People in Denver are deeply worried about the future of journalism. This week, a couple thousand media thinkers and optimistic reformers are gathering to talk about topics ranging from "Killing Public Media to Save It" to "Are Geeks the new Guardians to our Civil Liberties?" Denver...

It may not seem like it, but the way we currently do redistricting presents a challenge to our very confidence in democracy. Consider that in November 2012, Ohioans voted 51 percent in favor of President Obama. Yet the congressional delegation elected in the same election is 75 percent Republican...

During the holidays, I invariably wind up feeling far behind on every to-do list.  It's all I can do to take in everybody else's end of the year sum-ups and lists. So, I wait until the day I'm back at my desk to add my two cents. Here goes, five...

Yesterday we saw the first debate in what's been called the most expensive senate campaign in Ohio history. Republican wunderkind state Treasurer Josh Mandel is trying to unseat incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown. If this is indeed the most expensive campaign we've seen, we're not...

A week ago, I was a little cranky about the attention Ohio is receiving from the presidential campaigns, but this week, I'm feeling it. What changed? Partly, the race became a lot more interesting. Mitt Romney grew a bit more clear in his positions and a bit more...

The candidates have entered the home stretch, and few people could be happier about the proximity of the end than residents of Ohio. We're all looking forward to being able to watch the Browns lose without being interrupted by back to back to back SuperPAC spending. I'm not sure what...

The pep rallies have begun. This week in Tampa and next week in Charlotte, party faithful are cheering on the candidates, their surrogates, and others who have earned a spot in the political limelight. Very little news will come of these, but we'll see and hear more than enough of...

There was a bit of an incivility-fest in Parma, Ohio, recently. The president and Mitt Romney were doing another set of mirror campaign events (which for some reason makes me think of a pas de deux), and a group of labor supporters showed up to protest...

You can cobble together a solid 12 minutes of unconquerable joy a day staying home with a toddler. It's just the other 14 or 15 hours that strip your nerves and immolate your spirit -- Sam Lipsyte, The Republic of Empathy.

In June, most school districts, administrators, teachers and the communities they serve are focused on graduation, and with good reason. In every community, it's a cause for celebration because the work being recognized is so vital, so important for our very democracy, that we should celebrate it. And when that...

If you've caught the news lately, you will have noticed a terrorist plot was recently exposed in Greater Cleveland. Most of the community that is giving these five misguided self-proclaimed anarchists a second thought is wondering what on earth was motivating them and whether we should be worried about...