Is Columbus 'The heart of Ohio, the heart of the Midwest' or 'High Tech Heartland?"

Letters to the Editor
·3 min read
November 8, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Downtown Columbus skyline with the Scioto River, American Electric Power headquarters (left) and the Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse along the Scioto Mile Park.
November 8, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Downtown Columbus skyline with the Scioto River, American Electric Power headquarters (left) and the Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse along the Scioto Mile Park.

The heart of Ohio, the heart of the Midwest

Re "In search of an Identity," Jan. 21: I suggest the slogan, “The heart of Ohio, the heart of the Midwest for three reasons:

  • It plays off the “Heart of it All” slogan and the geographical shape of the state and where Columbus is located in the state;

  • It echoes the fact that Columbus’ economy pumps energy throughout this region of the country;

  • It compliments Columbus’ beat - the vibrant music world here, thriving sports, the synergy of people working together (mostly) to solve problems, the Columbus way.

Pam Conrad, Columbus

High Tech Heartland

Re "In search of an Identity," Jan. 21: Columbus is has becoming the Silicon Valley of the Heartland. I think the city should capitalize on our future and brand itself around that image. A moniker that comes to mind is High Tech Heartland.

More: Would you set Columbus up with a friend? What is this city to you – and what should it be?

Mike Sponsler, Columbus

Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor

What do you think?

What should be Columbus' new slogan? Let us know in a letter to the editor of 250 words or less emailed to Letters@Dispatch.com. Include your full name, address and a daytime phone number.

What do you think? How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch

Trump: the definition of terrorism

Terrorism is defined as the calculated use of violence, or the threat of violence, to attain political goals through fear, intimidation or coercion...much like Donald Trump's reelection campaign.

Neal Snyder, Columbus

Bill misguided and shortsighted

The bipartisan bill sponsored by State Reps. Bill Seitz, R-Green Twp., and Dani Isaacsohn, D-Evanston, to offer cash rewards for school attendance and graduation may be well intentioned but is misguided and shortsighted.

Paying students to attend class will teach them that money comes before knowledge.

State Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati)
State Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati)

School attendance offering creative and engaging learning experiences offers opportunities to master skills necessary to succeed in life.  Simply getting paid misses this entire point of coming to school.

Seitz and Isaacsohn speak of "incentives" and a "culture of attendance."

More: Cash to go to kindergarten? Ohio lawmakers consider incentives to boost attendance

To truly incentivize and create a culture that serves our youth we must encourage a culture of learning. This is created through modeling a desire and passion for learning. This starts in the home, broadens into our communities and is embraced, modeled and encouraged by all.  It takes a village to raise a child.

I urge Seitz and Isaacsohn to rethink their strategies to improve school attendance by engaging with veteran and retired classroom educators and parents in finding other means than paying students to do what is already in their best interest.

John Seryak, Reynoldsburg

I know it's a fantasy, but...

Is there any reason, other than political expediency, that people running for office, and those who are willing to pay for political ads, are exempt from truth telling?

Why are political ads somehow considered "free speech" when Kellogg's telling us that Tony the Tiger is real and Frosted Flakes will cure baldness, the common cold and erectile dysfunction, are considered illegal?

Are they not plainly stated ads, so why the distinction?

Why (oh here I go again, fantasyland!) is no elected official pushing for truth in advertising to extend to political ads? Oops, I may have been hitting the OTC cold medicine too hard, because we all know why.

Please take note of this discrepancy, and ask your employees to please do their jobs, and if they refuse, you will be firing them.

Now, you have to actually take some time from scrolling your various feeds to do the work to check out the votes these employees have made in session, but if you want to fire someone it helps to have some proof of wrongdoing. So, we do our part, then perhaps we will have employees who do theirs.

Ah, fantasy land indeed.

Kathie Bailey, Dublin 

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Should Columbus new slogan be 'Heart of Ohio, the heart of the Midwest?'