicans are divided, the citizens are united

Breaking the Sound Barrier

The Republican caucuses in Iowa, with its cliffhanger ending, confirmed two key political points and left a third virtually ignored. First, the Republicans are not enthusiastic about any of their candidates.

We need to stand up for our eroding civil liberties

Our Founding Fathers were a bunch of obnoxious jerks — and I mean that in the most reverent way. They were fiercely opposed to blind obedience to authority and risked their lives to flip it the bird. Oh, how disappointingly — and dangerously — far we've fallen.

Commentary: Hello and goodbye, 2012

This past New Year's, I wasn't sure if I should celebrate or say goodbye to my dear friends. The world is predicted to end in 2012 because of the Maya calendar ending, and the History Channel sure does a great job presenting terrifying evidence about the Maya prediction.

After 35 years, The NEWS gets a new publisher

With today's issue, Jane Means is the new publisher of The Athens NEWS. Jane has responsibility for all the newspaper's operations, policies and personnel.

Athens NEWS General Election endorsement recap

This is a recap of The Athens NEWS' endorsements for the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Michele Papai has an edge in Third Ward council race

In a race with two solid candidates, The Athens NEWS endorses Michele Papai for Third Ward Athens City Council member. As a citizen, she has been active in numerous community and neighborhood groups, and has done a good job on the city's zoning appeals board.

Vote yes on mental health and seniors levies

We strongly recommend a yes vote for two countywide levies on the Nov. 8 ballot — one is Issue 16 for mental-health services, and the other is Issue 15 for senior citizen programs.

Issue 3 will disrupt, complicate health care in Ohio

If citizens had the ability to exert extra emphasis when voting no on wrongheaded and dangerous ballot measures – for instance, lighting the ballot on fire or ripping it to shreds — Ohio Issue 3 would deserve such treatment.

It's a bad idea to extend maximum age of judges to 75

We urge a no vote on state Issue 1, the amendment to the Ohio Constitution that among other things would extend the maximum age that a person may be appointed or elected as judge from 70 to 75.

Mayor Wiehl has led the city ably; he deserves re-election

We support the re-election of Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl. While he can't cite a great deal of solid accomplishments during his first term, he has led the city ably, and has surrounded himself with a competent staff.

Vote no on Issue2/S.B. 5; it's anti-worker, anti-Ohio

We strongly urge our readers to vote no on Issue 2 in the November general election. This up-or-down vote on the union-busting Senate Bill 5 will go a long way toward determining whether Ohio's a state that truly cares about a large segment of its middle-class workers and families, or one that sacrifices them to red-state, anti-union ideology.

In at-large race, we recommend Gosney, Patterson, Hall

In the Democratic primary for Athens' three at-large seats on City Council, we recommend the election of, in order, incumbent Elahu Gosney, Steve Patterson and Nate Hall.

Butler gets our nod in the City Council First Ward race

In the Democratic primary race for Athens' First Ward, we support the re-election of council member Kent Butler. Running for his third term representing the west-side ward, Butler has been a quiet but responsible presence on council.

Replacement levy a good investment for schools

The Athens NEWS supports the Athens City School District's replacement levy on the May 3 primary ballot. This levy is not for operating expenses but rather replacement and repair of items such as computers and software, textbooks, school buses, and building repairs and improvements.

Don’t let visions of wealth make you lose sight of what’s of value

To the Editor:

It’s nice to see community support for our vets and active military

To the Editor:

Why does Obama target an industry that’s pivotal to our economic future?

To the Editor:

While the focus of President Obama's State of the Union address was job creation, his actions seem to conflict with his rhetoric. The president has consistently targeted an industry that supports more than 9.2 million American jobs and billions of dollars in tax revenue — the oil and natural gas industry.

Campaign hopes to ‘save our schools,’ including Chauncey Elementary

To the Editor:

The "Save Our Schools" campaign has been launched by concerned parents in the Athens City School District.

Join the effort to get Chris Chmiel elected to Athens Co. Commission

To the Editor:

Employers didn’t make very good case against minimum wage hike

To the Editor:

County auditor should continue to manage county finances

To the Editor:

I can't understand what all of the "hullabaloo" with this matter (the argument about outside funds in county offices) is all about. The first response from the State Auditor's office was, "It is permissible… but it is a management decision."

Local emergency responders deserve credit for infant call

To the Editor:

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Athens County 911 Emergency Communications Staff, the Jacksonville Volunteer Firefighters and the Athens County Emergency Medical Service staff for their quick response, rapid assessment and professional abilities to work efficiently with people in a crisis situation.

With water billing, Chauncey once again hurts its residents

To the Editor:

Archie Stanley has worked well with county’s village mayors

To the Editor:

As a former councilman and mayor of the village of Chauncey, I am lending my support for re-election of Archie Stanley as Athens County engineer.

Athens Co. Commission will embrace shale or stagnation

I have a unique connection to Athens – it is home to Ohio University, mine and my parents' alma mater – and of course it remains the home of friends, family and fond memories. I had all of this in mind when the Athens County Commissioners considered a proposal to restrict natural gas and oil development.

Beware of propaganda coming from oil and gas industry

Yet again, a word on fracking. Both sides of the fracking debate are well worn by now. While many in the county (and country) are excited about the potential economic boon, others warn of a potential bust. The only benefits Athens County will gain from fracking operations will be a short-term influx of money.

ATV trails at Burr Oak park raise serious questions

Apparently, Ohio Gov. John Kasich cannot look at an Ohio state park without drooling. Now he plans to build ATV trails at Burr Oak State Park.

Fracking opponents urge county to support BREATHE Act

This is an open letter to the Athens County Commissioners (the signatories to the letter are listed at the end):

BellaVino ruling allows developers to ignore zoning

Numerous articles and letters to the editor have appeared in our local papers and on Facebook recently regarding the BellaVino building. I hope this letter will clear up several issues that are becoming confused in the discussions about the sale of the 22 W. Stimson Ave. property.

Fracking threatens local food economy

These are comments I made outside the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 10:

Is leasing your oil rights a personal or community decision?

One of the more troubling things about the fracking controversy is the notion that the decision to frack is a private decision and not a community decision.

Family came first in decision to sell BellaVino

It's not easy to succeed in a small specialty biz in Athens

I have received many emails, phone calls and letters about my selling BellaVino, both the property and the business. I asked to meet with The Athens NEWS, as you already know, last week in order to tr

For the sake of all we hold dear, ban fracking now

On the eve of our celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I was reminded what it means to be a Christian witness in a pluralistic democracy. Dr. King was able to speak out of his own particular place within the prophetic African-American Baptist tradition.

To Ohio University’s five ‘C’s, it should add ‘conflict-free’

Community, character, civility, citizenship and commitment are by now familiar to Ohio University Bobcats as the convictions by which we strive to abide individually and collectively.

And you thought you’d heard the last about fracking

It's been two or three weeks since I've weighed in on fracking so here's a few disparate points to consider:

Term limits: protecting us from our own poor choices

Discussion about rolling back legislative term limits in Ohio is starting to percolate among leaders from both side of the partisan aisle. It's about damn time, since term limits reflect a profoundly undemocratic reflex among the American voting public.

With Stimson project, zoning, not history, is the main issue

The Athens Planning Commission's Jan. 11 ruling on a proposal to build student apartments on the site of the old One-Stop Carryout building on Stimson Avenue had me twisting one way and then another.

Too much dorm security means too few tales from college

We recently published two letters to the editor from Ohio University students debating the merits of security cameras in dorm common areas. This apparently is happening in some limited fashion on campus (and a story we publish in today's issue should fill in the details).

My New Year’s wishes are not all about fracking

But most of them are

Here's my annual backhanded and front-handed New Year's wishes, a few days late and a few dollars short...

No holiday is complete without a mess of fracking news

It's housekeeping time in the zany world of fracking.

Over the past few weeks, I've been collecting articles and information about the shale oil and natural gas boom that is poised to strike our little corner of the world… unless it doesn't, which is entirely possible.

Big money can be illusory during an oil & gas stampede

I'll confess, one of the most rewarding aspects of covering our local installment of the national controversy over the ongoing oil and gas boom (aka, fracking) is that I'm carrying on a family tradition. My great grandfather on my mother's side, Don H. Biggers, was a muckraking journalist and political player in Texas during the oil boom of the 1920s, aggressively attacking shady oil promotion schemes.

Don't bad-talk Bobcats' bowl destination; Idaho's the best

A lot of Ohio University Bobcat fans have been grousing about the football team having to play this year's bowl game in Boise, Idaho. Complaints have been aired about the distance, climate, the football field and the destination in general.

Fracking: One whale of an environmental story

The story of the day in Athens County — hell, probably of the decade — is fracking, of course, and it's exciting to be on the front lines covering the issue as a journalist.

Thanksgiving bit this year is mainly thanks but no thanks

Something of a tradition hereabouts, here's my backhanded Thanksgiving column for 2011.

Just like everybody, I'm thankful for some things and not thankful for others. But since the "not thankful" stuff is more fun to write about, it usually gets most of the ink.